A Book Review of “Righteous Brood” by Hugh Halter
On an almost-daily basis I make book recommendations to people. But I seldom make formal recommendations online (and more rare still, do I take the time to write a blog about them). But like Dave and Sue Ferguson, who wrote the foreword to Hugh Halter’s forthcoming book Righteous Brood: Making the Mission of God a Family Story, I am a “Hugh Halter fan" (xi). As such, I thought it would be beneficial to review it.
If you’re not familiar with Halter, he has been an important voice in the missional conversation for many years. I have found several of his previous books, such as The Tangible Kingdom and Happy Hour, enormously helpful resources in our own family and in our own ministry over the years.
But Righteous Brood is unique because it addresses a very timely issue in American evangelicalism: the growing attrition of young people brought about by a pervasive discipleship crisis within the church. “The Sunday-centric, pray-before-meals, don’t-do-drugs-and-don’t-make-a-baby-out-of-wedlock Christian story isn’t big enough to hold our kids’ attention. And it’s probably not enough to hold ours either,” says Halter (9). And he’s right. Increasingly, my generational cohort (elder millennials) and younger are disillusioned and disenfranchised with a “lights, camera, action” version of church––a church-as-commodity instead of church as community. Halter adds, “They see where the money does and doesn’t go; they notice the judgment, the double standards, the selective biblical literalism, and the self-righteous stay-safe undercurrents that often accompany normal church life. And they just can’t take it anymore” (9).
The impact of COVID-19 revealed the limitations of lights, camera, action church. It also revealed a felt need within our individual families, too. For Tara and myself, we had always recognized our own responsibility to disciple our children––nursery, children church, and youth workers in the local church are only a complement to a deeper and more robust discipleship happening in the home. But we found ourselves leaning more heavily on spiritual rhythms we created with our kids than we ever had before––Sabbath evening communion, family conversation around meals, praying the Daily Office together, and leading our kids through the liturgical calendar and discussing its themes with our kids as points of instruction. It became crystal clear that while the discipleship help of the broader church community was important, we needed to take more seriously than ever how to “make the mission of God a family story––a story that will not only transform the lives of those around [us] but will also transform [our] own [lives], [our] kids’ lives, and even [our] grandchildren’s lives” (18). That’s fundamentally what Halter’s book is about––how to raise one’s children up in a way that they simply don’t just “stay in church,” but they grow to be passionately enamored with Jesus, his people, and his mission.
Halter’s book is relatively short and, in keeping with his style in his previous books, is engaging in its mix of personal narrative, subtle humor, and practical––exceedingly practical––advice for implementation. In fact, each of his chapters ends with a bulleted summary, several reflective questions, and action items. Those who appreciate a resource that is both a good read and has clearly discernible points for integration into one’s life, you’ve found a good resource in Righteous Brood. There is a maturity in Halter’s practical tone, however, that separates it from other pragmatic works in the Christian market. Such a maturity is born clearly from both a missiological sophistication and from the life of a practitioner who has endured pain faithfully for the sake of the gospel and for his family. That is not something to take lightly, as it so often is overlooked in our culture. As such, Righteous Brood is a book worthy of consideration not simply because of its author’s platform or even the book’s practical considerations. Instead, it is worthy of consideration because the author’s practical considerations are born from the author’s own walk with God, in both mountain tops and valleys alike.
After the book’s introduction in chapter one, it is divided into six subsequent chapters:
Chapter two discusses the idols of our culture (what Halter calls “Metroville”): individualism, consumerism, and materialism. He calls readers to reorient time and energy away from discipling our kids into these idols and pattern instead after the way of the kingdom.
Chapter three offers a vision for discipling our kids to understand what the upside-down way of the kingdom is all about, countering individualism with community, consumerism with contribution, and materialism with sharing.
Chapter four outlines a differentiation in parenting approaches––one between “owner” and “steward.” Is our job to rule over our children or to steward them on behalf of the One who entrusted them to us?
Chapter five outlines a pattern of holistic discipleship for our children and how discipleship looks more like apprenticing than instruction (as it is often relegated to in local church settings). Halter calls for a type of formation that addresses the head, heart, and hands.
Chapter six describes a pattern of engaging in discipleship moments with our children that leverages the formative power of practices, routines, and rhythms (something Tara and I have found enormously beneficial over the last several years). Halter describes four particular rhythms for kingdom families that he himself recommends.
Chapter seven provides a valuable caveat dealing with the issue of brokenness in the family. This brokenness are those unique struggles––the “band hand we’ve been dealt” (150). Moving toward a deeper appreciation of God’s beauty is a matter of learning to see how God works through our brokenness, both for our good and for the good of others.
I am thankful Hugh took the time to write this book and did so with such consideration for the power of his and Cheryl’s own testimony, for the practical recommendations he’s given, and for the beauty of the book overall. I highly recommend it. Pick up a copy of Righteous Brood by Hugh Halter here.
