{"id":8771,"date":"2019-04-24T01:30:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T06:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=8771"},"modified":"2019-04-24T01:30:52","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T06:30:52","slug":"husbands-and-fathers-its-time-to-step-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2019\/04\/24\/husbands-and-fathers-its-time-to-step-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Husbands and fathers, it’s time to step up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In my 8 years writing<\/a> and speaking<\/a> for Focus Press, I\u2019ve spent a good deal of it researching and discussing the youth exodus from the church. The reasons for the precipitous dropout statistics we see are many, but one common factor that comes up over and over is the family\u2019s Bible habits in the home. <\/p>\n\n\n

In our 2013 survey<\/a> here at Focus Press we found that 61% of church dropouts attended Bible class regularly growing up. Only 13% said that they rarely or never attended Bible class. Among that same group, however, 74% said that the Bible was opened in the home 1-2x per week or fewer. Nearly half (48%) said their families opened the Bible together at home 1-2x per month or fewer. <\/p>\n\n\n

In other words, the majority of church dropouts were Bible class regulars. But, despite their regular attendance, their families did not have any kind of regular devotional habits in the home. <\/p>\n\n\n

Biblically, that shouldn’t be the case in any Christian home. The men of Israel had the duty of teaching their families the law put squarely on their shoulders in Deuteronomy 6. In Ephesians 5:25-26 Paul expected husbands to emulate Christ and sanctify their wives “by the washing of water with the word.” A few verses later (6:4) he commanded fathers to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n

The question we have to ask, then: what are we doing about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

In his book on the what, why, and how of family worship[1], Donald S. Whitney shared a number of quotes from the history of Christendom that show just how highly family worship has been valued over the centuries. Prominent names from eras past talked about how the home should be a “little church” where the father must serve as the shepherd.* The one point that especially stood out to me came from The Directory for Family Worship<\/em>, a companion to The Westminster Confession of Faith<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n

Church elders were charged for establishing accountability with the heads of household regarding their family worship habits. Failure in that area would be admonished privately. Refusal to change would lead to being reproved by the church. Further refusal would see him forbidden from partaking the Lord\u2019s Supper.<\/p>\n\n\n

These people weren\u2019t just asking Christian men to maybe, possibly try to spend some time with the Bible that week, if they got a chance and it wasn\u2019t too inconvenient. They took it seriously and weren\u2019t going to let anyone show an attitude of indifference.<\/p>\n\n\n

We might not go to the lengths The Directory for Family Worship<\/em> outlined, but it’s hard to argue our approach is any more biblical than what they prescribed, and theirs certainly put priorities in the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n

So… what expectations do we have of ourselves? What expectations are our congregations putting on men? And what are we doing to follow up and make sure that it’s getting done?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

If you’re a Christian husband and\/or father and your family doesn’t have a regular devotional habit, I challenge you to start one today. It won’t be free of challenges, though. Here are a few you may encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n