This is the fourth post in the Biblical Masculinity series. Post One: What is Biblical Masculinity?, Post Two: Biblical Masculinity in Marriage, Post Three: Biblical Masculinity in Fatherhood Pt.1.

In part one of Masculine Fatherhood we discussed what God expects of us as Christian dads. We also covered a few key areas of development that you should be working into your child’s life. In this post we will talk about some practical ideas that may help you as you decide what it looks like in your home to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Keep in mind that these are suggestions, not an exhaustive list. Don’t feel that if you aren’t doing everything on this list that you’re not a good dad. These come and go in seasons at our house – except for worship, catechism, Bible, etc. If God does convict you in an area, don’t beat yourself up. Run to Him, repent, and start doing right.

So here are a few ideas, in no certain order. Read more →

This is the third post in the Biblical Masculinity series. Post One: What is Biblical Masculinity?, Post Two: Biblical Masculinity in Marriage, Post Four: Biblical Masculinity in Fatherhood Pt. 2

There is so much more to cover on this topic than I will be able to deal with in this post. At the end of the next article (Biblical Masculinity in Parenting Pt. 2) I have provided a list of books and resources that have helped me and will shed more light on the spiritual aspects of fatherhood. I just wanted to do a brief fly-over of some of the spiritual issues related to fatherhood and then focus in on some practical ideas that may help you lead your family and fulfill your God-given role as a dad.

The big idea I want you to take away from this post is discipleship. God has blessed you with a house full of little disciples. This is one way you are able to fulfill God’s call on your life to be a disciple maker. – Mt. 28:18-20

Teaching & Training

• Fathers are required to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord – Eph. 6:4. If we raise our children in any other way, we walk in disobedience to the Lord and harm our kids in the process.
• This charge is given to fathers, not mothers. It’s not that mothers don’t play a huge role in this instruction (they most certainly do), this means that fathers as the family head are held responsible for seeing to it that this happens.
• We need to lead by example. We should be able to say to our children “follow me as I follow Christ.” Read more →

This is a good interview between Matt Chandler (Gospel Project Advisory Counsel) and Trevin Wax (Gospel Project Managing Editor). The Gospel Project is a new curriculum put out by LifeWay that is a three year discipleship cycle that is broken into age groups for children, students, and adults.

This is very intriguing to me because it is designed to show the story of God’s redemption throughout the entire Bible. It shows that the Gospel includes and runs through all of Scripture, not just Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is our responsibility as parents and church members to be sure that our children are learning the Gospel. They should be learning that the stories are there to point to Christ and show God’s love, not just for moral character building or entertainment.

Thanks to LifeWay and others for leading the way in this area.

This has turned out to be one of my favorite parenting series form Voddie Baucham. His passion for the Word of God and his desire to see parents (especially men) step into the roles God has called them to is unmatched. Whether you agree with everything he says or not, he always points to Scripture as the supreme authority and inspires you to grow in your relationship with God, grow as a spouse, grow as a parent, and grow as a leader in your church.

Click on the series title below and there you can either listen online or download the messages. I hope they encourage you as much as they have me.

“Family Conference Series“

I try hard to do the best job I can of making sure my kids not only enjoy the holiday season, but know what it’s all about. That leads me to do a good bit of research. With so many tools online for Christian parents, we really have no excuse not to lead & teach our kids well. I’ve put together a short list of a few links that have helped my wife and I throughout the Christmas/Advent season.

• 16 Daddy Christmas Tips – Mark Driscoll
• Advent Devotions – Christ the King Presbyterian Church. They use stories from The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sallie Lloyd-Jones (Great book!) Read more →

Sometimes you just have to call it on yourself… “That was a train wreck!” Tonight was one of those nights. I meant well, but hardly anything went the way I though it should. I butchered both Christmas songs on guitar we tried to sing. I lost my patience with the oldest two a couple of times. And our Advent time could have gone much smoother.

As a dad, I have several jobs on the home front. Among those jobs is teaching my kids about Christ and why we celebrate His coming into human history as well as creating family holiday traditions. I take my responsibility as a dad very seriously, because I feel the weight the Bible places on me to teach them about God, His Word and His world.

Thankfully the kids still seemed to have a good time and history reminds me that they tend to forget when I jack things up. Both they and God allow daddy do-overs, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Have you ever had a time in your life when you needed a reset button?

Petra Ballet Company

Dads, don’t miss opportunities to be a blessing to your children and likely be blessed in return. Recently my 5 year old daughter started taking ballet at Glory & Grace ballet group, which teaches worship through dance (fantastic). They brought in the Petra Ballet Company for a show this past Saturday night. My daughter was very excited to go to her first real ballet, and I, just wanting to spend time with her, agreed to take her. Keep in mind I’m not much of a dance/opera/musical kinda guy. I thought I would take her, have some fun with her, be bored at the show, but score some big daddy points in the process. God had other plans!

I was completely blown away by the Spirit of the Lord on the girls from Petra as they worshiped through dance. I was able to be a blessing to my daughter by explaining to her what was happening in the different dances, as the gospel was presented in every single dance! I was blessed in several ways myself. To have my little girl curl up into my lap, squeeze my arms, and Read more →

In late 2008, Pastor/speaker/author, Tedd Tripp spoke at a mini-conference hosted by TheResurgence.com at the Mars Hill Church campus in Seattle WA. He taught 5 sessions that consisted mostly of material from his book “Shepherding A Child’s Heart”. The book is a fantastic picture of how God teaches and disciplines us as the perfect, loving Father. I love this set of podcasts because he really drives the message home to parents that we are to do more than just discipline our children, we are to teach them, instruct them, and show them how to be in relationship with Christ as we get below the surface issues in their lives and deal with their hearts.

Click here for 5 part series “Biblical Parenting” by Tedd Tripp.

Click here for all messages listed on this site.