Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father [Paperback]

Dan Cruver (Author), John Piper (Author), Scotty Smith (Author), Richard D. Phillips (Author), Jason Kovacs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2010

One of the ambitious dreams that Reclaiming Adoption and its authors share with the Apostle Paul is that when Christians hear the word “adoption,” they will think first about their adoption by God. As it now stands, Christians usually think first about the adoption of children. Reclaiming Adoption sets out to change this situation by providing breathtaking views of God’s love for and delight in His children—views that will free you to live boldly in this world from God’s acceptance, not in order to gain it. Reclaiming Adoption begins by examining Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son because it ultimately puts God the Father’s love on display—a love that embraces the younger son with uninhibited joy (Luke 15:20) and goes out to entreat the self-righteous older son to come join the celebration (Luke 15:28). Reclaiming Adoption believes that behind the Parable of the Prodigal Son(s) is Scripture’s teaching on adoption. The story of the Bible is that God the Father sent His only true and eternal Son on a mission, and that mission was to bring many wayward and rebellious sons home to glory (Hebrews 2:10), to adopt them into His family. That is the Story behind the story of the Prodigal Sons. That is the only story that gives our stories any meaning or significance. Dan Cruver and his co-authors are convinced that if Christians learn to first think about their adoption by God, and only then about the adoption of children, they will enjoy deeper communion with the God who is love, and experience greater missional engagement with the pain and suffering of this world. That's what this book is about. What the orphan, the stranger, and the marginalized in our world need most is churches that are filled with Christians who live daily in the reality of God’s delight in them. Reclaiming Adoption can transform the way you view and live in this world for the glory of God and the good of our world’s most needy.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan Cruver and his wife, Melissa, are parents of a multi-ethnic family of three children. Dan is the director of Together for Adoption, an organization that provides gospel-centered resources to mobilize the church for global orphan care. Dan is a frequent conference speaker and writer. He has a M.S. in Counseling and 90+ hours toward a Ph.D. in Theology. Prior to directing Together for Adoption, Dan was a college professor of Bible and Theology and a Pastor of Family Ministries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 114 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1456459503
• ISBN-13: 978-1456459505
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rick Phillips was raised in an Army family an grew up on posts around America. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he followed his father and grandfather by serving as a tank officer. While in graduate school in Philadelphia, his mother urged him to start attending church again, so Rick visited nearby Tenth Presbyterian Church. The message he heard that night changed his life, a sermon from the Old Testament book of Hosea about God's redeeming love for sinners through the cross of Jesus Christ. Surrendering his life to the love of Christ, Rick became active in Officer's Christian Fellowship during the years he was teaching leadership at West Point. He began leading a Bible study for students, then was asked to write a daily devotional, and then to preach at Christian meetings. Through these experiences, he and his wife concluded that God was calling Rick into a full-time pulpit ministry, so they left the Army and embarked on fulfilling God's call to the ordained ministry.

Rick tries the write the kind of books that have ministered so powerfully in his own life. Mainly, these are books of biblical exposition. His writing heroes are James M. Boice, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and similar writers of biblical teaching. Some of his books seek to provide clear biblical teaching to important matters of practical living, such as manhood and relationships. He is grateful to God for the privilege of ministering to so many people through his books, desiring above all that God's Word would be clearly, faithfully, and passionately set forth.

Dr. Phillips serves as senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Greenville, SC. Previously, he pastored in Coral Springs, FL and Philadelphia, PA. He usually preaches morning and evening and his sermons can be heard on Sermon Audio and on the church website: www.secondpca.org. (Live services are also available on video.) Rick frequently speaks at conferences on the Bible and theology and is active in overseas missions, especially in East Africa. In addition to his ministry duties, Rick likes to spend time with his wife and five children. He is a loyal follower of his alma mater, the Michigan Wolverines, and is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reclaimed: The Theology of Adoption January 28, 2011

By Fred Sanders

Format:Paperback

In 1864, Scottish theologian Robert Candlish gave a series of lectures in Edinburgh on the theology of the Fatherhood of God. As he ended those lectures, he said "I do so with the feeling that, however inadequately I have handled my great theme, I have at least thrown out some suggestive thoughts, and in the hope that more competent workmen may enter into my labour and rear a better structure. For I cannot divest myself of the impression that the subject has not hitherto been adequately treated in the Church."

Candlish knew his church history well, but it seemed to him that the church fathers had not adequately described the adoption of believers into God's family, because their best energies had (rightly) gone toward establishing the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity. And the reformers, in (rightly) securing the believer's justification by faith, had not allowed "the subject of adoption or the sonship of Christ's disciples... to occupy the place and receive the prominence to which it is on scriptural grounds entitled." Candlish intended no insult to the fathers or the reformers: "Their hands were full." And until the Trinity and salvation by faith were in place, the theology of adoption didn't have a chance.

But now, Candlish argued that the time had come to investigate the theology of adoption by the Father more fully:

I have long had the impression that in the region of that great truth there lies a rich field of precious ore yet to be surveyed and explored, and that, somewhere in that direction, theology has fresh work to do, and fresh treasures to bring out of the storehouse of the Divine Word.

What would it take to bring out the riches of the biblical doctrine of adoption? It would take more than a good theology book: Candlish's was pretty darn good, and in the intervening 150 years or so there have been some even better ones. It would either take a big doctrinal fight (like the ones that clarified and elaborated the other major doctrines), or some kind of revival movement that stirred up Christians at the level of their spiritual experience and their daily practices, motivating them to reflect doctrinally on what was happening.

Something like the former (a doctrinal fight) is what happened in Candlish's day: Liberal Protestantism began pushing an uncommonly mushy doctrine of God's universal fatherhood. The universal Fatherhood of God was supposed to secure the universal Brotherhood of Man, at least in the Neighborhood of Boston as we all slid into unitarian universalism and rented our our empty churches to Alcoholics Anonymous groups. Candlish had already devoted a book to refuting F.D. Maurice's British version of the FOGBOM theology, and that conflict with the heresy of liberalism is what woke him up to the riches of an orthodox theology of Fatherhood and adoption.

But I think something like the latter, a revival, is happening right now in evangelical theology. There is a movement underway in which Christians, and even whole congregations, are committing themselves and their resources to caring for orphans, partly by adoption. The most important book about it so far is Russell Moore's Adopted for Life, and the most important organization is Together for Adoption. The movement got started with basic, biblical teaching about the gospel and holistic mission. It picked up speed with a network of projects and organizations committed to orphan care. And to this theological observer, it looks like it may have the momentum to reinvigorate evangelical systematic theology. Yes, even the big tomes of doctrine, and the research articles safely hidden in the theology journals! In belated fulfillment of Candlish's prophecy, theology is about to discover adoption and give it the attention it deserves.

The most promising sign I've seen so far is the new book Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father. This is a short (just over 100 pages), readable, popular-level introduction to the theology of adoption, and it is perfectly positioned at the intersection of the practical, the spiritual, and the doctrinal. It's published by the innovative little publisher Cruciform Press, and I expect its sales will be driven by word of mouth through the orphan care network, and by the fact that it's got a big ol' classic John Piper chapter in it (Chapter 8: Adoption, The Heart of the Gospel).

Dan Cruver is the editor and also the anchorman who provides the first four chapters, which give the doctrinal foundation. Check out the titles of chapters two to four:

Adoption and the Trinity
Adoption and the Incarnation
Adoption and Our Union with Christ

Theologically speaking, I don't need much more than a glance at that table of contents to know that this book is on a firm foundation. And reading the (short -did I mention short?) chapters proves that Cruver has a fine theological mind that knows how to observe the proper order of things, starting with God, moving through the mediator, down into the experience of redemption. It's a few short steps from adoption to the biggest doctrines of Christian theology, and Cruver takes them.

The whole book is guided by the same deep theological insight. And if you consider that this book is going to be finding its way into the hands of people who are child-proofing their houses, working out passport issues, and giving sacrificially to orphanages, you may see why I say there is a movement going on. A book like Reclaiming Adoption is carrying out the theological task of catechesis, teaching Christians in mid-mission to think more, and think better, about the gospel they are living in. That is going to pay off in the quiet halls of evangelical theology.

In a brief essay (at his blog and reprinted in the book's study guide), Cruver asks himself the question, "Do we really have time for theology when orphans need our help now?" And he answers,

Yes, we do. If theology is ultimately about our participation in the love between the Father and the Son, then nothing can better mobilize and energize us to care for orphans now than theology.

In fact, the whole tenor of Together for Adoption's ministry is that "what orphans need ... is Christians who are deeply theological."

When thousands of orphans are being rescued and supported, it may seem small-minded to say that the most exciting thing about this movement is that it might be moving the neglected theological doctrine of adoption onto the agenda of evangelical systematic theology. But I'll stand by that, because I take theology to be one meaningful indicator of the spiritual health of the church, and an important tether to spiritual reality. Plus we've been waiting since 1864 for Candlish's prophecy to come true.

And the beauty of the current surge of attention to adoption is that it doesn't come with any temptation to choose between theology and practice. At its best, in church after church, it's doing both.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dense in a Good Way August 16, 2011

By Crossward

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Reclaiming Adoption is a collection of essays compiled by Dan Cruver, the director of the national Together for Adoption ministry. At 107 pages, it's a small book and you'd think you'd just kind of breeze through it. But the subject matter is a bit more dense so I found myself pausing often, meditating on what I just read.

In short, the book walks you through the various aspects of the theology of adoption and its implications. The essay chapters are pretty short but they pack a lot of information into them. This book really deserves to be twice as big because a lot of the ideas merit being fleshed out a good deal. (Note: I suspect this is not entirely the authors' and editor's faults. Cruciform Press, the publisher, attempts to keep its books in the 100-page range. The authors work well within these constraints.) While the doctrine of adoption itself is sorely undertaught or mis-applied in our churches and this book attempts to "reclaim" it, the book also takes some things for granted. For example, Cruver's chapter "Adoption and Our Union with Christ" says this:

Personally, I suspect that Paul intentionally used "adoption" as a shorthand or code word for our union with Christ. Adoption and union are that closely joined.

If we can be adopted without being in Christ, there is no need for Jesus.
If we can be in Christ without being adopted by the Father, there is no Trinity.
If adoption and union with Christ are not essentially the same thing, there is no gospel.

(p. 51)

Now those are some very bold statements but, unfortunately, the ideas aren't fleshed out - at least not fully. The context helps me understand what he's getting at but these statements almost seem as though they are just tossed in there to support his larger point (the prominence that adoption should have in the gospel). On the other hand, maybe I'm just being lazy. The book did cause me to pause and process it on my own rather than nodding my head through it. Even so, I found myself nodding anyway!

The book is loaded with some insightful gems and causes you to look at the gospel and your relation to it in challenging ways. In that same chapter, Cruver says, "Our missional engagement as Christians is not an imitation of Christ and his mission. It is a participation in Christ and his mission." (p. 53) Several pages later, Richard D. Phillips says, "If we will fully embrace what God's Word teaches about what we have been saved to [not just from] - the structure, content, privileges, and obligations of our personal relationship with God - our experience of the gospel will be revolutionized... We have been saved to God through adoption." (p. 58) These types of statements, really, are quite life-changing because, like any gospel-saturated statement, it places the emphasis squarely on the person of Christ. They change how you look at your salvation and your missional calling.

Generally speaking, adoption is given a hand-wave in our churches. We really just don't quite "get it" - what it means that we were spiritual orphans, brought together under one Father as a family, and called to engage in his family business. It's given so little attention that, at first, it's hard to swallow how ingrained it is in the gospel but the authors do a good job of bringing that truth to light. Reclaiming Adoption explores what it means to adopted, to understand our identity as a child of God, and the impact that should have on our view of "true religion" - caring for orphans and widows.

Tom

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Service flows from Sonship December 30, 2010

By James B. Davis

Format:Paperback

"Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption." - J. I. Packer in Knowing God

Dan Cruver's Reclaiming Adoption affirms Packer's statement but goes on to show that not only our understanding of Christianity but also our individual and corporate practice of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of the biblical doctrine of adoption.

Once again CruciformPress has jam-packed a little book with lots of gospel truth for the sake of gospel transformation. Reclaiming Adoption is a fountain welling up with a biblical theology of our vertical adoption in Christ that overflows with missional living in our horizontal relationships with our neighbors, the nations, and the next generation.

As a man who is adopted by God, who has adopted two children, and is the Director of Together for Adoption, Dan Cruver writes as one whose entire life is wrapped up in adoption and orphan care. Cruver opens the book with a brief biblical theology of our Father's adoption of prodigals and then explores other fascinating aspects of our adoption in the next three chapters:

* Adoption and the Trinity: "Through adoption God graciously brings us to participate in the reciprocal love that ever flows between the Father and his Son. Not only is this the very heart of adoption; it is also the very heart of the gospel" (page 27, bold emphasis mine).
* Adoption and the Incarnation: "Through the incarnation, Jesus (fully God and fully man in his one Person) became not merely the means but the place--the locale--where communion with and obedience to God happens in all its unimaginable fullness. It is only in the Person of Christ that God and man meet in loving communion. The understated good news of the gospel is that the humanity of Jesus has become our communion with and obedience to his Father. Only in Jesus can true radical obedience and unending communion be found" (page 43, bold emphasis mine).
* Adoption and Our Union With Christ: "This means that, at its source, missional engagement is not really what we do at all. It is what Jesus does. God is always the initiator. Jesus engages us in mission; we do not engage him. Our missional engagement as Christians is not an imitation of Christ and his mission. It is a participation in Christ and his mission" (page 52, bold emphasis mine).

And as if Cruver's own practical theology of biblical adoption is not enough (and his chapters are surely worth the price of the book), he has invited other noted pastor-theologians to fill out the final four chapters by weighing in on the subject: John Piper, Scotty Smith, Jason Kovacs, and Richard D. Phillips.

Perhaps the greatest personal endorsement I can give is to say that Cruver's book has convinced me and my wife (and even my three children) to seriously pray, asking our Father if He would provide the means and method by which our family might live out of our adoption as Abba's children by adding another child to our family or giving us the opportunity to care for orphans. I'm excited to see what He does with this.

Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father is another solid contribution to CruciformPress` effort to provide gospel-centered reading for gospel-driven living.