Guest Post: If You Don't Teach Them, Who Will?

I'm thrilled to introduce you to my sweet friend Becky and her blog "Renovating this Life" where she chronicles her life as a mom and all the adventures that brings along with it! In her most recent post, she takes a look at the challenge and the responsibility Christ-following parents have to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord and raise them to know Him and to love Him. I KNOW you'll enjoy visiting her blog!

D6 2013 IMPRESSions--Day One

I'm freshly returned from the D6 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and it was another home run kind of experience in my personal walk with the Lord as well as getting some great clarity for the professional side of my life in full-time ministry. This year's theme was "Impress", which looked at the verse from Deuteromony 6 which talks about the responsibility of adults to impress the commands of God on their children. Below, I have summarized the big IMPRESSions I got out of each session. It was so wonderful to get exposed to some speakers I've never heard of before as well as to have (in Deuteronomy fashion) a "repeating" of many things I have learned in the past.

• The first session was with Darrin Patrick. His focus was from Galatians 5 and 6...comparing and contrasting the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of the flesh. It was a great way to kick things off, as he challenged us to be able to discern between the fruit of the Spirit and what he described as the fruit of our personality. Just because we are a certain way doesn't mean that God's Spirit can't have His way and make us more like Him. He shared three ways that fruit grows: holistically (the fruit of the Spirit is a "package deal"); internally (law can change behavior, but only the Spirit can change the heart); gradually (don't expect radical changes overnight); communally (God designed for us to be growing together.)  The real "bazinga" statement from him was, "Do you use your ministry as your righteousness?" Only JESUS can be our righteousness!
• Tim Kimmel was up next, and my biggest take-away from his session was this, "God has not called us to raise safe Christian kids; He's called us to raise strong ones." His son was somewhat "annoyed" during a prayer time prior to a mission trip. During the prayers, he said that everything was "prayed away" that would have required them to rely on God during the trip. We can't succumb to fear-based praying and parenting.
• Dr. James Dobson was a true delight to sit under.  What a phenomenal story teller. He shared the story of his family's legacy, dating back to his great-grandfather. A few quotes from him that have stuck with me: 
• "The culture is at war with your children for their hearts and minds."
• "The greatest thing I could do for my kids was to pray for them."
• "If you don't reach your children for Christ, you'll never see them again."
• "Nothing else matters if you don't reach your kids for Christ."
• Something new this year was a series of D6 Minis, which was a sort of rapid fire talks, each with a very specific focus. Of these, the two that stood out to me the most were from Lydia Randall and Megan Lacefield. Lydia spoke on the topic of busyness, which really resonated. One phrase from her has echoed repeatedly in my mind, "We are crazy not to do a Sabbath." She also pointed out that the Chinese character for busy is comprised of two images: heart + killing. Megan encouraged finding ways for ministries to work together within the church, and the big IMPRESSion from her talk was this statement, "Don't wait until kids are adults to believe they can make an impact."
• The final session on Day One was from Todd Wagner. The best way to summarize his topic is to present a few of his quotes that made an impact:
• When setting priorities in life, ask yourself this question, "What are the things that only I can do?"
• "Church attenders don't change anything; disciples do."
• "Your job is not to get people to come to you (or your church); it's to get them to come to Christ."
• "Is there darkness and decay in our country? There's never been a greater opportunity to be light and salt!"

What's in a Parent?

I'm very excited to have another young adult giving a "faith at home" testimony! Let me introduce you to Mackenzie, a senior in college. A self-identified "PK", he shares how the faith of his parents has impacted the young man he has become.

What’s In a Parent?

“What’s in a parent?” That’s a question I’ve been pondering as I have grown and matured for the last few years now, transitioning out of my collegiate career and into a new time of life that will—Lord-willing—allow me to become a parent to my own little ones someday. Being raised by parents who honor the Lord in what they say and do has shown me not only the irreplaceable value of having a supportive Christian environment at home but also the incredible importance of living that faith out on my own two feet. Let me elaborate a little more on this.

Being a ‘PK’—a pastor’s kid, a.k.a. ‘one of those kids’—naturally came with its own sets of pressures and challenges. This seemed to be compounded by the fact that I grew up in a small town where the rules of life teach that reputation is everything. To make for more of a gushy story, I attended a Christian school my whole educational career—K-12 and college! With all that said, I’m completely aware of the overall response many will think when reading these last few sentences: what a poor, sheltered life. It wasn’t until the last half of my time in high school, however, that I began to understand the immense blessing that God had undeservedly poured out on my life in the form of godly parents and a God-honoring upbringing. You may call it sheltered, but I call it a gift from the Lord. Here’s why…

First, experiencing ‘faith at home’ has enabled me to see two examples of how the Christian life should be lived: in humility, service, and love (no, my parents did not pay me to say this). I can’t stress enough the incredible importance of having at least one close godly figure in one’s life that can act as an encouragement, an example, and a sharpening agent to walk through this sanctifying spiritual journey with. To have not one but two of these figures in my life has been a tremendous benefit to my spiritual growth, especially through awkward and uncertain times, e.g. late elementary and junior high. Second, ‘faith at home’ has allowed for a spiritual foundation that I have been able to launch from as I entered into the college years. I think of those times when I was small, and my dad would lift me up onto his shoulders. I’d feel so adventurous and brave! This picture is similar to what I’m trying to convey here: the spiritual foundation laid by my parents who prayerfully lived godly lives in the midst of my maturation into adulthood has enabled me—in a sense—to use their shoulders as a foundation for me to launch from as I jumped into the great unknown called ‘college and beyond.’ Last, knowing that the Lord has blessed me with a home environment that has been especially inducing to my own walk with the Lord leaves me feeling graciously humbled as I recognize that it has not been an independent effort to establish my own spiritual life. Of course, salvation is an individual decision, but we were not meant to live the Christian life on our own.

Knowing God has so graciously ordained my life to be filled with godly examples such as my parents has forced me to see that He alone is the reason that I am alive in Him, walking in His grace, and pressing on toward the goal. So what’s in a parent? I suppose the only way to fully answer that question is to wholeheartedly continue to follow our heavenly Parent, our Father.