With the advent of cloning and genetic manipulation some rabid feminists have been foaming at the mouth about the possibility of no longer needing men for any reason. Until recently men have supposedly only been needed for procreation, but now we are being declared obsolete.

Some males may wring their testosterone deprived hands over the very thought of being relegated to the likes of the dodo bird, but most of us have more important things to be concerned about than the continual dripping of contentious women (Proverbs 27:15). Confidence in the word of God (Genesis 3:16) and godly women (Proverbs 31; Titus 2:3-5) should allow men to merely laugh (Psalm 52:6) at the ignorant clamor of foolish women (Proverbs 9:13).

Having said all that, it is important that men see that we are, in large part, responsible for the foolishness of these women. Our failure to be what God has called us to be as husbands, fathers, and leaders has contributed to the delinquency of our sons and daughters. Selfish and carnal attitudes have produced everything from modern Neanderthals to wimps. Laziness is to blame for the chronic spiritual neglect of the family. Cowardice accounts for the lack of strong male leadership in the homes, churches and communities. The products of all of this are unhappy marriages, neglected and untrained children, and a misguided society.

It is not hard to see that the failure of men to be what God has called them to be creates a cycle that is neither easily nor quickly reversed. Thus, fathers, the future of fatherhood is in our hands. God has provided the standard by which we are to love, lead and train. The only question that remains is whether we have the will and the courage to be the godly men that God has called us to be. The answer to that question will in large part determine the direction our posterity will go.

Fatherhood will not be the dominant force for good that God intended if it is not first anchored in the firm foundation of a stable, loving marriage between a man and a woman of common faith. The scriptures are rife with examples of spiritually mixed marriages and where they led. Men and women who want to provide the greatest opportunity for a successful family to the second, third, and fourth generations will seek marital bonds only with those who intimately share their faith.

It is very important that a man treat his wife with the honor that she is due as a joint-heir (1 Peter 3:7). It is the role of a husband to love, nourish and cherish his wife (Ephesians 5:25-33). In performing this role as Christ did toward the church, a father provides his sons and daughters with an admirable example. When a man treats his wife as merely a slave in bondage to his whims, he provides his sons and daughters with an example of an abuse of power. Sons will grow up to treat women the same way, and daughters will either find men just like daddy and/or stereotype all men to be the oafs that their fathers were.

While the example of a father and mother in a strong, committed marriage is important and prerequisite, successful fatherhood involves more than example. It demands training. Children need to be taught why mommy and daddy love one another and why they love God. Sons and daughters need to be taught how to love God, one another, and their future spouses and children. It is the responsibility of fathers to see to it that their children are trained (Ephesians 6:4).

While certainly a father is at liberty and wise to use any and all who can help him raise his children in the Lord, I fear that laziness has many fathers doing more delegating than being actually and intimately involved.

This is no better illustrated than in spiritual training. Our culture has essentially turned the spiritual training of children over to churches. Local churches now bear the burden of trying to impart doctrines, morals and character to the members' children. Feeling that burden, many churches have felt compelled to spend great amounts of money on flashy, cutting-edge teaching props to keep the attention of our easily bored children.

If fathers were more diligent in their efforts to inculcate their children with the word of God when at home, and when travelling about, and at bedtime, and at breakfast (Deuteronomy 6:6-9), then the simple discussion of spiritual topics would be ample stimulation for eager participation in the classroom. However, having said that, it must be conceded that even many of the classes that are offered by churches do not show much diligence, amounting to little more than coloring books and fill in the blanks. Intelligent training and discussion at home will result in spiritually intelligent children, and they, along with an enthusiastic teacher, are all that is necessary to having a dynamic class. That is time well spent. The classes offered by a local church should only be considered a positive, reinforcing supplement to the primary training received at home.

To our shame the home as a haven of protection and a center of learning has been neglected, if not abandoned, for the convenience of turning the training of children over to governments and churches. This laziness becomes the norm and the standard by which our sons and daughters will train our grandchildren, and the cycle continues. Sons are not taught to value a woman by her desire to bear children, love them, and guide the household, but by her outer appearance and financial potential (1 Timothy 2:9-15; 1 Timothy 5:14; Titus 2:4,5). Daughters are not trained to value a man who will provide her and her children with spiritual leadership and direction, but one who can provide them with social status and material wants.

Finally, it is going to take courage to be the fathers that God expects us to be. The world will mock, ridicule and even hate the values and principles that we must teach our children to successfully lead our families in the paths of righteousness. We will be charged with brainwashing and teaching hate.

Even some brethren may say we are being over-protective, controlling, and strange. When Christians are losing more of their children to the world than they are keeping for the Lord I'd like to try, for a change, dealing with the problems of being over-protective rather than the problems of not being protective enough. In a world that is out of control, I prefer controlling to the alternative. In a culture where materialism, divorce and neglect are the norm, I'll take strange.

While the feminists and social engineers of our time are looking forward to the day when fatherhood will be but a distant memory of an ancient culture, we need men to step forward and unapologetically be patriarchs with the mind of Christ. Haughtiness and elitism are not needed or helpful, but humility and holiness are. The philosophies of men have produced moral confusion and have destroyed many families and even more souls. Fathers with spiritual vision will see this and diligently seek to sow the peace and stability of God's word into the hearts of their children. Such courageous action will secure the blessings of liberty [in Christ] for ourselves and our posterity as it bears good fruit for generations to come (James 3:13-18).