Wives, I want you to know how to encourage your husband to lead spiritually. Read or listen to this chapter from Your Marriage God’s Way for godly words of encouragement for your husband.



Table of ContentsENCOURAGE YOUR HUSBAND TO LEAD SPIRITUALLY BY EMBRACING HIS LEADERSHIP STYLERECOGNIZE A HEART FOR GOD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LEADERSHIP STYLEMAKE YOUR HUSBAND’S SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP EASIERFive Practical Tips to Encourage Your Husband to Lead Spiritually...First, thank your husband when he takes the family to churchSecond, encourage your husband when he prays or reads Scripture with youThird, support your husband with the childrenFourth, avoid needless debateFifth, avoid needless comparisonsBE YOUR HUSBAND’S BIGGEST SUPPORTER



Most people who have heard me preach know that wrestling is my favorite sport, and I like to say that it’s God’s favorite sport too. He wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32:24-26). He warns that we will “wrestle…against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). He wrestles with sinners’ hearts.



Most wrestlers will tell you basketball is wrestling’s biggest opponent because the two seasons take place at the same time. One thing basketball has going for it is the movie Hoosiers. Even as a wrestling fan I must admit that it’s a great movie.



In the movie, Gene Hackman plays Normal Dale, the new head coach. Nobody knows him, and he’s disliked because he does things differently than the previous coach. Dennis Hopper plays Shooter Flatch, who knows much about basketball, but everyone has written him off because he’s also the town drunk. Coach Dale upsets people even more when he decides to make Shooter the assistant coach. When Shooter shows up at the first game, he’s clean-cut, sober, and wearing a nice suit, but he looks terrified.



Coach Dale wants to give Shooter a chance to prove to the townspeople— and more importantly, to himself—that he is valuable, has potential, and can coach. The problem is there’s one thing standing between Shooter and that opportunity, and that’s Coach Dale. A basketball team—like any business, organization, or marriage—can only have one person leading.



With one of the most important games on the line, Coach Dale intentionally gets himself kicked out of the game. As he’s about to leave the gymnasium, he walks over to Shooter, hands him the playbook, and says, “It’s up to you now.” The camera zooms in on Shooter’s face, revealing his fear. The team is looking to him to lead them during this crucial moment, but they understandably doubt his ability. Some of the players lower their heads and look at the floor. Shooter didn’t want to be in this position, but Coach Dale removed himself from being in charge, and Shooter had no choice but to lead. He pulled himself together and came up with the game-winning play.



Why am I sharing this? This illustrates a key point for us: When wives do as Coach Dale did and remove themselves from leading, they put their husbands in a position where they must lead. Some husbands don’t lead because their wives are already doing so.



Other husbands don’t lead because they believe their wives are going to fight whatever decision they make. As a result, they don’t even bother to lead, or they don’t take their responsibility seriously. Some wives say they want their husbands to lead, but what they really mean is “I want my husband to do what I want.”



This brings me back to my story about accepting the senior pastoral position at Woodland Christian Church. In that situation, Katie put me in a position to lead.



Though Katie encouraged me to take the position, she could see I was hesitant. I remember her saying, “If this move ends up being a mistake and we went there because of me, I couldn’t live with that. The only way I can feel good about this decision is if you make it. I respect your leadership,