“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” — Psalm 112:1,2

The greatest need in our land today is for men to take up the mantle of strong, godly leadership once again. Most of the problems that bewilder politicians, vex pastors, and plague parents have their roots in the failure of men to be the kind of leaders God has ordained them to be in our families, in our churches, and in our nation.

Recent generations of men have retreated from their calling to provide the spiritual direction for our society. Although men in early America commonly accepted this responsibility, in more recent times the male leadership role has been relegated to politics and business. Men have left the home, the schools, and most of the work of the church to women and have neglected to infuse the political and commercial arenas with a biblically-defined moral direction.

Reinforcing the effects of their own abdication of responsibility, men have also had to contend with emasculation at the hands of destructive cultural forces. Feminism hates men, and it especially hates men who act like men, men who take charge. Government undermines the male role of provider by taking on the care of children, the elderly, and the needy. Boys are feminized as they are shaped mostly by females in the home, the schools, and the churches. The masculine inclinations to direct, to protect, and to provide are thwarted by efforts to create the new “sensitive” man.

Men must look back to the past so that they can look to the future with hope. They need to repent of generations of failed leadership and reject the feminizing pressures of today. They need to learn to do what great men of the past did: to fear the Lord and delight in his commands. They need to again accept the burden of godly leadership. Only then will the prospects for the future of our nation brighten.

“Patriarch” is a word that captures what it is that men must again become if our society is to be redeemed. Here is what Weldon Hardenbrook has to say about this seldom-used term in his excellent book Missing from Action: Vanishing Manhood in America (first edition, pp. 139-140):

Where did the role of fatherhood come from? The essence of fatherhood is best understood in one word that Americans, even Christian Americans, have totally lost the meaning of, a word against which all the enemies of God have warred in an attempt to secure its annihilation. A word that has been abused, trampled on, ignored, or vehemently spit upon and mocked by raging hyperfeminists and discarded by irresponsible, self-centered, hedonistic males. A word so powerfully significant and loaded that the feminized, peace-at-any-price boys religiously relegate it to ancient days of antiquity. A word that has become unmentionable among its owners and exiled to the company of obscene four-letter words in the minds of most male and female Americans.

But whether we use this word or not, without its recovery, without its function being made known and its reality working in society, there is absolutely no clear, positive way to redeem the male identity. This word can never be neutral. It was worn by the men of old, from Abraham to David, and it needs to belong to American men today.

What is this awesome word that must be understood? This role that must be reclaimed? The word is patriarchy. It is awesome because it is in the meaning of this word that fatherhood exists and the foundation of the male identity is supplied.

The biblical term patriarchy is derived from two words in the Greek language—patria (taken from the word pater, “father”), which means “family”; and arche, which means “beginning,” “first in origin,” and “to rule.” A patriarch is a family ruler. He is the man in charge.

What is needed today is nothing less that a return to patriarchy, a society led by strong, godly men. We need family leaders who will also become leaders in the churches and throughout every institution in the nation.

Such men must also learn to see beyond today, to see themselves as just the beginning of what will be many generations who will be “mighty in the land.” Each man should aim to be the founder of a dynasty for God.

God’s chosen nation Israel was founded by patriarchs. America was set on its blessed course by patriarchs. By God’s grace, we can be patriarchs so that ours too will be blessed generations.

The news media recently reported that the 1997 National Spelling Bee was won by a homeschooler, a thirteen-year-old girl from New York. The word with which she clinched the victory was "euonym," which means literally "a good name," or an appropriate name for something.

Another story that flows from the counter-culture is not being reported by the national media, namely, the way in which thousands of fathers are turning their hearts toward their homes and pursuing a patriarchal lifestyle. It is true that reporters have noticed the "Christian men’s movement" that fills stadiums with emotionally charged speakers and a revivalistic atmosphere. (Whether or not the men involved are being brought to a radical obedience — expressed, say, in getting their children out of the soul-destroying government schools — is another matter.) But it is the quieter men’s movement, one that is aptly described as getting back to patriarchy, that holds a real hope for national transformation. In times of spiritual decline God’s work prospers not among the masses but within a remnant.

A good name

Patriarchy. Patriarchal. These are jarring terms to ears attuned to the contemporary social context, fashioned as it is by the ideology and agenda of feminism. To be described as "patriarchal" is among the worst indictments that can be brought upon a group of people or a period of history, conjuring as it does vague images of domineering men and downtrodden women.

However, far from being a term to avoid as we approach the turn of the millennium, this word is one we should embrace. It is, in fact, a euonym, a good name, because it suitably identifies the movement to which it refers. Not that we favor the cultural stereotype that enters the collective mind today at the sound of the word, but because we embrace a true and wholesome patriarchy, one vindicated by the Word of God and by history.

"Patriarch" was the first name your editor considered for this publication, though I confess I initially set it aside in favor of less strident names. Both of the alternatives, however, had to be discarded because I discovered they were in use by other ministries and publications. So I came back to "Patriarch," gulped hard, and placed it on the masthead of the first issue. I have never been sorry for the decision, convinced that it was the providential choice.

Over the past year or so I have participated in conferences we call "Back to Patriarchy." In these meetings we present an expansive vision of spiritual renewal rooted in the choice of men to reclaim their God-given leadership role in the family. A patriarch is a man who reflects God the Father by embracing the biblical role of fatherhood. This domestic spiritual leadership overflows into the reformation of church and larger society under the leadership of godly men. A patriarchal society is God’s ideal society, one shaped according to the principles and patterns of his Word.

Some might think that we should use less emotive terms to call men back to their manly duties. I must disagree. Let me suggest seven reasons why the term "patriarchy" is a good name to identify the movement of men back to their manly calling and the resulting reformation of family, church, and society.

1. The term "patriarchy" points men to God the Father as the archetype for their renewal. All fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives from God the Father (Eph. 3:15). He is the original pattern, the perfect example of fatherhood. If men are to rediscover their identity they will need to become reacquainted with the one who made them to be uniquely like himself.

My generation has witnessed the Jesus Movement back in the late Sixties and early Seventies, followed by a kaleidoscope of movements that have focused on the Holy Spirit and his work. It seems that God is now moving men to take a longer look at the Father and thus get back to the source of their identity and calling as men. Men need to go beyond the feminized emotionalism and sloppy doctrine of recent movements. Patriarchy accentuates not subjective religious experience but a manly pursuit of truth and a gutsy appeal to duty.

We need to study the Father so we learn how to be leaders. We need to explore how he cares for his own so that we learn what it means to be providers. We need to meditate on how he defends the weak so that we learn how to protect those under our care. Fathers need to spend time with the original Patriarch.

2. The term "patriarchy" suggests a call to personal holiness. The biblical patriarchs were men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David (Acts 2:29; 7:8,9; Heb. 7:4). Though each of these men was a sinner, they were all approved of God and blessed by him because they each had a heart for God.

To get back to patriarchy suggests a return to the faith of father Abraham (Rom. 4; Heb. 11:8ff.). It suggests that a man be like Jacob, desperate for God’s blessing above all else (Gen. 32:26). It suggests that a man aim to be called what David was called by God himself: "a man after my own heart" who "will do everything I want him to do" (Acts 13:22).

To get back to patriarchy is to get serious about God again. A patriarch doesn’t fritter away his life in front of the TV or on the golf links; he has more important things to do. He wants to walk with God and thus to change the world for good, just like the patriarchs of old.

3. The term "patriarchy" communicates the biblical pattern of male leadership. Although both men and women are made in God’s image, the male reflects God the Father in a special way (1 Cor. 11:7) since he shares (in a delegated sense) the position of headship (cf. v. 3). It is not accidental that God is revealed to us in male terms, nor that men are called by the same name that God uses for himself: Father. Patriarchy is God’s idea.

The order of human social arrangements is not up for grabs. God made mankind to mirror his character and attributes, and he made human relationships to reflect the order that exists eternally in the godhead. Patriarchy is good because it reflects the very relationships that exist among the Father, Son, and Spirit and thus brings glory to God.

Our culture may think it has outgrown the practice of male leadership, but this only proves the foolishness of the current wisdom. We should not be apologetic about patriarchy. To abandon God’s plan is rebellion against God. Patriarchy is submission to God.

4. The term "patriarchy" implies the foundational significance of family government. The biblical patriarchs were family leaders. To call men back to patriarchy is, first of all, to call them to be family leaders once again. The nation is a reflection of its communities and churches; a community or a church is a reflection of its families; a family is a reflection of its father. What men do in their homes will shape, for better or worse, every other institution in society.

This principle is stated explicitly in 1 Timothy 3:5 where, in the context of spelling out standards for church elders, it says that men must manage their own families well because "if anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?" Family leadership is the training ground for leadership in the church, in business, in civil government, in every other sphere of life.

If men are serious about making an impact in the world they will start by being good fathers. Too many men neglect the home because they believe that their work (or even their ministry) is so important that they don’t have time for family. However, if a man fails at home he is a failure. Period. No matter how successful he may be elsewhere. The health of the nation percolates up from the home. Patriarchy recognizes this truth.

5. The term "patriarchy" recalls historical periods characterized by divine blessing. Ancient Israel was, of course, the quintessential patriarchal society. The Law of God provided for the rule of men in their homes, in the religious life of the community, and in civil matters carried on at the city gates. Under this system God’s people prospered and were blessed by him tremendously. Far from being oppressive of women patriarchy offered them protection, provided for their needs, and gave them freedom to blossom in their unique calling as women.

In our own more immediate past we find God’s blessing upon the frankly patriarchal society of colonial America. Never has God’s smile been more evident on our nation than in those days when men ruled both at home and in business, cultural, and religious affairs. Like Israel of old, the colonies prospered greatly by both material and spiritual measures. And women were better off than in our day when in their striving to be like men they have lost security, contentment, and the pleasure of being who God made them to be.

Pointing men back to patriarchy is one way to stand at the crossroads and urge men to those ancient paths that God has blessed (Jer. 6:16). We don’t aim to turn the clock back out of some sentimental longing for the past, but we do want to learn from those who have gone before. Patriarchy aims to build the future on the solid foundation of what has worked in the past. God blesses biblically-structured patriarchal societies.

6. The term "patriarchy" constitutes a direct challenge to feminism. We have failed to stand for truth if we stand up for truth at every point except that which is under attack in our day (to paraphrase someone). Christians are too busy trying to accommodate feminism. They do this by allowing women leaders in the church, by supporting the practice of women working outside the home, by encouraging unmarried daughters to leave home for college or career (thus promoting a spirit of independence), by teaching an egalitarian model of marriage, by sporting hyphenated last names, by importing "gender-inclusive language" into hymns and even Bible translations, and in many other ways. Feminism is winning the ideological battle for our civilization, and Christians are among its casualties.

The way to win the battle against an advancing enemy is to expose his position, attack him with force, and reverse the advances he has made. We need to expose feminism for the devil’s lie that it is, attack it with the force of biblical truth, and seek to reverse the progress it has made in our culture.

The term "patriarchy" is an effective weapon in our arsenal. It’s use instantly crystallizes the issues in the conflict. By defining the battle it forces men (and women) to take sides. It allows no neutral ground of accommodation and thus reveals those who are willing to compromise truth for social acceptability. The word will make many uncomfortable, others furious, but for that very reason it serves well the cause of God and truth. "Patriarchy" is a call to action for men who want to cure Western civilization of the festering lesion of feminism.

7. The term "patriarchy" stimulates a multi-generational vision in men. Those who in Scripture were called "patriarchs" were so named by those who stood many generations downstream from them. You don’t normally call your dad "Patriarch." A man earns that title through the honor accorded him by accumulating generations. The very term means "the first in a family" and thus "the family ruler." A patriarch is the head of a family dynasty.

Thus the use of the term encourages a long-range vision of a man’s calling. I am not just Dad to a few children; I am patriarch to hundreds, thousands who will come after me. The preparation of my immediate children (the foundation) will affect the quality of many generations to follow (the building).

Contemporary men don’t look very far down the road ahead. They might think about next month, next vacation, maybe even retirement, but it is a very rare man who is thinking about his children’s grandchildren. We need to help men extend their time horizons generations into the future. Calling them back to patriarchy does just that.

The key to extending the kingdom of God is to disciple our children, who will disciple theirs, who will disciple theirs, and so on. In this way the gospel will keep pace with the geometrical increase of people on the globe. The current win-a-few lose-a-few approach of the church is a model of defeat. Patriarchy is a model of victory. It is the way to actually fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus gave his church (Matt. 28:18-20). Multiplying Christian families through the generations is the means to the evangelization of the world. Patriarchy is thus central to the cause of Christ in this age.

A patriarchy cult?

Some might object that we are getting carried away here, that we are out of balance by placing so much emphasis on patriarchy. After all, Scripture hardly uses the word. Isn’t there something suspect about finding in patriarchy the key to fixing the world?

Let’s be clear. We don’t believe patriarchy is the central theme of the Bible. We are not trying to start some new cult. The sovereign purpose of God in the cross of Jesus Christ is the truly central issue of life and the power of individual and social transformation. Our passion is simply to see the gospel and kingdom of Jesus prosper in this world. A man’s response to the claims of Jesus is the paramount concern.

Yet when a man is saved he is saved from sin and to a new life of obedience to everything Jesus has commanded (Matt. 28:20). He is obligated to believe the doctrines of the Bible and to practice the lifestyle commanded in the Bible. It is here that we confront patriarchy because the Bible is clear about the duty of men. But, again, the role of men is just one of many teachings of Scripture, so why do we make it so central in our teaching?

The reason we dwell on patriarchy is because it is, we believe, a keystone issue of our day. A keystone, of course, is the wedge-shaped piece at the crown of an arch that locks the other pieces in place. The effectiveness of every other stone in the arch depends on the presence of the keystone. The reason our culture is in decline, our churches are impotent, and our families are failing is the absence of patriarchal leadership by godly men. All other efforts at reform and restoration are failing and will fail unless men take up the full scope of their God-given duties, beginning at home.

Patriarchy is not the most important issue in life, nor even in itself a very remarkable thing. In times past it was simply taken for granted as the underlying framework that holds a civilization together, the pattern of relationships that allowed the truly important concerns to be addressed: evangelism, truth, justice, mercy, statesmanship, discipleship, discovery, dominion, and so forth. What is remarkable is the wholesale abandonment of patriarchy in recent generations and the utter devastation this has brought to every aspect of our culture. We look forward to the day when we can stop dwelling on patriarchy and move on to other, less elementary, things.

Our problem today is that the very foundations are being destroyed. We don’t have the strong, godly men, the healthy families, and the sound churches that have held Western civilization together and made God-honoring progress possible on many fronts. We need to get back to patriarchy so that we can rebuild all that is fallen in our times and then build anew. Without the groundwork of patriarchy, no other efforts at renewal and progress will succeed. They will fall flat. No efforts of governments, churches, agencies, or organizations can compensate for the failure of men to lead their families.

Imagine what our nation would be like if in every home the father loved his wife sacrificially, trained his children in God’s truth and disciplined them in love, took responsibility for the education of his sons and daughters, protected his family from evil relationships and influences, led his family in worship and prayer. The land would be a veritable Eden.

There is nothing very remarkable about a nail, but when you are trying to build a house and you don’t have any, they suddenly become very important! Getting nails becomes your top priority. The lack of patriarchy is like the lack of nails: you can’t build anything without it. If men are not men, if they are not family leaders, then nothing else works. Each godly man is like a well-driven spike that contributes to the stability of the whole cultural house. You don’t think much about his contribution until he is no longer there.

So … should we use the term "patriarchy" and seek its restoration in our day? Absolutely. The hatred of this term is an evidence of the degeneracy of our culture. But it is, indeed, a euonym, a good name, an appropriate designation for a very hopeful movement of God’s Spirit. Because the path to future blessing is the path back to patriarchy.