spiritual children and their fathers

Two separate posts, one common theme. Christian fathers (and mothers, of course) are the God-intended method of raising disciples of Jesus Christ.
And I don't think this ends when your children are grown, out of the house and onto growing families of their own. Obviously the shepherding takes on a different role but parents still need to be active in their care and concern for the spiritual well being of their children. Perhaps I can find someone who addresses this issue for a later post. But for now, consider these two men's words to fathers and parents in general.

It turned out that Mr. Westendorf was a humble yet intentional man. He loved his children and was willing to sacrifice his time and give his attention to them. He cared for them because they were under his authority. And to this day, he remains my prime example of Malachi’s, “turning the hearts of the fathers to their children.” This father of nine was raising godly offspring. And for the next five years I committed myself to grabbing the crumbs that fell from his table. Mr. Westendorf was not to be feared, but he was to be treasured. He displayed to me how God intended for children to be raised.

The Answer for Producing Spiritual Children

This faithful father shepherded his seven children by taking one morning a week to meet individually with each of his children. Seven days in a week–each of the seven children got one morning each week with their dad. They prayed, read scripture, talked, and read a book of that child’s choosing. Inspired by his amazing example, I came home and established a similar model in our home that I remain faithful to this day. Here is what I do to individually shepherd my four children regularly in addition to our regular time of family worship, as well as implications attached to it:

Shepherding My Children