How to Overcome Passivity in the Home

Article • Manhood, Marriage & Family, Spiritual Growth, Womanhood

Shawn Bergen taught on discipleship in the home during our Iron on Iron conference this weekend. Hearing a call to student ministry in 1999, he started with only eight students. He had a strong passion for teaching what he was learning from Scripture and God eventually grew that into a passion for church planting. His first church plant was in Florida in 2003.

“We find in Scripture that the husband is the spiritual leader in the home. Passivity in a husband or father is detrimental to the spiritual well-being of each family member. We interviewed Shawn to learn how to identify passivity in the home and discuss steps to take to overcome it: “The Bible is clear about leadership in the home, and if we don’t do what we’re commanded to, it’s sin. James 4:17 says, ‘So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’ I think understanding the role of leadership in the home and what the Bible says about it is the first way to identify passivity. We are called to share the Gospel with others and this begins in the home. Jesus commands it. If you’re not doing what’s commanded of you, this is an obvious sign you’re being too passive. To overcome it, you first have to understand the Gospel—what God has done for us. If someone isn’t motivated by Christ dying for a sinful people, redeeming us and teaching us about Himself, I don’t know what else I could say. The second step would be to identify unbiblical thinking (anything contrary to Scripture) and addressing it with biblical thought. Scripture is our only hope. That’s it. That’s all of life no matter what your ministry is.”

Shawn recommends two books on family discipleship:

Family Worship: In the Bible, in History & in Your Home — Donald S. Whitney