Life2gether

If you’re a child of the 80′s or a parent of school-age children, you’ll appreciate this post by my wife.

Brian Haynes:

The family ministry movement in our day is an awakening for sure. I believe it is a gracious move of God in our country to bring us back to His way of living. We, as churches, should implement effective strategies to equip families and minister to them in their brokenness. Never should this effort become an obstacle or an idol that hinders the Gospel. Family ministry done well will propagate the  Gospel throughout the generations and it will reach out to hurting and broken people at their deepest point of need. Give people the Gospel they are crying out for and use family ministry as one strategy to do just that.

• Listen to Brian’s interview with Tony Kummer about the topic of family ministry

A good word here from Jonathan Dodson:

Many of us practice our faith like it’s a cafeteria food tray, with all the different compartments for the entrée, veggies, the roll, and dessert. When we do this, we restrict Jesus to just one of the compartments, the dessert section, or if we are really spiritual, maybe the entrée. Christ is not permitted in the other sections of our lives. Jesus isn’t allowed into work ethic, family dynamics, or our entertainment. We worship him on Sundays, but treat our families or free time without a thought of Christ.

Dessert-Sized Jesus at the Family Table

Men, in particular, need to rearrange their view of Christ. Are you feeding your family a dessert-sized Jesus? Your wife and kids don’t see you connecting Jesus to everyday life. You don’t pray with your spouse or kids, you don’t apply the gospel to your use of movies, TV, computers, video games, sports. You don’t lead your family in any kind of regular Bible reading or prayer. Hec, you think highly of yourself if you happen to read the Bible for yourself. You don’t serve your wife. You don’t have a clue the last time you bought her flowers and told her why you love her. You don’t lift a finger to cook or clean. You come home, plop down on the couch, flip on the TV or computer, and eat your little dessert Jesus, watching your stupid little TV shows while your wife lingers in loneliness and bitterness and your children run around like crazy.

What if Jesus is the Tray? (or holds it together)

Why? Because you have a desert-sized Jesus. Jesus doesn’t fit in the dessert tray, or even the entree section. He is the tray! He is Lord of all, holding everything together, calling us to worship him in every aspect of life. What if you resolved to follow the real Jesus, the one who holds your whole life together? How would that change your family, your work, your free time?

Adapted from sermon on Ezra 6 The Temple and the Cafeteria Tray Jesus

In a couple hours I’ll be heading back to the heartland of Iowa for a little vacation with my family. While I’m gone I’ve asked a few of my friends to do some guest blogging. I greatly respect each of these guys and their walk with the Lord. They have modeled for me a genuine love for Jesus, his church, and this world. You will be blessed and challenged by their words.

Ben Reaoch serves as Pastor of Three Rivers Grace Church in Pittsburgh, PA. www.3riversgrace.org. He and wife Stacy have been married for 11 years, and they have three wonderful children (ages 8, 5, 3).

Stephen Cavness is the Pastor of Cave City Baptist Church in Cave City, Kentucky. He has been in ministry for over 10 yrs., serving in Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky. He has written Bible Studies and articles on Christianity and Culture for numerous national publications. He also authors the lowercase, a blog devoted to discussing Christianity, the Church, and Culture. Stephen and his wife, Christi, have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Piper.

Mark Wolter is my twin brother and serves as a missionary in Kyoto, Japan. His wife’s name is Maki and they have two boys, Noah and Taka. I admire Mark’s love for God’s glory and his heart to reach the Japanese people for Christ. Mark has served 10+ years among the people of Japan as an elementary school teacher and leader at his church. Check out Mark’s blog here.

I got home late last night and my oldest daughter was still awake. She’s been having trouble sleeping at night and honestly, it’s been pretty frustrating. But she was waiting up for me and just had to tell me something. Thankfully, God gave me patience to listen. She said that her little brother couldn’t fall asleep and so she laid in bed with him for awhile. She told him that she understood how hard it is to go to sleep and what she does when she can’t sleep.

She said to her brother, “When I can’t sleep, I remember some verses from the Bible. I remember that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. … that he can help me do all things, even go to sleep.” Then she shared another verse, “Come to Me and I will give you rest.” She told him that we can ask Jesus for rest and he will give it to us. After that she prayed with her brother for God to give him rest. I was smiling as she looked up at me and said, “Daddy, in about one minute, he was already sleeping.”

Isn’t that sweet? I told my daughter how much I appreciated her and how I see God’s grace working in her. I was thrilled that she tried to understand her little brother’s situation by comparing it to her own and then went right to the Bible for help. It’s cool how God gave her a glimpse of His grace in using her to help her little brother go to sleep.

As I reflected a little more on this moment last night it made me deeply grateful for the gospel. It reminded me that everyday moments are gospel moments — moments where the simple message of Christ can be communicated by an 8 year old sister to a 3 year old brother who can’t get to sleep. Without knowing it, my daughter had lived out 2 Cor. 1:4. In her struggle to go to sleep, she found comfort in Christ’s words and wanted to share that comfort with her little brother. Now I know that not every moment will end like this one did. But either way I’m learning that every moment is a gospel moment. It’s an opportunity for us parents to point our kids to Christ so they can in turn do the same.

Two years ago I ran in the Buffalo Center (wife’s hometown in Iowa) Bison Firecracker 5K!  I did okay (see here).  It was fun to run it with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. This year my wife is running it with me!  We’ve been gearing up for it trying to get our 35 year old bodies ready for the big race!  Any advice for us novices?

Good post here by Michael Kelly – hat tip to Zach Nielsen.

Check out this interview my brother had with a Christian radio station which broadcasts to about 5 states including Ontario. Mark shares a little about his life and ministry in Japan including the effects of the recent earthquake upon the Japanese people.

These two videos were shot last year … the first one when we visited Churchill Downs and got a peek at what it’s like sitting in the grandstand, and the second, a Kentucky tradition with the kiddos.

Churchill Downs! from Doug Wolter on Vimeo.

Untitled from Doug Wolter on Vimeo.