The Power of Presence (Series 1,Week 2)

Welcome to Discipling for Shepherds.

We are currently in Series 1: Foundations of Leading the Home. Today’s topic is Week 2: The Power of Presence.

Deuteronomy 6:6–7 (ESV), “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Big idea: Presence beats perfection. Your household doesn’t need a flawless leader — they need a faithful, present one.

Too many men confuse leadership with performance. We think if we provide a good house, a full bank account, and the occasional present, we’ve led well. But leadership at home is mostly ordinary: showing up, listening, and living out truth in the daily grind. Moses ties discipleship to the everyday — “sit,” “walk,” “lie down,” “rise.” That’s not a program. It’s presence.

Presence anchors security

Security isn’t built on speeches or expensive gestures; it’s built on reliable presence. Children and spouses learn to trust when they can count on you being there — physically and emotionally. They remember whether you came to the game, whether you asked honest questions at dinner, whether you sat with them in the hard season. Presence says: “You matter more than convenience.” Over time, that repeated message becomes the soil where faith takes root.

If you’re absent most nights and show up occasionally with gifts, your family will notice. They’ll begin to recalibrate who you are in their lives. That distance is hard to close. So the preventative move is simple: show up before the drift begins.

Presence multiplies discipleship

God’s design for passing faith is not a polished Sunday service; it’s lived life. Deuteronomy 6 frames discipleship as conversation woven into daily rhythms. When you read a short verse at the table, when you pray a sentence before bed, when you ask your child about their day and actually listen — those are discipleship moments. Your life becomes the curriculum for your kids and spouse. They’ll copy what you do more than what you say.

You don’t need a perfect devotional plan. You need consistency. When faith is modeled in the ordinary, it becomes ordinary for them too.

Presence costs something — be willing to pay

Being present requires trade-offs. It means saying no to an extra shift, pausing a habit, or turning a device off at dinner. It’s not glamorous. It’s inconvenient. But those small sacrifices compound. Jobs replace you quickly. The position you hold at work will move on without you. Your children and spouse will not forget your absence.

Practical adjustments that pay: set a block for family time in the evening and treat it like a meeting you don’t miss, enforce one device-free meal each day, and limit work notifications during family windows. Small boundaries make presence habitual.

Presence reflects Christ

John 1:14 (ESV) says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus didn’t lead from a distance. He entered the mess, ate with sinners, listened to the hurting, and comforted the lost. Shepherding your home is incarnational leadership: you show up, you stay, you live the gospel in the place you are given.

When you are present, you don’t just provide; you point your family to the God who came near.

Challenge (one thing to do this week)

Carve out one device-free meal each day with your family. No phone, no TV, no multitasking. Protect that window as a non-negotiable presence slot.

Reflection questions (use them with your wife or journal on them)

1. When has your absence most hurt your family? Name a time and what happened.

2. What is one routine you can change to gain 15–30 minutes of daily presence?

3. How does Christ’s having come near change the way you should lead at home?

Action steps (pick one or two and do them this week)

• Eat one device-free meal each day. Start with dinner.

• Walk for 15–20 minutes with your spouse or a child, three times this week — listen more than you talk.

• Spend 10–15 minutes before bed reading one short verse and praying together.

Habit of the Week: One device-free meal every day — presence, undistracted.