Inside Out Families: Living the Faith Together

by Diana R. Garland

Overview

Utilizing the research methods for which she is well known, Diana Garland here guides congregational leaders and counselors to encourage families to engage together in the Christian practice of service. The fruit of family service, she writes, is not only a deeper understanding of one another and of what God is doing in the world but also the reordering of a family's values and time together. It is this communal service, she demonstrates, that will develop in children and adolescents a resilient faith that will carry them into adulthood - and, ultimately, prove essential to maintaining a vigorous, resilient faith in congregational life.

Inside Out Families features stories of actual, ordinary families, and draws on findings from the Church Census Project and the Families and Faith Project, both funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781602582453
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2010
Pages:	183
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Diana R. Garland is Dean of the Baylor School of Social Work, Baylor University. She is the author or editor of eighteen books, including most recently Flawed Families of the Bible: How God's Grace Works Through Imperfect Relationships, Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families, and Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide. She lives in Waco, Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Families and Faith 13

Used Furniture, Saws, and Lawn Mowers

2 When Did We See You Hungry? 27

3 The Path into Family Ministry 49

Chutes and Ladders

4 Come, Go with Me 63

5 Remembering Why We Serve 81

6 Becoming an Inside Out Congregation 107

Notes 137

Bibliography 153

Index 164

What People are Saying About This

Diana Garland's work in the area of faith and families is well known for the empirical research with actual families that underlies the sociological and theological basis for her emphasis on faith development through family living. This book will be no exception, as she moves beyond faith development as a dynamic of living in family to that of serving as a family in projects that fulfill the biblical principle of service as a form of loving one's neighbor.

Ray Anderson

Diana Garland's work in the area of faith and families is well known for the empirical research with actual families that underlies the sociological and theological basis for her emphasis on faith development through family living. This book will be no exception, as she moves beyond faith development as a dynamic of living in family to that of serving as a family in projects that fulfill the biblical principle of service as a form of loving one's neighbor.

Editorial Reviews

"Diana Garland's work in the area of faith and families is well known for the empirical research with actual families that underlies the sociological and theological basis for her emphasis on faith development through family living. This book will be no exception, as she moves beyond faith development as a dynamic of living in family to that of serving as a family in projects that fulfill the biblical principle of service as a form of loving one's neighbor."
--Ray Anderson, Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary

From the Publisher