Thursday, March 10, 2011

Leading Your Kids to Christ

The desire to see kids come to know Christ can place pressure on parents to “say the right things” and not make any mistakes.  We could all take heart from these words... “and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-­5)  Even Paul the Apostle had a clear understanding that he was simply the messenger, delivering a truth by the power of the Holy Spirit who alone changes hearts forever.

  • God moves…through consistent teaching of Scripture. God helps kids begin to put things together.  For some, it will happen at school, others in the back seat of the car at Sonic, and still others, sitting at the supper table.  God will guide their minds to make all the connections at the right time.  When they verbalize these connections, it becomes a God Moment in which we can join His work "already in progress"
  • Parents pray…teaching our kids the truth has a partner called prayer.  Parents interceding for their kids in prayer is the most powerful tool you could ask for.  In John 17:20, Jesus prays, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe through their word, that they may be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."  Jesus prayed for the generations that would tell the next generation, and so on.  The prayers that we pray for our own children will not only impact them directly, but also the generations to follow. 

WARNING:  Important Note to Parents.  Salvation is not a box to check or a line to draw on their growth chart. It's the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ.  Often with good intentions, parents can force their kids into spiritual decisions they aren't ready to make.  Children need to make this decision with a good understanding of the truth and at the Holy Spirit's prompting in their life.  If your child doesn't receive Christ during the grade school years, continue praying and teaching.  Continue investing through Faith Talks, God Moments and celebrating Milestones.  The path doesn't always look the same for every child.

To learn more about how to lead your kids to faith in Christ or talk with them about Baptism, the Lord's Supper, please make plans to join us for Milestone 2: Salvation & Baptism class for Parents.

Even Stouffers Knows!

The other night we made lasagna for dinner.  Technically, we bought it frozen at the store and then warmed it up for dinner.  But the surprise wasn't in the meal itself, but rather in the packaging:

Right there on plastic film were multiple comments about the importance of families eating together - and the potential impact upon our youth.  Of course it didn't have any spiritual content, but I thought it was great that even corporate America was starting to realize the critical role that parents have with their kids.  In a day and age where society seems to idolize chasing after the elusive 'American Dream', it was refreshing to see a different perspective of what is really important.

All of us live very busy lives trying to juggle work commitments, the kids activities, social engagements, etc... - the list goes on and on and on.  But let me encourage you to assess what really matters in your life.  Is it your job?  Will spending another night at the office really make a difference 10, 20, 30 years from now? How about catching that game with your buddies?  Will you even remember it a year from now?

Invest in the lives of your kids.  You only have them in your house for a limited time, so do everything you can to take advantage of every opportunity with them.  So many of us make the mistake of "waiting for the weekend" - only to see the weekend fly right by.  Did you know, if your child is 6 yrs old, you've likely got less than 700 weekends left with them before they leave home.  If your child is 14, that drops to under 300.  Or maybe your child is a junior in high school and you realize that you have less than 100 weekends left to spend with them.

Whatever that number is, take every opportunity possible to invest in their lives.  James reminds us of this in James 4:14: "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  So lets be intentional about making the most of every opportunity with our families.  Even Stouffers knows we should do that!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Parent & Baby Dedication

Four times each year we celebrate the Campus Event for Milestone 1: Parent & Baby Dedication at Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church.  This is a special day for each family who will be coming forward and a spiritual milestone in the lives of both children and parents.  It is a day for parents to commit to becoming the primary faith trainers in the lives of their precious children, and a day for our church to commit unyielding support through prayer and partnership.
In preparation for this special day and with Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as our backdrop, we would exhort parents to ask and answer the following questions: 
  • “Will you chose this day to live with the commands of God on your own hearts?”
  • “Do you accept responsibility as your child’s primary faith trainer to impress the truth and love of God on her as you live life together?”
  • “Will you love this child with the unconditional love of Christ?”
  • “Will you pray for her to know Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior?”
Our hope would be that your answer to each and every one of these questions would be an enthusiastic “yes, we will”.
We would ask every member of the church to ask and answer the following questions:
  •  “Will you partner with these parents by praying for them as they lead their children spiritually?”
  •  “Will you partner with these parents by teaching their children at church and modeling a Christ-like lifestyle in support of what the parents are teaching and modeling?”
Our prayer would be that every member of our community would answer with a resounding “yes, we will”.  Suddenly the family and the church gain perspective on the order of spiritual formation as God intended it. Parents take the lead in the spiritual development of a child. The church helps to equip parents and supports them along the way. That is Milestone 1, the beginning of walking this path toward authentic faith@home.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

What's Your Legacy?

As with any goal in life, it helps to start with the end in mind.  If I were going to go on a trip, I would first identify where I wanted to go - and then I would find a map to figure out how to get there.  (because I'm a guy, so stopping and asking for directions is out of the picture!)  The same is true if I wanted to build something: I would first determine what I wanted to build - and then I would figure out what I needed to get it done.  It's a pretty straight forward process that we apply to most things in our lives - from retirement plans to extracurricular activities.  Unfortunately, we usually do not follow that same approach when it comes to our spiritual lives.

If I asked you what your spiritual plans are for you and your family, how would you answer?  Most of us would probably give some sort of generic answer like: "I want to grow closer to God" or "I want my kids to grow up to be good people".  But those aren't really plans, are they?

It's ironic that the thing that should be most important in our lives - our relationship with God - is often the last thing on our minds.  Oh, we have great intentions as we plan and schedule everything else under the sun, but somehow we assume that we'll be able to fit in time with God somewhere along the way.  But it never happens that way, does it?  Just like my trip - I may want to go to a specific destination but without intentional efforts to help me get there, the odds are that I'll never make it.

If we apply this principle to our spiritual lives, let's fast forward to the end to see where we want to go. (For the sake of this post, I'm going to assume that you've already taken care of the salvation issue between you God.  But if not, do that first - before proceeding any further!)  Imagine yourself listening in at your own funeral.  What do you think your friends and family would say about you? That you were a good person - or always had the coolest car?  Maybe you were funny or made a lot of money (to leave behind)?

Now think about what you wish they would say.  That you loved God and had a positive impact on every person you came into contact with?  That it was very evident that you loved your family/friends and always made time for them?  It's funny how our priorities can change so suddenly when we think about life from an eternal perspective!

If you died today, how satisfied would you be with the legacy that you left behind?  If we're honest, I think most of us would say that we're not satisfied at all.  James 4:14 says, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  The reality is that this world is not our home.  God has place in store for us that is beyond anything we can think or imagine!  But yet, so often we live our lives as if this world is all that matters.

Let me challenge you to take time today to think about your legacy. But don't stop there!  Once you determine where you want to go, start making plans to help you get there.  It won't happen by chance - and Satan will do everything in his power to try to distract you from what's really important.  But if you persevere and follow your plan, it will make a world of difference (actually, an eternal difference!) - both for yourself as well as for your family and friends.