Age of Opportunity written by Paul David Tripp is in the genre of counseling but more specifally it is focusing on parenting teens. The author of this book has been in the ministry for a long time and it started in August 1971 when he took his first job as a youth director at Whaley Street United Methodist Church in Columbia, South Carolina. He was at the age of 21 when he ventured in this field. Mr. Tripp has four children and their names are Justin, Ethan, Nicole, and Darnay.
Mr. Tripp has a Master in Divinity at Philadelphia Theologiacal Seminary and a Doctorate in Ministry at Wesminister Theological Seminary and is currently president of Paul Tripp ministries which is a non profit organization. Also Mr. Tripp is a sought-after conference speaker and is on pastoral staff at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While all this is going on, Mr. Tripp is also a Professor of Pastoral Life and Care at Redeemer Seminary in Dalas, Texas, and is the Texcutive Directore of the Center of Pastoral Life and Care in Dallas/Fort Worth, texas. Mr. Tripp is an author who has written over ten books in Christian living.
SUMMARY
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The main purpose of this book is to give parents a better understanding of their teen and also themselves.
This book gives a detail and indepth look of how your teenagers will progress through the early years youth to becoming full grown adults. There are many points that Mr. Tripp focuses on, but you are quick to understand that Tripp wants you to know that the failure of your child is due to the fallen state they were born in. He makes this pondering statement that is a nightmare of all parents. “It is in these years that parents struggle with embarrassement at being related to the teen who was once, as a child, a great source of pride and joy.” This is the fear that Mr. Tripp in this book evaulates and also gives a Biblical understanding to what you will face with your growing
teen. This book is broken into three sections that are built upon each other. He starts off with seciton one “Clearing the Debris”, which is a focus on looking at your child as God looks at you. This is a examination of the parents heart as they teach their children with a Godly prespective. This section deals with clearing the ideas of mainstreams philsophy and back into a biblical worldview. Section two deals with “Setting Godly Goals” and this section is dealing with how to stir your child into a Godly state of mind. This section builds upon section one and gives the reader practical insights into modern society. This is a section that does not turn the parent away from soceity but reinforces that their children must be apart of the world but not of the world. Section three is the application of the book. This section is applying what you have learn in section two with the heart changing thoughts of section one. In this seciton you will find many strategies and steps in raising your teen. This section breaks it down very nicely for you and you can caught all the points because of the subheadings. Also at the end of this section you will find a study guide for the book and resources. This book is a overall great buy and is a book that will continue to be reference by from its readers. CRITICAL EVALUTION The heart of this book is the authority it gives to the scriptures. It is very obvious that this author loves God and believes that the Biblical worldview trumps the secular view that the fallen world lives in. The author makes the statement that, “If our hearts are controlled by something other than God, we will not view the golden parenting opportunities of the teen years as opportunities at all.” This is a very powerful statement and then he hits home with the parents with this statement, “cynicism of our culture toward teenagers not only reveals something about who teenagers are, but it also reveals what we as parents are serving.” This is the core of this book, even though it gives a very practical side of raising children, this book wants us to focus on our own heart as well. This book will make you check your own pride as your struggle with the unknown of raising a teen. Another main point of this book that you find though out as a theme is the idea of this life being a war and he tops it off with reminding the parents that our children are really not ours but were created to give glory to God. The third main theme that you will find in this book and it weaven all through it. It is the idea that every opportunity is a a God moment. The author makes the statement, “We must never allow our children to believe in a God who is distant and univolved, who comes to the resuce only when he hears our cries in prayer. The Bible presents God as someone who is near and active in our lives.” He hammers on the idea that we are responsible to teach our children about God and to use every opportunity to teach our children practical and life-saving Biblical truths. The purpose of this book is clearly stated by the author and he will not lead you around. It is a easy read and he will keep you turning each page to get to the next chapter. You have the idea that this author is a teacher by the style of writing and also how he builds the book chapter upon chapter. He does not repeat himself or does he give you a doctrinal slant to biblically counseling. There are many strength in this book and you will not find weakness. The book offers much insight to what a parent will experience and what will come up. The strength of this book is that it gives a practical and up-to-date prespective on raising your teens in a fast-paced world. There are some weakness in this book if you are a parent that has raised their children, because man is flawed. But for the most part, this book is very biblical and practical. It will take time and the life expereience of raising a teen to determine the weakness of this book (if their is any). There are many books out in the field but this book is one of them that is not a wishy washy self-help book. It dives deep into the problem of society and Mr. Tripp lays that down to sin. He is very clear about the fall of the world and the problems that teens and parents face together. He brings out Biblical truths that still can be applied today and offers the way God intends for us to rais our children. CONCLUSION This book was a very great read for myself. I am a father who has a seven year old boy that will soon be approaching this time period that Dr. Tripp is writing about. This book touched my heart and has made me repent of my own desires and bad parenting. This book will make you check your heart concerning certain truths about the bible. One part of the book that touched me the most was on pg. 55 “ The Teacher in Ecclesiastes says that all labor, all wisdom, all achievement, all pleasure, all sucess, and all toil are utterly meaningless unless connceted to God. If there is no God who is glorious and good, who rules the earth, who has a plan, and whose will is to be done, there is no reason for anything. Why think, work, obey, love, study, discuss, serve, or give? Why? Why? All of life blows into a chaotic mass of meaningless choices unless it is rooted in the one fact that makes every other fact make sense—God.” This statment is so true and puts everything in prespective. If you are not raising your children with the mindset that all things need to be done to the glory of God, then you are raising your kids without hope. Another part of this book that touched me is that fact of being reminded in a biblical counselign teenager book that “the higher purpose is the will of God and the higher agenda is that we would live to please him.” This is so easily forgotten in a world that is fast-paced and never sleeps. This reminded me that I also need to teach my child that he needs to do all things for the glory of God. It is also a important trait that needs to be spoken in my childs heart daily. The reason why is because the parent (I) need to be reminded of this daily. This book is a great read and has challgene everything I thought about what would happen in the times of parenting a teenager. It has given me hope and insight on the years to come. It will be a time of trails but also a time of victory as I see my child grown in the eyes of the Lord. I would recommend this book to other parents that have children coming up in the teenagers years as the insights and views of this book are truth taken from the bible.
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
After covering 262 pages of Raising Adults: A Humane Guide for Parenting in the New World, the reader would read four chapters, with plenty of subtopics, that enlightens him or her concerning teenagers and how to approach them. The author, Jim Hancock, fulfills his purpose within this book: to cultivate “people determined to be more intentional, more skillful, more realistic, more effective” concerning their relationships with teenagers. He successfully fulfilled his purpose by structurally discussing the current cultural composition of teenagers, and previous generations; strong relational skills that may aid an adult into becoming an effective parent; and practical strategies to raise adults. Although this book is extremely beneficial for any parent, it does have a con for me: it is too verbose. Namely, it could state what it attempts to convey in fewer words. After
Parent/Child relationships are very hard to establish among individuals. This particular relationship is very important for the child from birth because it helps the child to be able to understand moral and values of life that should be taught by the parent(s). In the short story “Teenage Wasteland”, Daisy (mother) fails to provide the proper love and care that should be given to her children. Daisy is an unfit parent that allows herself to manipulated by lacking self confidence, communication, and patience.
“I’m never going to act like my mother!” These words are increasingly common and yet unavoidable. Why is it that as children, we are able to point out every flaw in our parents, but as we grow up, we recognize that we are repeating the same mistakes we observed? The answer is generational curses: un-cleansed iniquities that increase in strength from one generation to the next, affecting the members of that family and all who come into relationship with that family (Hickey 13). Marilyn Hickey, a Christian author, explains how this biblically rooted cycle is never ending when she says, “Each generation adds to the overall iniquity, further weakening the resistance of the next generation to sin” (21, 22). In other words, if your parents mess up you are now susceptible to making the same mistakes, and are most likely going to pass those mistakes to your children. In The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie shows the beauty of hope in the presence of a generational curse. Even though the elders are the ones who produce the curses, they are also the ones who attempt to break Junior from their bond forming mistakes. The curses that Arnold’s elders imprint on him lead him to break out of his cultural bonds and improve himself as a developing young man.
In most of my classes I’ve always heard that your parents are the most important people in your life and I truly believe this. People are affected by everything their parents say and do both in childhood and later on in adulthood. If a child is constantly looked down upon and made to believe that nothing they do is good enough, chances are they will grow up believing this and having low confidence. It is remarkable that a child David’s age fought himself from breaking down, dissolving into tears and giving up hope for a better future. David constantly worked towards or rather survived because of a dream, a dream t hat he was a prince and that every...
The encounters various people come across in their life define the characters and personalities they develop. Family structure, an experience element frequently ignored, plays a significant role in the development of an individual’s personality. Outstandingly, the family is a sanctified union that greatly cultivates the character of an individual. The traits that a person develops from the family as they grow up in highly contribute to the type of parents they become in future. From the past to date, authors have always created awareness on how everyday family activities can influence the character of those involved. Events that negatively affect an individual could lead to dysfunctional families in future. O’Connor and Hemmingway are not
We as parents have become older, and we lived our lives. It is now our Children’s turn to live theirs and hope, as parents, we did most of what we had to do as God had wished us.
This article was interesting to read. This article makes me think about all of my siblings who I have seen grown up around me and I can relate the article to their life. One adolescent that comes in mind is someone who would have parents that would try to get involve in school work and other activities. The only problem was that the school climate and the friends that surrounded this adolescent didn’t help at all. This led to a lot of conduct problems like running away from home, smoking, and coming home after
Rosen, Christine. "The Parents Who Don't Want To Be Adults." Commentary 127.7 (2009): 31. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Emerging adults are always in the search of their own identity while experimenting with their life, love life and career path. Constant changes in emerging adult’s life are common. From changing residential place to love life, work and education, instability often presents during emerging adulthood (Santrock, 2013). In addition, emerging adults tend to place focus on themselves where they have no commitment and responsibilities toward others. This provides them a great chance to exercise their own will and to execute their plans for the future. During emerging adulthood, many feel like as if they do not belong to either adolescents or adult. The transition ends only when they have distinct marks of an adult. According to Arnett (as cited in Santrock, 2014), “emerging adulthood is the age of possibilities” (p. 296). The age of possibilities is when an individual has the opportunity to turn things around in life, especially when they are from a poor family
Successful parenting may be judged by many different standards. Raising a child to be a respectful, mature, and independent adult requires a great deal of effort. There are several parenting styles, and not all lead a child to reaching their full potential. Overpowering sternness leads may lead to a rebellious child, while passive parenting may lead children to inept for the challenges of adulthood. Parenting requires more than teaching children submissiveness, or building of self-importance. Children learn best from a role model who is admirable. Parenting is a great opportunity to set the course of one’s entire life in the right direction.
There are numerous influences that can be responsible of teenager’s behaviors and attitude as they develop. One factor that is important to these behaviors is parental figures being over involved or uninvolved in their children’s lives. Many of these effects include illegal substance abuse, rising sexual activity, underage alcohol consumption, and tobacco use. Studies show parental participation plays a key role in the characteristics developed by young teenagers in today’s society, along with advertisement that persuade minors to follow the wrong path in life. Although peers may influence their surrounding friends, parents can have the most effective or destructive way of impacting their children’s lives. Taking care of a child can have a positive or negative effect. When parents become ignorant, careless, or lacking in effort put forth, their children may commit these bad behaviors which have serious consequences. However, when parents are controlling and “hang” over their children, their kid’s may result to these behaviors as well. So what is the correct amount of influence on your child? There should be a reasonable line between too little and too much involvement in a teenager’s lives. When parents are able to achieve this and stay involved, the success of their children will be positive.
Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D. "Surviving (Your Child's) Adolescence." 12 December 2011. Psycology Today. 7 May 2014 .
It’s terrible time to be a teenager, or even a teenager’s parent. That message is everywhere. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all full of frightening stories about teenagers and families. They say that America’s families are falling apart, that kids don’t care about anything, and that parents have trouble doing anything about it. Bookstores are full of disturbing titles like these: Parenting Your Out –of- Control Teenager, Teenage Wasteland, Unhappy Teenagers, and Teen Torment. These books describe teenage problems that include apathy, violence, suicide, sexual abuse, depression, loss of values, poor mental health, crime, gang involvement, and drug and alcohol addiction.
Almost a century ago, the Lebanese American poet Kahlil Gibran wrote: “Your children are not your children./They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself./They come through you but not from you,/And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” (Gibran, 1923). Gibran’s words are wise, but hard to follow for many parents. As much as parents may love their children and want the best for them, they often do not think about their child’s dreams, wishes, or gifts; instead, parents push their own ideas for how they think their child should live their life. However, this does not work well; in fact it usually backfires. Parents who push their children too hard want good results for them, but