Parenting without Panic in an LGBT-Affirming World: Discipling Our Kids with Jesus’ Truth and Love

By Rachel Gilson

I'm aware that sexuality is a topic which divides Christians - however, one thing I deeply appreciate about THFF is the unity we have as Christian parents wanting to share Jesus with our kids, and the grace we show to each other, regardless of our stance on other theological issues.

So I will be upfront here in saying that ‘Parenting without Panic in an LGBT-Affirming World’ is aimed at those who take an orthodox/traditional standpoint on issues of sexuality, or potentially those on the fence. It probably won’t be of as much use to those who have a more affirmative theology.

On the whole, I found ‘Parenting without Panic in an LGBT-Affirming World’ a sensitive, gentle and loving guide, aimed at parents of kids under 11. Author Rachel Gilson brings her personal experience as a same-sex-attracted person, and also as a mum, to outline some key concepts for us and our kids to understand, as well as helpful tools to encourage our kids to see the world through a Biblical lens. I thought it was incredibly helpful to outline at the start how both marriage and singleness point to Christ. In a church culture where marriage is often over-emphasised, this was refreshing. She goes on to cover several areas which would be pertinent to other topics too – namely, how we prepare our children to live in a world where they’re in a minority – as well as how we love our kids well when we’re in disagreement on this issue.

Occasionally I found ‘Parenting without Panic in an LGBT-Affirming World’ a little lacking in sensitivity, and the message of how we love our kids unconditionally didn’t quite go far enough for me, but these really are minor quibbles in a book which is incredibly hard to get right. Gilson has done a more-than-adequate job.

Good Book Co

Eden