Patriarch’s library

Here are some books I recommend for the journey, with descriptions from the publishers as provided by Amazon.

Family Man, Family Leader, by Philip Lancaster

What this country needs is a few good men — husbands and fathers who are willing to love and lead their households with manly resolve and godly vision. Frankly, the Church needs these men every bit as much as the rest of the country. We are experiencing a national crisis of manhood of epidemic proportions. Absent a revival of fatherhood, we can expect to see an ever-increasing rise in the number of effeminate boys and masculine women, as well as the breakdown of the Christian family as it is defined in Holy Scripture. What we desperately need today are men who will be family men and family leaders. But how?

For more than ten years, Philip Lancaster has been instilling hope, and calling fathers to their rightful duties as family prophets, priests, protectors, and providers. He has emerged as one of the most articulate and theologically-sound defenders of the biblical family. Through his magazine Patriarch, Phil has reached thousands with both the vision and the tools necessary for family revival. Now, in his first book, Phil lays — in simple, easy-to-understand concepts — the biblical foundation necessary for men to turn their hearts to home and change the world. Family Man, Family Leader first presents the vision of biblical household leadership. Next, it addresses the many practical issues necessary for achieving victory as a man, from learning and acting upon God’s priorities, to decision-making as a father, to growing in oneness with your wife, to personal accountability before the Lord and victory over secret sins. Whether you are a veteran visionary father, or a dad just beginning the journey of patriarchy, we hope you find Family Man, Family Leader to be a source of inspiration and practical help. By Philip Lancaster. Paperback. Approx. 320 pgs.

Federal Husband, by Douglas Wilson

Federal thinking is foreign to the modern mind. "Federal" has come to mean nothing more than centralized or big. Because our federal government has become so uncovenantal, it is not surprising that the original meaning of the word has been lost. But federal thinking is the backbone of historic Protestant theology, and the Church needs to recover the covenantal understanding of federal headship. Husbands are to lead their families, taking responsibility for them as covenant heads—as federal husbands.

Reforming Marriage, by this same author, began the discussion of covenant headship. This collection of essays, the Federal Husband, continues that discussion in greater depth, dealing with more specifics of federal husbandry.

Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge.

Helping men rediscover their masculine heart, this guide to understanding Christian manhood and Christian men offers a refreshing break from the chorus of voices urging men to be more responsible, reliable, dutiful . . . and dead. God designed men to be dangerous, says John Eldredge. Simply look at the dreams and desires written in the heart of every boy: To be a hero, to be a warrior, to live a life of adventure and risk. Sadly, most men abandon those dreams and desires -- aided by a Christianity that feels like nothing more than pressure to be a “nice guy.” It is no wonder that many men avoid church, and those who go are often passive and bored to death. In this provocative book, now available in trade paper, Eldredge gives women a look inside the true heart of a man and gives men permission to be what God designed them to be-dangerous, passionate, alive, and free.