Life2gether

Recently I started a discipleship (pilot) program for kids and parents called Next Steps.  The purpose of Next Steps is to assist parents in guiding their children through the first steps of faith.  As a pastor I want to join with parents in what God is doing in the hearts of their children.  With that in mind, I’ve developed a simple discipleship plan as a way of intentionally teaching children the basic biblical truths to stand on as they step forward in their faith.  Each “step” is intended to guide children on their journey with Jesus by applying these truths to their lives so that one day they will step into adulthood firm in their faith. 

Here are the 5 S.T.E.P.S.:

Salvation: Can I Be Sure That I’m Saved?

            1.  Wrong ways/Right ways to know you are saved

            2.  What to do when you have doubts

            3.  Salvation & Sanctification: Trusting Jesus & Becoming More Like Jesus

Time with God: The Basics of Bible Study

             1.  What is the main point of the Bible?  Why should I study the Bible? 

             2.   How to study the Bible on my own

             3.   Making a plan to study my Bible

Evangelism: Telling Others About Jesus

             1.  What is the gospel?

             2.  How can I share my faith?  -  Tools to help

             3.  Becoming a Christian on mission with Christ

Prayer: Talking to God

             1.  What is prayer and why should I pray?

             2.  How do I pray?

             3.  Will God answer my prayers?

Service & Fellowship: Why We Need Each Other

             1.  What is perseverance?  What is fellowship?  How do they relate?

             2.  Choosing my friends wisely

             3.  Using my gifts to serve others

How this Works:

I meet with both the child and the parent(s) for about 30 minutes to talk and discuss the first step.  Then I give the child some homework that includes a short devotion and fun reinforcement activity they can do together as a family.  A couple weeks later we meet again and review the first step and go on to the next.  This process is intended to target the child, but all the while I’m giving the parent tools they can take with them to disciple their children at home with just a little help from me.  I hope to develop this into a full-fledged curriculum some day.

In his follow up post to 5 Dangers Facing Over-Churched Kids, Tony Kummer gives 9 strategies for reaching them. Here they are:

1. Empower them to teach
2. Teach for heart change
3. Use creative story-telling
4. Pray for every child
5. Teach the bad news
6. Model repentance
7. Make it relevant
8. Go deeper
9. Get them on mission

See how he fleshes each of these points out here … I think point #6 is particularly important and I’ll copy what he says about it below:

Model Repentance: With over-churched kids, we can’t pretend that Christians are always the good guys. They see behind our Sunday morning smiles and know that we’re not perfect people. When we are honest about our failings, and confess our sins, it points them to the Gospel. When teaching, use examples of Christian repentance and be transparent about your own struggles. This is a key to parenting, but it’s also a great strategy for kids ministry.

My friend, Dr. Eric Johnson, recently spoke at SEEDS on what he called, Parent Theology.  I was greatly helped in learning to rest in my perfection in Christ and not be consumed with my performance or the performance of my children.

Listen or download this message below: 

 Listen |   Download

Brent Thomas has a thought-provoking post on whether our preaching should aim at application or implication.  I used to be a big promoter of teaching for application (so your sermon should include lots of application), but Jonathan Dodson’s thoughts (as well as Brent’s) helped show me that perhaps the goal is Spirit-empowered, heart-focused preaching with life change as a result.  Still wrestling if it’s an either/or or both/and?  Thoughts?

All of us grew up in less-than-perfect families.  As a result, we pass on the negative emotional atmosphere of our family-of-origin in both direct and indirect ways.  All this makes Christian parenting very challenging!  With that in mind, Dr. Eric Johnson provides some valuable wisdom for parents in this message entitled: How We Pass on the Emotional Atmosphere of Our Family of Origin.  It was given at our SEEDS Parent Chat and can be streamed or downloaded below:

How We Pass on the Emotional Atmosphere of Our Family of Origin Listen |   Download
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To learn more about our SEEDS Family Ministry, check out the videos below or peruse our website.

Twice a year I teach a discipleship class for children and their parents called First Step.  My goal is to partner with parents in their God-given role as faith nurturers in the home.  To that end this class aims to be a catalyst for more gospel conversations between the parent and child outside of class.

My last First Step class, held on January 31st, can be streamed or downloaded below:

Part 1: Salvation  Listen |   Download
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Part 2: Assurance and Baptism  Listen |   Download
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• You can also check out this document I wrote entitled: Preparing Your Child for Baptism
• Take a look at this gospel presentation for children called, Who Will Be King?
• More parenting, marriage and discipleship resources coming soon on my resource page …

Tony Kummer, at Ministry-to-Children.com, posted a children’s lesson for Thanksgiving that I wrote awhile back.  The main point I tried to draw from Luke 17:11-19 (The Story of the 10 Lepers) is that All Gifts from God Should Point Us Back to God and Cause Us to Give Thanks to God.  The lesson is best suited for older elementary kids (preteens), but could be adapted for your family or ministry context.  If you work with children and families, you will want to check out this helpful site.

Recently I started something new for our family devotions.  Instead of reading from the Jesus StoryBook Bible, I got out a real Bible and opened up to the book of Mark.  I told my girls to go get their Magna Doodles and sit with me on the floor.  They were excited as I explained to them that as I read from the Bible they could draw pictures of what they hear.  So I started reading about John the Baptist and Jesus getting baptized.  I stopped after this section and asked them to tell me what they drew.  Then we talked briefly about John the Baptist and the reason why he came and why Jesus was baptized.  After that I told them to erase their pictures (which was really easy on their Magna Doodles) and start a new picture as I read some more.  So I continued on and read about Jesus being tempted by Satan and then Jesus calling his first disciples to himself.  Once again I stopped after this section and asked them about their pictures as we discussed together about how we can be tempted to sin and how Jesus wants us to follow him just like his original disciples.

I’ve only been doing these “Magna Doodle Devotions” for a short time but they have proven to be fruitful for our family.  As a former teacher and Christian Ed guy, I’m always looking for ways to make the truth stick into my kids’ lives.  I know that only God can ultimately bridge the gap between head knowledge and heart change, but he uses means.  And one of those means is employing the various senses in the learning process.  I have one girl that is more of an auditory learner.  She began reading at an early age and hears something once and doesn’t forget it.  My other girl is more of a visual and kinesthetic learner.  She likes to see it and do it.  So hands-on activities are best for her.  My little boy is only 1 1/2 so he’s all over the place!  All that to say, these Magna Doodle Devotions have provided a way for my kids to be engaged in the stories of the Bible.  Plus it’s fun to see their creative side come out as children made in the image of a creative, Creator God.

One more thing.  My girls will often take their Magna Doodles to the worship service with them on Sunday.  I encourage them to draw pictures of what they hear during the sermon.  Sometimes they end up doodling, but that’s okay… they’re kids!  Plus these Magna Doodles are less messy than the pens in the pew and you never have to worry about them dropping and rolling all the way to the front of the sanctuary!

Good teachers ask good questions.  Why?  Because they have been humbled by this simple point:

People learn more from what they say than from what they hear.  ~ Josh Hunt

Think about it.  If I can lead you in a series of questions that end with you talking about the truth I’m teaching, most often this truth will stick.  Jesus knew this.  That’s one reason why he asked so many questions.  He knew that if his listeners voiced the truth with their own lips instead of him telling them, their minds would be affected and they would remember.

Here’s a few familiar examples:

“Who do people say that I am?” – Mark 8:27

“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor of the man who fell among the robbers?”  – Luke 10:36

“When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” – Luke 22:35

These examples show how Jesus used questions to draw out from his listeners the correct answer he sought.  Robert Stein, in his book, The Message and Methods of Jesus’ Teachings,  says, “By drawing out the correct answer from his listeners rather than simply declaring it, Jesus impressed the point more convincingly upon their minds.”

In other words, Jesus asked good questions to make his teaching stick.  So should we.

• Read Robert Stein’s The Message and Methods of Jesus’ Teachings
• Read Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Are you looking for tips to become a better teacher?  Whether you teach in a church or school (or even at home), the following is a collection of posts that I think will be helpful to you.  These teaching tips below come from an online book discussion that I conducted a couple years ago over the book, Teaching to Change Lives, by Howard Hendricks.  I trust they will challenge you to become a better teacher and life-long learner.

Law of the Teacher 

Law of Education  

Law of Activity     

Law of Communication 

Law of the Heart 

Law of the Encouragement

Law of Readiness

• In addition, here’s John Piper’s essential characteristics of a good teacher. Very helpful!