Barrett’s Book Notes: Preparing Your Teens For College

Alex Chediak. Preparing Your Teens For College: Faith, Friends, Finances, and Much More. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2014.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Alex Chediak a while back when he was in the writing process of his new book, Preparing Your Teens For College. Chediak has taught at California Baptist University for some time now and has much experience interacting with college students. In his previous book, Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World, Chediak sought to aid students in preparing for college so that they would maintain a strong and vibrant faith, as well as make responsible choices, choices that would impact the rest of their lives. But what about parents? Don’t they play a major role in those crucial teen years leading up to college? Absolutely! Chediak discovered after writing his first book in 2011 that it was the parents of future college students who had questions too. Therefore, in his new book, Preparing Your Teens For College, Chediak talks to the parents, showing them that their role as a parent is irreplaceable.

I love what Chediak has to say at the start of his book:

“When I get to know college freshmen, I recognize that the worldview and character they bring to college are the result of 18 or 19 years of living with their parents. Their worldview (how they think) and their character (who they are) impact their attitude (what they think) and their behavior (what they do). Their attitude and behavior, in turn, give rise to their habits and their destiny, as they (like we) reap what they sow (see Galatians 6:7).”

With this admirable aim in mind, Chediak then looks at how parents can impact six areas: character, faith, relationships, finances, academics, and the college decision. In doing so, Chediak brings the Christian worldview to bear on each topic.

Here are a few of the outstanding recommendations for the book:

Alex Chediak has provided us with a much-needed and thoughtfully-written guide for parents, guidance counselors, and educators alike.  The insights found in this outstanding book will be most beneficial for those who invest the time to read and reflect upon Chediak’s wise words.  Heartily recommended!
Dr. David S. Dockery
President, Union University

Combining practical experience with research, Alex Chediak helps teens (and their parents) prepare for the migration to adulthood.  As that migration is made increasingly later in life these days, the wisdom laced throughout this book is welcome indeed.
Dr. Michael Horton
Professor of Theology, Westminster Seminary California

Preparing Your Teens for College is relevant, accessible, insightful and practical. But best of all it is biblical. This is not a book of helpful hints from a wise man on guiding older teens. It is instead a faithful book of soundly applied biblical wisdom on guiding older teens. Alex has a rare ability to lead the reader to not just compare the Bible to the culture’s expectations of what is normal, but to demonstrate the beauty the flows from submission to the Word. Our Lord sets before us life and death. Alex powerfully communicates the wisdom and beauty of life.
Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr.
Associate Professor, Reformation Bible College (and father of eight)

Also, be sure to listen in on the White Horse Inn interview Michael Horton did with Chediak here.

To find out more about the book, visit Chediak’s website at: www.alexchediak.com

Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett is also Senior Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Riverside, CA. He is the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. You can read about Barrett’s other publications at matthewmbarrett.com.