This is a great article from Pastor Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church.
Definitely read the full article: 5 Ways to be a Good Dad. You should read it whether or not you are a dad.
I found the excerpts below particularly compelling.
1. Delight in Your Kids… BEFORE Discipline
Therefore, a godly father models submission to authority and the welcoming of correction by repenting of his own sin, receiving forgiveness, and walking in restored intimacy with God the Father by empowering grace.
2. Protect Your Kids by… FEARING God
Men who fear God take God’s wisdom and use their masculine strength to create a fortress of protection and provision around their homes so that their wives and children can live freely and happily under their care.
3. Be a Man for Your Kids & Live Righteously
It is imperative that Christian fathers repent of their childish ways (i.e., laziness, lust, whining, drunkenness, juvenile antics, neglecting family in the pursuit of hobbies, foolish spending, and so on) because their sins impinge upon the lives of their children and grandchildren.
4. Work Hard for Your Kids
Wisdom is not merely what a father says, but also his lifestyle and the degree of congruence between his words and his actions. Foolish fathers say things such as, “Well, don’t do as I do, do as I say.” What they mean is, “I’m a complete hypocrite, but do what I tell you to do anyways.”
5. Create a Legacy for Your Kids
Wisdom enables a father to see that the way he lives affects the kind of children he raises, which affects the kind of children they raise, and so on.