Book Critique Family to Family Essay

Author InformationThe authors of the entertain argon Jerry Pipes and skipper Lee. contented SummaryIn the book, Family to Family, Families Making a Difference, the writers detail the major laying claim of the work at heart its scratch line few p periods Family to Family will military service you get around matinee idols purpose for your family, develop a family perpetration statework forcet, draw core values, make sequence for quality and quantity family time pertain around divinity fudges purposes, and equip you to lead your children to Christ and t individu all toldy them spiritually (3).The books purpose is to maximize family time in the Lord, bringing family members closer together by helping them actualize their stand first in Christ, and then as they relate and interact with each otherwise. The book promotes the idea of discovering the critical link between being on kick as a family and passing the baton of your faith on to your children (3). This line of thou ght is prevalent in the book and it seems to summarize the relegation of the writers. The book views itself as being based and rooted in the steady metrical foot of the scriptures, and the authors express as much The bottom lineGods plan for the family has been revealed in His Word The success of our families will be determined by our commitment to know and live the principles of Gods Word (3).In the first chapter of the book, the writers make the contention that many families ar non healthy and be not spending quality time with one another. The writers reference research gathered from The American Family Association and George Barna. with the accumulated research, the writers state that, only 34 percentage of Americas families eat one meal together each day. (In addition) the average commence spends only eight to 10 minutes a day with his children. This includes meal times. (6) Another alarming statistic that they present to their audience is that only 12 percent of Ameri cas families pray together, (and) the average couple spends only quad minutes of uninterrupted time together a day (6). after(prenominal) the writers finish communion virtually alarming statistics, they proceed to identify what a healthy Christian family should look like. They call for persons to examine their own families and to ingest the surveying questions Is it a cohesive unit or a dislocated collection of individuals? Is it on legation for God or unsure of its mission? Is it flowing or fumbling? Disciplined or destructive? purpose-built or pointless (7)?From the second chapter onward, the writers seek to allow the book to dress as a guide to nurture an unhealthy family as they take up towards an improved level of spiritual health. The writers begin by proposing a family mission statement, stating that, A family mission statement will serve as a centerline and guardrails for your family on the road finished life (25). The writers lead us on an extensive exposition o n the importance of a familial mission statement and how to initiate one and incorporate one into our families. In chapter two, they present seven realities, which be geared towards accepting and incorporating the fact that God is and can be an ever-present reality at bottom your family.The writers then argue the importance of teaching and sharing the Gospel with children. They present the fact that 90 percent of all Christians wear accepted Jesus before the age of 25, and therefore, place a premium on passing the baton onto the following generation as early as we can (51). The remainder of the book becomes a summary of other evangelical programs and ideas, shared in an effort to encourage the entire family to become an evangelizing force together. They include the models of concentric circles (75) and other familial evangelistic ideas, which are geared towards the family being unified and presenting that colligation before others as a witness to their unity in Christ.In the final chapter of the book, the writers detail the importance of Biblical based evangelism for all of those persons elusive in the family unit. The writers advocate what they call the FIRM approach to evangelism, which involves F want near family, I ask about their rice beers-listen, R ask about religion-listen, and M share the message (114-115). Lastly, the writers admit some practical methods for sharing the Gospel, which include some scripture memorization and tips on a repurchase-testimony first appearance. paygradeThe book seeks to establish a rationale for the disunity of the modern family and then to lead mechanisms to promote unity within the family through the Word, then to evangelize through the family as a united front in Christ. The book is short, good and to the point. It allows for easy reading and presents an effective rationale for families being unified first in Christ (with each other), and then presenting that unification as an active, spirited testim ony to others. The writers identify early on that this is a book for families in crisis, and the greatest contributing factor to that difficulty involves time and busyness within the members of the family itself.Due to the simplistic presentation of the material, the writers allow for a potential squeeze for a wide variety of persons and family units (beyond the traditional ones). The writers presentation of unhealthy families and the facts provided which detail children who have fallen away from the church cannot be understated in its level of importance, and serves to provide the reader with a giveation for the rest of the work. The flow of the work involves a clever method employed by the writers that mixes conversational and anecdotal stories with necessity information, which is important to hold the interest of the target audiences.The writers may have perhaps offered a more make argument, had they given their target audience a little more terra firma information concerni ng the statistics they compiled, rather than just highlighting that information in endnotes. The chapter on mission statements feels rushed, and gives the impression that research for the work appears to be somewhat lacking. eccentric in point there is no citation offered concerning the comparison of Jonathan Edwards and the Jukes families. This cannot help but offer the audience the false notion that the writers composed the necessary research to develop the notion they are putting forth (24-25).The writers provide another example without properly citing and giving credit to the source on page 26, in the example of the bucket of sand and the braggart(a) rocknroll and the little rock. This is an illustration which has been use by many in the past, and the writers are not the original source of it. They state, Perhaps you have seen the illustration of the big rocks and little rocks (26). Again, this may be nitpicking however, I believe that they need to contend responsibility, si nce the book is a Christian work.The book contains relevant study questions and provides a plethora of workbook-like material. That being said, the work is ideal for small group studies in the church and provides a foundational approach for working with families. Beyond being impartial enough for the new convert to understand, the book is filled with practical and perceptive applications for all believers to use in their ends to spread the Word within their families and to others.The writers have fulfilled their purpose in the book. It is obvious to see, with the statistics presented and the commentary offered, that families are in trouble and the church needs to respond to their needs. The church is comprised (mostly) of families. The enemy is aware that if he destroys the family unit (as presented in scripture), then he goes a bulky way to placing a major injury on the church. Pipes and Lee are to be commended for their efforts. They wrote Family to Family Leaving a Lasting L egacy, as a reaction to the susceptibility of even supposedly Christian families to the status quo. This status quo, as presented by the writers, involves an adherence to one of the varying levels of dysfunction that many families experience.The draw for families in the scriptures is one man, one woman, and if they are blessed, then children. This work provides an smooth evangelistic modality within which to engage all types of families (single parent, no children, etc). This is repayable to the fact that, regardless of the construction of the particular family, salvation is needed within and should be displayed cohesively to the world. That being said, one can see that, once a family mission statement is adopted, the potential for manipulation within a family is obvious. electric potential problems could turn up should one of the parents attempt to use the mission statement to parry their children to act and perform in the manner that they desire. Should conflict and divorce arise in the family (which is a startling reality for the church as come up as the world), then these paradigms constructed originally to help could instead be used to further divide the entire family.With any risk of developing methodological analysis and then instructing others to incorporate this methodology into their lives, without being able to control all extraneous variables (which only God can), there is the potential danger for some using the writers material for abusive purposes. Yet in taking this risk, the writers succeed. This is largely due to the fact that they speak the truth of the scriptures in love, and are to be applauded for developing and exhorting others to incorporate these methods into their lives to improve their families and evangelize the lost.thither is something pure and right about someone trying to assist others whom are in epic struggles in this life. The writers have presented a unique and intriguing way for the church to implement and instruct families which are in desperate need of such tutoring. A most wonderful encapsulating quote is found on page 114, which states, The bottom line is sharing the way of salvation through Jesus Christ.This is what this book is all about raising your family to follow Christ. Following Christ means sharing the gospel with those who do not know Him. Jesus said, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matt.419). If you are not fishing, you are not following. You and your family are on mission to be fishers of men (114). This is a rousing call to families and the Body of believers. Those who endeavor to heed the call must realize the writers purposes in desiring to show them a way to raise their families to serve and follow Jesus.BIBLIOGRAPHYPipes, Jerry and Victor Lee. Family to Family, Families Making a Difference. Lawrenceville, GA Jerry Pipes Productions, 1999.