The Father You Were Made to Be

By Bruce Stapleton

What kind of father has God designed you to be?

The Father You Were Made to Be is a Scripture-grounded playbook that helps fathers identify their natural leadership strengths, name their blind spots, and grow into the father God designed them to be - on their own or alongside a group of men working through it together.

The framework is built around eight biblical prophets, each modeling a distinct fatherhood leadership style:

- Moses - The Builder: creates structure, establishes values, leads toward a future not yet seen

- Elijah - The Courageous Protector: confronts what is false, shields the family, leads boldly

- Elisha - The Mentor: invests in others, develops potential, multiplies influence

- Isaiah - The Visionary: speaks purpose and hope over the family's future

- Jeremiah - The Compassionate Shepherd: leads with empathy, stays present through pain

- Ezekiel - The Watchman: discerns danger early, guards the family with vigilance and love

- Daniel - The Faithful Example: leads through quiet, unbreakable integrity

- Jonah - The Redeemed Learner: leads through humility and a story of failure God still used

These eight styles are anchored to the four core virtues of Fathering Strong - Courage, Fortitude, Faith, and Love - the same framework introduced in Bruce Stapleton's Fathering Strong: God's Blueprint for Leading Your Family.

Each chapter combines Scripture, a real-life story, a strengths-and-blind-spots self-assessment, personal reflection questions, and a written action plan. The playbook opens with a 40-question Fatherhood Leadership Style Assessment (also available online) to help readers identify their primary style before diving in, and closes with a complete six-week Facilitator's Guide for men's groups, small groups, and church ministries.

Written for biological, adoptive, foster, step-, single, and grandfathers alike, this playbook doesn't ask fathers to become someone they're not - it helps them steward the strengths God has already given them, name their weaknesses honestly, and lead their families with greater intention.

Part of the Fathering Strong Fatherhood Series by Bruce Stapleton. Companion resources available at FatheringStrongBook.com.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1972132040
• ISBN13: 9781972132043
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Bruce Stapleton
• Length: 74 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"