Modern day ‘Rennaissance Man’ is this author’s pick for a 21st-Century father figure.
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Father’s Day became an official U.S. holiday when a bill to give it national recognition was introduced in Congress in 1913. I personally think that we should celebrate Father’s Day every day of the year. Keep in mind, I am somewhat prejudice because I have three brothers and two sons that I adore.
I was raised in the 1960’s and 1970’s by the electronic marvel, the television. My antiquated role models were the Leave It to Beaver dad, Ward Cleaver and Andy Griffith of Mayberry fame. This Father’s Day, I decided to seek out a Renaissance man who embodies what I could define as a twenty-first-century father figure. In my search, I discovered Dr. Mark A. Williams, a “quintessential worshiper.”
Along with being a physician, songwriter, lecturer, worship leader, and elder at his church, Williams is a husband and father. There is a divine balance of it all.
Mark is a multi-faceted man who is an expert in the medical field, is a prolific musical artist and is anointed for ministering with an unstoppable determination and love for God. He is a board certified Otolaryngologist with a thriving surgical practice—The Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists of Nashville located in Nashville, Tennessee.
He is also the founder of The Voice Care Center of Nashville where he helps gospel and Christian music singers understand the purpose, the value, and the proper use of their voice and care for their voices. He is also a gospel music recording artist, in addition to being a husband and dad of three, he has an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology.
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Along with being a physician, a songwriter, lecturer, worship leader, and elder at his home church Oasis Worship Center, Williams is a husband and father. There is a divine balance of it all. “I have a wife and three children who love the Lord and understand the call of God on my life,” Williams adoringly states. “More importantly, they celebrate and not simply tolerate the calling.” Mark is first and foremost the priest of his home and without reservation will sacrifice for his family.
Mark is also a self-proclaimed worshipper and proclaims that there is a special blessing that comes to a household that is led by a man who is unashamed to worship God. He believes that God breathes on the house of a worshipping man and overtakes that man and overtakes his family with his goodness. He mentions King David as an example and calls him the quintessential worshiper that operated in the keen favor of God which was birthed out of his sincere act of loving reverence and having a close relationship with his creator.
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His most recent musical project, titled “When a Man Worships,” was designed as a clarion call to fellow men to unashamedly and uninhibitedly embrace worship and its ability to empower men as leaders in their homes. The music video “Wanna Be Used” is below, from his new album. Historically, women have been known for their ability to intimately worship God, but the modern man has chosen to break out of the constricting mold of machismo and develop a more personal relationship with God.
The modern man has chosen to break out of the constricting mold of machismo and develop a more personal relationship with God.
Mark encourages men who are seeking to “know” themselves to pursue their creator with reckless abandon, tearing down the religious paradigms that have kept them in performance mode versus worship mode. There’s nothing like going to the creator of a thing to get a better understanding of how that something is to operate. When you buy a new car, you go back to the dealership or manufacturer if something is wrong with it. This concept holds true for a worshiper. Honoring and revering the expertise of the designer of a thing, just makes common sense. No need to hesitate when uninhibited and unrestrained worship opens the lines of communication and eliminates the middle man.
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In defining what a worshiping father is, Mark first defined what a worshiper is—“Communion with God that is facilitated through obedience.” Sometimes we have misunderstood what worship is, some think that it is merely singing a song or bowing before God. But, according to Mark, it is so much more, the essence of worship is obedience to the command of God. He says, “That when a man obeys God, his blessings are a part of that. Those things are imperative for a man to lead, direct, and raise his children in the fear and admonition of God. I think that when a man knows how to obey God, it brings order into his household, not only with his wife but also with his children. They deserve to observe that kind of behavior and incorporate that kind of behavior in their lives as well.”
Mark and his wife of 23 years will be celebrating their anniversary on Father’s Day this year. He jokingly stated that his main goal in medical school was to finish it with the same wife he started with.
Considering everything I learned about Dr. Mark Williams, I am convinced I made the right choice for a twenty-first-century renaissance man, who models his life after one of history’s greatest kings that ever lived. Dr. Mark A. Williams is truly a modern day “quintessential worshiper.”
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