Ruling in Five Generations - A Case Study

This is a section I’m adding to Chapter 1 in my unfinished book The Ruling Household. To read the book from the beginning start here.

Listen to April and I discuss this article on the Family Teams Podcast:

In order to be as practical as possible and to get your imagination going I’m going to walk through some basic steps a family can take to becoming a ruling family by the fifth generation.

This is a thought experiment where we are attempting to imagine the progress five generations could make who take literally the five-step mandate of Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful, multiply, fill, subdue, and rule.

Generation #1: A husband and wife are starting from ground zero. They are committed followers of Jesus and believe that Genesis 1:28 and Matthew 28:16-20 provide the mission for their family.

Fruitful: Without much support from extended family they are still able to have five children. With support from their church, they build a healthy household and intentionally train their kids to honor the family mission and follow the Lord. As they enter adulthood all five of their children are excited to further the family mission and expand the family line.

Multiply: The command to multiply is the command to raise your children in a way that maximizes their desire and ability to have children. Fruitfulness is having children but multiplication is having grandchildren. This family has passed those values down successfully to their children by raising their sons to aspire to be skilled fathers and their daughters to be skilled mothers.

In addition, Gen 1 pursued a lifestyle that allowed them to support their children in having kids early and often. They helped with down payments on houses, were available to help with childcare, and used their skills and network to help their kids start or acquire successful local businesses.

Generation #2: The five children in this generation and their spouses are aligned with the family vision and each family had an average of five children. These twenty-five cousins/grandchildren in Gen 3 are being raised in a common family culture that is focussed on the next phases of the plan to continue multiplying but especially the mandate to fill.

Multiply: Getting to experience the love and vision from Gen 1 (the grandparents,) the skilled parenting of Gen 2 (the parents), and the beautiful, immersive family culture of their 25 cousins, these grandchildren are even more committed to the vision of multiplying the family. The Gen 1 and Gen 2 adults in the family ensured that their children and grandchildren were immune to the family-destroying ideologies that were being virally spread within the wider culture.

Fill: The cousins of Gen 3 with the support of their parents from Gen 2 and the continued wisdom and vision from their grandparents from Gen 1 begin a local saturation strategy. They buy and build inter-related businesses, they acquire and steward land and houses in similar areas, they start or expand churches and ministries and the concentrated nature of their efforts begins to make them one of the most influential families in the region.

Generation #3: The 25 cousins in this generation can begin to see the vision of their grandparents playing out in front of them and so they continue to multiply by having large families that average 5 kids per family for a total of 125 Gen 4 children. The Gen 1 great-grandparents get to see many of their great-grandchildren before they pass and now the grandparents of Gen 2 take on the vision-casting roles within the growing clan.

Fill: The 125 kids of Gen 3 grow up seeing the growing influence that the family is having on the region and are trained from a young age to purchase and acquire supporting businesses and to especially leverage the family resources to create an export economy that brings more resources back into the local economy.

Subdue: The collective economic efforts of the clan have made this family the top employer in the region. Everything this family stewards creates a unique Kingdom culture that is blessing hundreds of families they serve or employ through their businesses.

Beginning with Gen 1 the patriarch and matriarch of this family modeled a disciple-making culture where every year each family member would be discipled for half the year and then make disciples of 3 others during the rest of the year. Now, 75+ years into this discipleship culture created by Gen 1 has resulted in thousands of new and multiplying believers in the region. The level of obedience to the Lordship of Jesus is becoming the most remarkable distinctive of this area. People are streaming to the area for annual conferences and to attend training programs to learn how this region has been so impacted by the Gospel.

Generation #4: The 125 members of Gen 4 along with their spouses continue to multiply, fill, and subdue, having an average of 5 kids per family or 600+ children in the next generation. The influence this family is now having is beginning to receive national attention. The local economy is thriving through this family’s skilled efforts. New institutions of education are being established that reflect the values and beliefs of this family.

Generation #5: With over 600 family members and countless thousands of disciples made by this generation of the family, many members of this generation are being trained to take roles in governance. The family launches a coordinated campaign to win local elected positions as judgeships, mayoral, city council, and representative positions are being filled by the wisest members of the family.

Rule: No family in this region has more skin in the game than this ruling household. They have so many local family members with thousands more coming in the next generations giving them the highest incentive to ensure that policies are enacted that are wise and will maximize justice, freedom, and flourishing for the coming generations. 

The purpose of this thought experiment is to demonstrate what is possible through a multi-generational mindset. So much momentum is wasted through a short-sighted, single-generational vision. Any family that lives for future generations, understands the Genesis 1:28 blueprint, and trains their children to do the same will have an Abrahamic impact on the future.