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The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling To Men (2010)

by Richard D. Phillips(Favorite Author)

4.08 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

156769120X (ISBN13: 9781567691207)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Reformation Trust Publishing

review 1: In his book, The Masculine Mandate, Richard Phillips challenges society’s understanding of sexuality, marriage, and gender roles (especially manhood, as the title suggests) with the portrait given us by Scripture in the beginning chapters of Genesis. His thesis is that men are called to work and keep God’s creation. They are to be productive nurturers and cause things to grow and come into fruition under God’s divine plan and economy. And they are also called to protect, main, and guard that which they have lovingly nurtured. Interestingly, he completely rejects society’s notion that women should be the primary nurturers in the family! Instead, the Bible, he contends, “calls men to be cultivator, and that includes a significant emphasis on tending the hearts of t... morehose given into his charge” (14).This book is split into two parts: “Understanding Our [Masculine] Mandate” (ch. 1–5) and “Living Our Mandate” (chs. 6–13). In chs. 1–5, Phillips builds a robust theology of biblical masculinity on top of solid and careful biblical exegesis. The practical application in chs. 6–13 builds off his biblical-theology of manhood. However, I see chs. 6–7 as describing the theology of marriage and sin’s effect on marriage. Starting in ch. 8, Phillips really shines in his sage, biblical advice that is bold but not reductionistic, nor is it faddish or feel-good pop-psychology.It will be (if it is not already) obvious that Phillips is uncompromisingly complementarian, but I challenge all egalitarians to read his book and see if his (biblical) picture of husband and wife isn’t attractive and wise (and normative). To allay possible fears, I have included these excerpts: “To be clear, male leadership in marriage does not mean the husband does everything or even that he decides everything. . . . A husband who seeks to practice headship in a context of partnership—fully respecting and encouraging his wife’s contributions—is off to a good start on loving [sacrificially] his wife” (82).“Here’s a quiz I give to husbands who desire to be more faithful in ministry to their wives. . . . Can you identify at least one major issue that is on her mind and weighing down her heart, making her afraid or frustrated or concerned?” (85). And on honoring a woman (cf. 1 Pet 3:7), Phillips writes, “I think the main way is through Peter’s first two commands: our time and attention. I would recommend that a husband simply ask his wife, ‘What makes you feel that I value you?’ and take seriously what she has to say” (85). It is clear that he sees men as (exclusively) having the high calling of leadership (in the family and in the church). But he does not let men off easily, for with a high calling and privilege comes great expectations and obligations and responsibilities!Needless to say, this is a must-read for all men! For single men (every one except those with the rare gift of singleness), he encourages them to pursue marriage, and this will almost certainly mean that single men will have a lot of work and growing up to do in order to be sacrificial and loving nurturers and protectors, servant-leaders to their future wives and children. For those who are dating or married, his clear exposition of Scripture and application is surely helpful to help men learn how to lead their families and honor and love their wives.For fathers, chs. 9 and 10 alone are worth the price of admission. In chs. 9 and 10, Phillips pastorally and gently admonishes fathers to invest and give their hearts to their children in order to raise up godly children through consistent and costly discipleship and discipline. For only when time and energy is invested does the father “purchase” his right to demand the hearts of his own children. Fatherly authority is as much earned as it is a divine gift to men. We see that Phillips has high expectations for men as spiritual leaders in their home (and rightly, as these standards are also the Bible’s).Married life is hard, he admits, but this is to drive us to Christ and to learn to give up selfish ambition and learn sacrificial love and dependence on God. Indeed, only when we know personally of God’s own love for and redemption of us do we have the requisite spiritual resources needed to love and lead in accord with our high calling as leaders.Women will almost certainly find this book immensely helpful as well, whether as singles, to see what they should expect in men, or as married women, to see how they can encourage and support their husbands to grow and take seriously their divine mandate as servant-leaders who must work, nurture, cherish, care, and guard all people and duties entrusted to them.
review 2: The basic principles outlined here are really strong. The book provides a great framework for thinking through the roles and responsibilities a man ought to take up. It would be a great thing if more were to follow in the path of the mandate Phillips lays out. I was somewhat disappointed however because I felt like when it came to application in the book the illustrations were more surface level or for whatever reason did not resonate strongly with me in my present circumstances. So I appreciated the insights of the book but felt left to myself in developing any real application of them. less

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