Yesterday, Joe Thorn wrote on family worship. Today, he shares an interview with Tom Ascol on the same subject.
If I were to venture a guess, I’d say that most of us Christian husbands and dads struggle with this subject… how do we fulfill our Biblical role of spiritual leadership in our homes? I’d go further to venture that most of us fall quite a bit short in that calling.
Joe’s posts are definitely recommended reading on this subject, providing some good resources and practical advice on the matter.
We never did do “family worship”. And my dad instilled enough of an independent mind in me to free me from worrying about doing something just because someone else did.
I think a lot of things go into how children grow up viewing their parents’ faith, which I think is all-important. Someone asked once why so few people followed in their dad’s profession (or mom’s) and the answer to that was how do you talk about your career over the dinner table. Most of us griped and moaned about the business and it’s no wonder kids aren’t interested.
Same with our faith. If our faith is a vital, obvious part of our life and our table talk and our actions and manners, that’s a huge step in the right direction. Beyond that, whatever bible study and discussion and the sort of music you play in the house is up to how God leads you.
I hope you didn’t interpret my endorsement of Joe’s posts as “the way” that men should lead their homes spiritually. God has created us all differently and uses us all differently, so as long as we’re following His leading, I can’t imagine any particular style of spiritual leadership as being wrong.
At the same time, I found what he wrote to be quite convicting on the subject. That’s probably because I often feel like I’m not doing enough in the arena of spiritual leadership. Even if my faith is apparent to my kids, I’m not certain that, as the proverb says, I really train my kids in the way they should go to the extent that I should. It was encouraging to see how Joe and Tom have tried to do just that through family worship.
I guess the bottom line is that we do something… whatever it may be… in accordance with God’s leading.
John: What you said. The key is in your first sentence .. “..that men should lead their homes spiritually”. That says it all.
For the serious believer, that thought will motivate them to lead.
I’ve also heard it said (in various ways) that kids will occasionally remember what you say, usually remember what you do, but never forget how you make them feel. I hear Dr. Phil say that home should be the “soft place to fall” .. the secure place .. and there’s no better place to start that, than spiritually. I’ve said it before … the absolute most important thing dad can do is love the kids’ mother. Demonstrably. Then lead spiritually, once you’ve shown the love of Jesus for His church, they way we’re supposed to via the analogy of how husbands are to love wives.
The fact that you’re concerned about it tells me you’re doing ok.