Hear... My Son...

The Pastor's Kid by Barnabas Piper - Book Review

I was immediately interested in a review copy of this book from Christian Audio for two reasons.

One, a book called The Pastor's Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity was written by a Pastor's Kid, but not by just any Pastor's Kid... It was the Pastor's Kid of all Pastor's Kids... Barnabas Piper (Son of John Piper). That is interesting.

There is a bit of sarcasm there, obviously. Barnabas Piper isn't really the Pastor's Kid of all Pastor's Kids. Especially since John Piper has other kids! And yet... there is still something in the name. A book written by any of John Piper's children would be of some interest to me, and surely he knows that as well.

Second, and this reason is a bit more important to my heart, I have two Pastor's Kids living in my house. They are my two sons, and I have an ongoing concern for them. As far as I can tell, my boys are doing great. I love them to death, they are not perfect, but I am exceptionally proud of both of them. They both display talents and skills that remind me of myself, but also far exceed myself. They seem to be doing well, and for the most part, happy with life and aware of those spiritual realities that pertain to them. But I am not so naive to believe that my being a Pastor, and especially a bi-vocational Pastor, doesn't have an affect on their lives... and I'm sure it isn't all positive.

So, my interest was piqued, now it was time to listen:

I found this book to be very convicting. Barnabas Piper writes with an openness and honesty that had a tendency to cut deep. It was eye-opening. I became aware of many things that my boys encounter, that I hadn't put much thought into the affect on their lives. It was honest. He was transparent about his home life with its positives and negatives. It was interesting to hear him say that he didn't really care about John Piper's sermons... they aren't that important to him... but then he said that he would much rather sit down with his dad and have a conversation. In other words, he isn't really concerned about Pastor John Piper, but he loves John Piper his dad. Interesting, isn't it?

This book was also Biblical. I will admit, not as Biblical as John Piper's books, but this book was personal and experiential in nature, which changes things. But it was still Biblical. Through the course of this book, as challenges were shared, he continually pointed back to the Grace of God found in Christ.

This book was also filled with quotes from several other PK's from around the country. Their insights were very valuable to me, and it has given me something to consider about my own children's lives.

Barnabas Piper did the audio of this book as well. I love when a book is read by its author. There is something extra that comes through when the author takes the time to read through their own work. There are bits that might not have seemed important, that because of the way the author reads those lines, you know there was something meaningful there.

I would recommend this book, not just to Pastors or their Kids, but to anyone in a church. What a PK faces is somewhat unique. Everyone in the church should keep this in mind and remember that PK's are sinners too, just like you. And PK's need the grace of God, just like you.

Point Man

Next Friday (hopefully) I am going to start a Point Man group.  I was part of a Point Man group in the past, but it failed miserably.  The idea was good, but the participants weren't as genuine and transparent as necessary... including myself.  Since that time, more than 6 years ago, I have wanted to be a part of one again, but things weren't pointing that direction, so the desire and the idea remained on the back burner.  Now that I am a pastor, and feeling very much like a missionary to Danville, the Point Man concept has moved back up to the front.

I casually mentioned the idea to a guy that I know, hoping that I might work it into an offer to start one with me.  I showed him the book, Point Man by Steve Farrar, and before I even got to the idea, he asked me, "hey, do you think I could buy one of these right now?"  We hopped on the computer, steered towards Amazon.com and he made the purchase.

Like I said, I am hoping to have the first get-together next Friday (a week from today).  If you are a guy and you are interested in getting with us, let me know.  I have at least two other guys that are interested, but we haven't bought any extra books or anything yet.

Well, I can't end the post without at least one quote from the book, so I picked two that gave me a little kick when I first read them.  This first quote is actually a quote from another guy names Richard John Neuhaus:

Millions of children do not know, and will never know what it means to have a father.  More poignantly, they do not know anyone who has a father or is a father...

It takes little imagination to begin to understand the intergenerational consequences of this situation.  It is reasonable to ask whether, in all of human history, we have an instance of a large population in which the institution of the family simply disappeared.  It is reasonable and ominous, for the answer is almost certainly no.  There is no historical precedent supporting the hope that the family, once it has disappeared, can be reconstituted.

 Do you get what this is saying?  The deconstruction of the family is unprecedented.  At no time in history has it fallen at this magnitude, and the concern he poses is... since the deconstruction is unprecedented, the reconstruction also has no historical examples.  In other words, can it be fixed?

Here is another quote from page 86 that is even more personal.

Righteousness must not only be found in our pulpits, but in our homes.  The home is the church in miniature, and every Christian father has been appointed pastor of his own home.  Christian men, whether they are leading a church or in the home, must seek after righteousness.

Men, are we pastoring (shepherding) our own homes?

If you live in Danville, and you want to get together with us, let me know.  Click the picture of the book to go to Amazon and buy a book, or let me know and I will see if I can get one for you.  I would love to connect with some more men in Danville that want to be God's kind of men.

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