A Man as Priest in His Home

by Samuel E. Waldron

The family is a husband and father’s principal ministry. What are the responsibilities of the head of the home? Of course, men are called to provide, protect, and lead their families. But how are these overarching obligations to be applied to their family's spiritual well-being? A Man as Priest in His Home is an excellent handbook for answering this question. Sam Waldron walks husbands and fathers through their biblical duties as the spiritual leaders of their families. As with the responsibilities of priests in the Old Covenant, the head of the home is called to pray, lead the family in worship, and teach and apply the Scriptures in all areas of life. Among other things, a priest is called to be a counselor, teacher, intercessor, encourager, and judge.

Genres: Theology, Family, Christian Living, Marriage

123 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Dr Sam Waldron is the academic dean of MCTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI.

Reviews

[Daniel Bouchoc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good.

[John Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome read! Waldron gives a very helpful assessment of what a priest is and what he is responsible for, utilizing old and New Testament texts very effectively to illustrate the priestly role.

This is one of those books that often drove me to prayer. Seeing the incredible importance of teaching, admonishing, interceding for, and embodying faithfulness to your family is very sobering. A comforting exhortation/reminder is given at the end to those who might feel overwhelmed (myself included) at the immense responsibility and feeling of insufficiency for the task: God will reward a sincere, faithful effort in ministering to your family. It will certainly not be perfect, but the absolute most important element of a faithful priest is consistent, genuine repentance. There is nothing that will win the hearts of your wife and children more than this, while simultaneously presenting an example of masculine, humble leadership to sons and daughters. To sum it up, I strongly encourage this book for husbands and fathers.

[Lydia Bethay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sobering and encouraging book to read, even as a woman, because you see the high calling men have as priest in their homes. I’d encourage any husband, father, or young single man to read this book because it lays out so well how they are to care for those whom God puts in their charge.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. Better than Wiley's Man of the House because it was clearer and more focused: namely the specifically spiritual responsibilities a man has for his wife and family. Gives an extremely clear--and, in my case, extremely inspiring--picture of the role of a head of house. I listened to the lectures that the book is based on, but the material covered is the same.

[Jeremy]

Described by some as "thick complementarianism" (as opposed to a biblicist/thin complementarianism). Cf. Allan Carlson's Natural Family.

[Timothy Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This was another book recommended by one of the men of the church. It was a super easy read, great layout, and the format was super easy for a men's fellowship, which I intend to do. It was 115 pages long, with no index.

The emphasis of the book is the man's leadership in the home. As Christian fathers and husbands, we have a responsibility biblically to nurture our families in the things of the Lord and lead them in the ways of holiness and righteousness. The author uses the Old Testament Priest model as a template throughout the book. Job is used as an example as well.

Some of the areas covered are the scriptural mandate of the man's role in leadership, intercessory prayer (for wife and children -VERY IMPORTANT), director of worship in the home, mediator, and instructor in doctrine. He also covers the man's duty to maintain of a moral and righteous environment in the home.

In addition to the chapter breakdowns, there is an applicational section at the end of each one. Maybe in a future addition, the author could include discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

I would highly recommend teaching the Six Disciplines of the Godly Man first. In my opinion, both of these books complement each other very well.

I am looking forward to working through this book with the men of the church.

[Hayden Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waldron’s "A Man as Priest in His Home" is a timely call for men to lead their families with strength, courage, gentleness, and grace. His practical applications, if followed, would make many men far better husbands and fathers. Waldron’s vision of godly masculinity is both challenging and refreshing.

However, his framework relies on the priestly office of Christ (part of the munus triplex) to describe a husband’s role, without addressing the priesthood of all believers. This leaves questions about how believing wives and children participate in priestly functions. In chapter 6, Waldron suggests that a man’s character brings either blessing or cursing upon his household, appealing to a “doctrine of house-solidarity.” In my humble opinion, this section could more clearly reject the idea of the husband as a covenant head of his family.

Despite this theological concern, the book is full of wisdom and pastoral insight. Waldron’s exhortations are sorely needed, and his vision for godly manhood is one every Christian husband would do well to embrace.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear book on what it means to be a priest. No new ground on what it calls men to be. So very comparable to previous “men’s” books, but the twist (and by twist I mean Biblical worldview) is that the whole idea is framed with the Biblical model of men as priests in their homes. This is a level men need to get to. And I am all for it!! Well done! Very Biblical

[cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a lot of good instruction on how men should minister to their wives and children in the home. I especially appreciated Waldron's recurring stress on a compassionate kind of leadership. It was really refreshing to read a book that stressed that the essential character of a man's leadership in the home should be gracious and not austere, critical, or harsh.

Waldron seeks to use the priesthood of believers as an overarching category for the man's role in the home. This makes sense, and is a valid angle, however I felt on several occasions that he was on the verge of going beyond simply utilizing the notion of the priesthood of believers. At times, it seemed as if he was advocating something quasi-official in terms of a man's priestly role in the home (especially when he suggests that men 'mediate' blessings to their families).

The question I would have for Waldron is does he think a man is more a priest in his home than the believing wife or believing children are? If so, then he has gone beyond utilizing the concept of the priesthood of believers to arguing for something like a priestly order of men in the New Covenant era--which would be a theological no, no.

All this being said, I do think there is much in the book that is helpful, and I even think the angle of 'husband as priest' in the home is fresh, interesting, and can be biblical. But I just happen to think that in view of the priesthood of believers, there could also be a book called "A Woman a Priest in Her Home."

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book both frustrating and very helpful. My frustrations with it mostly come from my expectations of the book, based on the title. I had no idea before reading it what was intended by "a man as priest." My first thoughts were that this was somehow colliding with the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer. While that is not at all what Waldron & Hoak are intending, it would have been helpful had they addressed that misconception head on or had laid out succinctly what they meant by the phrase. The question is answered in reading the book but in a slow drip throughout and not all in one place. All that to say, my presuppositions about the book hindered my reading of it.

I have one other minor critique; somewhat frequently, the appeals to Scripture seem to pull more out of the passage than is warranted. Job plays a critical role in the argument of the book but much about him appears to be surmised from Scripture rather than required by it; for instance, it is one thing to say that Scripture allows for or even hints at Job being exceedingly busy but that conclusion is not required by any text that is examined. Other similar apparent jumps can be found. It is entirely likely that the authors could give a much fuller defense of their arguments but the space of this short book does not allow for it.

However, this book is quite helpful. I think it would be accurate to say it is a short, practical defense and guide to biblical complementarianism. Waldron and Hoak briefly lay out five spiritual responsibilities a man has towards his wife and family, giving scriptural warrant and practical application of each. The entire book is quite Christological and continually points the reader to Christ, whether the reader is saved or unsaved, living biblically or sinfully. I will likely return to this book again and hopefully glean more from it knowing at the outset what to expect.

[Jordan Embree · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I purchased the book and began reading I was admittedly a bit skeptical of the concept of men as “priest” in the home due to the theological camp (hyper-patriarchy) that the concept is usually associated with. Dr. Waldron advocates not for the office of priest but the role, ie., emulating Christ, a husband ought to have as the head of his home. I’m much more sympathetic to the concept after finishing this work. The strength of the book is the application Dr. Waldron draws from each chapter, and his reflections regarding the life of Job and how it applies to men’s leadership in the home is worth the price of the book alone. There were some exegetical stretches that, in my knowledge, seem novel and not historically grounded which causes pause. I’d certainly recommend to the discerning reader.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pastoral exhortation of the priestly aspects of the man's (headship) authority in his home.

I was greatly humbled by this book. I thought this would be refresher of things I already knew. While reading I had to repent of my arrogance many times.

While many men know they ought to protect and provide for their wife and children. This book will help us to understand our role in the care of the SOULS of our wives and children.

[Eliézer Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It reads like a father talking to a young husband, and teaching him the rare way of godly priesthood in the home. It lifts up your heart with the hope and encouragement of the gospel, always pointing us to the perfect priest, Jesus Christ. It is a short book of an imperfect priest telling other imperfect priests, "Look up! See the perfect priest up in heaven praying and strengthening you!"

[Laramie Gildon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t recommend this book enough. It was a blessing to read. As I’ve been in my daily Bible reading plan in Numbers, it really helped drive home the point about the role of the priest in ancient Israel and how there are so many parallels with us as priests in our homes today. Highly recommend reading this book.

[Lucas Nosal · Rating 5 out of 5]

We studied this book at our men’s group and I was tremendously blessed by it. Some might get distracted by some of the “priesthood” language, which I can understand, but overall the book was great. It calls men to be better fathers, husbands and leaders of their homes. I was convicted on multiple occasions and have had to repent and make changes to how I lead, love, and serve my family.

[Joel Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only gripe is that this book should be longer. It is full of great content and a sound, biblical case for the priesthood of the husband/father. Very motivating and humbling. Our feminist baggage will resent some of this book, but feminist baggage needs to die. Highly recommend.

[John Brackbill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a really good short book regarding the priestly ministry of men in their home. It has a strong exhortation flavor to it that is helpful to wake men up to their responsibilities in the home. He argues for the truth that Christian ministry is priestly in nature. This is because the priestly ministry of Jesus is central even over being prophet and king because redemption is central to the mission of Jesus. He is careful to explain in what way in relationship to Jesus who is the great high priest who offered Himself up for us as the once for all sacrifice.

There was a good strong emphasis on prioritizing the Lord's Day and the family's relationship to the church. He struck a biblical balance on the family's relationship to the church. In addition, he emphasized strong male leadership in the home, but simultaneously exhorted that male leadership to be gentle, compassionate, patient, and careful to ministry to the family who are sinners as a sinner who knows that Jesus is his and their only hope.

Here were some helpful quotes:

"Sometimes Christians believe in everything that might do some good for kids except hte means of grace God has appointed" (27)

"We live in a time where the morally defective character and the remaining depravity of Christians have been over-emphasized. The doctrines of easy-believism, carnal Christianity and cheap grace have led t a host of professing Christians whose lives are terrible inconsistent and blatantly defective. To speak of living a blameless life to these kinds of people seems almost a denial of the grace of God. But, the examples of Job and Zacharias teaches us plainly that a blameless life is a realistic and attainable goal. A true Christian's character can and should be without moral deficiency before the eyes of his family and his fellow man" (85).

"Not dealing with sin clouds our consciences, makes our character defective and corrupts our whole being. Such negligence often causes us to react too harshly or too easily to what happens in our homes" (86)

"It is important that we not sin. But, it is equally important - and perhaps even more so - that we repent" (87)

"On the other hand, the severity which angrily over-reacts to the mistakes of immature and ignorant young people is often the result of self-righteousness which has conveniently forgotten the enormous amount of youthful iniquity for which God has forgiven us. As priests, we should remember our own weaknesses so that we find the appropriate balance of compassion and principle in dealing with the sins of our family members" (90)

Waldron's limited atonement comes through on page 39 (though I can affirm with Him that Jesus died in a special way for the elect, I must affirm what I am sure he does not, that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world as well).

On page 52 he emphasizes the Lord's day in a very helpful way. However, he equates the Lord's day as the "New Sabbath" which I do not find Scriptural warrant to do.

On page 95 he also takes the majority interpretation of adoption being identified as taking place at salvation. Whereas Romans 8 is clear that it is glorification.

I would certainly recommend this book to men in church and would be confident that it would build them up in their God given role of spiritual leadership in the home.