Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr.

Book Review:    FAMILY DRIVEN FAITH by Voddie Baucham Jr.

A book targeted at Christian readers, Family Driven Faith  is written to promote the concept of Family Integrated Churches,  (FIC)  and homeschooling kids instead of sending them to public school.   Another concept it promotes is that of parents instilling a "biblical worldview" in their children.  I have to say, while I would support both of these principles, this is not a book I would recommend reading.  It is filled with a lot of legalistic ideas, but most importantly, despite its good  intentions, the book misses or avoids the gospel message of Christ completely,  making it a questionable read if you want to get a solid Christian perspective of God’s grace and what it means to live out your Christian faith in the church or in a family.    .

But this is just my opinion… and yet, I say, let’s examine how Baucham promotes these ideas of FIC, as well as his advice on parenting and how to get a Christian worldview.  Keep in mind that the book is intended to be read by Christians, and as Christians  we must not be so quick to embrace a gospel other than the one we have already accepted.(Galatians 1:8)  Hopefully Christian readers are 
“Christian readers” because they have accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that they know him, personally, so that when someone else comes along to lead them into bondage they will test what that person has to say.

Voddie Baucham tells his reader, "if we want to change the world, we must first change the church." (pg. 203)

It is statements like this that are woven  throughout the book that prompt me to question the "Christian" perspective of this pro -family, pro-homeschooling book.  The church, after all, is something that is not only indestructible, but it is built by God.  The church, you might say, is His workmanship...  we are created in Christ Jesus...(EPh 2:10) The church stands firmly, it is built by Him upon the Rock he has firmly established, the cornerstone..(Ephesians 2:20)..  Jesus Christ.

When you, dear Christian,  think of the church, do you think of how it is that EVEN the " gates of hell" cannot prevail against the church?  It makes sense then, from a Christian perspective, to question this "change the church" comment,.  What does Baucham mean when he tells Christians, " if they want to change the world, then  they need to "change the church".  This is works based thinking at best.
Aside from the paradigm shift from faith in the work of Jesus Christ to our works to help change the world and make it a better place, Baucham wants his Christian readers to embrace the biblical concept of parents training up their children in the Lord.  Unfortunately, he does this via legalism, teaching that you only get one chance at it, so you better do it right.  He is a vociferous homeschool advocate to the core and as such Bucham believes that “Christian” parents, homeschool.

With the idea that parents "must" be the ones to instruct and thereby discipline their children, (not public schools or anyone else,) Baucham goes to great lengths explaining how the Old Testament has many instructions on this kind of parenting.  He even goes so far as to criticize most pastors, most churches and many Christians for their wrong thinking on this matter, noting that they have youth groups and Sunday school programs, even Christian schools, which take children from their parents.    He frowns on parents who put their kids in these group situations and while he tries to have a sympathetic heart to single parents, he encourages pastors and leaders to change their view on the matter, this... based upon various "scriptural" instructions.  

Baucham believes, and teaches his parent readers, that every act of disobedience from a child deserves immediate and swift punishment.  There is no "counting to three"... a parent should not have to repeat themselves and a child should obey immediately and without question.  To help the reader understand how this works in his own family, Baucham reports that he told his child, "...the Bible says that if you honor me you will live long.  That means that if you don't do what I say, I will take you out."(pg. 118)  

Sometimes such things are said sort of in “jest,"-  but  as to what, exactly,  "take you out" means is anybody's guess.  It's open to interpretation.... so can these words mean anything we want them to?  Is that how we are to read what he just said?  

Correction and obedience are right and good; all sin will be punished at some time, no doubt, just as Baucham also says; but justice is not the end of the story with God....mercy and grace and love are key elements to who God is as they are also to the Christian life. There was no grace in any of this teaching.  Also, there was not mention of Jesus Christ as he talked about the ultimate punishment of sin. Something si glaringly missing, and it’s something than cannot be omitted in the understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is simply not something that should be  omitted from a “Christian” book,  This was dishearten to me, as I thought for sure I was reading a book that was written by a Christian when I picked it up.

 Stressing this point that the children must be trained to obey immediately when told to do something, Baucham says, "the degree to which children properly respond to the authority of their parents is indicative to the degree in which they are filed with the Spirit"  (pg. 109)   Bauchams use of the term "spirit" here, like other things he says, is also ambiguous. 
Now, I might, or you might, assume ,that when he says “Spirit,” he means, "Spirit of God," but he is not implicit.  How do we know that he does not mean, "Spirit of fear?" (You know, the fear children may have that dear old dad might actually "take them out"?)  After all, Baucham tells parents to make sure that their children do what they say the first time they are told, without questioning...without ever contradicting  or ever being disobedient.   He never says how this is enforced or what to do when they do not submit to the authority placed over them, but one thing you do know, Dad is always in complete and total control.... of both his wife and kids. 

 He would never even think of sending them to church school, public school or Sunday school, either, because to Baucham, sending your child to any school (even Sunday school)  anything besides homeschooling is just not an option , this particularly if you want to be in God's will.. doing what the Bible says and keeping the commandments properly, especially the fifth.  

HE is also a proponent of training people in having a "biblical worldview", something I have come to believe comes only through the reading, preaching and teaching of the scriptures.  Again, this idea of how Christians view the world is a good, godly, Ch4ristian idea, but again, the manner and light in which such a thing is presented deserves a closer look. In Bauchams view we get this idea from reading all kinds of Christian books on the subject.

When it is all said and the last page is turned, a lot of things presented in this book come to the reader lacking some very important Christian essentials, and while I say this, let me also say  in Baucham's defense, I am glad that he is outspoken as a "Christian" and as a family man and as a homeschooler.  He is a voice and he makes some very good points, however there is a strong legalistic spirit in his ideals.  He doesn’t really talk about grace, and without grace, this thing he calls "Family Driven Faith", becomes disturbing.  It is for this reason I believe Christians should be VERY discerning when reading this book. You need to remember that grace is something we need to see that no one misses in their Christian walk. (Hebrews 12:15.) 

Baucham also  repeatedly talks about things that are wrong with the church, kinda badmouthing the bride of Christ.    He constantly uses terms like "most Christians" and "many Christians," followed by some negative aspect or negative thing "they" do in order to channel the reading thinking of the reader into his own stream of thought.  Saing bad things about the church and Christians is quite a bold assertion to be making.... unless of course you like being and accuser  of the brethren.   When a man like Mr Baucham bad talks both the "church" and "Christians," aas a point of habit it seems a bit contentious and one either finds agreement in this, or has to wonder, "Why?"

Many people are outspoken like this today.  They like to frame things as he does, with "most Christians" and "many Christians," when they are talking, and like many people who are outspoken in this manner, Baucham suggests that the church is really no different from the world.   He says, for example, (pg. 112) "There is little distinction between our lives and the lives of pagans down the street." 

Really?  (How is this measured?  Outward appearance only?  )    Mpre importantly, is it true?  And what makes a “Christian” Christian anyhow?

Certainly all people are sinners, that is a given....(so maybe we are much the same as pagans  in that respect.  However Christians do not worship trees and creation like pagans do, and they do profess to believe in Jesus, and the Bible too.   Pagans, on the other hand have no use for that stuff, so there are ome differences if one is really what they profess to be.  

So you see, the church is different because it knows Jesus Christ is Lord... and believes the promises of God.  It is made up of people who have repented of sin before the God of the Universe and who now stand forgiven in Christ.  It is made up of people who are "born again"....no longer of the world; people who have become part of the family of God, and who, according to the scripture, are now to be the bride of Christ.   They are definitely different than the pagans down the street because they love the God who first loved them... (1 John 4:19) in return for his love in redeeming them from sin.   They still have their humanity in many ways.... and they still need to eat and sleep and they still bleed just like the "pagans down the street"... but there is, and should be some differences just the same.  They are not perfect people without any fault or blemish like Jesus, but you can definitely see Jesus  and the love of God working in them as they tell you of the promises of God which they believe, but Baucham says there is no difference.  Why is this?

Baucham says, (pg. 23) "A family without a commitment to the God of the Bible has no hope of stemming the tide of cultural onslaught.  If we mix a little Biblical truth, a little secular psychology, a little romance novel ideology and a little eastern mysticism we will get a deadly mixture of lies.  Unfortunately, this is what most Christians do."   

Generally speaking, Christians are those who have made a commitment to God. (They are not those "without a commitment" as related in the quote above.)  But most importantly, despite what Baucham says, these people do have a hope of "stemming the tide of cultural onslaught," (Whatever that happens to mean...) because the scripture says, " if God is with us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:28)  To help you stand against the “cultural onslaught” Baucham suggests looking at the law and walking in it… but keeping the commandments and being obedient to God and his will to a “t”… by the works of our own flesh, by force or by fear,  is simply not  the Gospel.

So, once you are dutifully keeping the law like a good and moral person should and think this guy really knows what he is talking about… Baucham then talks more about how he wants to "revolutionize" (pg. 191) the way his readers think of the church and of the family.  This, he believes, will come about as we teach our children a "biblical worldview,." and the way to do this, he says, is to fill our houses with lots of Christian books.  He also advocates that these families create "family integrated churches" and says that it will take a ”paradigm shift" (pg. 202) in our thinking to create this revolution, which he says will be a  "complete overhaul of the philosophy that is accepted in our churches, colleges, seminaries, and homes" too.    

Again,  Baucham teaches that churches have things all wrong, and his pet concept of  "Family Integrated Churches" are they way that God intended church to be.   To make matters worse, Baucham suggests lots of Christian books are needed to get a Christian worldview, neglecting to be really clear about what  Christian doctrine is.  Furthermore, it's utterly ironic that Mr. Baucham cautions his readers, to be very careful about what they read, for he says that not all books in the Christian book stores are guaranteed "Christian"!  He is right on that point, in fact, and his book, Family Driven Faith is now on my ever growing list, 

It would be really refreshing to hear the good news of Jesus Christ from this man, but we don't; and as a reader, as a Christian,  I can only wonder “why?” In my curiosity, I checked out his internet website , taking note that there, he doesn't mention Jesus Christ or the gospel either.   His website is really all about himself and his ministry.  And, in a rather self promoting fashion, Baucham  make mention that he ”speaks to ‘outsiders’ (whatever an "outsider" is)  in ways few Bible teachers can," making sure the person reading thinks that his teaching is somehow extraordinary, special and far above ALL the rest.  

Bible teachers, Christian bible teachers do have one thing in common, and it makes them Christian.  Most of them anyhow, know just one thing... the gospel truth... and that is Christ and him crucified for our sin.  ( Corinthians 2:2)