In Soul Searching, Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that American teenagers have embraced a “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism”–a hodgepodge of banal, self-serving, feel-good beliefs that bears little resemblance to traditional Christianity. But far from faulting teens, Dean places the blame for this theological watering down squarely on the churches themselves. Instead of proclaiming a God who calls believers to lives of love, service and sacrifice, churches offer instead a bargain religion, easy to use, easy to forget, offering little and demanding less. But what is to be done?
In order to produce ardent young Christians, Dean argues, churches must rediscover their sense of mission and model an understanding of being Christian as not something you do for yourself, but something that calls you to share God’s love, in word and deed, with others. Dean found that the most committed young Christians shared four important traits: they could tell a personal and powerful story about God; they belonged to a significant faith community; they exhibited a sense of vocation; and they possessed a profound sense of hope. Based on these findings, Dean proposes an approach to Christian education that places the idea of mission at its core and offers a wealth of concrete suggestions for inspiring teens to live more authentically engaged Christian lives. (Taken from Dean’s website)
“You know how anxiety and fear feels, your stomach drops, your neck tightens, your whole body tenses, but do you know what to do when anxiety fills your days and troubles your nights? You’ve probably already tried a few strategies, like denial or working harder, and noticed that they aren’t a permanent solution. If you are tired of dealing with anxiety and worry on your own, then this guide is just for you. As you go through each set of meditations, anxiety will gradually yield to hope, peace, and rest. Of course, this is a lifelong process, but going through this devotional guide, either on your own or with a small group, will kick-start the process and bring lifelong change.”
I love Ed Welch’s stuff. His book, Running Scared, greatly affected me. This book looks to be a helpful, shorter (96 pgs.) devotional with new insights. Might be a helpful resource to pick up.
These two delightfully illustrated storybooks teach important truths about God and are ideal for parents to read to children aged 3 to 6 (or for older children to read themselves). Parents may also benefit by seeing ways they can teach their children about God in day to day family life. (Notes for parents are included.)
Over the Fence teaches about the God who made us and who knows us. The Rag Doll focuses on how clever God is to make us—our hands, our feet, our eyes—and make us grow—so we can thank him. Written by Stephanie Carmichael and delightfully illustrated in watercolour by Jessica Green, the themes in these two books tie in closely to lessons found in the Teaching Little Ones children’s syllabus (also written by Stephanie).
You can see inside the books and hear them read by the author at the product page in our online store (click on the books to go there now).
Since my twin brother is a missionary in Japan, I found this quote to be quite fascinating in regards to community:
The Japanese word for human person is ningen, which literally means “between people.” To be human from [their] viewpoint is to be together with others. ”Community” is thus built in to the very nature of “humanity,” as the language serves to reinforce the strongly held conviction that the group comes first.
**BTW … for all you LBC folks, make sure to come out this Sun. night @ 6:30 to see my brother and his family as they share about “The Fight of Faith for All the Nations.” Should be fun!
Tomorrow I’m taking my oldest daughter to Holiday World for her birthday. It’ll be a fun day with just the two of us. We can’t wait to ride the Wildebeest — World’s Longest Water Coaster!
As a dad, I want to take more opportunities to just play with my kids. So often I get caught up in the day to day pressures of life and ministry and forget to just be with my kids and have fun. I love what Monte Swan says in his book, Romancing Your Child’s Heart:
For every little boy or girl in our world, there’s a father or mother who can get so focused on achieving life’s little goals that he or she fails to see the opportunities to make their child prince or princess for an hour, or a day–and do an eternal work in their hearts.
I’ve been slowly making my way through Dr. Dobson’s book, Bringing Up Girls. In his chapter on why daddies matter, he offers a few ideas for dads about forging meaningful connections with their daughters. As a father of 2 young girls, it was a good reminder for me.
1. Conversation
Talk to them about what is of interest. Ask questions and then listen carefully to what is said…meaningful and affectionate dialogue with a daughter is evidence that she is worthy, secure and loved.
2. Touch
Just like thier mothers, our daughters need to be hugged regularly, perhaps every day. Hugging is easy to do when girls are young and they see their daddies as champions and best buddies.
3. One-on-One Time
[One-on-One Time] is an excellent way to knock down barriers and build bridges. Take your daughter somewhere she will like, such as out to breakfast or dinner. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. Just make it a quiet time together when the two of you can sit and talk.
These ideas seem so simple and intuitive, but us dads need to be reminded to do it! I like how Dobson concludes this section:
Never forget that girls are made out of the same stuff their mothers are.
How true. Being a good daddy to my girls starts with being a good husband to my wife!
I picked up this book a while back and [my daughter] Lucy and I just love it. Each page highlights a different people group from all over the world. It has beautiful pictures and shares a little bit about their daily life. It also has a world map at the beginning so you can see where they live. Every page ends with “these people do not have a Bible in their language”. Lucy and I then pray that they could have access to the Word of God. This is the second edition and most of the people from the first book have Bibles in their own language now- in a big part thanks to the people who put it out and all the children who prayed that they too could have the Word of Life!
Tullian Tchividjian’s book, Unfashionable, has been a challenging read for me this summer. I’ve been chewing on what it means to be an agent of renewal — to join God in his work of renewing all things. I wonder what would happen if we took this seriously — to become missionaries who bring good news and good deeds to broken, hurting people. Tullian writes:
The mission of the church is spiritual and physical, individual and cultural. God wants us to involve ourselves in the rehabilitation of hearts and houses, souls and society. We’re to care about the renewal of both people and the environment. The requires word and deed, proclamation and demonstration. God is renewing human hearts and recreating all things through his church. This is our mission to the world (p. 62).
It’s true. We need our church family to help raise our own family. Ed Moll and Tim Chester give some great ideas of what this might involve from their book, Gospel-Centred Family:
Include the people from the church family in your family time
Involve your children in your hospitality
You need the wider church family for advice, encouragement, and challenge
You need people to look after your kids while you go on a date
You need to provide support to other families in your church family
If you have the space, have someone live with you and be part of your family
Involve your children in the life of your church, accompanying you in ministry
Encourage your children to build relationships with adult believers
Parents, in the midst of all the craziness that life with young children presents us with, it’s tough not to get discouraged. We would never say it out loud but there are some days we wonder if all of this is worth the time and energy it requires. We have trouble seeing what all of this is producing.
In Psalm 128:3, children are likened to olive plants. Olive plants eventually become olive trees and olive trees were a sign of prosperity in biblical times. Doreen Moore, author of Good Christians, Good Husbands? writes,
Olive oil, olive wood, and the fruit of an olive tree were precious commodities. Olive oil, for example, was used for eating, illumination, and anointing. Historian Will Durant, in The Story of Civilization, says an olive plant “takes sixteen years to come to fruit, forty years to reach perfection.”
Children are like olive plants. It may take years and even longer until we see maturity and maximum fruitfulness. But as Doreen Moore writes, “the time and effort spent cultivating our own olive plants is well worth it. Not to mention that the inheritance is for many generations to come (Ps. 78:5-6).
Let that be a reminder to you as you go and change another diaper, pick up another toy, and break up another fight. It’s worth it. Those little olive plants are entrusted to you; and one day, by God’s grace and your faithfulness, will grow into fruitful olive trees for the glory of God.
Here’s a brief description of Kenda Creasy Dean’s provocative book, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church:
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