“I am convinced, says pastor and teacher Voddie Baucham, “that one of the most crucial questions I face is, ‘Whom should my daughter marry?'” Baucham is not your typical father or your typical pastor. At 6 feet 3 inches tall and 300 pounds, he looks more like a linebacker than a Bible teacher. But Baucham has been recognized as an expert on the subject of family life and gender roles by sources as diverse as state home school conferences and CNN.
Advice could hardly come at a better time. The latest census data show that “married with children” is no longer the norm in America. At last report, there were more adult men and women living alone than in a traditional family. Add 12 million single parent homes to the mix, and it becomes clear that Americans are not doing marriage well even when they do it. Is there anything that the church-or the family-can do to mentor a generation of Americans largely ill-equipped to select a mate or sustain a marriage?
In his new release from Crossway Books, provocatively titled What He Must Be:…If He Wants to Marry My Daughter, Baucham contends that this search for a husband must begin with dad. His premise, which requires the father’s conscientious involvement in the search for and even the training of a future husband, is undoubtedly countercultural.
