The Family That Disciples
“Your family is the primary instrument and environment for discipleship in the life of your child, and your calling in this life is to give the discipleship of your home your unique best” (29)
“Family discipleship is the important and mostly ordinary spiritual leadership of your home” (30)
“Family discipleship is indoctrination, teaching the doctrines and worldview of God as laid out in his word without yielding to the contrary opinions of the world or apologizing for the potential offensiveness of that truth” (31)
Modeling
“Caring for your own soul is the first step. Your spiritual health is imperative to the health of your family” (65)
“A major factor of your integrity will be your ability to repent quickly, easily, and thoroughly” (69)
“Praying with, for, and in front of your kids are all important parts of family discipleship modeling” (75)
Time
“Whatever you teach your children should be backed up by and saturated in the word of God” (89)
“Make family discipleship time normal. Doing your unique best at making these times happen regularly will be an important part of your faith legacy. Be relentlessly consistent” (95)
“Singing is one of the easiest ways to leave scriptural truth echoing in the life of your children” (101)
Moments
“Forgiveness can make a potentially scary parent/child moment spiritually significant” (117)
“All of our spontaneous gospel interactions are attempts to communicate and teach these two things—the characteristics of God and godly character” (117)
“A great way to be prepared for family discipleship moments in your household is to have a unified, precrafted language. Deciding on family language, values, and goals with your spouse or close community will help you be on the same page when opportunities arise” (122)
Milestones
“What all family discipleship milestones have in common is that they are all experiences that bear witness to God’s faithfulness” (136)
“The goal of a milestone is, in large part, remembrance—that you would not forget God’s rightful place in your life and all that he is doing in and through you” (137)
“Milestones are not always celebratory. How you mark the darkest and most difficult milestones will have a profound impact on your family” (141)
“Some of the most meaningful collective memories for your family may be around the hardest days you’ve faced together… Leverage those dark times to remind each other of all you have in Christ, who conquered death” (141)
Parting Encouragement
“Family discipleship does not have to be intricate or complicated. You just need a willingness to focus on the child who is in front of you, and together focus on the God who is everywhere” (155)
“Only a fool plants an acorn in the evening and comes back in the morning looking for an oak. Your work to cultivate that change will be painstaking and gradual, unfolding over a lifetime” (157)
Matt Robertson 