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)

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss

Finally!  I finally finished reading the book!  I can't believe it took me so long... glad I finally finished and now I can surely say, it was interesting, and it was funny, but obviously not funny or interesting enough to keep me from sleeping instead of reading. 

I enjoyed it when I did read it, I just kept falling asleep.  The moral of that story is the answer to the question of the ages:  how exciting can punctuation REALLY be?

Well, Lynn Truss knows.  Actually, after reading this book about punctuation, I can honestly say that the world of punctuation is more interesting that I ever dreamed, but to know this one must first be willing to enter into the world of punctuation, which is what this book is about.

The thing that spurred me on to finishing this book was that I ended up listening to the book on tape, which I found for sale as a discarded book at the local library.   I have to say, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves was actually even more interesting this way, as it was colored with segments of audio interviews and reports by various people highlighted in the book.  It was like listening to a radio program rather than reading a book, and all the while one could be getting through the same material; besides, I could drive the car while I listened.  I think this particular book on tape really brought the book to life.

Reading this book... audio or not, is a lot like going on an adventure into the jungle of words and punctuation.... punctuation is thew wild things within the words.  This is because there really is so much more to puctuation than meets the eye, you have to get in and explored the punctuation realm to really understand.  There was so much more to the world of punctuation than I knew before.

When Lynn talks about a ZERO tolerance approach, she is referring to the idea that people really do not understand punctuation... and make mistakes using it all the time, and these mistakes should be corrected.... but on the other hand, one learns reading this book that the punctuation we use is not only wild, (a.k.a... totally arbitrary and roaming free, even though we learn various punctuation rules and use them all the time... if we want to....and if we want to communicate well in the communications we write.  Punctuation is like traffic signals... but then in the world of face paces comunication at the speed of light, no one punctuates any more.... or so  THEY say.

 It seems that perhaps punctuating is becoming more unpopular as we text via cell phone in these more modern times.  This because some people find it unnecessary or time consuming.  But when interviewed many people said they did punctuate in texting... for various reasons... like passing good punctuation skills down to their kids.   And then there is the newest form of puctuation... the emoticons.

: -)

and there was a discussion of orther anatomial-icons being passed around as well....

Anyhow...  Let it suffice now to say thatafrer reading this book, I saw commas, full stops, dashes colons semi colons and exclaimation points in ways that I ever thought about before.  I brushed up a little on this very important part of writing, and learned also not to take it all so seriously.  I do think it is a very important book, that makes a very important point...  On a simple scale, consider the importance of a comma.... Commas change things. 

For example, take a look at the differencee here when commoas are inserted or removed in the title of the book.:

The Panda eats bamboo shoots and leaves.
The Panda eats bamboo shoots, and leaves.
The Panda eats bamboo, shoots, and leaves. 

Or another example:
One can say,
"Let's eat Grandpa."
meaning to say,
"Let's eat, Grandpa."

I loved the special touch Lynn added to the book of sticker apostrophes and  commas so signs can be corrected.  SHe obviously not only takes this stuff seriously... but is seriously funny about it all.


Probably the most important and uselessly useful piece of information I learned was how to use an interbang, or rather, that there was even such a thing.  I had never heard of an Interrobang before so now I am endebted to Lynn Truss for bringing this interesting piece of punctuation to my attention.

Do you know what an interbang is?  (Hint: It conveys in print an attitude of curiosity and wonder.)

I definitely  recommend the information given in this book.  Its good for re caging you mind on the whole punctuation issue....and giving you some insight about whether you know how to punctuate properly or not.  If you are anything like me, you will enjoy the way these punctuation experts see punctuation and find this book an the information within it will make you sharper in your use of it, or at least think more about "why" you use it at all,  or if you want to use it, and when; that is of course, if after reading the book, you decide punctuation is necessary at all.

Sunflower Houses by Sharon Lovejoy

My favorite thing to so, since 2001 is to  plant sunflowers, growing them into a Sunflower house; something I learned about long ago.



Sunflower Houses, Garden Discoveries for Chrldren of All Ages, by Sharon Lovejoy, is a fabulous find.  I bought it at the Library book sale.. the one in the bookcase in North Spokane.  Fifty cents is all it cost me for a very cool book indeed!  It is fun to read and a delight to the heart, as I read through it considering all the marvels of growing things and the magic they do spark in a child's heart and mind.

After reading this book, I am now inspired to try new and interesting things, like a butterfly garden... (shaped like a butterfly of course...) or a clock garden, where the plants in the garden open and close at various, predictable times of the day.  My most favorite idea from this book, the most practical for me, may be to plant a rainbow garden. 

That looks a little like this:Off I go to pull some weeds right now!


Too-da-loo...

The Law by Frederic Bastiat

The Law was written by Frederic Bastiat in 1850.  Just the same it is as relevant today as it was when it was written.  I highly recommend the reading of this short, easy to read book that will help you understand more about the LAW.

You can read it on-line at : http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html

Taming the Techno Beast by Todd Wilson

 Taming the Techno Beast  is a book I bought at a recent conference where the author spoke.  It's a small book, and easy to read.  I got it because I am a sort of anti techno person... (She said as she typed on her computer, using the internet....) I mean, I think one should be careful that such things do not suck up your life... and I know how they can easily do that.  Also, I liked hearing what Todd Wilson had to say too, as he talked about issues pertaining to parenting and homeschooling... and knowing he had a heart for the Lord, I was also interested to hear what he had to say about this techno beast.

I found it to be interesting and insightful as he talked about how technology sneaks in and how i consumes you when you least expect it.  IT is funny how you start with your kids playing seemingly  innocent, educational games like Winnie the Pooh or Carmen San Diego and the next thing you know it becomes babysitting sort of time... and then the next thing you know they've  moved on to other games that fulfill the entertainment need and then people are playing games instead of playing with friends.

I think the book was a good reminder to be thoughtful about this technological world that has emerged and how we spend out time, how our kids spend their time.  He says that we cannot kill the beast... because it does exist, it permeates our culture, and we should recognize how it can be used for both good and for evil.  He says though that we need to tame it, bring it under control..and not let it control us or our kids.

STUFF, The Secret Lives of Everyday Things

STUFF, The Secret Lives of Everyday Things by John C Ryan and Alan Thein Durning

This book is small, (80 or so page,) easy to read, and is basically an over-sized pamphlet  that is geared towards environmentalism.  It is published by the Northwest Environment Watch.The point of the book is to get people to consider the impact that their personal consumerism has on the planet.

Now, I am no environmentalist...I mean, I believe in being responsible a steward... thinking and acting in such a way as to make good use of things and not be wasteful with water, electricity, ect. I put litter in it's place,I turn off the water between the moments of brushing my teeth and rinsing my brush, but I am not religious about it to the point that I worship earth, know what I mean? I did however enjoy learning more about where stuff comes from and what goes into it's production.

Coffee, newspaper, t-shirt, shoes, Bike and shoes, computers, hamburgers, fries and coke a cola... didn't you always want to know how consumption of these products affects the environment?  Didn't you want to know how many beans you used in the morning for your coffee?  These guys go through a typical day and address some of the products that might touch your or my life and examine where the come from, and what kinds of things need to happen for the millions of people who use such things  to go about an "ordinary day."  The point is that consuming too much stuff can be bad for us.

For example, did you know that (this book was published in 1997) Americans drink more soda than water?  This book says that the world drinks 70 million gallons of soda everyday.  They point out that it takes a factory to carbonate the water....and then of course the main ingredient is usually high fructose corn syrup.. the second largest use for corn, after feeding cattle.  They say the caffiene in the drink is a by-product of extracting the caffeine from coffee. (YUK)

Then there's the can.. which has to be mined...processed with all kind of chemicals, some very caustic and dangerous...smelted and all the electricity that Bonniville power had to use to run the smelting plant.  It is made in to an ingot, more power is used to process the ingot and turn it into a high tech can and then once the drink is consumed the can may or may not get recycled... 40 billion are thrown into landfills and 60% are recycled.

In addition to recycling you cans, they recommend that people use refillable bottles instead of the aluminum can, citing that recycling uses only five percent of the energy it takes to mine new materials for a can.  More importantly, they recommend drinking water instead of sugar laden soda.  Good advice if you think about it, and this book will make you think about it everything from what you wear to what you buy and eat, even what you drive.

They even say, "friends don't let friends drive sport utility vehicles."

Really?  

There is a lot of politics going on within the pages of this book, but I still thought it was interesting to delve into the details of how we get what we get and what goes into it' production.  No doubt things could be written in another light besides help save the world... just the same, I wonder what the world would be like if more people drank water instead of soda.

I am into recycling, so if you want to read this book, I can pass it on to you... just let me know before it goes of to the resale shop.  If you are just slightly interested, you can read an excerpt on the internet at their web page.  I thought it was interesting.