On Sunday PM, 4/22/12, our Men met to discuss issues of manhood. We watched a video entitled Inescapable Headship. Here it is:
Here’s a transcript:
Scott Anderson: Doug, you’ve written, in your book on Reforming Marriage, you’ve talked about the nature of headship and authority in the home and I think the phrase that you use is that there’s inescapable leadership in that if you understand the indicative nature of what’s being said about man being the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. Talk a little bit about that and how does that relate, how does that transfer over to the realm of pastor in the church and so on.
Doug Wilson: Right, it’s interesting that Paul, for example, doesn’t tell husbands to be the head of their wives. They are the head of the wife. The husband is the head of the wife, he says. The command is to love your wives. Husbands can love their wives or not. When a man disobeys, he is unloving and when a man is obedient, he is loving. But a man can’t disobey in such a way as to not be the head. He’s inescapably the head. So if he abdicates or if he runs away, he runs off with another woman, the empty seat at the dinner table in that family is dominating that whole family it becomes that family’s story. His headship, his abdication, his infidelity are all examples of twisted or bent headship, but it’s headship. It’s really influential. It has a huge impact on his wife, kids and so forth. So he can’t opt out. He can’t shrink away and say, well, I’m going to be a nullity in this family, I’m going to be inconsequential. He can’t do that. He can say I will not love, I will not praise, I will not sacrifice. He can be disobedient. But he can’t be disobedient to the point of ceasing to be the man, ceasing to the husband, ceasing to be the father.
By way of Application, we looked at these Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 11:3 –But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 5:23 –
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Here’s some further questions to consider:
• What does it mean for the husband to be “head”?
• How do these texts understand our headship will be practiced?
• What is one area in which you can be more effective in headship?
• Pray about these things at your table.