Male leadership, as designed by God, has been in the world since Adam. It is seen in the Old\u00a0Testament in the lives of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and the prophets. The exception\u00a0is seen in Deborah, the only woman judge in Israel, but this was when men refused to fulfill\u00a0their roles. Some women, like Huldah, were called prophetesses, but we know little about their\u00a0work. In the New Testament, it is significant that Jesus, the Savior of the world, was a man. The\u00a0apostles were men. Preachers were men. Elders and deacons were men. In defining the roles of\u00a0men and women in the worship of the church, the apostle Paul said, \u201cAnd I do not permit a woman\u00a0to teach or to have authority over a man\u201d (1 Timothy 2:12), and showed that this principle was not\u00a0cultural but was God\u2019s plan from the beginning (1 Timothy 2:13-14).<\/p>\n
Additionally, Paul stated that\u00a0women were to \u201ckeep silent in the churches\u201d (when the \u201cwhole church comes together\u201d with the\u00a0intention to worship–JPL), and further said, \u201c[I]t is shameful for a woman to speak in church\u201d (1\u00a0Corinthians 14:34, 23, 35). The fact that Philip \u201chad four virgin daughters who prophesied\u201d (Acts\u00a021:9) does not negate Paul\u2019s statements since we do not know when, where, or under what circumstances\u00a0these women exercised their gift of prophecy.<\/p>\n
However, in this postmodern world, where many believe the Bible must be read through 21st\u00a0century-colored glasses, many are asserting that women\u2019s roles have changed. They deny that 1\u00a0Timothy 2 pertains to worship even though the context speaks of a public gathering. They cite Galatians\u00a03:28 to say that in Christ \u201cthere is neither male nor female,\u201d and overlook the fact that this passage shows that both men and women have the same access to God through Jesus Christ and\u00a0does not address roles. After becoming Christians, men are still men and women continue to be\u00a0women, and God has much to say to Christians as men and women (see 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 5:1-3;\u00a0Titus 2:1-8).<\/p>\n
ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY<\/strong><\/p>\n We believe that men are to be spiritual leaders\u00a0in the church and in their families. However,\u00a0many men have abandoned this role of leadership.\u00a0In the church, some men \u201cretire\u201d from\u00a0the service of the Lord and are content to attend\u00a0worship and let others lead. They may have leadership\u00a0traits but choose to bury these talents.\u00a0In the home, men often defer spiritual leadership\u00a0to their wives and overlook the fact that God\u00a0has placed the role of leadership directly upon\u00a0their shoulders. They have the responsibility of\u00a0training their children in the ways of God (Ephesians\u00a06:4). Of course, their wives are willing and\u00a0capable helpers in the training of children, but\u00a0in the final analysis the task belongs to the men.<\/p>\n On the other hand, there are many men who are\u00a0providing great leadership in the church by serving\u00a0as elders, deacons, teachers, preachers, song\u00a0leaders, prayer leaders, and in countless other\u00a0ways. There are many men who are taking the\u00a0lead in the training of their children and take this\u00a0responsibility seriously. The emphasis of this article\u00a0is good fathers and strong church leaders\u00a0are first to be great husbands. How can a husband\u00a0be a great husband and thus enhance his\u00a0leadership abilities as a father and as a church\u00a0leader?<\/p>\n BEING A GREAT HUSBAND<\/strong><\/p>\n First<\/span>, we must be aware that our society is discarding\u00a0the role of the husband-father in the family.\u00a0Many couples are living together without assuming\u00a0the permanent and committed roles of\u00a0husbands-fathers and wives-mothers. In other\u00a0families, the husband-father is absent. He may\u00a0not live with his wife and children or he may,while\u00a0being physically present at times, be absent because\u00a0he is consumed by his job or is forfeiting\u00a0his responsibilities as the leader because of neglect.\u00a0As men, we must accept the responsibility\u00a0of marriage and parenthood by a lasting commitment\u00a0to our wives and to our children. Our culture\u00a0often pictures the husband-father as a buffoon\u00a0who is unnecessary to the proper functioning\u00a0of the family. Those who promote same-sex\u00a0marriages have ignored the fact that the Author\u00a0of marriage decreed from the beginning that marriage\u00a0is a permanent relationship between a man\u00a0and a woman who are committed to each other\u00a0and to the children who become a part of the relationship.\u00a0Ideally, a family needs a husband-father\u00a0who will provide spiritual leadership, a wife-mother\u00a0who will respect the role of a husband-father,\u00a0and children who are trained by a loving\u00a0leader and a loving supporter as parents. In some\u00a0families this is impossible because of death or\u00a0abandonment, but this is the ideal. As Christians we must speak out for and practice the ideal.<\/p>\n Second<\/span>, to be a great husband, a man must prepare himself. He can do this by being a Christian\u00a0who is into the Word of God and who applies Biblical truth to the moral chaos of our day as\u00a0he stands opposed to homosexuality, abortion, pornography, divorce, dishonesty in business, and\u00a0a myriad of other moral issues. Further, he can prepare himself to be a spiritual leader by being a\u00a0man of integrity\u2013\u2013he can be what he claims to be as a Christian. Additionally, he can prepare himself\u00a0by sharing what he learns from Scripture with his wife and children.<\/p>\n Third<\/span>, a great husband loves his wife. One of the greatest gifts he can give his children is to love\u00a0their mother. Love is not just a feeling but a decision to do what is the very best for his wife. He\u00a0should learn her love language(s) (see The Five Love Languages <\/span> by Gary Smalley) and seek to fulfill\u00a0it (them) as he protects her and provides for her needs.<\/p>\n Fourth<\/span>, a great husband follows God\u2019s blueprint for husbands as revealed in Scripture. He must\u00a0see himself as a spiritual leader. God says, \u201cThe husband is head of the wife\u201d (Ephesians 5:23). This\u00a0does not mean \u201cboss\u201d but leader. He should take the lead in Bible reading and prayer in the home\u00a0as he brings his wife into the presence of God. He should take the lead in the decision to attend\u00a0the worship assemblies of the church. He should take the lead in making decisions for the family\u00a0that are in harmony with the revealed will of God. Further, God says, \u201cHusbands, love your wives,\u00a0just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it\u201d (Ephesians 5:25). This means he is to\u00a0love her with a sacrificial love whereby he seeks to fulfill her needs more than his own. He elevates\u00a0her and promotes her spiritual growth as she becomes more because of his influence than\u00a0she could have ever become without him (see Ephesians 5:26-28). He does not love her only when\u00a0she is \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cif she does what he wants her to do;\u201d he just loves her. He does not love her because\u00a0she deserves it, but because of whom she is to him. This is the way Christ loves us. Additionally,\u00a0God says the husband \u201cnourishes and cherishes\u201d his wife (Ephesians 5:29). \u201cNourish\u201d means\u00a0he builds her up by pampering and \u201ccherish\u201d means he deals with her with the warmth of gentleness.<\/p>\n Finally<\/span>, in Ephesians 5:31, God reminds husbands to be faithful to their wives in all things since\u00a0they are now \u201cjoined\u201d as \u201cone flesh.\u201d\u00a0In another passage God tells husband to \u201cdwell\u201d with their wives \u201cwith understanding\u201d (1 Peter\u00a03:7a). This means the husband is to study his wife; he is to learn the differences between men\u00a0and women (see “<\/span>Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus”\u00a0 by John Gray, and “<\/span>What Wives Wish\u00a0Their Husbands Knew About Women”\u00a0<\/span> by James Dobson), and he is to provide what she needs. God\u00a0further says that husbands are to \u201chonor\u201d their wives (1 Peter 3:7b). The word for \u201chonor\u201d means\u00a0literally \u201cheavy or weighty.\u201d What the wife feels or says or needs carries weight with the husband.<\/p>\n So, the husband is to spend time alone with his wife; he is to praise her for what she does and who\u00a0she is; he is to \u201cstand in awe\u201d of her when she comes into his presence.\u00a0If husbands will listen to what God says to them and then live these things out in their relationships\u00a0with their wives, then they can become great husbands and, by becoming great husbands, they can\u00a0step up to being great fathers and great leaders in the church of our Lord.<\/p>\n By Jay Lockhart<\/strong><\/p>\n This article appeared in the June 2011 issue of\u00a0<\/em>Think\u00a0magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Male leadership, as designed by God, has been in the world since Adam. It is seen in the Old\u00a0Testament in the lives of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and the prophets. The exception\u00a0is seen in Deborah, the only woman judge in Israel, but this was when men refused to fulfill\u00a0their roles. Some women, like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,26,66],"tags":[49,120,555,210,556,63,352],"class_list":["post-1126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-marriagehomosexuality","category-think-excerpts","tag-church","tag-family","tag-fathers","tag-home","tag-husbands","tag-parents","tag-think","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n