Effective Parenting in a Defective World

Proverbs 22:6 "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. (NLT)

I've been a big fan of Chip Ingraham, from Walk Thru the Bible for a long time. When I first listened to his Living on the Edge broadcast on my local Christian radio station, I was immediately drawn to his frank, down-to-earth style of communication. So you can imagine my excitement when the mail guy hand delivered a package that contained the leader kit for a small group study called Effective Parenting in a Defective World for me to review. It just turns out that I was already intimately familiar with this particular package considering the fact that last summer, I went through this nine-week DVD course with a group of parents from my church. At that time it was my first opportunity to hear Chip's perspective on the topic of parenting and raising one's children and I was not disappointed. The study proved to be a rich experience and I gained some straightforward, practical advice on raising healthy, well-balanced children who love and respect God and their parents. As well, I had the opportunity to share and relate to other parents who were going through parenting issues and challenges that were similar to mine. I found the study to be relative to families with children of all ages, bringing some direction and basics to parents of young children as well as giving hope and confidence to parents of older ones. In addition, parenting couples and single parents alike are able to identify key strategies to strengthening their families and building their child's potential.

The DVD study contained in the leader's package is designed for a lay person to be able to lead the study simply by coordinating and facilitating a group of parents. The leader's kit includes nine teaching sessions of 25 to 35 minutes each and they are led by Chip so there is no need for the study leader to do any teaching. The sessions are scripturally based and include some real life examples from Chip's own parenting experience. He speaks straight to the parent with challenge and motivation and his insight is presented in a way that can be immediately put into practice. In addition, the leader's kit provides a printed leader's guide that walks you through the content and schedule of each session and a participant workbook is included as well. Along with viewing the DVD during each study session, it also includes a few minutes of participant discussion as well as an assignment given by Chip to use with your children that week. The participants support one another and keep each other accountable to follow through with the weekly assignments.

The DVD leader's kit for Effective Parenting in a Defective World can be ordered from Walkthru.org at for an extremely reasonable $99.95. The leader's guide is fairly easy to follow even if you've never facilitated a group before. The suggested format is described in the manual, although I had to search a bit to find out how long each video segment is. I wasn't able to find the length of each individual video session since it wasn't listed anywhere that I could find in the leader's manual, on the label of the DVD nor on the DVD menu chapters. It would be helpful to know exactly how long each video topic is, especially if you are running a tight schedule for your study. Other than that minimal annoyance, the directions are laid out in an easy-to-understand manner. It's also of note that as the facilitator, you need to use your copy of the participant manual along with your leader's manual as there are a few questions, particularly in the weekly assignment sections, that aren't specifically written in the leader's manual.

There is a book of the same title as well as other companion resources available at the web site. Topics covered in the nine sessions are: 1) How to Raise Positive Kids in a Negative World, 2) Building Relationships that Bond, 3) How to Develop your Child's Full Potential, 4) God's Process for Teaching Obedience, 5) How to Discipline Your Child Effectively, 6) Punishment Versus Discipline, 7) Words that Discipline, 8) Five Smooth Stones for Parenting and 9) When All Else Fails.

This is a highly valuable resource for growing your family God's way and I definitely recommend you try it for your next small group study. All in all, you'll have an easy way to lead parents to God's plan for their children.