First Ask Why: Raising Kids to Love God Through Intentional Discipleship

"If you ever feel lost in the maze of mothering—all the advice, all the choices, all the new ways to raise perfect children―pick up First Ask Why."
—Melissa Kruger, editor at The Gospel Coalition

Parenting is tricky business and most Christian parents are committed to doing it right. So they turn to others for guidance. And there is no end of help out there—from foolproof programs to guaranteed strategies, all designed to produce perfect kids. Except . . . parenting that focuses on how to raise kids to behave according to someone else's expectations will never succeed.

Our first step must be to ask why instead of how.

It is not the how-tos of parenting that will accomplish what we're hoping; it's intentional discipleship. When we concentrate on shepherding our children's hearts instead of managing their behaviors, the result is a child who knows Christ intimately, loves him deeply, and has a heart to serve him fully.


"I wholeheartedly agree with Shelly Wildman that there is no better word to summarize what God calls parents to do than discipleship. She unpacks in detail what this discipleship looks like practically, while she reminds us that being intentional simply means being willing tools of the Great Discipler in the lives of the children he has entrusted to our care."
—Paul David Tripp, author of Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

Shelly Wildman is mom to three adult daughters and a writer and speaker from her home in Wheaton, Illinois. She has published on The Gospel Coalition blog, and has contributed to books such as Dating During the Apocalypse and A Moment to Breathe.