“If you want to summarize the changes in family structure over the past century, the truest thing to say is this: We’ve made life freer for individuals and more unstable for families… worse for children.” -David Brooks https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-nuclear-family-was-a-mistake/605536/ Although David Brooks and I don’t share the same view of God’s design for family or the superiority of the “chosen families” … Read More
Breaking Free of Rigid Family Stereotypes
I’ve written about this more extensively here but the cultural stereotypes of dad as breadwinner or provider and mom as nurturer (think Leave it to Beaver) go back to 1760 and the Industrial Revolution, not 1950. Further, these rigid stereotypes are cultural, not biblical. As we pointed out here, even in the ancient Near East, the Proverbs 31 woman worked … Read More
Properly Understanding Mal. 4:6, Part 2 of 2
Identifying “the Fathers” of Malachi 4:6: Parents, Biological Fathers, or Jewish Forefathers? As we mentioned in Part 1, this week we’re going to examine arguments for each of the above, make a case for the third, and conclude with some important applications. First, let’s mark out the possibilities: Parents: Less literal translations like the New Living Translation (NLT) are not … Read More
Properly Understanding Malachi 4:6, Part 1 of 2
It’s the mother of all fatherhood passages and in my eleven years working at National Fatherhood Initiative, it was the most oft-quoted verse by faith-based practitioners. Unfortunately, as often as it was quoted, it was just as often poorly understood and applied. And it still is. The common conception goes something like this: “400 years before Jesus came to this … Read More
EXCLUSIVE PRAYER & MINISTRY UPDATE- 090121
Hi Friends! Here’s our latest: Care Net: It was great to be in San Antonio last week with dear friends, serving over 1,500 individuals from pregnancy centers and churches across North America and Canada. The theme of the conference was “Light in the Darkness”—an appropriate descriptor for these unsung champions offering compassion, hope, and help to women and men facing … Read More
Malachi’s Vision of Hope: Remember, Return, and Rest
“On the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children … Read More
Malachi’s Vision of “The Good Life”
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You … Read More
Is God Male?
Most children’s catechisms answer the question, “Who is God?” with some version of the statement, “He is a spirit and has no body as we do.” A study guide commenting on the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s version of this question explains, “When we say that God is a Spirit we make clear the fact that He is distinct from all things … Read More
Are You the Head of Your Home?
I thought he was kidding at first. As we finished our meal, we left our spouses in the living room and stepped into his man cave. A talented woodworker, my friend showed me many of his creations, and then somehow our conversation drifted toward gender and sex roles: “When I get time, maybe when I retire,” he said, “I want … Read More
Arianism Remixed? On the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS)
Ever been canceled? Several years ago, around the time that I wrote this piece, part of the back story was associated with an email I got from a friend who didn’t like the fact that I was leaving his Christian subculture to join another: “I must inform you that your decision to affiliate with… is one which I firmly believe … Read More