What does Biblical Leadership look like in a Marriage?

I saw a video of a wife listing the things that would immediately end her marriage, and the top item on her list was her husband finding God and joining a patriarchal religion. Not a discussion. An instant divorce. Check out the blog post here for more details and links.

And I wish I could say I was surprised, but headship has earned its bad reputation, usually from Christians who read a verse or two and build a whole theology out of it. So in this episode I walk through what I think biblical leadership actually looks like, based not on one or two verses but on the model of leadership that runs through the entire Bible, including how God leads us.

Five principles: freedom flows down while responsibility flows up, following is an invitation rather than compulsion, good leaders choose long-term flourishing over short-term comfort, trust gets earned so it doesn't require understanding, and if you have to reach for your authority, you have already failed to lead. Along the way: why the meal-planning question is really about mental load, the treadmill rule my wife asked me to enforce, when a wife should not submit, and why the clearest picture of headship in the Bible is a man on the floor washing feet.

In this episode:

• (0:00) Intro
• (0:19) The instant-divorce list
• (1:57) Five principles from the whole Bible
• (2:35) 1. Freedom flows down, responsibility flows up
• (4:01) The meal-planning example
• (5:06) 2. Following is an invitation, not compulsion
• (7:39) When you shouldn't submit
• (10:38) "My wife won't submit"
• (11:22) 3. Long-term flourishing over short-term comfort
• (12:07) The treadmill rule
• (14:46) 4. Trust that doesn't require understanding
• (18:16) This is not a license for abuse
• (20:06) 5. Using authority means you failed to lead
• (22:48) Back to the woman from the video
• (24:06) Go to the upper room

Links mentioned in this episode:

• What do wives want? A primer for husbands
• Send me your question
• Book a discovery call