This is a very well written book with a premise I whole-heartedly embrace - that there is no real “biblical” model for how Christian households or nuclear families ought to function other than to be “apprentices to love”. Much of what we consider “biblical” or “Christian” in relation to family is actual a product of white western Imperial ideologies. Hunter McGowin supports her ideas with ample textual support from scripture and a soundly applied hermeneutic. The theological basis for her vision of Christian households is insightful and thorough. HM takes a broad view of households that includes roommates and single people, who are often disenfranchised by the evangelical church’s glorification of narrowly defined family. The practical ways she suggests families might engage in spiritual practices together include daily prayer, the Eucharist, service, hospitality, and fellowship- and can be achieved by households of various types. Even while telling stories of how her own family has engaged in these pursuits, she maintains a tone of humility and recognizes that there is no ‘one-sized-fit-all-formula’ for how to achieve this end.
A drawback to this book is that is the first third of it reads like a theology textbook. Academically oriented readers will likely find this to be a strength as it has hefty theological support for its assertions and practical advice. I believe other readers may find this dense and inaccessible. Along these lines, the picture HM paints of pursuing faith as a household is also very reflective of academia oriented culture where parents are highly educated and intellectual based achievements are prioritized (kids read books/debate competitively/can engage in discussions about current events/etc). In my experience as an educator, I engage with a sector of the American public where many consider their households to be Christian but whose pursuits are much more activity oriented- competitive youth sports/agricultural programs/work/etc. Whiles this certainly isn’t true for all families, many parents struggle to get their kids (teens especially) to read at all outside of school (many don’t even read themselves). The battle for children and teens’ attention when competing against screens and social media is a huge disruption to the pursuit of family faith practices. This book fails to adequately acknowledge this pervasive reality facing families today, which is unfortunate. I think many readers may feel they can not connect to this book, not because they don’t agree with its premise, but because they don’t see themselves reflected in any of the practical discussion.
Overall, I enjoyed this read. It was lovely (to me) to have an authoritative, academic female voice on the matter. I only wish it were a bit more accessible and relatable to those outside the insular world of academia.

This book found me at the perfect time! It was a breath of fresh air, providing a fresh point of view from the author. The book explores what it means to be a family Biblically in today's world when there tends to be more chaos than calm. Emily digs deep into what family means to her and the practices she uses as a Christian to practice the kingdom of God within her family. She invites you to explore family without the ideology of a "traditional family" and challenges how this is an outdated concept. Nothing truly is better than being a part of the kingdom of God!

Listening to the author read this book was a great experience. The book's author is a college professor, and it definitely is an academic approach, but the author includes experiences and practices from her own home mentioning her children and spouse. So it is warmer and more practical than the first few chapters would lead the reader to think.

The book teaches theology, shares personal experiences from her life, her church community, and other communities she took part in. I appreciate her emphasis on the definition of a biblical family that expands beyond our cultural view or even a traditional religious definition.

Her conclusions about involving others in your regular life and doing life with those not genetically related to you are biblical and in my family are normal. But her history, discussion of Jesus' life and actions, and even church history support were new to me. Listening to the book had the drawback that easily looking up the scripture she referenced and reviewing some of her theological points were not possible, but I caught no glaring concerns.

I enjoy books that make me think, reflect, wonder, and reflect on why I do things the way I do, and how others share these beliefs. I also appreciate the authors' attention to including singles, couples who might not have children, widows, and even people that might differ from you as your family in this life season.

Thankful to IVP and netgalley to listen to the audio version of this brand new book.

This was a very well balanced and well thought out treatment of what is a family and how to live out family as part of the people of God. I appreciated McGowin's dismantling of some comman thoughts about family that are assumed to be Biblical and her explanations of what really is Biblical about family life and family formation.
Her practical suggestions in part 3 were excellent. She is Anglican and that comes through in many places in the book, but her ideas and suggestions work well for any practice of Christian life, not just those in the Anglican tradition.
From a few comments she made in the book, I don't think the author and I have a similar position on political topics, but that was not an issue in reading through this book. I found I really did agree with almost everything she said.
I listened to the audio book which was read by the author and I enjoyed her voice throughout.

I listened to Households of Faith in audio format, narrated by the author Emily Hunter McGowin, who did an excellent job. I also followed along with the ebook version, allowing me to highlight memorable quotes.

I appreciated how Emily kept the book Christ-centered, consistently referencing scripture in her thoughts and reasoning.

This book is a valuable resource for parents navigating the challenges of raising children in today’s world. It serves as a reminder that we don’t own our children; they are not commodities or replicas of ourselves—they belong to God.

A new perspective on what a family can be, extending beyond the conventional American family model.

Thank you to NetGalley and IVP audiobooks for the ARC.