Will Your Children Remember???

Judges 2:10
Another Generation arose that did not know the Lord or the work which He had done for Israel.

Because the next generation did not know the great things of God, they became unfaithful to Him.

It is easy to think that we have time when it comes to children.
It is easy to not give them the time and investment that they require because they are resilient and they can adapt well.
Unfortunately, time passes too quickly and before you know it your child is no longer interested in what you might think and has already set his/her religious world view.

So, will your child remember the Lord and the work which He has done for you and your family?

Where Should I Send My Kid To School

In a couple weeks I will be sending my oldest son off to kindergarten.
Please wait while I dry my eyes.

As a christian parent, wanting to raise my child up with a strong Biblical foundation, I never knew the decision of how or where to send my child for his education would be such a difficult decision.
My wife and I discussed, debated, rationalized, and agonized over this decision for at least a year and a half.

Here were my thoughts
Public School - I'm not sure my child is ready to be around the worlds constant influence.
Private School - Why should I pay for school when I already pay taxes. Besides, I can't guarantee that he will be around great influences in private school.
Home School - Not enough social interaction
I have positive thoughts also, but these were my negatives for each option.

Very touchy subject. In fact, I probably just offended someone reading this.
That's because the topic of our children's education is so important to us parents seeking the best education for our kids while maintaining a Biblical influence in their life.

What I learned

• There is not a perfect solution and no solution is more right or wrong than another. Although many will disagree with that comment.
• I believe that it is important for a child to have a firm Biblical foundation set in place as they are exposed the the world driven by liberal media.
• We as parents must realize that we are required to pour ourselves into the lives of our children everyday and show them how to live a Godly life based on biblical principles. If we don't live out our faith at home, regardless of where we send them for school or how much we keep them in church, they are likely to stray from the faith.

Our decision - Private School (At least for now)

"Already Gone"

I just read a book review for "Already Gone - Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it" by Ken Ham & Britt Beemer.

It says that 61% of today's young adults who were regular church attendees are now spiritually disengaged. The authors completed research to find answers to this disturbing statistic.

Research showed that students who regularly attend Sunday School are actually: "more likely to defend premarital sex;""more likely to accept that gay marriage and abortion should be legal;" and "more likely to believe that good people don't need to go to church."

As a children's minister getting ready to start a Sunday School Like program, I should probably be nervous and reconsider.
However, the reasons we are losing our young adults are not surprising.

Results showed that these young adults would prefer good, quality Bible teachings (Truth), but had found their churches to be more driven by man-made tradition than biblical mandates.

It seems to me that people are not searching for the latest greatest scheme but they only want to hear TRUTH. I believe it is time for the "Church" to get back to the basics of offering Biblical TRUTH.

Chap. 7 of the book asks parents; "Do you love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might? Do you take the words of God and treasure them in your heart and teach them to your kids by talking to them about God's word as if it's a normal part of your life? Is it your life? The faith of your family starts with you."

No shock here. The Church cannot do it alone. True biblical discipleship and education is learned first at home. Parents cannot live a lie by acting one way at church and another way at home. On the flip, it is the job as ministers to equip parents to lead, educate, and disciple their own children. It is our job to get them involved in the ministries to their children rather than trying to do it ourselves.

Stop Clowning Around:
What steps are you taking to ensure that the children you pastoring will not disengage as adults?

Is a Box Really Safe?

I rode on a motorcycle for the first time last Saturday.
Wow, what a feeling to have the air rushing past you at 65 mph. Nothing but you, the bike, and the open road.
I'm really not sure if I liked it or hated it.
My whole life, I heard the horror stories of accidents people have while riding their bikes.
I must admit, I spent the majority of the ride shaking nervously that an accident would happen and I would leave my family in a bind.
I did not have a wreck, but I burned my leg on the hot tailpipe.
It hurt!
I realized, that I prefer a car. I like having something around me. It just makes me feel safe.

I'm an entrepreneur at heart. Any one who knows me will admit that I can dream like no other. I will always encourage anyone to take advantage of their dream.
Get out of your comfortable box and just go for it.
I recently realized that many of us like our box. It's nice to have something around us. Something that at least feels secure and safe.
After all, what if the dream does not work out. What if I fail. What if I lose everything. It might hurt.

All I can say is that you cannot make a judgment until you try it. What if I never got on that bike? At least I know what a ride on a motorcycle is like. I know that I will probably not ride one again, but I know what the air feels like as I sail down a highway. And, in fact, a bike is probably a lot safer than I think it is.

Moral of the message - Stop judging and stop sitting idle due to fear. At least give your dream a shot. See what happens. If you don't like it, get back in your box. I'll admit, the open air is not for everyone. But, at least you will know that you tried.

Oh yeah, one last note, boxes really are not that safe. They just appear to be safe due to the walls. However, one good rainstorm will destroy the box.

Chicken Rock

I will never forget the day I encountered Chicken Rock. 

My brother was a youth pastor in Mount Vernon, MO.  When I went to visit, I was quickly told by everyone that I have to go to Chicken Rock.  OK, no big deal. 

Boy was I wrong. 

Chicken Rock was BIG.  It was one big rock sitting on top of a cliff overlooking a beautiful lake.  This rock was perfect for watching a great sunset, but it was not used for that purpose.  Nope, people used this rock as natures own special diving board. 

As I looked down, I realized that there was no way I was going to jump.  Besides, how deep is that water anyway?  What if I slip and hit some of the other rocks on the way down?  What if I hit another big rock under that water?  OK, I’ll admit it, fear took over. 

I began to watch other people jump and dive off this rock.  To my amazement, nobody died or even got hurt.  In fact, it seemed like everyone that jumped loved the exhilaration. 

But, I never did jump.  I let fear control my life that day.

When it comes to sharing our faith with others, I believe many of us share the emotions I felt on chicken rock.  Fear takes over.  What if I offend that person?  What if they laugh at me?  What if they never want to be my friend again? 

I can speak from experience that a little fear comes over me anytime I even think about sharing my faith with a friend or stranger.  However, I find that when I just jump and begin to share my faith, the experience is exhilarating.  There may be no greater high.  Especially when you watch someone turn their life over to Christ. 

I was fifteen (17 years ago) when I went to Chicken Rock.  I still regret that I did not jump.  I let fear and “What If” control my life.  I’m positive I missed out on a great experience. 

Stop Clowning Around:

Place your fear aside and just jump.  Share your faith.  It will be the greatest feeling ever.  I Promise.  

Cardboard Testimonies

My church - South  County Christian Center - moved into our new building this past Sunday.  

Pastor Sean Craig spoke on being born again.

His message was great and he did a fantastic job explaining that born again means that God turns your life upside down and changes it.  He helps us deal with circumstances and desires that we cannot deal with ourselves.  

As great as the message was, it did not come close to the power of the Cardboard Testimonies.  To see how God has changed the lives of the people within our church brought too many tears to my eyes.  

The attached video is not from my church.  If I get my hands on our churches video, I will post it.  

This made me think, wow, I didn't know God did that for Jen, Tim, Angela, Madison, etc.  If I were going through this circumstance, I would want to talk to that person.  

I believe a personal testimony is the most powerful tool one can use when sharing his or her faith.

So, I'm asking for your testimony.  With your permission, I will post your testimony on this blog and catagorize them appropriately.  I would love for this site to serve as a way to lead others to the saveing grace of God by reading how He has changed the lives of those in similar circumstances.  

Stop Clowning Around:

Please email me your story.  stopclowningaround@sbcglobal.net 

Please ask your friends to post their stories and come back often to see how God is still changing lives.  

Distracting Options

I will never forget my morning walks with Bill Ore in Saskatchewan, Canada. 

First, Bill Ore is one of the most influential people in my life and I only spent a grand total of 10 days with him in my whole life. 

 While at this camp, we took a morning walk every day, just Bill and I.  For the most part, it was a quiet walk, looking for deer, listening to birds sing, and saying some quiet prayers.  But, it never failed, during the walk we would discuss something very important to Bill.  Some days, he would give me advice; some days he would share his heart, his weaknesses, and his desire for me to pray for him; and some days he just shared some good stories.  He had this way of making me feel so special and important. 

 I will never forget on one particular walk, we were discussing the church and the Christian life.  Bill looked at me and said, “Scott, keep your eyes upon Jesus and not upon man.  Man will surely fail you, but Christ will never fail you.”  Those words have saved me from bitterness as I have watched too many pastors and leaders fail Christ and the ministry they represent by making mistakes that any person can potentially make.

 However, beyond that, his words have helped me understand that I must keep my eye on the goal, one single objective.  I must keep my eye on Jesus and keep walking to him.  If I don’t, I’m likely to begin looking at the options around me.  I might be tempted to let the options distract me from my goal of living a life for Jesus Christ.  By taking my eye off the goal and focusing on other options, I open the door for me to make disappointing mistakes as well. 

 I believe Satan does everything he can to show us all the other options in this world in order to entice us to take our eyes off Jesus.  He knows if we start looking at the other options, we will not be as effective in our walk with Christ. 

 In my new favorite book, “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely, he proves that we humans have a hard time staying focused on one option.  We like to keep our options open and thus we usually miss out on what is best because we keep flipping back and forth to other options just to make sure they are not better. 

Options that keep me from staying focused on Jesus:

-         Money

-         Love/Sex

-         Career

-         Power

-         Education

 What I have learned is that all these options are a part of my journey.  However, they cannot be my ultimate goal.  The above options will ultimately disappoint, but Jesus Christ will never disappoint. 

Stop Clowning Around: 

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. (Philippians 3:12-16)