“It’s a Herculean task to lead a family, but with the power of God supporting you, it is a tremendous privilege … He’s looking for men who will follow Jesus Christ and burn their ships behind them. When He finds those men, He will take extraordinary measures to buttress, bolster, and carry them along in His limitless strength.”

“Have you ever wondered why the Bible constantly calls men to love their wives, spiritually instruct their children, and responsibly lead their homes? The reason is because men have a fallen nature that actually bends away from these responsibilities. It comes with maleness. It comes from Adam.”

“It is time for daddies to take the leadership role in having Bible study … It does not matter whether you have a seminary degree or not. If you are willing to listen to the Holy Spirit, He will guide you into a wonderful time with your wife and children.”

“Parents—especially fathers—could easily conclude that the daughter’s tirade is rooted in disrespect or a desire to challenge authority. And while those disrespectful feelings may indeed be there, they often mask something much deeper: a profound, internal longing for reassurance. So this is when they need our affirmation most of all; not of the behavior, but of the girl.”

“Gentlemen, your wife is a strategic gift to you. She has eyes that see what you don’t, a mind that assimilates information from a different perspective, a heart with sensitivities you do not possess, and a personality with strengths that offset your weaknesses. That’s a built‐in protection for you. That’s why you must tap into her perspective as you lead your family.”

“Children need to know what the limitations are. They need fathers who love them enough to set boundaries and keep them. Children need fathers who are in control. Quite frankly, there are too many families in America where the children are in control.”

“Fathering is a lot more complicated than just having children. Very quickly, children begin to teach a man about his own limitations, that he doesn’t have all the answers, and that he frequently fails as a husband and a dad. I do not know a man for whom futility and failure does not cause pain … And yet it’s this sense of inadequacy that helps us to realize how much we need God’s help.”

“Your kids don’t need more things. They need you. And they want you. The more time that you can spend with them, the more they are going to want to be like you and know the Heavenly Father who made you such a great dad. That’s how you lead your kids to Christ.”

“If we abdicate our responsibilities as fathers, we force our children to learn life from others. If we abuse our responsibilities as fathers, we provoke our children to either run away or retaliate.”

“In order to be a whole man, it’s as important to be growing spiritually as it is to be maturing physically and intellectually.”

"Every dad is the family role model, whether or not he wants the job.”

“Do you see yourself as a trainer of disciples? If not, here’s why you should: You have been called to ‘make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19). And in making disciples, your family is your number one responsibility.”

“Good fathers exhort and encourage and implore their sons; great fathers drive home these messages with their own spiritual, moral, and social integrity … In a thousand different ways, a son absorbs his father’s values by witnessing actions, behaviors, and attitudes. The real legacy we leave in our sons’ lives is what we have lived out before them.”

“The tragedy is that so many men have left [discipline] to their children’s mothers. Not only is this unfair to the mother, but it robs the child of the security and self‐esteem which come from being disciplined by the father.”

“I believe the greatest relational longing that a man has is the need for a heart connection with his father. When that connection is gone—whether it has been severed or was never established—it launches him into a passionate search for the love, approval, and affirmation of a dad.”

“Life is more than a job. Sons need to hear this from a dad. They need to see this in his life. Nothing satisfies the human heart as fully as service for the kingdom—in one’s area of giftedness.”

“We work harder and longer hours to make more money so that we can improve the lifestyle of our families. Although we may improve their lifestyles, I wonder if we are improving their lives … As fathers, we must understand the truth that, to our families, our presence is more important than anything else--including extra money.”