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e seen as a biblically inaccurate parenting strategy.
Holmen includes references to statistics to support the
need for parents to actively lead the faith process in
the home. He, however, does not include any critical
assessment of the various studies that yielded the statistics
but rather lets them stand at face value, leaving
the reader to decipher their validity. The style of this
book may not have warranted any assessment of those
statistics. There is no doubt that this book aims to help
parents become more faithful in their God-given role
given. The author raises a concern that is pervasive in
the church today: “When it comes to doing what we
need to do to lead our kids to life, through faith in
Christ, I don’t think parents have any idea how important
their actions and behaviors at home are” (35).
Third, parents need to have a plan. In creating a
tangible strategy for impacting the spiritual growth
of your children, Holmen offers a strong suggestion
that every parent should implement. In chapter two,
he walks through a brief process whereby fathers can
lead their family to charter a family mission statement.
“A lot of families are struggling today because they are
trying to build their family without a plan” (24). The
simple, sequential process for a family mission statement
will help parents lay a strong foundation for charting
the course and leading their children to life. Although
he does not include biblical texts in the family mission
statement process, the primary questions that he
suggests should easily find their basis in God’s Word. I
would add to the family mission statement process by
asking each family member, especially the parents, to
include a scriptural reference for each suggestion they
bring to the process, if possible.
Fourth, parents must live the Word. Holmen does
an exemplary job of maintaining a simple awareness of
the basic foundational doctrine found in the Deuteronomy
6 passage. He spends the remaining chapters
driving home essential principles from the text that are
often read quickly, leaving little opportunity to absorb
the heart and intention of the very words.
One strong recommendation is to put this book
in the hands of fathers who have seemingly tight
schedules. With community and accountability, this
resource could liberate the unfounded perception that
impressing faith on your kids is complicated. It just
might spark a courageous season in the life of a church.
Make no mistake, it is not easy. The task for parents
is often a difficult one but it does not have to be complicated.
The author offers transparent testimony of
his personal journey through these suggestions and
understands that it is a process that requires adjustment
along the way.
There are times when parents desire a more effective
process for leading the spiritual growth of their children.
This book has put simple but powerful principles
well within reach for any Christian parent.
Troy W. Temple, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Masters Studies,
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to
Lead Their Homes. By Voddie Baucham Jr. Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 2011, 192 pp., $15.99.
Until a few years ago, Voddie T. Baucham Jr. was
known primarily as a cultural apologist and popular
speaker at youth events. Much of that shifted in 2007
with the publication of Family Driven Faith: Doing
What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk
with God. With Family Driven Faith, Baucham’s name
became associated with a growing family ministry
movement. Most of this attention was positive, recognizing
his strong call for intentional family discipleship.
Other responses were more critical, choosing
to focus almost exclusively on the viability of familyintegrated
ministry—despite the fact that only one
chapter in the book even raised the issue of familyintegrated
churches, and Baucham explicitly stated
that he didn’t intend this model to serve as a blueprint
for every church (Family Driven Faith, 213).
In Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men
to Lead Their Homes, Baucham brings together his passion
for family discipleship with his earlier emphasis on
developing a gospel-centered worldview. He presents
family as a primary context for worldview formation
(“family is the cornerstone of society,” 11) and then
identifies the father as primarily responsible for cultivating
gospel-centeredness in his family. Baucham does not
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