Book Title: Family Discipleship: Leading Your Home Through Time, Moments, and Milestones

Author’s: Matt Chandler and Adam Griffin

Publisher: Crossway Publishers

There are few things that are as valuable and important as family. This precious gift that God has given to us is something that comes with a lot of work attached to it. A healthy, God-fearing family is not something that just happens. It takes work… a lot of work.

If there is one thing that has caused me to scratch my head and return to the drawing board more than once, it is how to lead my family in the way that the LORD would have me to do. I don’t know many who want to argue that discipleship is not an important part of the Christian faith (there is that Great Commission thing in Matthew 28). Family discipleship is also important.

The biggest problem that I find with family discipleship is that there is not a set method and practice for it. Just like any other form of discipleship, there is not one particular manner that it has to be done in. It can take different forms at different times and come to the same conclusion. Because there is not a particular way to do family discipleship, I believe that many families fall short in the practice of it. I know that I never saw family discipleship carried out in the home that I was raised in — at least not on a continual basis.

When Naomi and I began our family, we wanted to do it right. We recognized that this family that we had was given to us by the LORD, and He knew best how it should function. When it came to family discipleship though, there were many head-scratching sessions. Neither of us was sure what it was exactly supposed to look like.

I am grateful for tools like Family Discipleship from Matt Chandler and Adam Griffin. This book has put together a compact and good tool to help families that want to see discipleship carried out in their families. I really enjoy that this book is not just the thoughts of one person. In Family Discipleship, you have two pastors who are in different stages of the family life sharing the truths of God’s word and instances from their own families and practices.

The whole book surrounds the three areas that the authors break family discipleship into — time, moments, and milestones. There is a chapter devoted to each of these segments that goes into detail explaining what they are and how they function to the greater purpose of discipleship in the family. It is really nice how they give examples and “worksheets” at the end of these sections with practical ways to help the reader put what he or she has read into practice.

Recommendation

When it comes to Family Discipleship, I would encourage every couple to take the time to read this resource. I believe that it is a good tool to help in t his journey. I’m not sure that what is shared is totally new and not shared by others, but the way it is put together is very practical and helpful.

***I received a copy of Family Discipleship from Crossway Publishers in exchange for an honest review of the material.