Intentional Parenting: Family Discipleship by Design

Intentional Parenting"The ultimate goal of discipleship is that our children will come to delight in the grace of God and desire to love and obey him. They will develop these attitudes only if they understand what God has done for them (p. 60)"This brief book starts and ends on the right path, and there is not a ton of fluff or unnecessary examples. Simple truth from scripture, simple imagery to make truth stick, and simple instruction to help initiate and cultivate a family devoted to being disciples of Jesus. Discipleship with the family begins with remembering: "God is the sovereign and holy Creator of the universe. Man has rejected the sovereign and holy rule of God. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who came to rescue sinners. The gospel demands that all people respond in repentance and faith (p. 28)." Discipleship continues with parents living lives that reflect their dependence and joy through what Jesus has done.Chapter three highlights the macro-level viewpoints of this book. The "ingredients" are broken out in some of the major focuses of discipleship with the family. There is just enough words used to provide clarity in the chapters and yet has left ample amounts unwritten direct you back to Jesus in help to make the teachings stick. Tad Thompson does a brilliant job of emphasizing scripture and bringing it to life within the home. "He (Joshua) knew that households are either devoted to God or devoted to idols, so he called for the absolute and exclusive worship of God. Some of you say that you believe Jesus is Lord, yet you hold onto your idols and serve them with more passion and zeal than you serve Jesus (p. 102)." As Christian parents we must begin to take inventory and ownership with the responsibility God has given to us. "Parents today will generally do whatever it takes to see that their kids are successful in school, sports, drama, and dance. They will spend a great deal of money, time, and effort on these temporal matters. Yet very few take the time to be a strategic coach in the things of God (p. 97)." This book is a must have resource to give helpful and Godly direction for the family.BibliographyThompson, Tad (2011-01-28). Intentional Parenting (p. 97). Cruciform Press. Kindle Edition.

I love the title of this book. Are you intentionally raising your children in a manner that is meaningful and fulfilling God’s purpose? This is a book Christian parents should get and read. I have not heard of the author Tad Thompson before until I read this book and after I finished this book I see that he's a second generation pastor and started ministry when he was 18. He’s written a resource that’s definitely biblically wise.There are six chapters in this book. The first chapter establish not only the need for this book but the need for children to have their parents disciple them rather than it being outsourced to a youth ministry or the church. Chapter two involves the readers doing a self-reflection of where one is at spiritually; it is appropriately titled "The Mirror." Chapter three looks at what does family disciple involve with the various ways of studying and applying God's Word and the author titled it the Kitchen since it looks at the "ingredients" of family discipleship. Chapter four looks at the context for discipling one's kids and is titled the living room since much of life takes place in the home in the living room. Chapter five looks at the subject of shepherding the child’s heart and chapter six is titled “Times to Engage.”This was for me a spiritually refreshing read. I read it and took notes. There was many good things from this book. For instance I thought it was good that the author made the point that statistics should show us the importance of child’s spiritual growth is most effective coming from parents than outsourced to the church and youth ministry. Never have we have more youth pastors in the church and a whole industry specializing in youth ministry yet we see more and more fall away from the faith. God’s tried and true way of parents teaching their own kids about God is needed today. I thought it was good the author talked about parenting not just in the home but discipleship involves giving input in four spheres: home, community, church and world. I also thought the book’s discussion of four common wrong goals of parenting and then reminding readers of the Gospel focused purpose for Christian parenting.If there’s one constructive criticism is I wished it was longer. That stood out to me as he talked about the seven “ingredients” of family discipleship which were Gospel, Bilical Theology, Systematic Theology, Spiritual disciplines, Christian living and Biblical Worldview. I wished he could have explained each more. Still I don’t know if this constructive criticism is as being so critical given that few people today want to read long books and there’s a place for parents to read and get the big picture and this book is a gateway resource to further deeper studies.I recommend this book.

I did read this even though I don't have any children. Great book so far! I want to read this and would love to encourage my church family to read this book. Great book to read. I would encourage every parents to get this book. If you do get this book, you all will be thankful. Grandparents, please buy this book for your children. It is worth investing into this great short book to read. Great godly book to train your kids in His Word and to live their life for Christ. It is a short book. I do have this in e-book format. I would recommend to get them in book form and not in the e-book format.

While the book doesn't contain any new, earth-shattering parenting revelations, it does provide something invaluable -- a simple, practical guide for how to do intentional discipleship in the home. This is a book that all Christian parents can use to improve (begin?) the discipleship of their children. As discipleship in the home is such a foundational issue and at the same time one in which most families struggle, I hope and pray that God uses this book to challenge and equip many parents in the days ahead.