Ideas for Fathers & Husbands

This Sunday I mentioned some practical tips for Dads and Husbands for investing in the lives of their families. As men, we are tasked with taking responsibility for the well-being of our families. We see this in Jesus, the perfect man, who took responsibility for our sin even though it was, well, our sin. Real men step up, real men lead, real men take responsibility. We live in a time where most men are really just boys, pretending to be men. My prayer for our church family is that our men become like Jesus, strong and loving, tough and tender, and fulfilling our God-given roles as the heads of our homes. In no way do I think this undermines the importance and value that women bring to the church and home. Instead I feel that as men lead appropriately, women flourish and become all that God has intended for them, and together, spouses help one another to become more like Jesus.

Here is the excerpt that I mentioned from the Mark Driscoll’s book Real Marriage – and as he uses the term “Christian,” we should take that to mean a genuine follower or disciple of Christ – unfortunately in our day the term “Christian” communicates other ideas than that… Ok, here ya go…

1. As the family leader, model humility, honesty, repentance, service, study, and worship. Your life preaches at least as loudly as your words, so teach and model humble godliness by the grace of God.

2. Make sure everyone in your family has a good, age-appropriate Bible that they regularly read. Read the Bible yourself and with them so they are encouraged to read on their own.

3. Make sure you have some basic Bible study tools available for your family in either print or digital form and that everyone learns to use them. If you do not know where to begin, ask your pastor or a godly student of Scripture in your church about things like a good Bible commentary, concordance, dictionary, and atlas.

4. Buy good Christian books for everyone in your family to read. Include Christian biographies among those books.

5. Choose good books that you and your wife can be reading together, including books of the Bible, and discuss what you are learning.

6. If their are Bible-based classes offered in your church, attend with your family.

7. Redeem your commute by listening to good sermons and classes, many of which you can download for free.

8. Have dinner with your family most nights, and use that time to pray together, keep a journal log of prayer requests for other people, and read a portion of the Bible and talk about it together.

9. Pray for each member of your family every day and let them know you are praying for them.

10. Place a hand on the head of each of your children every day and pray over them. Then kiss them on the head and make sure they often get a loving hug.

11. While either snuggling or holding hands, pray with and for your wife every day and remember to include the reasons you are thankful to God for her that day.

The above list is an excerpt from Real Marriage by Mark & Grace Driscoll.