What Second Men and Housewives Have in Common

No, seriously, hear me out!  In many ways, second men are to the church what housewives are to the home.  If you don't like that statement it could be that you don't understand either position or respect it for what it is worth. 

Some evidence of this being an accurate comparison can be found in smaller churches that don't have a second man.  Who usually fulfills the role?  The pastor's wife! Now, don't misunderstand the illustration; even apart from the obvious fact that we are...well...men, there are definitely many ways in which we cannot be compared to literal wives.  And most of us have our own families that we must tend to in a different way than what this article is talking about.  But I just thought I would take a minute and jot down some similarities while I am still thinking about it.  I'd love your help on pointing out some of the similarities I have missed:

Some positives:

-A good second man will be a helper "meet" for his pastor.

-A good second man will lift up and honor his pastor in the presence of others.

-A good second man can be entrusted the responsibility of running the affairs of the "home" in the pastor's absence.

-A good second man will not nag and complain about every little thing the pastor does.

-A good second man will be a sounding board and will help implement the pastor's ideas and goals for the "household."

-A good second man will offer helpful solutions rather than increasing the amount of problems.

-A good second man will help provide a place of comfort and joy for the pastor rather than making it grievous and troublesome.  (Hebrews 13:17)


Some negatives:

-A bad second man will do whatever they want to do when the pastor is not over their shoulder.

-A bad second man will fight and question everything the pastor does.

-A bad second man will take the side of the "household" over the pastor.

-A bad second man will care more about advancing themselves fulfilling all their own needs.

-A bad second man can be the most hurtful and do the most damage to a pastor.