Hope for the Prodigal: Bringing the Lost, Wandering, and Rebellious Home

by Jim Putman, Bill Putman

Overview

The statistics are sobering: between 80 and 90 percent of kids who have grown up in the church are leaving the church after age eighteen. Children slipping away into a culture that tells them the Bible isn't true, sin is no big deal, God isn't real, or there are many ways to get into heaven. Whether parents may blame themselves or the culture, the result is the same: lost souls.

But our God specializes in lost souls and the gospel is as powerful as it ever was. With wisdom that comes from personal experience, Jim Putman and his father, Bill Putman, offer brokenhearted parents and loved ones hope for their prodigals. A prodigal son himself, Jim has also found himself in the role of the prodigal's father when his own son rejected the faith. This family's powerful story of restoration, along with solid biblical truths and practical advice, will inspire, motivate, and equip readers to go after their lost sheep with acts of love and service.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801019081
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jim Putman is the senior pastor of Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho, one of the most influential churches in America. A pastor's-kid-turned-prodigal who was won back by his father and mother, Jim also had a prodigal of his own—his oldest son. With God's help, Jim won him back and he is now a pastor as well. A three-time all-American wrestler in college as well as a successful wrestling coach, Putman holds degrees from Boise State University and Boise Bible College. He is the author of Church Is a Team Sport and The Power of Together, as well as the widely adopted Real-Life Discipleship program.

Bill Putman has served in ministry for more than fifty years as a pastor, a church planter, or an executive. He currently serves at Real Life Ministries as a servant leader over Team One and as part of the Legacy Team ministry. He and his wife, Bobbi, have five grown children, including Jim, and fourteen grandchildren. They live in Post Falls, Idaho.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction: The Story of Three Sons 11

1 Broken Families, Broken Churches 19

Part 1 The Ideal

2 Building a Home That's Hard to Leave 41

3 Building a Church That's Hard to Leave 63

Part 2 The Ordeal

4 When the Prodigal Wants to Leave 87

5 The Pain of Exposure 111

6 The Process of Restoration 133

7 While They Are Away from Home 153

8 While They Are Away from Church 175

Part 3 The New Deal

9 When the Prodigal Returns Home 201

10 When the Prodigal Returns to Church 223

11 The Story Isn't Over 243

Notes 265

About the Authors 267