Teaching Your Kids (And Yourself) How to Talk About God

Teaching Your Kids (And Yourself) How to Talk About God - Parenting Like HannahChristians are called to share the good news about Jesus with others. Yet if you ask most teens (or adults) what they would say if they were “sharing their faith”, they have no idea.  How can we help others reconcile to God and become Christians if most of us don’t even know what to tell them? How can we teach our kids how to share their faith if we don’t even know how to share ours?

I was interested when offered the chance to review the book Talking About God by Steve and Cheri Saccone. How would the authors communicate clearly what to say when sharing faith with people who have embraced a radically different lifestyle than the one God calls us to live? Would they give into societal pressure and water down the Bible’s message or commands?

The format of the book was a bit surprising. I’m not sure what I expected, but a book recounting what I assume were real conversations wasn’t it. Once I got used to it though, I began to relax and enjoy the journey.

The Saccone’s recount conversations they had with six different people. All were struggling for some reason or another. They weren’t necessarily open to hearing what God had to say about what they were doing or what He would rather they do. Because of the complex nature of their issues, each person’s story takes two or three chapters to tell. Each chapter reads like a novel, rather than a how-to book.

The authors recount their thought processes, but don’t really do direct teaching to the reader. Instead they allow the reader to eavesdrop on their conversations and follow their personal thought processes as they attempted to share their faith. In spite of my initial concerns, I believe the authors were able to walk that fine line between allowing someone to live ignorantly in their sinful lifestyle and berating them into submission to God.

It’s a difficult balance.  Seeing how the authors use questioning to guide people to godly conclusions – without being ugly in the process – is a great tutorial. I also appreciated that they shared what they were thinking as they went through the various relationships. Complicated people have complicated problems. Christians can’t just wave some sort of magic wand and “fix” everything. What we can do though is share God’s truth as it is written in  scripture and help people understand how it will be a better life than one filled with the consequences of ungodly choices.

If you are someone who wants step-by-step instructions, this book is not for you. If however you prefer real life examples, with the freedom to translate the basic principles into your faith sharing opportunities, you will appreciate this book.

 

 

 

this book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience. 

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Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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