Historical Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 57, No. 2 – Spring 2015
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
Edited by Pat Ennis and Dorothy Kelley Patterson. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. 544 pages. Paperback, $25.00.
What influences have helped to define the twenty-first-century woman? How would a handbook, designed to equip women for the responsibilities of motherhood and managing a home, be received in today’s society? In 2009, the “Perceptions of Homemaking Study” was distributed internationally as a survey designed to gauge the twenty-first-century woman’s knowledge and ability to carry out successfully the skills pertaining to the management of the home.
While the survey was met with an enthusiastic response, the results also revealed a concern from women thirty-five years and older that women younger than themselves were not receiving the knowledge and skills needed for managing a home that the former generation had acquired. According to Titus 2:3-5, older women play a critical role in passing down these practical skills of homemaking to the next generation of women through their example and personal instruction. Editor Pat Ennis states, “Only when the younger and older women partner together to fulfill this biblical mandate will the Christian home be recovered” (35).
The scriptural basis for God’s unique design for women is also being taught less and less in evangelical circles, she explained. Ennis states that in teaching a character-based home economics class, she has found new students to be “increasingly unaware of God’s special instructions to women” (29). Likewise, co-editor Dorothy Patterson sadly acknowledges how society has suffered “from the advancement of feminism into the heart of the family” (22).
While the feminist movement at its onset observed true injustices against women, Candi Finch quotes Carolyn McCulley stating, “Its interpretation of how to solve these problems is incorrect because feminists abandon God and his plan for humanity” (38). The need for a resource for the next generation of women that is both biblically based and practical became the inspiration for The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook.
This release from Crossway is a collaborative effort featuring twenty-two authors and forty chapters that provide both a biblical foundation and practical instruction on skills related to managing a home. Before fully utilizing the practical aspects of the book, authors address in the second part of the handbook God’s view of the sanctity of life. Through passages like Deuteronomy 6:7-8, authors explain the important role God gives parents to teach their children how to love and follow him. Patterson states, “Rearing the next generation is an awesome task . . . motherhood should encompass a lifetime investment” (87). Additional topics addressed in this section reinforce the great value God places on every human life.
Part three of the handbook is devoted to foundational principles for parenting. Twenty-first-century women often struggle with a perceived expectation that they must do it all, the writers conclude. They feel pressure to balance a professional job with raising children, participate in community service, manage their home and make it to the local gym. Without time to rest or play the demands of life can leave women feeling overwhelmed and unfulfilled. In order to benefit fully from the practical instruction featured in this resource, it is important for women first to evaluate attitudes, priorities and influences that shape their current priorities and practices against the priorities and values of God’s Word. Patterson states, “In the quest to be all you are meant to be, you must not forget who you are meant to be and what you are meant to do!” (178).
“The Practical Aspects of Establishing a Home” are addressed in part four beginning with a chapter on life management skills. Rhonda Kelley encourages women to “focus on knowing God” first and to “invest energy in work that has eternal benefits” (269-70). She also provides a helpful suggestion for maintaining balance. Kelley and her husband have identified six life areas: spiritual, mental, physical, family, financial and social. They set specific goals for each and annually establish and reevaluate their priorities concerning these goals. The next chapter in this section entitled, “Nest Building 101: Setting Up a Household,” emphasizes the importance of having a biblical framework for the purpose of the home. Aspects of safety, furnishing a home, organizing important documents and stocking a pantry are also mentioned. Other practical topics regarding establishing a home covered in subsequent chapters include: relocating a household, smart cleaning routines, working from home, home decorating and money management.
The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook devotes two chapters, written by Mary K. Mohler, to the home as an evangelistic and discipleship tool entitled, “Biblical Hospitality” and “Making Your Kitchen a Springboard for Ministry.” Mohler describes hospitality as a selfless way to care for others, allowing them to get to know you beyond a surface level and “abandoning the sinful tendency to be self-absorbed” (390). The neighborhood, the context in which a woman lives, is a natural mission field. Practicing biblical hospitality and deepening friendships in the context of your home provides natural opportunities to share your faith and personal testimony of knowing Christ.
While women today may recognize the value of investing their time and resources in the pursuit of making a home, many still struggle practically to live out this role. This is due in part to factors like individual personality, lack of positive role models and even challenging issues faced in parenting. Each woman is a product of God’s unique design. Her personality, strengths, weakness, skills and abilities impact her approach to homemaking. As a tool, the handbook includes insights and practical tips in a wide range of areas related to homemaking, proving an opportunity to equip women in an area in which they do not feel particularly strong.
As a resource for pastors and women’s ministry leaders, The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook can be utilized to encourage and equip women to live out their God-designed purpose. For use in a small group setting, each chapter ends with suggestions for putting the principles into practice. In a discipleship context, this resource is an excellent tool for equipping more mature women in their mentorship of younger women. Without adequate examples and positive reinforcement in society the twenty-first-century Christian woman is in great need of the practical instruction gained from The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook, and it will serve as a treasured guide for women of all ages for years to come.
