Book Review: Building Your Family to Last -- By: Kelvin Belfon

Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 21:1 (Winter 2007)
Article: Book Review: Building Your Family to Last
Author: Kelvin Belfon


Book Review: Building Your Family to Last

Kari Torjesen Malcom

(Wipf & Stock, 2006)

Reviewed by

Kelvin Belfon

KELVIN BELFON is a Master of Divinity candidate at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Born in Grenada, he has lived in other multicultural contexts and has traveled on numerous mission trips to countries such as Colombia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Canada, and Spain. He lives in Beverly, Massachusetts, with his wife.

In July 2006, I welcomed the reprinting of this marriage classic. Kari Torjesen Malcolm is an expert on the subject of marriage and family. Born of a Norwegian missionary couple in China, Malcolm later served as a missionary to the Philippines for fifteen years with her husband and two children. Building Your Family to Last was written to help individuals build lasting families by putting Christ first in their lives (9). Christian married couples and single readers alike will find her message relevant, precise, provocative, and biblical.

Malcolm begins by reflecting on her family tradition, journey of faith, and personal passion for families (ch. 1). She states, “Today, many families are in trouble because their goals have been misplaced . . . which tends to split the family apart, not draw it together” (9). Chapter 2 discusses the wrong reasons couples marry and the difficulties they later face as a result of unrealistic expectations. In chapter 3, she tackles the subjects of sex, power, and money that keep the family apart. Chapter 4 is the heart of the book; it highlights the responsibility of Christian parents as the primary educators of their children. Practical guidelines for parents are provided in chapter 5 for implementing spiritual disciplines. Some of these disciplines include time with God, confession, family worship, guidance, and celebration.

Chapter 6 covers nurturing the identities of children. Parents are cautioned in chapter 7 to avoid “majoring on the minors” when disciplining during the teenage years. In chapter 8, the importance of the extended family is explained. Chapter 9 discusses the missionary role of the family. She writes, “When the family prays for and befriends a hurting world, the home is doubly blessed” (120). Chapter 10 emphasizes the need to discuss the coming of Christ and the reality of heaven in the home. Malcolm concludes her book with a short list of sources and credits.

Quite remarkable in this book is Malcolm’s uncompromising stand for a Christ-centered lifestyle as key to a healthy family. It is her conviction that an individual commitment to God is directly linked to the quality of the marriage relationship and child rearing (59-61). Malcolm reflects heavily on the example modeled by her parents during her formative years. She...

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