(Disclaimer) I have personally failed at this one more than I have done well.
The list below came from meeting with families in the church for over 20 years. And if I’m honest, many of these have been my own excuses as well. Do some self-evaluation with these. Can you relate to any of them?
- I do! I lead my family by working hard and providing for them financially.
- That’s my wife’s job. She’s home with the kids more than I am anyway.
- What if I fail? Things are OK now…why risk messing it up?
- I’m afraid that if I begin praying with my family and leading spiritual discussions it will be viewed as insincere.
- I wouldn’t even know where to start.
- I’m not spiritually mature enough to lead them.
- It was not modeled for me as a child. My father didn’t lead us spiritually, so I don’t even know what this looks like.
Now, experience tells me that if you are a husband or father reading this at least one of the above excuses describes where you’re at on the topic of leading your family spiritually. Am I right? Numbers 4 through 7 were mine for many years, and I still wrestle with them now and then.
The good news!!!
You can begin leading your family today as their spiritual guide…and you don’t have to get it perfect right from the start. Ha…those perfect moments are far and few between. But I’ll tell you this, its more about effort, heart, and obedience to our calling than perfection. If you can be OK with that mindset you can do this. Trust me!
Note: If you are interested in receiving personal coaching on this topic, feel free to contact me at BrentDumler@icloud.com. I’ll custom taylor something to fit you and your family.