Book Review: Apparent Privilege

Apparent Privilege. By Steve Wright with Chris Graves. Wake Forest: Inquest, 2008.

Apparent Privilege is Wright’s follow-up work to ReThink. In ReThink Wright lays a biblical foundation for a partnership between families and the church in student ministry. Parents are to be the primary disciple-makers of their children. The church’s role is first to equip and train parents and then to reinforce parental involvement and instruction throughout the student ministry. Wright calls upon student leaders to ReThink student ministry and adopt a more biblical methodology, that is, one that elevates parents instead of dismissing them or taking discipleship of their children from them.

Apparent Privilege is Wright’s call to parents. Much of the material is the same because he is essentially sharing with parents what he has shared with leaders in ReThink. However, AP goes further. Wright outlines specific examples of how his church encourages and equips parents to fulfill their role. Wright focuses on the tools and importance of things like family worship, praying as a family, serving as a family, passage trips, journaling, journey days, and family dinnertime. Imagine what a visible difference would be made if parents and student leaders adopted just some of these Gospel-driven opportunities!

Every parent should read this book NOW! Every student leader should read both ReThink and Apparent Privilege.

Families should not replace the church, but they should not be neglected, overlooked, and segregated by the church either. Let us join together, families and the church, to see our children embrace the glorious Gospel of Christ and live it out with joy throughout life. Let’s close the gap on watching our students graduate from God when they graduate high-school. The biblical way is for parents to pass down the faith, the church to lift up parents by helping them fulfill their role, and both presenting and living the Gospel before our students.