Impress Them On Your Children
M
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
October 29th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I couldn’t agree more about the ‘pick up’ ministry. The Tallahassee Corps wouldn’t exist without it. When I attended the Corps, there were 4 adults and 15 children, with no parents in tow, ramshaking the place with entitled parents sleeping in on a Sunday morning.
When I worked in the Greenville Corps, the van broke down one evening prior to youth meetings. I called the parents to let them know they’d have to bring their kids to church if they wanted them to be there. One woman cussed me out and slammed the phone down. I couldn’t believe it.
The van service could be looked at as ministering to children who wouldn’t come otherwise…but I think what it actually becomes is a baby sitting service on wheels. If the things that they are taught on a Sunday morning aren’t echoed at home, it’s just as effective if we all had just stayed in bed.
I do however believe that children and adults need different things from their fellowship and learning experiences. Our church has instituted a set up called, “the Big idea”. I drop Caden off with kids his age. They sing songs he can grasp, learn about Christ in a way that works for his level and best of all, he is learning that church is applicable to him. I think young children who are forced through adult theological discussions learn from a young age that church is boring and they maintain that attitude throughout their lives.
While he is there, I am in an adult setting being challenged and learning not just about who God is, but how to do life according to His word. It’s educational, sometimes heady, always life changing.
The with ‘the Big idea’, we’re learning the same information, just in ways that work for our learning compacity…and when I pick him up, I’m given a sheet of paper with a simple scripture and daily exercises that I can do with him to instill the lessons we both learned. Last week he learned how God created darkness and light. He can quote “You made the world and everything in it” Psalm 89:11. We played ‘dark and light’ by using flashlights in his room. I’d ask, “Who made the dark?” and he screams excitedly, “GOD AND JESUS!” (he always acknowledges the Father and Son
All that to say, programs are effective if they are purpose driven and proven to bring families together, instill biblical teaching, change lives and create great habits in kids that will last their whole lives.
Will we get there using a ‘pick up’ system…not a chance.