What should a Christian parent do when their teen turns his/her back on the faith? Over the past several years I’ve encountered a growing number of concerned, involved and loving Christian parents who are experiencing the pain of dealing with a prodigal and asking this very question. As our culture continues to exercise increased influence on children and teens, we can expect to hear more deliberately Christian parents voice this plea.

Come Back, Barbara (P&R, 1997, ISBN #0-87552-384-6), by C. John Miller and his daughter, Barbara Miller Juliani, offers a riveting account of how one Christian father experienced his daughter’s wholesale forsaking of the faith, and how God worked to reconcile father to daughter and that same daughter to Himself. The story is told by C. John Miller, with his now-redeemed prodigal daughter responding to each chapter with her account and perspective. The authors write, “Each of us tried to tell the story as we felt it at the time, keeping hindsight to a minimum. It should be evident that we often had different views of the same incidents, but that is what the book is all about. The purpose is to show how a father and a daughter with conflicting values came to have a wonderful reconciliation through Christ’s working changes in both of us.” Perhaps most helpful is the practical advice readers raising prodigals will take away from Miller’s writing, particularly the many lessons he learned about God, His grace and loving others on God’s terms as he found himself going through the process of being parented by his Heavenly Father.

This book is powerful. When I first read it I couldn’t put it down. When I finished, I read it a second time. If you or someone you know is parenting a prodigal, this is the first book you should read. The book’s study questions make it a good choice for use in a parenting group.

—Walt Mueller

This book is available in the CPYU Resource Center.