I came home from work day before yesterday to Kimberly saying, "the principal called today." I said, "hold on, let me put my stuff down." So I then went into the kitchen, sat down and Kimberly told me the story. As the kids were leaving the house that morning they had all asked for cards to give to their friends to invite them to come to church. So I dug through my "stuff" and pulled out several for each of them, and off they went to get on the bus. Apparently, as they were in route to school a boy on H-G's bus had emptied the contents of his backpack, unzipped it and placed it upon his head. She then told him to take it off or he was going to die (or get hurt we can't get the story straight). She then handed him a sermon series card from our church entitled "parenting under attack" and went on her way, and invited him to come.

For some reason the boy's mother became aware of this conversation and the boy's being "proselytized" and went to the principal saying something about separation of church and state. The principal went to H-G in her classroom and demanded all the rest of the religious propaganda (too late she had already infected others with her zealous hateful propaganda). -- I know I'm starting to exaggerate so I'll tone it back down.

After which, the principal went back to her office and called Kimberly asking our family not to do this anymore. It was not given out during the instruction time. She was expressing her first amendment right to speak about what she believed and wanted to persuade others to her point of view. If there had been a Muslim boy or Jehovah's Witness giving my children "stuff" I would have talked with my children about what we believe, discuss the material but I would never demand that the other children don't have the right to tell others what they believe.

It was the atheist Voltaire who said, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

We live in a crazy world, that just doesn't make sense some times. But my kids resolve in their beliefs have only been strengthened not weakened. And they will not remain silent -- trust me, I try often.

The boys did something similar a while back:
bus stop evangelist part two

also here's the original bus stop evangelist entry
bus stop evangelist part one

Lately I have been thinking about the strategy that the church uses as a means to encourage the spiritual formation of others, specifically children. The following is the third article of a series of articles that attempts to understand how we can do this. You can find all the articles at www.drewboswell.com.

Another way to help parents and teachers in their effort to educate their children would be to have written learning goals and objectives. Doug Fields has written a book entitled Purpose Driven Youth Ministry. What makes this book different from any other “how to do youth ministry” book is that he introduces the concept of identifying “H.A.B.I.T.S. ”[1] that students should be encouraged to implement into their lives.[2] These are activities that students do outside of structured church programs and are an effort to get students to have a quiet time, an accountability partner, memorize Scripture, etc., on their own, away from adult supervision. Field’s theory is that if these “H.A.B.I.T.S.” truly become second nature in the lives of the students, they will more than likely carry them over when they graduate out of youth ministry. The strength of this concept is that he has identified a short list of six things that the youth ministry can focus on and encourage in the lives of the student.
With regard to a strategy of equipping children within the local church, it would be helpful to provide parents and teachers with a list of learning objectives that the church feels are fundamental to the child having a balanced and maturing relationship with God.[3] These learning goals can even be broken down by appropriate age range. For example, two-year-olds would have completely different objectives than second graders. In order for the material to be reviewed over time these various sets of learning objectives could build upon one another over the course of the child’s time in the church’s children’s ministry.

Someone may ask, “But what if a new student comes into the class or a student misses several lessons?” This lack of knowledge on a particular topic (missions, evangelism, Samson, for example) can be dealt with by making the topics cyclical in nature. For example, a first and second grade class may learn about “missions” and when they graduate up to the third and fourth grade class, they may study it again. Instead of repeating the old material, it will be reviewed and new material will become the focus. At each class level, even though the same topics may be covered, the learning objectives change toward becoming more complex.[4]

There are several benefits of having written learning goals and objectives. One is that the teachers have a clear list of learning objectives that can help them in evaluating if their teaching has been effective. Second, parents have a clear list of learning objectives so that they can be working on these concepts at home, in the car to the soccer game, during bath time, or whenever the parent thinks would be an appropriate time to teach.[5] The third benefit is that the home and the church can work together, in concert to see that the child’s life conforms to the set biblical teaching objectives and life habits. It has been said that, “what is not evaluated is not worth much.” It is humanity’s natural tendency to drift toward mediocrity rather than push toward improvement and growth. Therefore, a fourth benefit of learning objectives is that it encourages the teacher to do a good job of teaching because he knows that his ministry will be evaluated when the child “graduates” to the next class. There will also be a form of outside evaluation when the child goes home and the parents ask them questions based on the set learning objectives. In discussing this concept of written goals and learning objectives Barna says,

One of the most startling revelations I encountered on this journey was finding that many of the effective ministries have a long-term plan—in some cases an 18-year developmental plan with specific ideals outlined for each age groups from infants through high school seniors. While those churches allow for spontaneity and flexibility despite their long-range planning, they are fully committed to implementing their “big picture” plan.[6]

A teacher may have teaching objectives for a given year, and she may even have learning objectives that she has developed on her own, but for her ministry to be successful these goals have to coincide with the “big picture” for the child’s spiritual development.

A fifth benefit of having written goals and objectives is that the teaching ministry of a church from nursery to high school can function as a team, with one level building upon the next until the child is mature in Christ.[7] A teacher or parent could reference the learning goals and objectives and seek to help one another in their teaching efforts. It is in essence a map for everyone to follow, so that one could get to the desired destination; a growing disciple of Christ.

[1] HABITS is an acronym where the “H” stands for Hang Time With God, “A” stands for Accountability Partner, “B” stands for Bible Memorization, “I” stands for Involvement in the Church, “T” stands for Tithing, and “S” stands for Studying the Bible.
[2] Fields, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry, Chap. 9.
[3] See Appendix A
[4] See Appendix B for an example of how topics can be repeated with the learning objectives becoming more complex.
[5] Deut 6:7–9
[6] Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, 100.
[7] “Maturing” as defined in Heb 5:14, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (NIV)

I am currently at a pastor’s prayer retreat and we have been given the assignment of following the spiritual discipline of silence. It’ s not as easy as you might first think – “just don’t say anything for 24 hours.” But once you close the noise coming out, there is also the noise inside your brain. Why is it that we have such a hard time simply being quiet and listening for God’s voice?

It might be that we associate silence with death (“dead men don’t tell lies.”) If I am speaking, then I am alive, or apart of what’s going on, or active with the conversation. Or even if you don’t want to take that morbid path, we at least have to deal with the internal question, “Am I ok?” If not, then I want to keep the internal dialogue to a minimum and keep my hands busy, or the tv loud, or the car tires rolling (with the radio turned up). Anything to keep me from having to quietly face God and the question, “Am I ok?”

After the battle of Mt. Carmel, Elijah (after having his life threatened) runs away. In God’s grace he comes to Elijah and says, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”[1]

The Lord was not in the great wind, or the earthquake, or the fire. He was in the whisper. It is not very hard to miss an earthquake, and wind that levels mountains, or fire sweeping in front of you – but you might very well miss a whisper.

So if God desires to communicate with you in whispers, and not mighty acts of nature, then how do we discern or hear Him?

Make An Effort
1. You have to make an effort to approach God. Yes, God came to Elijah first [2] but Elijah had to come out and approach God. We have a relationship with God through Christ so there is no need to cover our faces – but we must still go to Him. Elijah walks out of the cave.

Stop Talking (Outside and Inside)
2. God speaks in whispers, not earthquakes, fires, etc… so stop looking for Him in the loud world and quiet your soul to listen. This again requires effort and discipline. It’s much easier to turn on the tv and mentally check out, verses having to stay focused on listening and remaining quiet.

Any time I have to listen to someone who speaks in such a way that is unnatural to my ear (broken English, some other language, foreign accent) it will after a while mentally exhaust me. Listening for and to God can be tiring – but like learning a new language it gets easier.

Think of it as two people yelling at the same time – there’s a lot of noise, but not very much communication. God intentionally speaks softly so that we have to quiet ourselves to hear Him. We need to hear what God is saying, not the other way around.

Study the Bible and Remember Why You Were Created
3. In the Garden of Eden everything was perfect, yet God still came and talked with
Adam and Eve. Even though life was perfect they still needed God to help them “figure out life.” [3] Mankind is like a mirror – we were created to reflect the light of Jesus Christ. So how do we reflect His light into the world or “Bear His image?” We have to listen and remember the reason for our existence – to reflect the glory of God into our world. We need him to help us figure this out.

Salvation is not about filling an empty spot within us (or giving us something that we need or want). Instead, it is the ability to once again give God glory or “reflect” the image of His Son in your life. Mirrors don’t have batteries, they simply reflect what’s in front of them.

[1] 1 Kings 19:11-13
[2] see also1 John 4:19
[3] Mark Driscoll. Doctrine (Crossway, 2009) p. 117

A couple of days ago my neighbor asked me, “what does it mean to be an ‘image bearer’? So not satisfied with the answer that I gave him, I wrote this blog entry. David I hope this helps.

Genesis 1:26 says “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” Being made in the image of God, or bearing His image makes mankind distinctly different from the rest of creation, since mankind is the only being to be made in the image of God.

The rest of creation points to a Creator because it is so wonderfully complex and orderly that it must have a Creator (as a man who finds an ipod in the forest knows someone at one point made it).[1] While mankind also points to God as having a creator because of the complexity and beauty the human body holds, it also plays a far more important role. The role of “bearing the image of God.”

So what does this mean, to be made in the image of God? The word “image” in the Hebrew is where the word “idol” comes from. You don’t have to read vey much of the Old Testament to see that idols were forbidden, and caused much trouble for the people of God. God’s people, the Israelites, would follow a false god, and create an idol (or representation) of the god, that they would then bow down to and worship it as the one true God. The representatives made of stone, metal, straw, etc. represented the god. These images angered God because they did not accurately represent Him and His character, and it was not the way that God had directed that he was to be worshipped. [2]

There are certain attributes that God posses as part of his nature that we also posses (holiness, love, truth, righteousness, beauty, etc… ) and attributes that we do not posses (omnipresence, omnipotence, eternality, etc…) [3] Mankind can show love; dads love their daughters. This is true if a person knows Jesus or not. But it is through a relationship with Christ, that the father is able to point his daughter to God in love.

Think of being an image bearer where the human is a mirror. He was created to reflect; specifically he was created to reflect God. It is in reflecting, that God receives glory and the person does what he was created to do. Idols are forbidden because they do not accurately represent God as he truly is – In fact it is only mankind that can “bear His image.” But we bear His image in order to reflect the glory to God our Creator. This does not make us gods, anymore than the mirror is its’ maker.

But because mankind is sinful the mirror is covered with mud. It reflects nothing. This is mankind apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We do not bring God glory and we do not live a life of reflecting the image of God. God saves us; we then reflect our Creator (Jesus) and He receives honor, worship, praise, and glory. We have a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because we finally are doing what mankind was created to do (Genesis 1:26).

There is also another problem. Once a person receives Jesus’ free gift of salvation the reflection that he gives is not a perfect reflection. Yes, Christians still make mistakes! In fact it’s much like a House of Mirrors at the local county fair. The image is distorted, warped, and weird. Thus begins a lifelong process of making the image more and more accurate (theologians call this Sanctification). It is only in eternity when we will as the image bearers of Christ accurately reflect Him as we should. Also, because we are all created different and unique we have been designed to reflect that light differently. One person will reflect the attribute of love differently, but they both reflect love.

Therefore the Church (the body of believers) is like a chandelier. Many pieces of cut glass or crystal, grouped together to create a magnificent display as the light shines through it. Light is reflected, and it bounces and shines all throughout the room (or the world).

[1] Romans 1:18 ff.
[2] Exodus 20:3, 4
[3] Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. Doctrine (Crossroads; Wheaton, Illinois, 2007) 121.

This coming Sunday at the Delaplaine the DBCC student ministry is inviting everyone who can make it to an evening of games, snacks, and BIG HAIRY QUESTIONS! Bring a friend, a snack to share, and some BIG HAIRY QUESTIONS.

Develop a Definition of Success

Lately I have been thinking about the strategy that the church uses as a means to encourage the spiritual formation of others, specifically children. The following is a continuation of articles that attempts to understand how we can do this (better).

With any strategy, a teacher must have some way of knowing when she is reaching or has achieved her objectives. The church must, therefore, have a simple way of acknowledging whether it is being successful or not. Barna suggests three such standards for defining success and the author will give another. The first is “widespread parental involvement in the spiritual development of the children.”[1] This is a simple way for determining whether the children’s ministry is successful or not. One could simply take the parents of the participating children and determine how many of them are involved. The second is “strategically equipping parents.” One could observe how many equipping opportunities are available for parents, and of those available opportunities, how many parents took part in the training. A third measure of success would be “the transformed life of the child.” This measure is very subjective because it is hard to determine what is going on in the heart of a child by watching the behavior in the limited time a teacher has with the child during a class or other activity.

Proverbs 4:23 states, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.” The way a person acts is an expression, a wellspring, or overflow of the heart. The heart determines behavior. Mark 7:21–23 says, “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” Luke 6:45 says, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” A strategy of the church must address the heart (what is going on inside) along with expressed outward behavior.

In addressing a similar issue Tripp says, “A biblical approach to educating children involves two elements that you weave together. One element is rich, full communication. The other is the rod or correction (See Proverbs 23:13-19, 22, 26.)”[2] The didactical writings of the Bible, specifically the Law of the Old Testament were given to make the people of God see the impossibility of keeping it and to cry out to God for mercy.[3] The law must be followed (telling the truth, honoring one’s parents, etc.), but it is only when one’s bend is toward God that they can keep the intention of the law which is a dependence upon God. If that bend is away from God, a person becomes like the Pharisees. Matthew 23:27–28 references this type of outwardly religious but inwardly rebellious person; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” If a church focuses only on correcting outward behavior, but does not communicate enough with the children to determine what is transpiring in the heart, they have not successfully ministered to children. This is not a suggestion that the church should “bear the rod” of correction but only that the church should emphasize relationship and communication in its educational endeavors with children.

The Pharisees looked religious and obedient to God on the outside, but their hearts were far from God. The measure of success should not be proper behavior alone (sitting quietly in their seat, saying “yes ma’am or no ma’am,” etc.) but a heart reliant upon and sold out for God. Discipline in the classroom and the home must be carried out to show specifically where the child has displeased God. It is this process of showing the child, according to the Bible, why what they have done is wrong that the child makes the decision to follow God and not the world. If the parent or church stops at only correcting behavior alone, and giving no explanation of why a standard of behavior is required, then they are raising Pharisees not true worshippers of Christ.[4] Again, the earlier this process begins, the easier it is for the child’s heart to be bent toward God and away from their natural heart’s desire to sin.[5] This is the heart of Deuteronomy 6 where it discusses a constant conversation with the child. This ideally is to be accomplished by the parents during their daily living, not one hour on Sunday morning by a teacher.

Romans 1:18–20 states, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” In the language of Romans, a child will either respond to God by faith or they suppress the truth in unrighteousness. In his rebellion, he will actually hide the truth from himself. It is the parent’s and the church’s responsibilities to guide the child toward faith in God (through teaching and correction) and to point out when the child is worshipping something other than God, thereby suppressing the truth in his life.

A fourth way of defining success is to have a diagnostic test of some kind that would effectively measure the knowledge of the child as he progresses through the years and stages of the ministry. One such test could be a life application challenge given in the classroom. For example, if the lesson is on “Spending Time with God,” the life application challenge could be for the child to have a daily devotional time. The teacher could then ask the child in a nonjudgmental fashion, “Did you have a devotional time this week?” When this information is received and reviewed, it can become the goal of the church to increase the total average over time by trying different strategies. Actual numbers and data give the leadership and parents something to work with as a basis to project realistic goals. Regarding this issue Barna has said, "In order to meaningfully operationalize these (or other) desired outcomes, we start by tying our search for clues (for spiritual growth) to the means of measurement. Here are some means through which we can evaluate outcomes: Formal evaluation tools – written tests, oral tests, essays, competitions and homework assignments. Self-report evaluation tools – surveys, inventories and profiles. Conversation and dialogue – language used, reasoning skills, foundational worldview expressed and interactive engagement. Observable behavior or perspectives – attendance, volunteerism, invitations, donations, professed beliefs, memorized beliefs, physical condition and body language. Inferences from choices – character of friends, media preferences, spending habits, social activity, attire and appearance.[6]

Assessment can be formal or informal. At the more formal extreme are written tests of ability and knowledge. On the informal extreme would be casual observation. Both of these measurements can be used together to give an administrator a more complete picture.

[1] Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, 101.
[2] Tripp, Shepherding A Child’s Heart, 74.
[3] Rom 3:20
[4] John 4:24
[5] Ps 51:5
[6] Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, 130.

The art presented here was inspired from the verse, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:52. It reminds me of how limited our time is here on this earth and how at any moment Christ could return to take us to glory.

Last night I attended a friends ordination service. It was an evening of pastors and others seeking to impress the gravity of the calling into ministry and recognizing and affirming him to this calling. The presenters were given the assignment of telling a young man entering ministry what he needed to know, and they were limited to one minute. I was asked to be a presenter so I have thought about this for weeks. In the end, I decided to do three things with my minute. 1. I read what I felt was the most important verse for a pastor to remember, Matthew 22:37 "And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Jesus was asked the same question by the way. Above all else a man of God must love God with every fiber of their being. 2. I gave a practical tip that I have learned along the way and it is this: There is no short cut, no magic bullet, no secret formula. Success in ministry is to faithfully do what you have been called to do, and it will be hard. Don't quit. 3. I prayed for him from the pulpit. Every ordination typically ends with the laying on of hands, but I wanted to pray for this young man, the way I wished men had prayed for me. I believe that he needed to hear men of God praying for him.

Also, that evening took me back to when I was seated in his seat. It was the first time I really began to feel the weight of ministry placed upon my shoulders. Perhaps it was the men leaning on me as they prayed, or the Holy Spirit using that moment to impress upon me the importance of my task -- but I do remember and still carry the weight. There has never been a time when I desired to be rid of the weight, it is very precious to me, but there are times when I have wanted a sabbatical from it. It never goes away, I am always a called man of God where ever I go, whatever I do -- it's there.

So "in the twinkling of an eye" Jesus could return and I will have to give an account of my actions and how I have managed His church, the Bride. You already know what i want Him to say. . . "Well done good and faithful servant." Then I will be rid of the weight and can rejoice before my King. but for now, it's Monday and time to write Sunday's sermon.

We were up early this morning getting everything ready for the kids to go off to school -- well all the kids except Joshua. He had an oral surgery scheduled for this morning. Granny, aunt Janet and cousin Susie all came over to get the kids on the bus so that Kimberly and I could take Joshua to the surgery.

After about fifteen minutes of instructions for post-operation life (like not smoking, driving, drinking alcohol, etc...) Joshua was taken back, put under anesthesia, and as of right now Kimberly and I are waiting.

This is the second time Joshua has been put to sleep for surgery and Kimberly and I have found ourselves "waiting." It is not a very comfortable feeling placing your son into the hands of another (no matter how well qualified.) Both Kimberly and I both brought "stuff to do," but there is a quiet distraction that really keeps us from being truly focused. We are trusting the doctor with our son, and there is nothing that we can add to the process. It will take the time it takes, it will cause Joshua necessary pain, and in the end we are trusting that it will be for his benefit . . . so we wait.

Isaiah says, 40:31 ". . . but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." So we know what it means to "wait on the doctor" in the "waiting room" but is this the same of "waiting for the Lord?" It is where we recognize that life is out of our control, and we trust/place it into the hands of another who is far more qualified to take care of it. If we wait, for the Lord, then in the end, our lives will be better off.

So Kimberly and I sit, waiting.

4-19-10 Update
Joshua is doing wonderful and is back to normal activities. Thank you for all the prayers and phone calls. Some of you have asked what he had done:

He has many, many teeth on the bottom, so two were removed to make room for the teeth to align naturally. Also, on the top Joshua had a tooth that really wasn't a tooth at all (a bony growth that would never change) so it was removed. And he has a tooth impacted way up in his gum. So a gold chain was attached to it, drawn through the gum and attached to his upper set of braces. This will slowly pull the tooth down as the chain has increased tension. I am beginning to understand the angst in my mother's voice as she would correct me as a boy not to open bottles with my teeth, cut items with my teeth, etc...

Thank you volunteers and parents for letting us share life with your beautiful kids.

This past Sunday I preached from 1 Samuel chapter 2:12 ff. It is the story of Eli and his three sons (I am counting Samuel as an adopted son). I focused on the comparison of the two biological sons (v. 12) against how Samuel is presented in the story. Here, I would like to discuss a part of the passage, I was not able to spend too much time on.

1 Samuel 2:13-14 "The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot."

I find the phrase, "The custom of the priests with the people. . ." to be very interesting. Earlier, when the law outlines how the sacrifices were to be collected, slaughtered, and burned, there was no mention of the practice that is mentioned in the rest of the verse. There was no mention of a three-pronged fork, boiling the meat, etc... Something happened between the giving of the law, and the actual carrying out of the law that resulted in a "custom."

This "custom" in an attempt on the part of the priests to make their job more comfortable or even convenient for themselves. And the people have a "chance" to get more meat back since, "All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself." So if the priest hooked a little piece the people got to keep more of the meat. So this led the people to be greedy with that which was to be the Lord's.

Whenever you seek to make God's Word more convenient or comfortable (by adding to it, or changing it in some way) you take away the God given tool that is designed to keep people from acting upon their sinful nature that is within them. God's Word and the leaders who teach it, are there to fight against creeping "customs."

Judges 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Along these same lines is keeping a balance between being culturally relevant and staying true to the original meaning and teaching of Scripture. God has called all believers to study, memorize, apply, and love His Holy Word. Teachers of the Word are admonished to "15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 3:15)" Jesus looked around and used illustrations (seed, people on a journey, bushes, etc.) as a way to help people understand spiritual things. Today teachers still look around a see (wiis, iphones, cars, etc.) and make the cultural connection. It is not as easy as it may seem on the surface. If you reference a popular television show that many people are watching (hence it being popular) but the show may be filled with course comments, sexual innuendo, rude behavior. . .then have you endorsed the show? Do you want to spend time (precious time) talking about what's wrong with the show? So don't mention the show, but now you have left out a huge chunk of where the "culture" is focusing their attention.

So obviously we pray, study Scripture, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us along this arkham's razor.

Let us just make sure that we don't try to make God's Word more convenient for us (or others) to change the meaning which will lead to others sinning (2 Timothy 3:14,16).

*http://www.marklawrencegallery.com/ The picture above is from this web site. I really like his abstract work as it relates to biblical principles.

Music is a gift from God that moves the soul like nothing else. This Sunday Matt C. our worship director wrote a new song regarding Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, and it was very powerful. The praise team did an awesome job, of leading us into a worshipful time with the Lord. Our children also sang a special, guided by a wonderful sister in Christ Pam. G. They met for several practices and finally had their Easter debut. My kids listened to a cd of the song every night for weeks, and enjoyed practicing with their friends and eating pizza at rehearsals.

This Sunday, we began a new preaching series entitled "Parenting Under Attack" in which we will look at parents from the Bible (where they got it right, and where they got it wrong). Thank goodness they didn't always get it right, or I would feel pretty bad.

Lately I have been thinking about the strategy that the church uses as a means to encourage the spiritual formation of others, specifically children. The following is the beginning of a series of articles that attempts to understand how we can do this (better).

Before any effective and biblical strategy can be developed, the church must understand its role and how it relates to the role of the home. If the church does all the intentional spiritual teaching and the parents do little or no intentional spiritual teaching, then the child suffers. This reliance of the parent upon the church is not only a poor use of time, but also an abdication of their God given responsibility. Children are highly influenced by the environment around them. Parents spend far more time with their children than the typical Children’s Ministry teacher on Sunday morning. If a child attends a school, then he is further influenced by that school’s philosophy of education and by their peers around them. The Children’s Ministry teacher spends far less time with the student than any other major influence in their lives. However, if the parents are relying on a one hour a week Sunday morning program to educate their children in Christian foundations, the church has to fight against these other influences that have far more access to the child.

Barna has said, “When a church—intentionally or not—assumes a family’s responsibilities in the arena of spiritually nurturing children, it fosters an unhealthy dependence upon the church to relieve the family of its biblical responsibility” The church and the home are partners. The home bears most, if not all, of the responsibility and the church bears the biblical mandate to supplement that teaching and to give biblical guidance. Since there is this preferred symbiotic relationship between the church and the home, it would be in the best interest of each to work together. Also, the church has no oversight regarding the activities the child does when they are away from the church classroom. It is the parent’s responsibility to have oversight of the child and to keep him safe.

Fields, while relating specifically to youth ministry, gives several ideas on how to bring the home and church together. Developing a growing relationship between the church’s educational team and the parents is very important. Fields says, “It is impossible to create healthy teamwork with people you don’t know.” As this relationship develops, parents can inform the teachers of issues that are going on in the student’s individual lives in times of difficulty. As the children grow older, the parent’s control and influence will decrease. This may bring feelings of fear, inadequacy, abandonment, or failure. By working together the church has invaluable background about the students, and the parents have a support network. Another benefit of working together is that the weekly flow of life can be better managed. The home and the church can work together to ensure that both calendars are balanced. If a children’s ministry has an event planned and desires for it to be a success, then it needs to make sure the parents are aware of it and thoroughly informed well in advance. Many precious resources have been wasted, when a church event or program is planned and few people show up. The same is true for the home. Once parents are committed (financially or personally) to an activity, they feel as though they miss out on a much desired church activity.

(blogger won't let me add footnotes, so there are many assumptions above that I will footnote elsewhere.)

Mrs. Denise Portis and Chloe (her hearing assistance dog) came to Cub Scouts tonight to help the boys earn their Disabilities Awareness belt loop. The boys sat quietly as Denise explained hearing loss, how Chloe helps her, and what the color of the dog’s vest mean (among many other things).

Thank you Denise and Chloe!