What does it take to become the dad you never had — when the dad you did have was present but never really there?

Scott Maudsley grew up as the second of four boys in southwest Michigan. His dad was a man of faith. He was in the house. He loved his kids. But when the business failed, bankruptcy hit, and the family moved into a tent on a campground just trying to survive — the emotional distance between Scott and his father only grew. By the time Scott was 18, he had lived in 14 different homes. He attended three high schools in four years — including a move from a small white farming community in Michigan to Hialeah, Miami in the middle of his senior year.

His mom left. His dad stayed. And Scott spent the next several decades learning — the hard way — what it means to be a present father to his own kids.

Today Scott is a kingdom worker, author, and founder of two movements built around one conviction: every man needs a spiritual father, and every man needs to become one.

In this conversation, Joshua Brown and Scott get into:

• What it felt like to grow up with a dad who was physically present but emotionally distant — and how that shaped Scott's identity as a man
• The bankruptcy, the tent, the 14 homes, and what financial chaos does to a family's emotional foundation
• The day his mom left — and what it was like to have a single dad for a year and a half
• The pivotal man God put in Scott's life in his thirties who forced him to go back and process all the trauma he had buried
• The single most important piece of fatherhood wisdom Scott ever received — and how it transformed the way he parented his own kids from birth to age 13
• Why age 13 is the last real window a dad has for full influence over his child — and what happens when you miss it
• How Scott wrote A Dad's Bible Journey — a study of the actual fathers in scripture, not just principles, but real stories of real dads who failed and were redeemed
• The story behind Dads on Tap — a nonprofit that partners with breweries to reach dads who would never walk into a church
• What spiritual fathering actually looks like — and why every man needs one

"There's no paycheck, no influence, no stage that I would trade for that intentionality from zero to 13."

"Forgiveness is more for you than them. I had inner peace for the first time in my life. It's just Jesus — just Jesus."

This episode is for the man who had a dad in the house but still grew up without one. For the dad who wants to do it differently but doesn't know how. And for every man who needs a spiritual father to show him the way.

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• Spiritual Fathers (Man in the Mirror) → https://www.spiritualfathers.com
• Dads on Tap → https://www.dadsoontap.com
• A Dad's Bible Journey → Available on Amazon
• Scott Maudsley on Instagram → @ScottMaudsley
• Email Scott → scott@dadsontap.com

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