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. Bibliography Thompson, Tad (2011-01-28). Intentional Parenting (p. 97). Cruciform Press. Kindle Edition.

With your children, are you thinking of parenting as something other than discipleship? Tad Thompson writes this brief book to encourage all parents to engage in the critical everyday discipleship of their little ones. The dillemma: In the chapter called "The Need" Thompson writes, "the hard fact is that fathers and mothers are not taking on the responsibility to disciple their own children." We live in a time where it is almost more common to see a child of professing believers walk away from the faith than continue to walk in faith in adulthood. What is the problem? Thompson believes it has less to do with the failures of programy and happy-slappy youth groups and more to do with lazy parents. These are parents who do not have a goal that "our children will come to delight in the grace of God and desire to love and obey him." The solution: A key issue that Thompson repeatedly speaks to as to why parents are not discipling their children is that they simply have not been taught (or have not sought to learn) how to disciple their children. To this end, the author unfolds seven key areas of thought that are "aisles in a grocery store" of resources for child discipleship. They are: 1) The Gospel 2) The Big Story (or Biblical Theology) 3) The Big Truths (or Systematic Theology) 4) The Great Commission 5) Spiritual Disciplines 6) Christian Living) and 7) Worldview. That may seem like a weighty list to parent from, but all of these categories contain essential truths that can be "integrated into the rhythm of every day life." The action: "But how?" you might ask. The response comes, "You cannot disciple your children beyond your own level of discipleship." The response to the deep burden of shepherding children must be that each parent must seek to be shepherded! From that foundation of personal devotion to the Lord, Thompson also consistently sprinkles tips and ideas for engraining these truths in the daily life of their family. Is "Intentional Parenting" worth reading? If you are a young parent, or know one, I would say: yes! This short book can be digested in a couple of sittings and is full of helpful gospel-centered guidance. I would say do not let your reading on parenting end here, there are many books out there that are more comprehensive in their approach to tactics and theory for raising children in the gospel. However, this book is an excellent place to start that journey into thinking about discipling children. Bottomline: Great introduction to gospel-driven discipleship for parents.

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.

I was both challenged and encouraged by Intentional Parenting. It's a very thorough look at how your own spiritual condition and disciplines are what you must intentionally pass along to your children. An example: Are you lacking Bible intake? You must change that in order to teach your children how important bible intake truly is.