I must confess to feeling a little strange as I read into Voddie Baucham’s book on Family-Driven Faith. Why? Because I kept agreeing and agreeing vigorously with almost everything he said. I knew or thought I knew that I should be disagreeing, but I kept feeling that Voddie’s critique was right on the mark as he spoke about modern families and modern churches. He endeared himself to me, for instance, when he said this: “Like many parents, they found themselves traveling to tournament after tournament and praying for the opportunity to be out on Sunday since that meant they were playing for a title somewhere. What they didn’t realize is that they were teaching Thomas to prioritize baseball above the Fourth Commandment. They were teaching Thomas that he should honor the Sabbath and keep it holy unless it’s baseball season.” (35) At another point I was encouraged to see the sensitive way he pressed home the duty of family worship and teaching the Bible in our homes. (105)
I was also encouraged by Voddie’s willingness to qualify some of the views often associated with the Family-Integrated movement. He makes clear that there are legitimate reasons to limit the size of one’s family (26). I appreciate it when he said this: “It is very important that we live by biblical standards. However, it is equally important that we continually examine those standards to ensure that we don’t fall prey to legalism.” (87) Further, Voddie even carefully qualifies what he says about the importance of home education: “I would never suggest that everyone should educate his or her children the same way we educate ours.” (123) I don’t want to be naïve. I expect that, if I had an in-depth discussion with Voddie, we might find some difference of perspective about this. Nevertheless, what he actually says about the subject of the education of children in the section of his book which follows this qualification I can certainly affirm. (123-128)
Of course, there were points at which Voddie said things that made me scratch my head. For instance, he says: “I believe one of the greatest crutches in the church is the nursery. Parents who have neglected to train their children have very little encouragement to do so when there is a place to hide them. The father who should be up in arms by the time he gets home from church because of the embarrassment to which his child has subjected him ends up going with a clear conscience while the nursery worker takes a handful of aspirin.” While there is an element of truth about this especially with regard to children older than two or three, it seems a trifle far-fetched with regard to infants and toddlers. The subject of nursery is, however, for another post.
Here is my overall reaction to Voddie’s book. I agree heartily and mostly with his critique of the modern church and family in the first seven chapters. It is with his prescription and solution in the last two chapters that I find myself struggling. I think I can agree about the problem without agreeing that the solution advocated by the family-integrated church movement is entirely correct and balanced. Interestingly enough I discovered that Michael Lawrence’s response to Family-Driven Faith has a similar analysis. To see that response click here. To see Voddie’s two-part response to Lawrence, please click here and here.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
