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any congregations have used the “pick-up” form of evangelism to give the opportunity for young people, whose parents refuse to worship, an opportunity to join the body of believers. I’m sure there are and will continue to be benefits of this decades-old idea and practice. However, I have also seen, first hand, the dangers when parents not only drop off their children or allow them to be picked up and carted off to a church building, and give up all responsibility for the spiritual growth of their children.One particular parent even went so far as to say, “You are denying my child the ability to know Christ,” after I refused to allow the very young, and misbehaving child to come to church without his parent. Another mother ran down the van that I was driving to tell me, “You have no right not to pick my child up for church! I’m going to write the congressman.”

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV).

What is the role of parents with reference to a Deuteronomy 6:7 lifestyle?

Most parents, including Christian parents, are not knowledgeable enough in the Scriptures themselves to “teach them diligently to their children.” A passion for knowing and applying the word of God must first be found in the heart of parents and guardians, before it can be shared with others. As one wise person stated, “You can’t give what you don’t have!” I’m not suggesting that every parent is given the spiritual gift of teaching. However, a love for God’s Word should be a valuable virtue for all believers, at least enough to read Scripture and practice biblical teachings within the family.

The most effective congregations in the world have given convincing evidence, if not proof, that home churches and home-based discipleship and fellowship offer an opportunity to experience a Deuteronomy 6:7 lifestyle.  

Home-based ministries give opportunities to share worship and biblical learning with families, without separating parents and children as readily as most programmatic ministries practiced within church facilities.

Many families who do attend church programs and worship are doing all they can to get to the building, and most of us know that our children fight tooth and nail to sleep in or stay home. I think most of us today long for more time at home, and less time fighting traffic and tight schedules. Programmatic ministry can be, and often are, effective, but how healthy is it for those families who rush home from work and school, then off to the church building with fast food in hand, all in the name of being “faithful?”

Home-based discipleship offers peace and less running around; it offers a time to sit and eat together in the comfort and genuine atmosphere of someone’s living space.

The Deuteronomy 6:7 principle seems to be more easily practiced in the more conducive setting of a house ministry, where the parents are not carted off to different classes and children aren’t left to the agendas and sometimes poor teaching of a typical Sunday school class.

With all of that said, I am not speaking at all of removing ourselves from congregational worship. Worshiping together is not only biblical; it is also essential for a healthy Christian body, as believers come together to pray for and with one another, to sing praises together, and to experience God as a community.

A man proudly stated to Dr. Samuel Shutz, Professor of Evangelism and Ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, “I worship every Sunday on the golf course. I speak with God as I play, and I listen to worship music on my MP3 player.” Dr. Shutz responded, “Do you pray for others and experience the blessing of having them pray over you? Do you join your voice with other believers in praising God?” The man then responded, “I see your point. I am able to observe the Christian experience, but unable to experience it without being there.”

Living in a new day requires expressing and experiencing ministry in new ways. We can’t do it alone, and we shouldn’t separate the family. Parents and guardians must take their responsibility seriously to practice Deuteronomy 6:7 lifestyles.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Numbers 21:4-9 is a story of snake biting and snake healing. Strange as it sounds, the story is part of the history of God’s people.

The Israelites became impatient and spoke against God and Moses; they complained that God and Moses brought them out into the desert to die of starvation and thirst. The Scriptures tell us that God sent poisonous snakes which caused the death of many of the Israelites. After this, the Israelites repented of their sins and God told Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (v.8). Moses did just as God told him, and when those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they would not die of their snake bite.

Beyond the theology of using a symbol of that which caused death to bring healing, there is also the message of relying on an image for healing.

We are told to place our hands upon one another to heal the sick (s. Mark 16:18b) and even to give the Holy Spirit (s. Acts 8:19). As images of God, somewhat like the bronze snake on a pole, we can be used to provide God’s healing power for the sick and dying.

Another form or image that has been used to give hope to the hurting is the physical building that is used for worship. Safety and comfort have been found in the doors of the sanctuary.

Nurture has been claimed during the 11 O’clock hour of worship and through the programmatic ministries presented to and for youth and adults. Friendships have been formed and lifelong bonds have been created through the structures and ministries provided through Christianity.

Knowing that we can find solace, peace, and friendship during those predictable hours and in those places we call church has given many believers and non-believers a sense of strength and feeling of positive anticipation. Much like the bronze snake in the desert, the church and its programs have offered God’s healing powers to many.

Later in Israel’s history, a problem arose concerning the bronze snake that Moses made. No longer did they look upon it to receive healing from God; they looked upon it to receive healing from the snake. The image which was to be used as a reminder of God’s power, had become their god.

King Hezekiah came along and destroyed the bronze snake that Moses had made, because the Israelites had been burning incense to it; they were worshiping the snake, instead of the God who ordered the construction of the snake (2 Kings 18:4b).

The entire Israelite nation had lost their faith in the true source of their healing and hope. For Israel, the image had replaced the original.

Christianity is fading quickly in the Western hemisphere. No longer do the buildings and programs enjoy the same responses of the sick and dying in our world. The bronze snake has lost its luster and is beginning to break down.

Is the demise of Western Christianity due to a lack of evangelism, effective programming, powerful preaching, stewardship, and building maintenance? Or has the bronze snake replaced the original in the eyes of worshipers, and God has decided to break it into pieces so that we will return to the true source of healing and hope?

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words” (Pro 7:1-5 NIV).

The writer of the seventh chapter of Proverbs shared such transcendent wisdom that no one who reads the words can exclude his or herself from being placed as the “youth who lacked judgment (v. 7). We have all been seduced away from wisdom.

As a teenager I placed myself in many precarious situations; some could have had lifelong effects upon my life. Somehow, probably by the grace of God, I escaped without permanent scars (at least visible scars).

It wouldn’t be fair to leave you hanging without exposing myself a little, so let me think for a moment about what I am willing to share. I’ll admit, I won’t let you in too deep, but I will share one story that is probably common to many.

There were many of us who enjoyed an occasional alcoholic binge in our adolescence. We had no clue of the dangers, and enjoyed the euphoria of our blood’s thinner consistency. And on one occasion, I found myself so inebriated, that I have no clue how my friend and I got home. We were in a tiny sports car that was something like a sardine can with a V-6 engine. It’s a wonder that we even made it home at all.

During another blood-thinning orgy, when I had been married for only a year, I called my wife and begged her to come get me. Because of my tone, she assumed that I was hurt or sick and rushed to pick me up from my friend’s house. When she discovered that I was not sick or hurt, but “three sheets to the wind,” she took me home, threw me in the shower, and three hours later I awoke with the cold water spraying me down while my wife slept peacefully.

I deserved it.

Never again would I place myself or my family in such a juvenile position. I have learned a lot about trading my youth for euphoria.

As the child of an alcoholic, I have experienced many things that have prepared me for difficulty in life, and thankfully I also learned what I didn’t want to be—an alcoholic!

“At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment” (Pro 7:6-7 NIV).

The writer of this wise saying saw me. The writer also saw you!

Many of us are still being seduced, driven away from wisdom. And like the teenagers who can do more danger to themselves in an hour than can be repaired in a year (borrowed from Dr. James Dobson), mistresses of the world continue to destroy God’s people, until we find ourselves under the cold shower of an empty soul longing for the warmth of our “sister” and our “kinsman.”

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved