Family Leadership in Times of Crisis provides readers with the skills and tools they will need to build a strong family foundation. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

The inspiration to begin the process of writing this book was unique. I did not plan to write and publish a book in 2020 until something special happened. Christian Family in Action, a group that is dedicated to equipping families with skills to build and maintain loving relationships, refused to bow down before the fear of COVID-19. Under the leadership of Venet Smith, the president of the group, CFA bravely decided to organize a much-needed family retreat with seventy-seven loving people at a beautiful resort in Orlando, Florida, from June 26–30. They graciously chose me to be their guest speaker. We spent time together bonding and reflecting on family leadership in times of crisis. God moved greatly and touched our hearts to become better husbands/fathers and wives/mothers using the new skills learned to foster a loving environment for our children to become responsible adults.

It was during this special moment that Venet Smith felt prompted by God to encourage me to write this book. His encouragement was like a drop of blood into the veins of my body. My mind began to conceptualize the contents of the book immediately. I took his remarks to heart and asked God to help me get the job done. Fast forward three weeks later, and the book was written. This book was meant to be.

What is a common misconception you feel people have about building a strong family?

In my practice as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a pastor, a common misconception that I notice some people have about building a strong family is the disbelief that building a strong family is not possible because of current sociocultural norms about marriage and family. They look at how society defines family, its structure, and functioning and they feel disempowered. They think that the negative influences of culture and social media make it hard to build a strong family. As a result, they become discouraged to even try to build a strong family. However, once they turn to the biblical pattern of marriage and family as revealed in Genesis 1-2 by God at creation, this instills hope in them believing that they can build a strong family with God on their side. Consequently, they begin to have a strong desire to learn and apply biblical principles and counseling skills to build and maintain a resilient, spiritual, and loving family.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Some of the themes that were important for me to explore and develop in my book were establishing the right family structure, family identity, family leadership hierarchy, family crisis interventions skills, and Jesus Christ.

What is the first step someone can take to start developing their family leadership skills?

The first step someone can take to start developing their family leadership skills is to know and acknowledge their spiritual identity. This is fundamental because someone’s spiritual identity shapes their beliefs and values. Then, their belief system and value determine how they think, feel, and behave. For example, God wants me to form my beliefs and values based on who Jesus Christ is and his teachings. Jesus is the perfect example to model one’s family leadership skills. Jesus commended his followers to follow him (Matthew 16:24). Jesus’ style of leadership has at least five components: believing in people, providing positive and corrective feedback to people, motivating people, modeling for people to know the” How to” of leadership, and empowering people to lead.

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