The new Superman movie, Man of Steel, is out.

The success of superhero films is amazing: Spiderman, Batman, Ironman . . . the list goes on. Superman has always trumped the lot of them, as he, according to the old TV show was, “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” (plus fire comes out of his eyes).

Remember the words, “Look! Up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!” The problem, of course, is Superman is fiction.

But there is a “Superman” in real life. He’s called Dad.

Not just any dad. I am talking about a dad who stays married to his wife and raises his children to follow God and be responsible—a dad who is a godly role model and leader in the home. That, to me, is a Superman.

Now, in another time that kind of behavior was expected. But in our upside-down culture, fathers are M.I.A. As one expert said, “We are in danger of becoming a fatherless society.” And that singe fact is what causes most social ills in America today.

1n 1960, fewer than 6 million children lived in single-parent families. Today that number is 22 million.

Consider these alarming stats:
• Fatherless children are 100¬-200% more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems.
• A child who comes from a fatherless home is 68% more likely to use drugs or alcohol, more likely to become sexually active at an early age, and three times more likely to commit a violent crime.
• 63% of teenagers who attempt suicide live in fatherless homes.
• 71% of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.
• Fatherless sons are 300% more likely to become incarcerated in state juvenile institutions.
• Fatherless daughters who marry have a 92% higher divorce rate, and fatherless sons are 35% more likely to experience marital failure.
• Fatherless daughters are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers, are 111% more likely to have children as teenagers, and are 164% more likely to have an out-of-wedlock birth.
• 80% of teenagers admitted to psychiatric hospitals come from fatherless homes.

James Merritt said, “The most endangered species in America is not the Spotted Owl or the Snail Darter, but the responsible Father.”

So, you can understand why I say fathers who are present are like superheroes!

If you are a man standing by your wife and children today, may I say on behalf of a grateful country, thank you! It gives me hope for the future.