Filling in the Blanks

So we are about to host another Baby Dedication. It's a wonderful celebration where we, as a church family, stand up and say that we'll stand by the parents in encouraging, equipping and supporting them as they direct the spiritual life of their young child....

And then we don't connect with them - as a family, in our church family - until the child is ready to be baptized. Sometime about 10 years in the future!

What about all the milestones in between? How can we possibly keep our promises if we don't invite families to gather again at various times during their child's spiritual journey? What about worshiping together, learning about communion, serving, giving, discovering spiritual gifts?

The first step toward partnering with parents is to fill in the blanks by developing some shared spiritual experiences for parents and kids:
Family Worship Services
Family Bible Study and Small Groups
Family Dinners

And connect them with resources ... and create avenues where we can check back in with families and find out how they are doing.

So then, we as the extended family, can truly celebrate baptism knowing the joy of planting seeds along the spiritual pathways in each child's life.

Fishing for Chaperones

Image via Wikipedia

How do we reach the heart of boys? Being a girl, I don't know the answer. I like talking, and reading and crafts. Ewwey stuff if you are a boy.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Stilts_fishermen_Sri_Lanka_02.jpg/75px-Stilts_fishermen_Sri_Lanka_02.jpg
But I think it's action, motion, adventure that drives them. As in a fishing trip. Then I look at the disiples ... all MEN I might add ... and there sure was a heck of a lot of fishing going on. And outdoor dining, and hiking, and eating. So maybe we take our cues from the ancients, and reach our boys this way. And maybe that's the way to get men to reach boys.

It's looking like there may be some fishing expeditions in the offing for our boys, and I pray that God meets each and everyone of these boys - however mature they may be - through the interaction with nature, motors and each other.

Seeing Orange - check out this video

Psalm 78

This Sunday I spoke briefly on Psalm 78. Specifically, this statement really struck me:

"We will not hide them (God's teachings) from their children, we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord; his power, and the wonders he has done."

I kept coming back to the word hide. It reminded me of the story of the disciples attempting to keep the little children from coming to Jesus. (Mark 10:13)

What are we hiding from our children? Surely it is not the stories of old, the stories of the bible heroes. Certainly not! We bring them to church, we read Bible stories to them, we pray with them.

But how often do we truly invite children, messy, loud, silly children into our time with the Lord? How often do we invite them to pray for us? And even more so, how often do we share with them the stories of the miracles that God has done in our own lives? Not very often.

So what are we hiding? And why? In order for us to share what God has done for us, we must humble ourselves and admit that we are not perfect. For in our imperfection, that is where God can show forth his power. And what an injustice it is to hide these amazing stories from our children. Our imperfect children in our imperfect households. God is perfect, he reigns supreme and our lives are a testimony to his greatness. He is working in us to grow us into his likeness, in just the same way that he is working in the hearts and lives of the next generation.

Throughout the bible, children are there in the midst of God's people, struggling along with the masses. Children saw their parents make the choice to wander, worship idols, etc. They were enslaved in Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea. They heard Moses give the 10 commandments and they helped Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

I invite you to join me as we explore ways that our faith journeys can cross with those of the younger generation.