Family Driven Faith : Baptist Bible Hour

Family Driven Faith

Posted by: Justin on January 19, 2012

More teens are turning away from the faith than ever before: it is estimated that as many as 70-88% of teens who profess Christianity walk away from their faith by the end of their freshman year of college. Something must be done.

Family Driven Faith equips Christian parents with the tools they need to raise children biblically in a post-Christian, anti-family society… God’s simple command to Moses [in Deuteronomy 6] to teach the Word diligently to the children of Israel serves as the foundation of Family Driven Faith.

This bold new book is an urgent call to parents–and the church–to return to biblical discipleship in and through the home.

- From the back cover

I have heard Voddie Baucham speak on numerous occasions, on a variety of topics — apologetics, theology, pastoring, etc. — but the subject matter of this book, I think, is going to be the main and lasting legacy of his ministry.

Placing the family at the heart of every other Christian endeavor is paradigm-shifting and priority-transforming.

Whether you are talking about discipleship, evangelism, or every-day decisions and priorities, Voddie Baucha argues, the family is at the center of God’s plan for his people.

As central as the local church is to the cause of Christ’s kingdom, the family is even at the center of the local church.

Baucham begins the book with an overview of “the lay of the land” and here one can definitely sense his awareness of, and aptitude for, apologetics and the problems our culture is facing in this day. But as the chapters unfold, he makes it increasingly apparent that the problem is not just “out there” — in the wickedness of the world or the apathy of Christianity as a whole — it is right inside our own front door, around our dinner table (or lack thereof), and in the living we do in our living room.

The heart of Christian living, in all of its various facets, is the Christian home. But Baucham goes on from that basic point to some very practical applications.

From raising children, to finding the right spouse, to learning to love — within your own home, and through your home to others — Baucham shows that ours truly must be a “family-driven faith.”

And Voddie Baucham deserves particular kudos in that, while laying out a very high standard and conservative worldview for the Christina home, he avoids the insensitivity or impracticality of which so many authors and speakers become guilty. He freely speaks of the difficult and disjointed backgrounds from which he and his wife come (i.e. you don’t have to be raised in a perfect home yourself to make a godly home for your family); he acknowledges mistakes that they made in their early marriage and family life (i.e. it’s never too late to start fresh); and he addresses the obvious problems of single-parent homes, unbelieving spouses, etc. (i.e. your situation does not have to be ideal in order to do the right thing).

While admitting that a Christ-centered, family-driven faith is rarely seen today, is counter-cultural even among Christians, and will require a reordering of our priorities and daily choices — Baucham makes such a winning and biblical case for the worldview he is presenting, it is hard not to want to share his vision.

It clearly won’t be easy, but as the subtitle to the book so well expresses, it will be “doing what it takes to raise sons and daughters who walk with God.”

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