ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Today’s families, even Christian families, are pulled in many different directions, says Nate Adams, author of “The Home Team, Spiritual Practices for a Winning Family.”
Adams hopes the book will help parents discover practical methods for uniting their families around Christian values in spite of frenzied family schedules created by school, work, sports and entertainment.
“Families used to gather together around a dinner table or fireplace,” Adams observes. “Now everything from microwaves to headphones encourages them to live in their own worlds. Families need to be intentional about doing things that bring them together and move them in the same, Christlike direction.”
As the father of three teenage sons and vice president of mission mobilization at the North American Mission Board, Adams knows how to bring people together and move them in the same direction. The Home Team does that by focusing on 12 activities that pull a family back toward the center.
Adams takes 12 activities people often do individually, like reading and working, worshiping and serving, and even playing, and provides insights into how those activities can be done as a family to create togetherness.
The Home Team begins with the important practice of reading together, or having regular family devotions, which Adams refers to it as “Circling the Wagons.” Families also find suggestions in the book for playing, traveling, hurting and changing together, as well as worshiping, serving and praying as a family team.
Each chapter offers real-life illustrations, biblical principles and practical suggestions for implementing each practice at home. In the chapter on “serving together,” for example, Adams describes how families can get involved in community service projects and family mission trips.
“In our work mobilizing Christians here at the North American Mission Board, we’re discovering many people would be willing to go ‘on mission’ if they could go as a family,” Adams says. “And there are few things more powerful in uniting a family than obeying the Great Commission together.”
Adams says many parents simply suffer from a lack of practical implementation rather than understanding of biblical principles.
One mother of four told Adams that before reading The Home Team she was frustrated trying to get work done around the house. After handing out various responsibilities to her children, she expected them to complete the work, but that rarely occurred.
“After reading The Home Team, the family tried doing the work as a team. Not only did they complete the chores in record time, but they also said they enjoyed their time together,” Adams recounts.
“The mother said she was so focused on checking the chores off her list that she lost sight of the opportunity to promote family time. The book was a reminder that working together is the main goal.
“That’s the way I hope many families will benefit from The Home Team,” Adams notes. “A team is only as good as its daily ‘practices,’ and these 12 practices can go a long way toward pulling Christian families back together.”
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The Home Team, published by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is available at LifeWay Christian Stores and other booksellers and online at www.lifewaystores.com or www.bakerbooks.com.
