Overview
‘All Together’, the devotional book by the Legg family, is certainly appropriate for today. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this for some time.
I know it’s very difficult for families to make time to sit down together, to read the Bible and to pray. We all need to understand just how tough family devotions really are!
Simply having a meal together, and then coupling that with a dedicated devotional time is truly a really ‘big deal’ - but it does need to be done, in order to help keep the spiritual life of the family healthy.
I do remember using a ‘Leading Little Ones to God’ family devotional (Banner of Truth Publications) with our own children, but we are talking over 30 years ago now! It’s a great idea, and important for families to use this time together well.
My prayer is that this book will accomplish just what it is designed for - to be ‘The Family Devotional’ for a 12 week period at least! Pick it up, try it - and see!
If it proves to be helpful and enriching, as I trust it will, then there are other devotionals available that are suitable for families to use.
The Authors
Both the Legg parents are fairly well-known in Christian circles. In the book, they have what they describe as ‘a glorious, if complicated, blended family’.
Bekah Legg is the Director of Mission at the Maybridge Community Church, and Steve Legg is the Founding Editor of Sorted magazine, which is stocked in many newsagents around the country. Steve is also a conjurer and magician, and is good at bringing people to know Christ. He is an evangelist!
They live in West Sussex with their five girls, all now in their teenage years.
The Book
‘Bring your family together over breakfast or dinner, on the sofa or at the table to explore the Bible. From Genesis, Moses and Esther, to the birth, life and resurrection of Jesus, discover something new each day. The Leggs add a healthy dose of humour, insight and understanding to this down-to-earth family devotional’.
On the cover, Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio Two presenter, also says, ‘I’ve never seen one of these for families before. Well done Mr and Mrs Legg’.
‘Spirituality’ matters to the Leggs very much, hence this book. Bekah talks about how her parents taught her to love the Bible deeply. Steve’s story is quite different, as he came to faith at a Boys’ Brigade camp. His family were not very keen on this at all!
Bekah writes the introduction, and explains the purpose behind the book. Her view is that many families do not get together often enough to look closely at their spiritual lives. This book is written to encourage change in this area! She says that ‘the book has been written to help other families discover more about God together’.
The book is effectively a daily workbook, representing twelve weeks of study. Each week is covered, and follows a Monday to Friday format. There is one ‘weekend’ chapter as well. The Leggs hope that this title will ‘ensure that God becomes part of the family’.
There are three months’ worth of studies overall, starting with week one ‘In the beginning’ and ending on the final week with ‘To infinity and beyond’. The individual weeks are very good and hold together well. Each study takes around half an hour, depending on the way individual families choose to use the material. I can imagine that some families may opt for doubling the time period to six months, making each study last two weeks to cover the subject in more detail.
Both Bekah and Steve Legg contribute to each of the daily editions. One gets the sense that Bekah is really driving the content, and Steve is there to ensure that chapters ‘move along quite engagingly’.
Each day there is a Bible reading, something to think about and, frequently, something to talk through as well. Bekah will make a comment on the material and Steve invariably talks about something regarding the subject on hand.
For me, the book finishes quite abruptly and I wonder if an additional chapter would have been good to ‘round up’ the whole subject. For example, it would be helpful to give information on where a family could go next in terms of devotional material. I’m sure it would be easy for some families to find a way to carry on with a similar pattern, but for others it may be helpful to have some pointers in the right direction, especially if this whole concept is fairly new to them.
In conclusion, the daily devotional sessions work well and Steve and Bekah are to be congratulated on the content they have put together. Of course, it is down to families to decide just how effectively the material is used in their own settings, but overall I believe it will be helpful and appreciated.
I also applaud CWR; they have done well in publishing a book that encourages the use of devotionals as part of the family package.
Eddie Olliffe
Bookseller and Distributor for the past 35 years. Now Consulting Editor of Together Magazine. I blog on Christian Spirituality, UK Publishing and Bookselling matters.