Education Insights • 2024 • Volume 2 • Issue 1 23 the Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer, have been influential in guiding catechizing and family worship for centuries. Therefore, fathers today can learn from practices of saints who have gone before them in what exercises they utilized to teach and train their children based upon the Word of God. Two of these historic practices are catechesis and family worship. Catechesis is a simple process whereby there is a teacher and a learner in a basic dialogue of set questions and answers. Fathers are not to strive for merely the memorization of a document. The goal of catechizing is a relationship with Jesus Christ, not mere knowledge acquisition. As with catechizing, many within evangelical churches lack appreciation and knowledge of what is meant by “family worship.” It is crucial that men be taught about family worship. “Family worship,” as explained by Whitney, entails three basic components: “read the Bible, pray, and sing.”11 It is that simple and straightforward. Might men hear the call of Scripture and learn from the saints who have gone before on how to faithfully execute the office of husband and father with great zeal. Conclusion The purpose this article is to demonstrate through exegesis, church history, and personal experience the issues facing men within the home as well as the hope and expectation moving forward. The Bible is clear about the expectations for men to lead their families. What has become more unclear is how men are to actually go about being faithful and obedient to the Word of God in our modern society. However, as this article has established the path forward is not as uncertain as is common within many evangelical churches. By God’s grace, individual men will awaken to the necessity to read, understand, and obey the Word of God which will then culminate in churches hearing and heeding the call to discipleship. The impact upon the kingdom will be threefold. First, there will be more men confidently making disciples in their homes. Most men do not need to be instructed to lead their families spiritually as much as they need to be shown how to lead their families spiritually. Second, I am hopeful that there will be more men consistently making disciples in their homes. Accountability and information sharing will strengthen the entire church. Finally, churches will become healthier. Healthier men will lead to healthier families, resulting in a healthier church. More men will take up the responsibility that has been entrusted to them, which means they will be more men fit for leadership within the church. By God’s grace, subsequent generations will experience and be enriched by the fruit of the faithfulness carried out. 11 Whitney, Family Worship, 44.
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