I once heard an ultra-conservative guy who had built his ministry empire on the proselytizing of “family values” give his pseudo-retirement address. Apparently, after spending years of working at the ministry 60 to 80 hours per week, he had decided that it was time to slow down. Even at retirement, however, he seemed completely unaware of the notion that he may have spent more time focusing on his work than his own family. He was championing the value of being a workaholic.
My father and I once spent a couple of hours analyzing the lives of influential Christian men, both current and historic. With limited data, we tried to assess just how well famous people bore the name “Father.” It became clear to us that the history of evangelical men was largely a story of men who ditched their families (excerpt from Wisdom Chaser).
I’m left with a couple of questions that have been spinning in my head for years. I wonder if you be willing to help me work through them?
- Is it possible to do significant work and be a family man or woman as well?
- Does God ever call people to discard their familial responsibilities and not be involved in raising their kids?
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Nathan Foster is assistant professor of social work at Spring Arbor University (Spring Arbor, Michigan). He has been a counselor and founded/directed Door of Hope Counseling (Arvada, Colorado). He is married and has two children. Nathan is also the author of Wisdom Chaser (Intervarsity Press – April 2010). You can keep up with what Nathan is working on at www.nathanfosterprojects.com. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also reach him at wisdom[dot]chaser[at]yahoo[dot]com.
