I have read and continue to read books about parenting. I will tell you up front that I don’t know it all and I need lots of help. There are many books in the parenting category clamoring for attention. They seem to fall into a few general categories and vary greatly in their usefulness.

• Eminently Practical—Some books take a bare bones, practical approach where parenting is presented as simple 1, 2, 3’s. It seems so easy and formulaic that we should be able to program a computer to parent a child. While I have at times gleaned a good tip here and there, I have to give these kind of books the thumbs down in general.
• Ethereal—Some books are very lofty. They deal with the grand scale. When done well, they have a definite place. We must have a large vision and a greater picture that goes beyond 5:00 supper. Sometimes these books can be overwhelming and even frustrating. While they paint a beautiful picture of where we would like to be, they don’t necessarily help us to get there. This is okay as long as we know what to expect and realize that books are sometimes confused about what category they belong to.
• Biblical—Books drawing wisdom and principles from Scripture in the rearing of children is definitely what we want. But not all books of this vein are created equal. Some even venture into the realm of downright heretical. So be warned. The Bible is the only book that is infallible and it is the standard by which all books, lectures, workshops, videos, advice, instruction, etc. should be judged. That holds true across the board and not just for books that claim to be biblical.

  Writers and readers alike must be able to discern between good advice, common sense, and biblical command. Confusing these can be a dangerous error. Christ soundly denounced the Pharisees who taught the traditions of men for the commandments of God. Those traditions may have been fine in themselves but they were not the order of Almighty God and teaching them so is heresy. I have seen not a few books, conferences, etc. that cross this line. Things such as homeschool curriculum and methods, feeding schedules for infants, and much more are presented as direct biblical commands. Consequently, those falling short in these are sinning against God. We must mark these dangerous heresies and stay away from them.

  We do need to be attentive to those with more experience and hopefully more wisdom. But at the same time we must continue to discern between good advice and the commands of God.

Now, where does Shepherding come in? Honestly, this book is an excellent balance of all these categories. Tedd Tripp draws on many years of experience to give both good advice and biblical wisdom. And, he doesn’t seem confused about which is which.

Tripp maintains a perspective larger than the problem of the minute while also offering practical wisdom for those problems. The thrust of this book is on training, discipling children. Tripp aims at the heart of the child, which is what parents must be after biblically. He uses examples from his own experience to illustrate principles throughout, making this book very practical and accessible.

This book is not simplistic, but it is easily readable. I highly recommend it. I am tempted to say, If you only read one book on parenting, choose Shepherding. But, I could never suggest that you only read one book.

I am currently reading through this book by Ted Tripp. In fact, we are going through it with a group. So, the plan is to post some thoughts chapter by chapter.

I have known of this book for a few years but have never read it before. It should be interesting and I hope it will be profitable.

The copy I have is the second edition, printed in 2005. It has been revised and updated from the first edition.

When the destination is the grandparents’ house or a favored vacation spot, these questions can be amusing and easily answered. However, what if our darling little ones would ask us these questions in relation to our greater purpose in life—Where are we going? Are we there yet? How does our daily routine fit into the big picture of where we want to go with our families? How are we going to get where we want to go? How will we know when we get there?

The Barna Group released a study in the first quarter of 2005 about the way parents were bringing up their children. There were several interesting findings in this study. One finding worthy of attention was that there was no appreciable difference between the way Christians and non-Christians were bringing up their children.

“You might expect that parents who are born again Christians would take a different approach to raising their children than did parents who have not committed their life to Christ – but that was rarely the case,” Barna explained. “For instance, we found that the qualities born again parents say an effective parent must possess, the outcomes they hope to facilitate in the lives of their children, and the media monitoring process in the household was indistinguishable from the approach taken by parents who are not born again.”

Perhaps it is a good time to assess where we are and where we are going in life. Moses laid out a visionary plan for Israel to bring up their children in the things of God (cf. Deuteronomy 6). He also warned them of the consequences “if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee” (Deuteronomy 28:15). Among the curses that would come for forsaking the things of God for the things of the world was that “Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand” (Deuteronomy 28:32). Israel was warned that they would lose their children to the world and have no power to reclaim them.

So, Where are we? Where are we going? Godly men, leaders of their homes must answer these questions and lead their families toward those answers. May God give us the grace!