Have you ever wondered why, when the camera is pointed at a football player on the sidelines, the player is quick to say, "Hi Mom." Do you recall many players praising their father? Not many. I played football with many of the players touted as the greatest players of all time, and many carried wounds left by their dads. I have heard many say, "All I ever wanted was my dad to tell me that he loved me and that he was proud of me." Did you know that current statistics say that more than 51 percent of children in America do not have the voice or presence of their fathers in their lives?

Michael Vick grew up in Newport News Virginia with a loving Mom and a father who struggled with his own identity and reported drug addiction problems. Michael and his brothers and sisters ended up taking the moms maiden name of "Vick", because of the absence and distance of their father. Fathers have been given an amazing role in the lives of their children. I have not met a father yet who didn't want to make a difference with his kids. Most men just don't have healthy models. Could it be that the greatest threat to our world is fatherless kids who grow up without rudders in their lives?

Everyone seems to be weighing in on the Michael Vick story. In an article titled, "Vick's 'Finding God' Challenged by Conservatives," Tim Wildmon, president of the conservative American Family Association, weighs in and says, "Do they (referring to Michael Vick) really have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God or is it cultural as in 'My momma raised me right and I need to be reverent toward God?'"

Do you see the statement, "My momma raised me right." I meet so many moms who have worked themselves to death, play both parents, and drive cars where the wheels are ready to fall off, and constantly hoping the father of their kids will come and make a difference.

So what is left for a young boy and girl without a loving father in their lives? We attempt to name ourselves, and we learn to be overachievers.

I too understand what it feels to loose my father. Being the son of a military hero who died while serving his country, has contributed to my felt pressure to achieve, to become someone. I still remember the words of my mom as she desperately tried to give hope and meaning to such a tragic event in our lives. She would say, "Ed, God wouldn't have let your father die unless He had something great for you to do."

Those words drove me to live a life worthy of my father's sacrifice. I couldn't fail his memory, his legacy. Out of her desire to love and support me in the context of such a monumental loss, my mom inadvertently fueled the flame of driven ness to "win" at everything I attempted.

Do you think Michael Vick felt some the same things? The temptation to answer his wound by being success driven is irresistible to young boy or girl. Not to mention that Michael Vick has had to do all of this in front of the world.

Has the media fueled the current cultures insatiable desire to make it rich from Americas got talent, American idol, American inventor, and the list goes one. Could it be that what is needed most is the calling out and building up of Fathers? There is nothing more powerful than a dad who learns how to love, bless and affirm his kids.

The decisions of the National Football League (NFL) and the judge, who is deciding the legal penalty of Michael Vick, are crucial for the sake of Michael future. Is incarceration and lifetime suspension the best way to treat and heal Michael Vick heart?

Hallmark decided to donate 500 Mothers day cards to prisoners to send to their moms. The prison chaplain said, that they were gone within 30 minutes. Hallmark extended the same donation for Fathers day, to which the chaplain said, at the end of the day we counted the cards, there were 500 left.

Is healing what the National Football league want? How many more superstars are going to bite the dust before we treat the brokenness so many carry. When you make a broken college player a millionaire because he can increase your bottom line, and you don't treat the man, you can almost guarantee the future headlines. How many more riots on the football field, (like the one this past year in Miami) will happen before we do something about it?

So how does the church respond to Michael Vick? If Michael is calling out to Jesus, let's meet with him with compassion and open arms. Before the church weighs in, why not walk a mile in his shoes, and help him find the Father that Jesus came to restore to us.

Ed Tandy McGlasson, a former lineman in the National Football League was dramatically converted to Jesus while in college in 1977. After a career ending knee injury in football practice, at Youngstown state University, a campus minister shared the Good news of the gospel with Ed and prayed for his knee to be healed. The next morning the doctors found the torn ligaments and cartilage restored. Ed eventually entered the ministry after another knee injury ended his NFL career in 1984. Ed played with the Giants, Jets, and Rams. He has spoken at numerous conferences across the country and around the world, including sharing his testimony at rallies for Billy Graham crusades. Ed's recent book, "The Difference a father makes" with more than 200,000 in print, along with his conference, "The Blessing of the Father," Ed keeps busy in churches, conferences and corporate events. He also pastors The Stadium Vineyard in Anaheim, CA. www.thedifferenceafathermakes.com or www.stadiumvineyard.com.

Special to ASSIST News Service -- Used by permission of Assist News Service  www.assistnews.net