Family Worship: : In the Bible, in History, and in Your Home

by Donald S. Whitney

Reunirse y adorar a Dios es una parte indispensable en la vida espiritual de la familia. Es un medio para que Dios se revele de forma poderosa  tanto a nosotros como a nuestros seres queridos.
Esta guía práctica de Donald S. Whitney será invaluable para familias con o sin niños, para practicar la adoración a Dios y exaltar a Cristo a través de la lectura de Su palabra, la oración y los cantos. Incluye una guía de discusión en la parte de atrás para grupos pequeños.

Gathering together for worship is an indispensable part of your family’s spiritual life. It is a means for God to reveal himself to you and your loved ones in a powerful way.
This practical guide by Donald S. Whitney will prove invaluable to families―with or without children in the home―as they practice God-glorifying, Christ-exalting worship through Bible reading, prayer, and singing. Includes a discussion guide in the back for small groups.
 

Genres: Parenting, Christian, Christian Living, Family, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

DON WHITNEY has been Professor of Biblical spirituality and Associate Dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, since 2005. Before that, he held a similar position (the first such position in the six Southern Baptist seminaries) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, for 10 years. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality. Don is a frequent speaker in churches, retreats, and conferences in the U.S. and abroad.

Don grew up in Osceola, AR, where he came to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. After graduating from Arkansas State, Don planned to finish law school and pursue a career in sportscasting. While at the University of Arkansas School of Law, he sensed God's call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He then enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1979. In 1987, Don completed a Doctor of Ministry degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. He earned a PhD in theology at the University of the Free State in Bloemfonteine, South Africa in 2013.

Prior to his ministry as a seminary professor, Don pastored Glenfield Baptist Church in Glen Ellyn, IL (a Chicago suburb), for almost 15 years. Altogether, he's served local churches in pastoral ministry for 24 years.

He is the author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, which has a companion Study Guide. He has also written How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian?, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, and Family Worship. His hobby is restoring and using old fountain pens.

Don lives with his wife, Caffy, in their home near Louisville. She teaches classes for seminary wives and is an artist, muralist, and illustrator. The Whitneys are parents of Laurelen.

Don's website is www.BiblicalSpirituality.org. He's on Twitter @DonWhitney and on Facebook.

Reviews

[Uriel Esquer]

seas padre, madre o hijo, incluso si eres un nuevo matrimonio sin hijos aun, este libro te ayudara a darle un giro a la rutina familiar. No es suficiente que llevemos a nuestras familias a una iglesia sana, necesita ver una iglesia sana en el hogar.

[Mark Knight]

I LOVE the concept and the example he puts forth to families. Disciple making families. I would love all families to take and learn/do this model to the best of their abilities.

However, I have 2 gripes:
1- while he admits there’s no command in scripture for what he calls Family Worship, he equates not doing it with sin. Asking those that don’t to repent and begin now. I’m not comfortable with that guilt style logic.
2- By being overly committed to the Father as the spiritual leader of the house, he misses out on great examples in scripture of the mother teaching and imparting the knowledge of Yahweh (OT) and Jesus (NT) on their kids. I get he’s working out of the hermeneutic of male/father headship. But I don’t think mother led Family Worship is even in contradiction to that. Most of the examples in the OT are mother led, which is why the Israelites were commanded not to marry from the pagan cultures surrounding. The mother would teach pagan family worship to other gods. He did mention Lois and Eunice as an aside but that seems strikingly clear for moms to be a big active and even lead part. Even the example of Mary and her boys is huge in scripture. I think even those that follow the same father headship hermeneutic have room for mothers leading family worship. I hope Mother’s even after reading this can feel compelled to step up and help lead in Family Worship.

[Matthew Manchester]

Powerful. I read and skim a bunch of books for the podcast, but this one may affect my personal life and family the most. I look to put the principles into practice immediately. The books both calls and frees men (and women) to do family worship by a simple and tight focus: read, pray, sing...for about 10 minutes total. That is something I can do!

[Mark E. Turner]

Step 1- Get a family
Step 2- Worship

Family worship starts the night of June 28th. No exceptions.

[Logan]

This book is a double-edged sword in a multitude of ways. It is graciously short; seriously, you could finish it one sitting. But on the other side of the sword, it's incredibly convicting and powerful.

I would have loved for this book to go more in-depth but the book is so brief because Whitney aptly states that family worship is not that complicated. But Whitney also makes great use of the 70-some odd pages available in providing Biblical support for family worship, it's presence throughout church history, and practical advice on starting a family worship time at home. Incredibly convicting read for me but very powerful. This book is a TNT stick for the Gospel and will help anyone bring their families together to worship King Jesus.

Cannot recommend this book enough. Seriously, buy a copy.

[Lauren Fretheim]

We read it as part of family worship and enjoyed it! Loved his simple outline for structuring the time—pray, sing, and read the Word!

[Heather]

My husband and I read this book together, and we really wanted to like it; however it was disappointing on two fronts. First, half of the book read like an academic paper arguing for the historical precedence for family worship. Perhaps some might like this approach, but I found it unnecessary for what the book proposed to do—exhort 21st century families to worship together. There’s great value in learning from our forebears, but I feel like it was misleading to devote so much time to historical accounts.

Secondly, whereas I do uphold the biblical model of male headship in the home, I do not believe that this precludes women initiating or leading spiritually in the home. I believe that women taking an active role in the spiritual life of the home is a way of helping the husband and the family as a whole! The author seemed to suggest that reading the Scripture should be done only by the husband if possible, which I found confusing and antiquated. Why couldn’t the wife do it one day and the husband the next? Or, for example, I primarily read aloud for our family because my husband retains best by hearing the Word read and I retain best by reading it! Win win! To push back against this and insist that HE be the one to read because he’s the man would result in frustration on both our parts! Instead of narrowly focusing on a prescribed method, families would do well to evaluate the various strengths of their members and use those strengths to build up the family unit!

Also, the author’s suggestion that if there is no father in the home that the mother may seek out spiritual leaders in the church to frequently stop by and lead in family worship was downright laughable. It seemed to suggest that women really shouldn’t take the lead, even calling in an outside person to facilitate “family” worship!

Additionally, some of the advice the author tags on near the end of the book was actually detrimental. He exhorts young women to not consider a man for marriage if he is not leading her in worship. What?!? Where is the grace in that?! How completely narrow-minded! This sets up young women and men alike for complete frustration. Young men and women should seek a spouse who loves God and is actively trying to pursue godly living in their life. If this hasn’t manifested into leading one another in reading, praying, and singing then perhaps that’s an area of growth that’s needed but not a reason to throw out that person entirely!

The premise of this book insofar as it encourages families to read, pray, and sing together is sound and good; however, the way the author teased out the concept was more harmful than helpful.

[Kirk Miller]

I really enjoyed this book. The first half motivates you to practice family worship by detailing the biblical case and historical precedent for the habit. In the middle, Whitney parks on some basic, practical how-to. Then at the end, he closes by tapping into your own internal motivation in a really healthy way. I will definitely be recommending this to folks in my church.

[Liza Tabita]

An easy read. If you want to learn or develop a family worship time this book will help you see how important this habit is and how to implement it with children of all ages.

[Jake Lysack]

After reading this book (which took less than 2 hours)…
I’m convinced that family worship is biblical and essential
I’m convicted that I haven’t started this earlier in my marriage
I’m inspired to start today and persevere in this for decades to come
I’m excited to do this with my children one day

[Austin Harris]

Easy to read and filled with practical motivations to start family worship. Warning: if you are on the edge on starting family worship, this will send you sailing over it!

[Zachary Cowie]

Read for a second time In 2024 for a study. Excellent still.

This was a great book. Very similar to Beeke’s book, but I would say the strong point in this one is the loads of awesome quotes from Christian’s of every era on the subject. Because they are both short, I would say read this and Beeke’s book.

If you like this one also check out Whitney’s book “Praying the Bible” which is another simple but profoundly helpful book.

[Renee]

Family worship shouldn't be scary. Sing, read, pray .

[Shea Stacy]

A hearty amen to this book! If you aren't practicing family worship start today!
May God bless Abi and my family as we seek to worship Him daily in our home!

[Adam Nesmith]

This book is excellent for what it is: an appeal for fathers/Christian men in general to lead their families in daily bible reading, prayer, and hymn singing. The author stops just short of saying family worship is a biblical command, but shows from the Old and New Testaments as well as from church history that worship to Gos within the family has always been crucial. His chapter on how to actually do family worship cut was refreshingly simple. You won’t find any complicated liturgies, just straightforward exhortation to create a family habit.

I definitely recommend this book for those 1. who are ignorant of the blessings of family worship, 2. Those how are about to marry and start a family, and 3. Those who have tried family worship in the past and need an encouragement to try again.

(Also I read the whole thing on a one hour plane flight so if you are a man, just pick it up and read through it…it’s worth the afternoon you’ll spend)

[Kailey Gott]

In our society today, Spiritual instruction has taken a back seat in our homes. The responsibility has been given to our churches alone - this is a sad reality. Donald Whitney said “Moreover, it is unlikely that exposure to the church once or twice a week will impress your children enough with the greatness and glory of God that they will want to pursue him once they leave your home. This is why family worship is so important. But even more importantly, God deserves to be worshipped daily in our homes by our families” (14). Whitney explains the history behind family worship and the importance of continuing to keep this discipline today. Teaching children in the way of the Lord shouldn’t happen unintentionally; rather, it should be very purposeful. God has given us the command to serve the Lord as a household. As Matthew Henry put it “Turn your families into little churches”! This book was very inspiring and made a lot of sense as to why family worship is important.

[tckrb]

A sometimes helpful collection of biblical, theological, and anecdotal data, but this book is a perfect example of what I find exhausting in evangelical prose. The language itself is flat, peppered with jargon, assumptions, and in-group coattail-riding. Its patriarchal vision is devoid of mutuality and demeans the agency of women and children. Its breezy legal language is gospel-y but comfortable with guilt-tripping. Its mode of exhortation regularly invokes fears and insecurities, lacks much in the way of positive vision, and is ultimately rooted in an unassailable "cause you have to, deal with it."

I wouldn't recommend this one and am pretty over seeing this style in books and articles. One might find it useful for the quotes section and the honest simplicity of Chapter 3.

[Cory Adams]

Really enjoyed this short book on such an important topic. I never had anything like this in our home growing up. But I was incredibly blessed to be in the Karr household and see Pastor Jason do this frequently. They weren’t perfect, but they were faithful. I learned how I wanted to be as a father in settings like that, this book is a wonderful reminder of those days, Lord willing we will replicate with our family.

[Zach Hollifield]

Excellent. Nothing groundbreaking but exactly what one needs to get started. The last few pages are worth the price of the book.

[Tristen]

Sweet reminders of how good family worship is. Every Christian man that desires to be a husband/father must read this book.

[Brody Dean]

Can’t wait to do this

[Cilas Menezes]

Much similar to Beeke’s volume, yet it has a more substantial examination of the concept of family worship in Church History.

It is helpful and encouraging and even has some guidance for some exceptional situation thatBeeke does not cover in his booklet (i.e. a woman married to an unbelieving husband).

I do think he tends to be minimalist in the implementation, but the case and the presentation he makes for the godly practice of family devotion is sound and robust.

Valuable reading in the subject.

Read it!

[Ken]

Great little book on family worship. Worth the read!

[Adam T. Calvert]

A terrific work on the importance of worshipping as a family. Whitney gives great exegetical insight into the concept and background of family worship, follows it with encouragement by looking at its practice throughout church history, and then gives practical instructions on how to go about incorporating family worship time into your own home.

It's a very short book, but has wonderful and eternal applications.

[Erik Spohr]

Excellent, brief, book. Great for sharing the simple "nuts and bolts" of effective family worship. A quick read that helps with the sometimes daunting task of knowing where to begin and how to execute family worship in the home.

[Josiah Richardson]

This was very good and maybe a little more practical than Joel Beeke's work on the same topic. It would be very easy to pursue Family Worship because it "looks cute" with the kids (It is), or because everyone else is doing it (They aren't), or a number of other short-sighted reasons. But they neglect the fact that this is a huge responsibility for parents to fulfill with one another and their children. Whitney cuts to the chase, assumes that Family Worship is Biblical (It is) and how this is the major, daily, intentional way to raise your children in the Lord. Christian schools may claim to give your children a robust Christian upbringing (They arent), but unless that is simply a supplement for the Family Worship they are enjoying on a daily basis at home, it is missing so much. Lots of good to say about this little work.

[Isaiah Kirkley]

Pastoral, practical, and honestly, fatherly. I am grateful for Donald Whitney; he has challenged and encouraged me through his teaching and books like a spiritual father.

Very helpful while remaining appropriately brief for the topic at hand. Gives brief biblical and historical support for family worship, then moves to practical examples and some challenges to fathers. Ends with some encouraging examples of fruit from family worship.

Anyone who has or aspires to have a family should read this, especially if you didn't grow up in a house that did family worship, or you currently aren't leading your family in it.

[Jonathan Ohrn]

I found this book practical and helpful as it explained the Biblical precedent and command for family worship as well as a simple approach to it. I was also moved by Donald Whitney’s personal testimony of how leading his Family in daily worship touched his children’s lives. I would recommend this book to every Christian.

[Cameron]

This little book made quite the impression. It was informative, motivating, and moving to see the impact 10min/twice a day, of family worship can have in leading one’s posterity to Christ. Read, pray, sing!

[Jonathan Kidd]

Simply put, “God deserves to be worshipped daily in our homes by our families.”

Full of practical wisdom and encouragement. I found the section on family worship church history especially insightful.