According to results from a recent Pew Research Center study on marriage and children published by Christianity Today, the rate of out-of-wedlock childbearing increased sevenfold in the United States between 1960 and 2005 from 5.3 percent of all births to 36.8 percent.

The survey draws the tragic implications of its numbers, concluding that,  "Marriage exerts less influence over how adults organize their lives and how children are born and raised than at any time in the nation's history." 

The bottom line? More than one-third of all newborns in America will grow up without a father. The survey attributes this sharp rise in non-marital births to "an ever-greater percentage of women in the 20s, 30s, and older...delaying or forgoing marriage but having children."

The situation in the United Kingdom is no better. According to a BBC report, the proportion of children born outside marriage in the UK has increased dramatically from 12 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2005. The average size of a UK household fell from 2.9 people in 1971 to 2.4 in 2005. As in America, the father is typically persona non grata.

While these figures may strike few as shocking, the fallout from fatherless homes is devastating, particularly for boys, who need role models for spiritual development and authentic manhood, roles best played by a committed father.

Men need to hear and heed the clarion call of Weldon Hardenbrook, who writes in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, "Real men do not make babies. Real men take responsibility for the physical and spiritual care of children they beget and for those begotten and deserted by others. Responsibility lies at the heart of fatherhood as it was intended to be." 

Of course, there is a congruent truth for girls and mothers, though moms are the remaining parent in the vast majority of single-parent homes.

The increase in fatherless homes brings with it a correlative upswing in the number of single mothers, many of whom desire an arrangement that more closely resembles that of God's design, as CT points out: "Single mothers often long for a strong, caring male to enter their children's lives."

So is there any good news for these single moms and their children? As with all things in life East of Eden, the Gospel brings profound hope for fatherless homes.  The task falls to local churches to demonstrate the love of Jesus through practical and patient service to single parent homes.

On September 30, a 51-year-old Brazilian woman became a grandmother by giving birth to her own twin grandsons.  Rosinete Palmeira Serrao, a government health worker, served as surrogate mother for her 27-year-old daughter, Claudia Michelle de Brito.  Brazilian law stipulates that only close relatives can serve as surrogate mothers and de Brito is an only child.  News reports do not mention de Brito's husband.

It is a heartbreaking reality in this fallen world that women like Claudia Michelle de Brito are unable to bear children.  While we lament this sad fact, we should also question whether or not technology provides a true solution for this problem.  Independent of the serious bioethical concerns, such as the implantation of four embryos to produce two viable babies, this surrogate pregnancy raises troubling questions about the true nature of motherhood before a sovereign God.  Entering into a scenario where a woman is simultaneously a mother and a grandmother or another woman simultaneously has twin sons and twin brothers requires careful spiritual consideration.

The tossing waves of culture cannot reliably answer such questions.  Instead we can only trust the timeless wisdom of God's revealed truth. In addition to this Gender Blog, CBMW also serves the church with the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  Over time you can expect to find cultural questions like this, which are too entangled to be covered in a simple blog post, addressed in future issues of the JBMW.

[At Gender blog, we have received many questions about the role of women as worship leaders in the local church.  To address this topic there is no one better equipped to speak to the theology and practice of congregational worship then our dear friend Bob Kauflin.  Bob serves as the director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries and leads worship at Covenant Life Church.  As you will see below, Bob theologically embraces the complementarian position, but it is more important for you to know that at home he embodies humble, loving headship for his wife, Julie, and six children.  The following is a posting from his blog WorshipMatters.]

I received this question from Tracy:

My husband has recently become a Pastor in a small Outback Queensland (Australia) church and holds a complementarian view of women in ministry. This is a very uncommon viewpoint in the church movement my husband is Pastoring under. We have had queries as to if I will lead worship which has left both my husband and I with our own questions as we can't see a biblical precedent for women as worship leaders...What do you see as a woman's place in worship and is it permissible for a woman to be a worship leader?

I've been asked this question numerous times and thought Tracy's particular situation would give me the opportunity to address some of the nuances of this topic. I'm aware that this question applies to a number of you who read this blog. Thank you for reading, and thank you for seeking to glorify God with your life. You may already be poised to agree or disagree with what I'm about to say. So let me start with the punch line. First, what is a woman's place in worship? The same as a man's - at the foot of the cross of Christ, praising God in the power of the Spirit for the mercy he's shown us in the Savior. Second, is it biblical for a woman to lead worship? Yes and no. There. That clears everything up, doesn't it?

As Tracy mentions, besides Miriam leading the women in Exodus 15:20, there aren't many examples of women leading worship in Scripture. It seems the Levites who led the singing at the Temple were men (1 Chronicles 25). So to answer Tracy's question, or a similar one, I'd need to find out two things.

1. What is a particular church's biblical understanding of the roles of men and women?

Whether they're aware of it or not, most churches fall into one of two camps regarding gender roles - egalitarian or complementarian. Both views believe the Bible teaches that men and women possess equal worth in God's sight. Those with an egalitarian perspective go on to say that all opportunities for ministry in the church, including pastoral care, teaching, preaching, and leading worship, are open to both men and women. They highlight the way women were used in Scriptures like Acts 1:14, 18:26, 21:9; and Rom 16:1-7. In other words, if a church holds an egalitarian perspective, women leading worship isn't an issue.

But those who hold a complementarian view believe that masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, both in the church and the family. They understand that, "redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men" (from The Danvers Statement, produced by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood). This belief is based on Scriptures like 1 Cor 11:2-16; 1 Cor 14:33-36; 1 Tim 2:11-15; and Col 3:18-19.

Since Tracy and her husband believe, as I do, that God has designed men and women to serve others in complementary ways, that leads to a second question. (If you'd like to read more about what Scripture teaches on this topic, I'd recommend Fifty Crucial Questions, and the on-line articles offered by CBMW).

2. What is the nature of the worship leading role?

Part of the difficulty in answering this question is that the New Testament doesn't contain a worship leader job description. What exactly does the worship leader do? That title can describe a number of functions - song leader, singer, band member, music minister, or worship pastor, to name a few.

It would also depend on how that particular church understands the degree of authority that she holds over the assembled congregation and the extent to which she provides instruction. Is her position understood as one of authority over the congregation similar to a pastor/elder? Does she provide doctrinal commentary between songs or other doctrinal instruction to the choir or congregation? Does her "leading" involve the exercising of authority over others or, rather, the providing of leadership regarding timing, tempo, music, etc.? Does she direct the church to a particular song in a hymnal and invite those assembled to praise the Lord, or does she engage in more biblical exhortation like a pastor?

In the church, the pastor is ultimately responsible for leading congregational worship. But that doesn't mean our worship leaders have to be pastors. However, in Sovereign Grace churches, given the importance of congregational singing, our worship leaders are fulfilling a very important role. They aren't simply leading "music"-we desire them to direct people's hearts, minds, and wills to the truths that they're singing. Their role includes elements that involve a degree of teaching, leading, and pastoring, which we believe the Bible says are male roles in the church. For that reason, all our worship leaders are men. But women make a significant contribution to our corporate worship through singing, playing instruments, reading Scripture, song writing, arranging, leading choirs, modeling expressive engagement, contributing prophetic impressions, and more. So in Tracy's situation, I would encourage her husband to unapologetically lead the congregation in worship while Tracy enthusiastically supports him with her musical gifts.

Of course, it's completely appropriate for a woman to lead worship at a women's gathering, and to view the worship leader role in other ways. My concern isn't to persuade anyone that this is the only way to approach this position, and my perspective doesn't keep me from appreciating the work of those who think differently. But I do want to draw attention to the wisdom and beauty of God's design for the unique but complementary roles men and women play in serving the church.

As you might guess, I've had numerous discussions with women on this topic. Some have thanked me for confirming what they believe Scripture actually teaches. Others have resented me for even implying that God didn't tell them to lead worship.

But what I think doesn't really matter. Scripture teaches there is a Christ-exalting beauty, strength, attraction, and joy in fulfilling our unique roles as men and women in the body of Christ. The world often only sees domineering/wimpy men or doormat/aggressive women. The Gospel produces something better - men and women, both made in the image of God, glorifying their Maker by modeling a compelling picture of biblical masculinity and femininity. In a world that is increasingly confused about the meaning of sexuality and gender, that can only be good news and something worth pursuing.

Ten days ago Genderblog posted the Popular Mechanics' list of 25 Skills Every Man Should Know with a request for your feedback on the eternal value of each selection.  We have enjoyed receiving your input and suggestions.  Here is an interim update as we continued to prepare what we are calling the "Real 25 Skills."

Let's start with the skills that will be removed.  Some thought that "retouch digital photos" might be a skill that would tempt the average man toward pridefully improving personal images, or unnecessarily wasting time.  With apologies to our friends who earn a living as graphic designers, we agree with removing this from the essential skill list.

We were pleased to see that "Hook up an HDTV" received no votes.  While technically challenging, it is by no means essential for manhood.

Yet others thought that "Patch a radiator hose" and "Fix a bike flat" might be combined together into the broader skill of "Master the use of duct tape."  We will need to do a little additional research on that one. 

We also have nothing to say to those men who thought that "filet a fish" was a misspelling of the "Filet O Fish" that can be purchased under the golden arches.  At very least, "Teach children how to fish" will remain on the list.

More importantly, there were many outstanding suggestions for skills that need to be added to the list.  Every man needs to "Entrust sound doctrine to other men," "Work at a vocation as unto the Lord," and "Treat younger women like sisters with all purity."

"Pray humbly in public" was a skill that comes from the inner man but also improves with steady practice.  For the vast majority of men who pursue marriage, "Love your wife sacrificially as Christ loved the church" is another skill that comes from a transformed heart but improves with intentional planning.  "Play games with your family" and "Ensure your family is at church on time on Sunday" are not necessarily widely practiced, but certainly skills worthy of consideration.

We appreciate hearing from you, and invite your further participation as our final "Real 25 Skills" list comes together.

With the recent release of the ESV Literary Study Bible, our friends at Crossway Books/Good News Publishers have once again provided Christians with a profoundly helpful resource for understanding God's Word.

The work, edited by the renowned father-son team of Leland and Philip Graham Ryken, helps readers to properly interpret God's Word in all its literary richness and beauty by examining in detail the various literary genres of Scripture.

The Rykens provide concise yet substantive introductions to each book of the Bible, tracing theological themes and literary elements and also include brief introductions to each chapter. Thousands of insightful study notes accompany the ESV text.

Best of all, the editors help readers to understand each individual part of the Bible in terms of its dramatic overarching storyline-God's cosmic rescue mission that culminates in the redeeming love of Christ.

Michael Spencer gives 10 reasons to love the ESV Literary Study Bible to which I will add No. 11: The editors take an unapologetically biblical stance on God's gracious plan regarding the complementary roles of men and women. 

In commenting on Ephesians 5:22-6:9, the editors write: "The roles we have in these relationships are not symmetrical. The apostle addresses each person directly, depending on his or her situation in life. In each case, he pinpoints the area of individual responsibility that is most necessary (and perhaps also the most spiritually demanding!) for the total relationship to fulfill its God-given purpose. The instructions to husbands and wives are justifiably famous for their stress on submissive (for wives) and sacrificial (for husbands) love. But marriage itself turns out to reveal a deeper mystery: it is a real-life metaphor for the love relationship between Christ and his church."