The Faithful Parent: A Biblical Guide to Raising a Family

This book is a compelling read because it gives practical advice and very biblical hope to parents of children of all ages. Most parenting books outright, or indirectly, promise a good outcome if you only follow their suggestions. The Faithful Parent gives many practical biblically-based suggestions and covers all major issues but focuses on the Christian parent's faithfulness to glorify God - whether their children do, or not. It's an authoritative parenting book that looks at the objectives of parenting at each life stage and includes practical 'troubleshooting' when things don’t go to plan.

Martha Peace is a biblical counselor and conference speaker, as well as the best-selling author of The Excellent Wife.

Stuart Scott is a professor of Biblical Counseling at Southern Seminary and the author of The Exemplary Husband. He is a board member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors.

Exactly what its title indicates, The Faithful Parent shows those of us who long to raise our children by biblical standards how to do it. No whistles, fancy gimmicks, up-to-the minute slang, or wild ideas, this book contains only solidly Scripture-based perspectives which make good sense and work admirably. Knowing that to be able to truly help your children you must begin with yourself, the authors start by looking at parental needs and then at what is meant by bringing up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, with a strong emphasis on helping your child develop his own biblical mindset and heart-set. Included in this is a discussion about your child’s salvation and sanctification. Having given you a basis for the ongoing discussion, the authors go on to the bulk of this book, Christian insights and advice for the various developmental phases: infant, toddler, preschooler, school-age, and adolescence. Part 3 further facilitates Christian parenting. It considers special cases such as single parenting, divorced parents and blended families, and one parent not a Christian. It also gives insight into the heart-break of a Christ-rejecting child, providing a month of significant devotions for the parents of this type of child. Several helpful appendices worthily close The Faithful Parent, including: faithfully presenting the gospel in all you do; direct dealing with sin; and, parents learning to cope with their own wrong thinking so as to pass this ability on to your children.

A mother, grandmother, R.N., Bible teacher, women's counselor, and author, Martha Peace brings to this book a great deal of experience, years of learning to live the Christian life, and the ability to simply state the important truths about which she is writing. Long-time pastor, seminary professor of biblical counseling, and author of family-related books and booklets, Stuart Scott adds his experience, deep insights from the Lord he loves, and a penchant for saying exactly what his audience needs to hear. All parents, whether experienced or just beginning, will find much help and encouragement in this book. Children do come with an instruction manual. That manual is the Bible. The Faithful Parent gathers all that biblical information together so that we can access it now by reading it from cover to cover, and later as we return to it for immediate help on particular problems. – Donna Eggett, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com