As the wife of a college minister, the time I don’t spend taking care of my kids is spent working with young women. One of the most common sins these women struggle with is discontentment. And in single college women, this is never more obvious than when you get them talking about their love lives—or lack thereof.

What does it mean to be a warrior? A fierce killing machine? Or is it more akin to the scalping, silent horseman from Dances with Wolves? These are pictures that might come to mind when someone says the word “warrior,” but as Christians we’re talking about raising our sons to be warriors for Christ. Why warriors? Where did the idea come from?

Your adornment must not be merely external–braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3: 3-4

The majority of women today, myself included, would not admit to being fearful and anxious. Today we roll our eyes at the women of the past who fainted far too often and squealed much too high. Fear has become distinctly un-American. After all, in America what do we have to fear except fear itself?

Patriarchy has a bad name these days. In most circles, saying of a man, “He’s so patriarchal” can only be topped by saying “He’s such a Neanderthal,” because most 21st-century people, even those within Christ’s own church, assume that patriarchy is not only outdated, but backward, out of touch, and—more to the point—wrong...