Title: Biblical Parenting
Author: Crystal Lutton
Interviewer: Joan Vasquez
Joan: Crystal, can you give our readers a brief testimony of how you came to know the Lord as your personal savior and tell us a little about your background?
Crystal: Sure. I grew up in a Christian home and was introduced to the Lord at a very young age. My father was in the military so we lived all over the world and attended churches of different denominations, usually the chapel on the base where we lived. As a young adult I strayed from obedience to God and learned many lessons the hard way, only to be welcomed back into His open, loving arms. I didn’t deserve it, but I’ve learned first hand about God’s grace.
Joan: When did you begin to feel God's call on your life concerning being a teacher of other women?
Crystal: I started feeling a prompting to write a book that would share what God had taught me about grace and parenting—both the theology and the practical skills. I knew I’d need some credentials to be received and was also desiring to get into the Bible in an even deeper way. I applied and was accepted into the Master’s program at Fuller Theological Seminary. As I was completing my degree my husband and I felt called to move to Tonopah, in the middle of the desert, and start a home church where families could attend and worship together. After moving, I started working online with mothers and knew that I was doing exactly what God was calling me to do.
Joan: What brought about a desire to research and share information concerning parenting?
Crystal: I honestly don’t know how to answer this question. It must have come from my asking God to give me His heart for people. I know what God’s taught me and I feel overwhelmingly compelled to share what He’s taught me. My heart hurts when I hear about most relationships between parents and children and how adversarial they are. It doesn’t have to be that way. God is a God of relationships and punitive parenting doesn’t foster relationships with children. I want parents to have the relationship with their children that God desires to have with His.
Joan: With the current trends toward Christian behavior modification, harsh discipline techniques, and detachment style parenting, your book is like a beacon in the night. Can you tell us how your book will help the average parent to practically apply Biblical methods to their parenting?
Crystal: Thank you. I’m very excited about getting this message out. In my book I talk about the fact that the Bible really says very little about “how” to parent, only that we are to take seriously the authority that God has given us and raise our children in the knowledge of Him. Since we’re called to be “followers of Christ” (the meaning of Christian) I look at what Jesus modeled for us to learn. I then discuss how to apply that to our parenting. I also look at God as a parent and how we can follow His example. What I think will help most parents is that after I share these ideas on Biblical parenting I go on to give practical skills—tools—for implementing Grace-Based (non-punitive, non-adversarial) Discipline. I’m also very excited about the Window of Grace-Based Discipline that will allow parents to determine what tool to use and how to develop their own tools.
Joan: If you could say one thing to get someone to see the importance of your message, what would it be?
Crystal: We are God to our children-how they see us is how they will eventually see God. So much is written in the Bible about the failure of the Law to bring man closer to God. It’s time for Grace, not Law, to be the choice for parenting if we want our children to truly understand God and the relationship He wants to have with each of us.
Joan: Can you tell our readers where they can order your book, Crystal?
Crystal: Absolutely.
It can be ordered through my website at http://www.pdbookstore.com/ParentingFamilies.htm
It can also be ordered through Amazon or your local bookstore.
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