Jeff Pollard explains in this video that a shepherd is someone who oversees a flock -- he guides and protects them and is the one responsible for their wellbeing. Similarly, a father has the responsibility to look after the physical and spiritual wellbeing of those within his house. A man who does not take both aspects seriously is someone likely to do a great deal of damage.

Isaiah 40:11 (NKJV) - "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young."

A shepherd is someone that oversees a flock. He guides them, he protects them, and He's the one responsible for their well-being. I would see that as a primary office for a father and a husband, but especially a father. God has appointed him as the covenant head of his home. He has a responsibility to oversee the physical well-being of everyone in the house and he has the responsibility of being the one who oversees and guides the spiritual direction of the house.

That's absolutely crucial. A man who does not take both aspects seriously is not only imbalanced, but someone who is likely to do a great deal of damage. We live in a day where men have virtually no biblical notion of leadership. They're either authoritarians and they crush those that are under them or their absentees, their abdicators and they don't really care what anybody else does, they let everybody do what they want to do. But a shepherd understands that He must guide, He must direct.

God has given family shepherds authority. The very authority of heaven stands behind every father who takes his responsibility seriously. So if he's going to feed his family spiritually, he needs to do all that he can to be consistent with family worship, growing his little flock in the Word of God, in prayer, in singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And on the physical side, he's to feed, he's to protect literally his wife, his children. So he has a great responsibility.

He's truly the spiritual barometer of the house. If he is weak in the things of the Lord, his family is going to be weak in the things of the Lord. So it's vital for him to study the word of God, to be a man not only of the word, but a man of prayer, and then to graciously but firmly lead His family in the things of Christ.