Book Review: Raising Passionate Jesus Followers

Raising Passionate Jesus Followers: The Power of Intentional Parenting (#affiliate)
Phil and Diane Comer, 2018

Prior to reading this book, I had not heard of the authors. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Comer founded a church out in Oregon, they started a parenting ministry with conferences ("Intentional"), and they have four adult children who are all walking with the Lord. Pretty good credentials for addressing the topic of parenting.

I have been reading through a stack of grace-based parenting books in the last few years, and was expecting this book to take a similar approach. So I was disappointed to find it much more performance-oriented, with a lot of focus on formulating plans to manage outward behavior. The early chapters included what I would call "scare tactics" about how many kids walk away from the faith these days - facts that I am already far too well aware of, personally.

And maybe I'm jaded from years of homeschool rhetoric, but the concept of conquering the world through sheer numbers of Christian generations (chapter 3), and the "Lamp and Light" teaching (chapter 5) made me sigh and roll my eyes a bit...I have heard these things so often and don't feel they have that much of a Scriptural foundation.

However - there were parts of the book that I really appreciated. They share five different tools for disciplining children, with many practical application examples and a carefully balanced approach. I was wary of "The Box" concept initially because of the name (who wants to put their kids in a box, ha!) - but I ended up really liking the way they use it as a word picture to help parents remember all the aspects that need to go into training. It can't be ALL fun and affirmation, or ALL lecturing about Bible topics, or ALL strict disciplining. I also really appreciated their approach to the "letting go" years of parenting, as that is something so important to do well, too.

Overall, I am glad I read the book. Coming from a conservative Christian, homeschooled upbringing, it did not hit the areas where *I* need to learn and grow as much as the more grace-centric books I have been reading. I think it would be more challenging and life-changing for parents who did not grow up in Christian homes - though for them, too, I would highly recommend that this be read alongside other titles, for balance.

Thanks to the folks at Handlebar for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!