Book Review: "Building Stronger Families"

As I mentioned in a previous review, one thing I am trying to do this year is improve as a husband and dad. One way to do that is to do some reading on families (and preach more on the topic, too…like I am on Sunday morning).

Last night, I finished reading Building Stronger Families: Family Enrichment in the Home, Church, and Community by Royce Money. This book is not new (the version I read was printed in 1989, and, so has some statements that are a bit funny, like “as we near the turn of the century…”), but it still contains some valuable information, especially in the first half of the book.

The downside to this book, to me, is that it has two halves. Part one deals with characteristics of strong families and how to work on those characteristics in your own family. While the characteristics are somewhat predictable (express appreciation, spend time together, etc.), they are still powerful. And some of the suggestions are also quite helpful. While written by a learned man, the book is not “scholarly-level” stuff that cannot be understood; in fact, it is easily read.

The second half of the book deals with beginning a family ministry program at the local congregation. This is where the book got worse to me. I would much rather have this as a separate book, since there is so much to consider when it comes to beginning a ministry. The one upside to this part of this book is that it does not forget smaller congregations, but encourages congregations of any size to begin some sort of family ministry that suits their needs. (The author even mentions that he has helped congregations as small as 12 members begin a work of this type!)

Overall, I would only recommend this book to those who are just trying to read a whole lot on the family. I wish both parts were expanded and that this book were either longer, or broken into two volumes. I feel that, by trying to accomplish two things, the book becomes watered down a bit. I’m glad I read it, but I was disappointed overall.