By Andy Hale
This week on the CBF Podcast Conversation, Andy sits down with writer and storyteller Patton Dodd to explore his deeply
personal new book, “The Father You Get.” Drawing from a lifetime of experiences shaped by absence, longing and reflection, Patton offers a powerful meditation on the fathers we inherit, the ones we seek out and the ones we strive to become. With honesty and clarity, he names the complexity of growing up with a father whose struggles created pain—and the lasting impact that reality has on identity, faith and relationships.
In this conversation, Patton reflects on the “dad-shaped hole” many carry and the ways we attempt to fill it through mentors, community and even our understanding of God. He speaks candidly about mourning not just the father he had, but the father who could have been—and how that grief shapes both healing and hope. The discussion also turns toward faith, exploring how parental relationships influence our image of God and what it means to wrestle with calling God “Father” in light of complicated personal history.
Ultimately, this episode is about formation and possibility. As Patton shares his own journey into fatherhood, he invites listeners to consider how cycles of pain can be interrupted and how new legacies can be formed over time. This is a thoughtful, moving conversation for anyone navigating family complexity, seeking healing or longing to write a different story forward.
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Sponsorship
This podcast is presented by:
- Baylor’s Garland School of Social Work: Social workers can be found addressing the full scope of the human experience in churches, schools, prisons, government agencies, senior living centers, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies.
- Baptist Seminary of Kentucky: BSK equips leaders through their Homegrown Initiative, offering ministry leaders training and growth that fits into their busy schedules.
- The Gardner-Webb School of Divinity: The Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity aims to equip, nurture, encourage, and support men and women for their very best service in the Kingdom of God.
- The Center for Congregational Health: Strengthening congregations through consulting, leadership coaching, and intentional ministry.
- The Baptist House of Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary: Exists by God’s grace to educate, inspire, and support generations of bold, faithful servant leaders as they seek actively to participate in God’s mission in the world.
- Community Transformation Center: Through educational opportunities, community conversations, and research initiatives in collaboration with universities and local leaders, PBACTC is at the forefront of integrating spiritual care into holistic community development.
- Creation Justice Ministries: Creation Justice Ministries equips churches to turn conviction into faithful action with Scripture-based resources, worship guides, and community support to pursue environmental justice and care for God’s creation.
- Dawnings: Through prayerful discernment, storytelling, and collaborative visioning, Dawnings helps churches rediscover their calling and imagine their next chapter—guided by trained facilitators and grounded in God’s ongoing story.
- Congregational Ministries Team of CBF Global: Through coaching, resources, and collaborative support, CBF’s Congregational Ministries Team helps churches and ministers cultivate the five traits of thriving—Rooted Relationships, Compelling Clarity, Holy Tenacity, Strategic Agility, and Dynamic Collaboration—for faithful and flourishing ministry.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.