7 Ways Dad Should Lead in the Home

Whether you believe it or not, parents have the most influence on their children—and dads at that.  Positively or negatively, dads [and moms] influence their children more than culture, peers, student pastors, politically correct teachers, talk show hosts, and Lebron James.  What’s more, moms and dads are called to be the primary disciple-makers of their children… not youth pastors.

Read Deuteronomy 6, over and over and over and over.

Here’s the thing.  Dad, you may not think you know how to spiritually lead your family.  You may think you’re too busy to do these things (we prioritize what’s important).  You may think you don’t know enough about the Bible to teach it to your children.  You may even think it’s too late, as they might be in their mid-teenage-years at this point.

But here’s the kicker:  None of that is true… you are the most influential person in your family.

Here are 7 things you can begin to do to spiritually lead your family.  It’s not exhaustive by any means.  But it’s a start.

1.  EAT DINNER TOGETHER.

Don’t be the dad who doesn’t come home for dinner, or works late, or prioritizes other things over family time.  It’s been said that when families eat dinner together, kids are less likely to drink, smoke, use drugs, have an eating disorder, get depressed, consider suicide, fail a school, or have sex (1).  Continue at Greg Gibson

The Day I Stopped Hating my Dad – The Story of a Lost Teen

My dad took his first drink when he was 21-years old.

He took his last drink 21-years later.

In-between his first and last drink he never stopped drinking.

This may be weird to you, but I’m gonna say it: I do not know what a normal dad smells like.

My dad was not a normal dad: he smelled odd.

His breath was an amalgamated concoction of air, nicotine, and alcohol.

His skin had a gummy bear feel to it. When you rubbed his skin, it felt kinda gooey.

He was also a mean drunk. When he got drunk, he got angry and if he was not sulking in a chair, he was yelling at his children. I do not recall ever hearing the word “love” in our home.

Perhaps someone said, “I love you,” but I do not remember it. Love was not something I knew about. I had heard about it through television and rock songs, but I did not know what it really meant or how it was supposed to be lived out.

You wouldn’t know this either, but I’m gonna say this too: I never called my dad, “dad” or “father.” Even as I type the letters d-a-d, I’m reminded that those letters still seem a bit odd when I relate them to my father.

We had a nickname that we called him, but I’ll spare you that information. It took me about 10 years after he died to refer to him as “dad.” The D-word was not an appellation we used for him.

These circumstances were not unusual for me because my life was wall-to-wall dysfunction from birth until I was born the second time at twenty-five years old. To refrain from calling my dad “dad” was just part of the deal. If you don’t know any better, then it becomes the unchangeable and assumed norm.

Then he died Continue at Rick Thomas

Devaluing Dads, Discrediting the Father