Challenges to Living God’s Way by Dr Chris Richards & Dr Liz Jones (EP Books, 2022)

Challenges to Living God’s Way is a really helpful follow-on book from the two Growing up God’s Way books (see images below) written by the same authors. Written for teenagers, in the first section it covers six big issues: homosexuality, pornography, gender identity, abortion, co-habitation and feminism. The second section looks at sexual purity, marriage and singleness. The topics are written about sensitively, they are grounded in Biblical truth and practical applications, plus real-life stories are also included. QR codes are dotted throughout the book, these link to further articles to be read online.

Every parent will know their child best and when their questions around a topic are becoming more developed and they are ready for more information. Perhaps for younger teens the book would be best read with the child and possibly only the chapters that are particularly relevant. Mid-teens should find the book reads easily but still with enough detail to engage and challenge without ‘talking down’ to them. Certainly the topics included are hot topics and depending on the young person’s level of social awareness and wider social contact, these challenges often have to be faced at an earlier age than ever before. Our children, and indeed ourselves, need much wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent.

Dr Chris Richards and Dr Liz Jones have done parents a great service in developing resources for helping young people navigate the challenging topic of personal relationships. It is sad that in the current social climate, what we know as unchanging Biblical truth is constantly being challenged. It is worth taking a look at Lovewise, an organisation that the authors co-founded in 2002 which has a whole host of resources aimed at parents, schools and churches, plus their further website LovewiseOnline which is full of useful articles written for teenagers.

Lorna