Book Review: Family Driven Faith

By Josh Reighley on August 11, 2007 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

I just finished reading Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God by Voddie Baucham. I found it to be a very challenging book.

I think most Christians are aware of the troubling statistics regarding children leaving the faith. Between 70 and 88 percent of Christian teens are leaving their faith by the time they are in their second year of college. The vast majority of Christian teens do not hold a Biblical world view.

There are many efforts being made to rectify the situation, but these are all "inside the box" type solutions; Build better Sunday school programs, Build better youth para-church organizations etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these efforts, Baucham notes that there is no Biblical charter for their existence.. The Bible tell parents that it is their responsibility to disciple their children. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us that we need to teach God's word at home.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

I began seriously investing in my kid's spiritual development a few months before I got the book. I started reading 2 or 3 chapters of the Bible per night to my kids. Julia understands some of it. She is 6. Nathan doesn't seem to understand much. He is 4. I still do it, as I know that it is teaching him that his Daddy reads the bible at least 20 minutes a day, and that Daddy cares enough about his spiritual well being to invest 20 minutes per day. Oddly enough, Julia doesn't seem to care if she misses it, but Nathan begs me to read it to him every night.

Teaching is quite rewarding for me as the Daddy, and I plan to make it more central in our family traditions. After reading the Family Driven Faith book, I think we will try to incorporate a some worship songs and hymns, and some more general theology/doctrine lessons in addition to bible reading.

Some of Baucham's teachings tend to be quite controversial. He is critical of the age segregation that is normal in today's churches. He has advocated that the SBC find a way to pull their children out of the public school system. He is a homeschooling advocate. His arguments are quite compelling, but politically incorrect enough that they are very difficult for the Christian establishment to swallow.

Luckily the solution is not to change the world one denomination or one church at a time, it is to change the world one family at a time - Starting with my own. I am the leader of my family, and it is my responsibility to be their shepherd. Life change is contagious, so by changing my family, it is likely to encourage and exhort those we fellowship with.

Overall, I find Voddie Baucham to be quite prophetic. His words seem to be laced in biblical truth. He proposes a pretty radical prescription that many people are not going to want to swallow. I think every parent and church leader should be exposed to the ideas in this book, and should reconcile their resistance with the teachings of scripture.

I am not sure I am comfortable with ending age segregation in Church, but I do think that we need to work really hard to encourage parents to disciple their kids. Sunday School should be a supplement to home teaching, not the other way around.

Comments

I just finished reading Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God by Voddie Baucham. I found it to be a very challenging book. I think most Christians are aware of the troubling statistics regarding children leaving the faith. Between 70 and 88 percent of Christian teens are leaving their faith by the time they are in their second year of college. The vast majority of Christian teens do not hold a Biblical world view. There are many efforts being made to rectify the situation, but these are all "inside the box" type solutions; Build better Sunday school programs, Build better youth para-church organizations etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these efforts, Baucham notes that there is no Biblical charter for their existence.. The Bible tell parents that it is their responsibility to disciple their children. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us that we need to teach God's word at home.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

It is not an easy solution. It is not an comfortable solution. It is not the "take a pill" or "take a seminar" and everything will be better in the morning kind of solution that we love so much. It requires a lot of work. But it is the right thing to do. I began seriously investing in my kid's spiritual development a few months before I got the book. I started reading 2 or 3 chapters of the Bible per night to my kids. Julia understands some of it. She is 6. Nathan doesn't seem to understand much. He is 4. I still do it, as I know that it is teaching him that his Daddy reads the bible at least 20 minutes a day, and that Daddy cares enough about his spiritual well being to invest 20 minutes per day. Oddly enough, Julia doesn't seem to care if she misses it, but Nathan begs me to read it to him every night. Teaching is quite rewarding for me as the Daddy, and I plan to make it more central in our family traditions. After reading the Family Driven Faith book, I think we will try to incorporate a some worship songs and hymns, and some more general theology/doctrine lessons in addition to bible reading. Some of Baucham's teachings tend to be quite controversial. He is critical of the age segregation that is normal in today's churches. He has advocated that the SBC find a way to pull their children out of the public school system. He is a homeschooling advocate. His arguments are quite compelling, but politically incorrect enough that they are very difficult for the Christian establishment to swallow. Luckily the solution is not to change the world one denomination or one church at a time, it is to change the world one family at a time - Starting with my own. I am the leader of my family, and it is my responsibility to be their shepherd. Life change is contagious, so by changing my family, it is likely to encourage and exhort those we fellowship with. Overall, I find Voddie Baucham to be quite prophetic. His words seem to be laced in biblical truth. He proposes a pretty radical prescription that many people are not going to want to swallow. I think every parent and church leader should be exposed to the ideas in this book, and should reconcile their resistance with the teachings of scripture. I am not sure I am comfortable with ending age segregation in Church, but I do think that we need to work really hard to encourage parents to disciple their kids. Sunday School should be a supplement to home teaching, not the other way around.