Our good friend Dr. Jason Meyer, Dean of Chapel and assistant professor of New Testament at Louisiana College, has graciously agreed to review some adoption books for the Together for Adoption site. Here is his first review on Adopted for Life by Dr. Russell Moore.

Moore, Russell D.  Adopted For Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2009. 230 pp.  $15.99.

Introduction

Russell D. Moore is the dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for academic administration at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.  He also serves as a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church.  He is the author of The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective (Crossway), as well as many articles and essays.  More information, including his blog and many other sermons and articles, can be found on his website, Moore to the Point: www.russellmoore.com.  His blog also includes some short videos for each chapter of his book, Adopted for Life.  Russell and his wife Maria have four sons.

Moore dedicated this book to two of his sons, Benjamin and Timothy, whom Russell and Maria adopted from an orphanage in Russia. Notice that I wrote “two of his sons,” not “his two adopted sons,” even though thelatter may have been easier to write.  The latter phrase, however, would have shown either that I did not read the book or I did not understand what I read.

How we talk about adoption can be an important indicator of how we think about adoption.  The first description (”two adopted sons”) could potentially compromise one of Russell Moore’s most instructive points from the book: adopted children are not a second, sub-par class of children as opposed to biological children.  Adopted children are real children who fully partake in all the privileges of family life.

Moore believes that it is important to talk about them in a way that communicates the fact that they really belong in our family.  Referring to some children as adopted may give the impression that the title “adopted” is what really defines them or is what really matters about them.  Moore asserts that they should not be identified in terms drawn from newspaper obituaries and the like that “refer to the deceased’s ‘adopted child,’ as though this were the equivalent of a stepchild or a protégé rather than a real offspring” (24; emphasis his).

The preceding points cannot be relegated to some kind of semantic gamesmanship because the gospel is at stake in how we think and talk about adoption.  Moore continually points to the connections between what some call “vertical adoption” (our spiritual adoption in Christ) and “horizontal adoption” (physical adoption).  Questions like “are they brothers?” or “do you know their real mother?” or “now, do you have children of your own?” betray what people really prize and esteem when it comes to family and sonship: DNA and biological lineage.   Some people say that they are open to adoption, but they want to have “a child of their own first.”

These questions or comments can reveal the cause of a great deal of confusion concerning our understanding of the gospel and our adoption in Christ.  Are all of the adopted sons of God in Christ really God’s “sons” in the truest sense of the word?  Do we truly belong in God’s family by faith or not?  Is their another aspect of our life that is more important or determinative like race, language, or socio-economic status?  This question became one of the most volatile questions in the early church as the church came to be comprised of both believing Jews and believing Gentiles.  Which category gives the church its essential identity: “believer in Christ” or “Jew or Gentile?”

Analysis

Hopefully, the reader will notice that the book review is already well-underway!  Thinking through issues of application concerning the language we choose for adoption has hopefully brought the reader closer towards understanding the point of the book.  It is time to back up and start at the beginning of the book in order to discuss its structure, main point and purpose.

In terms of structure, the book consists of nine chapters. The subtitles of the chapters offer short summaries that provide the reader with a list of topics addressed in the book.  This list of topics is a helpful tool for following the flow of the book.  They are as follows:

1. Why you should read this book, especially if you don’t want to.
2. What some rude questions about adoption taught me about the Gospel of Christ.
3. What’s at stake when we talk about adoption.
4. How to know if you – or someone you love – should consider adoption.
5. How to navigate the practical aspects of the adoption process.
6. How to think about racial identity, health concerns, and other uncomfortable adoption questions.
7. How churches can encourage adoption.
8. How parents, children, and friends can think about growing up adopted.
9. Concluding thoughts.

I discovered that pages 18-19 offered the most helpful discussion for discerning the main point and purpose of the book. The central theological point of the book is simple: there is an indissoluble link between the gospel and adoption.  Two sentences in the book succinctly and clearly convey this connection: “As we become more attuned to the gospel, we’ll have more of a burden for orphans. As we become more adoption-friendly, we’ll be better able to understand the gospel” (18).

These two points are so intertwined that dangerous implications invariably follow if either side is erased from the equation.  “Without the theological aspect, the emphasis on adoption too easily is seen as mere charity.  Without the missional aspect, the doctrine of adoption too easily is seen as mere metaphor” (18).

This connection between the gospel and adoption leads to the missional purpose of the book.  Adoption is not about acquiring children; it is about a church culture that “sees adoption as part of our Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself” (19).Therefore, a Christian commitment to the gospel (vertical adoption) should translate into horizontal adoption in action.

Furthermore, the book does not argue for merely adding adoption to the church prayer list or the church budget.  The missionary connection with the gospel argues against maintaining a minimal level of involvement in the adoption endeavor within our churches.  The author argues that “families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world” (18, my emphasis). The church should think differently than the world at this point.

It should not surprise us when the world does not “get” adoption, but Christians who do not “get” adoption invariably show that they do not “get” the gospel or “their own salvation” (19).  In a nutshell, one of the major differences between these two understandings is that the world thinks adoption is “charity,” while the church believes that “it’s war” (18).   Adoption is war because Satan and unseen beings contest it.  They oppose adoption because they want the world to remain ignorant of both the “eternal reality” (i.e., the gospel of vertical adoption) and the “earthly icon of it” (horizontal adoption) (18).

These points all come together in perhaps the clearest mission statement for the book:

In this book I want to call us all to consider how encouraging adoption – whether we adopt or whether we help others adopt – can help us peer into the ancient mystery of our faith in Christ and can help us restore the fracturing unity and the atrophied mission of our congregations (18).

Assessment

This book is immensely helpful in at least three ways.  It is informative, inspiring, and pastoral.  All three of these qualities are important.  First, the book is informative at many levels because the reader is exposed to all of the multi-faceted aspects of adoption along the way.  This sense of balance comes to the reader in many different forms.  We read informative, practical warnings about potential threats like finances and paperwork for adoption (the word “threat” resonates with anyone who has gone through the process of adoption!).  We read of the perplexing range of decisions facing those who adopt.  Should one choose a domestic or international adoption (117-123)?  Should they opt for an open or closed adoption (124-129)?

We also hear about the shameful state of the abortion status quo and how a culture of adoption can advance “the cause of life” (79).  We read honest assessments of adoption and racial identity and how prejudice shockingly rears its ugly head (60-61), even among family members (157).  We read important reminders concerning our identity in Christ through the gospel and the radical meaning of brotherhood in Christ (38).  We read about adoption as an important piece of the gospel’s mission and practical things that churches can do to encourage adoptions in both local and global ways (169-187).

Many books excel at information sharing but fail to bring the reader to the place where they feel the importance of the information.  The inspiring elements of the book allow the reader to see and feel the connection between the information on the one hand and its importance on the other.  Perhaps some who are unfamiliar with the experience of adoption will be surprised by how gripping the emotional and spiritual drama of adoption can be.  The personal touches drawn from Russell Moore’s adoption story gives the book a narrative dimension like a page turning novel that you can’t put down.  It is also inspiring to see this personal story in light of God’s overarching story of redemption. Awareness of how God’s story of redemption intersects with adoption creates a feeling of connectedness to God’s cosmic purposes in Christ.

Finally, the book is very pastoral.   The author pastorally leads people by the hand and guides them through the adoption process. Russell Moore excels as a guide because he is never narrow in his conception of adoption; he is aware of the varied problems, circumstances, and options facing those who adopt.  He is also authentic and empathetic enough to share his struggles along the way. He is refreshingly honest when talking about pride’s refusal to accept financial assistance (138-139).  He even highlights the path of raw emotion and pain that can lead to bitterness with God and the how the path of repentance causes restoration and trust (103).

One glowing example of the author’s pastoral heart comes in chapter four.  He acknowledges the different scenarios that arise depending on whether the couple struggles with infertility (88-104) or whether they have existing families (104-111).  He is also very pastorally sensitive when discussing potentially painful issues and commendably honest about the real life emotions people experience.

The section on infertility is an excellent case in point.  He startsby telling people who are infertile yet do not want to adopt that they are not horrible people (98-99).  He also tells them to pray for guidance with the help of others (99).  He offers helpful advice for couples when one is excited about adoption and the other is not (99-100).  He is authentic and courageous when talking about hard struggles with sadness and bitterness.  He owns up to the difficulty of knowing what to say and how to say it, but he also offers sensitive and constructive ways to encourage people towards adoption in that grief and despair (102-103).

The present reviewer would have preferred a bit more scriptural exposition like the excellent material found on pages 26-56.  There is no detailed, in-depth exegesis like the reader will find in Trevor J. Burke’s book Adopted into God’s Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor.  There is not as much detailed scriptural and theological exposition as a reader will find in Robert A. Peterson’s Adopted by God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children.  Those two books are excellent biblical and theological supplements to the material in Adopted for Life.  However, the books by Burke and Peterson lack the kind of narrative personal touches and practical application that make Adopted for Life such a stimulating read.

In the end, I must confess that I love the relentless, unswerving way in which Russell Moore drives home the indissoluble link between the gospel and adoption.  When answering rude questions, thinking about identity, talking about brotherhood, or highlighting the Great Commission, the author persistently points us back to the gospel.  This book is an informed celebration of the gospel and adoption and a rallying cry for their advancement in our day.  Let the church say “amen” and show our “amen” by action.

Jason C. Meyer is the Dean of Chapel and assistant professor of New Testament at Louisiana College.  He is the author of The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology and a contributor to The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament.  He also serves as the interim pastor for Parkway Baptist Church in Natchez, MS.  The ten years he has been married to his wife, Cara, have been the best ten years of his life.  Jason and Cara have two girls, Gracie and Allie. They are also in the process of adopting two boys from Ethiopia. More information, including his blog, sermons, articles, and book reviews can be found on his website, Conquered by Christ, at www.jasoncmeyer.com.