How to Make Your Kids Hate Church
I came across this article titled “5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church” over the weekend and shared it on Facebook, but it definitely is worth another post here on the blog. Please read and share with other parents you know. Share your thoughts here on the blog.
The 5 ways include:
1. Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public
2. Pray only in front of people
3. Focus on your morals
4. Give financially as long as it doesn’t impede your needs
5. Make church community a priority…as long as there is nothing else you want to do
The Songs Your Kids Are Listening To This Week
I’ve been a student of Youth Culture for a long time. One of the biggest arenas of youth culture is music. It doesn’t take a student of youth culture to figure this out. Just take a look at your teen’s Facebook page (and if your teen has a Facebook page, you need to have a Facebook page). Your teen and most, if not all, of their friends have been quoting popular song lyrics in their “status updates.” Music is not only a part of youth culture, it lead, shapes, and directs youth culture. And I promise you, your teen is not exempt. That’s why it’s so important for us as parents to be aware (and stay aware) of the music that is filling the ears, the minds, and the hearts of our kids.
This morning there was an article in my email inbox that didn’t surprise me…but definitely alarmed me. The article listed the current top ten songs played on Top 40 Radio. Take a look. This is the stuff that your kids are listening today!
We can’t extract our kids from youth culture. But we must talk openly and honestly with our kids about their world and lead them and teach them how to navigate their world using a biblical worldview. Yeah, it’s awkward (especially if you’ve never attempted this before). But it’s got to be done. Mom’s and Dad’s…it’s time to step up! You don’t have to be a biblical scholar. You just have to make sure you are growing closer to God personally, you are staying informed about what’s going on in youth culture, and you are talking to your kids regularly (without fighting with them or lecturing them).
Here’s a great place to make sure you are staying informed. And here’s a great place to keep up with the latest top 10 songs.
2001 E3 Release Form
So here it is, the middle of March. That can only mean one thing: it’s time to publish the 2011 E3 release form (insert sarcastic comment here). Actually I probably should have done this a couple of months ago, but there’s no time like the present right?
This release form will be good for all E3 activities for through the rest of 2011. Fine print: from time to time there may be additional releases required of other organizations.
D Now (on the road) April 15-17
I can’t even explain how pumped I am about D-Now coming up! We are taking it on the road this year to Plains Baptist Assembly just outside Floydada. Packets with all the information and registration forms you need will be mailed out tomorrow morning. They are also available here.
We really think every single one of our students needs to be a part of D-Now. I hope you’ll help me encourage your kids to sign up and to get their friends to sign up too! Let me know if you have any questions,need more information, or need financial assistance.
“God Friend”
Last year one of our Disciple Now leaders asked her group of girls if they had a “God friend.” After looking at the blank stares for a minute she explained what she meant: A God friend is a friend that you can talk about God with–not just about God, but about your relationship with God, your questions, doubts, fears, struggles, temptations, victories, personal walk with Jesus, etc. A God friend is somebody you can trust completely, somebody you can be totally honest with, somebody you can pray with, somebody you know will pray for you and hold you accountable (even when it’s hard).
As I listened to her tell about this conversation she had with her D-Now group, I started thinking about my “God friends.” I had never used that term…to me they were my best friends. And I’ve been blessed enough to have a couple of them.
Tonight one of my best friends is coming over. We’re going to grill a couple of steaks, tell some stories, laugh, and talk about life and God. The times I get to hang out with my best friends is some of the most valuable time I have.
My prayer for you today is that you would have a “God friend” like I do. Be blessed today!
Preteen Rhythms
I’m halfway there with my daughter and I’m already a little nervous about the preteen years. This is a great article about how to respond to your changing preteen.
XP3 Road Trip
This Sunday we’ll be taking students to Lubbock for an XP3 Road Trip! Instead of our usual meeting time/place we’ll leave the church at 4:00 for Lubbock for supper and then a ton of fun at Bodyworks in Lubbock for laser tag, ropes course, and giant bounce houses! The cost will be $10 plus money for supper and snacks. Everybody going MUST have a waiver signed by a parent. I’ll have these available Sunday morning. We’ll be home by 11:00 Sunday night.
Mema and Poppa
Today is Valentine’s Day. I’m not exactly what you would call a sappy romantic when it comes to showing how much I love the ones I love the most (just ask my wife!). So I thought I’d share about my Mema and Poppa today. They’ve been on my mind a lot lately. Mema died a week ago.
I’ve never seen two people who were more in love with each other than Mema and Poppa (not even in the movies). I can remember as a snotty nosed little boy being grossed out by the mushy kind of love they shared with each other. They actually told me once when I was spending the night at their house that they liked to crank the air conditioning up at night so the house would be cold…that way they could snuggle with each other and keep each other warm. GROSS right?
For as long as I can remember, Mema’s eyes would light up a little more than usual anytime you mentioned Poppa. They held hands all the time. They kissed. They hugged. They had sweet names they called each other. Poppa always seemed to have his arm around her. In most of the pictures of them they preferred to look into each others’ eyes instead of at the camera. They were truly, madly, deeply in love with each other.
Today I’m missing my Mema. And I know Poppa is missing Mema. Today I’m thinking about them. I thank them for loving each other like they did and for constantly modeling for me what true love is. I love my wife more than I every thought I could love anybody. I hope I can learn to show her love like my Poppa showed Mema love. I hope someday I can gross out my kids and grandkids by the way I show my love for her. I hope I can live out love like Mema and Poppa.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV)
Happy Valentines Day
13 Again
I was reading a blog post from a friend of mine today. Her topic was “who you were at 13.” She listed a few things she wished she had known at 13. It got me thinking, what would 35 year old me tell 13 year me if I could?
How about you, if you could go back in time and tell 13 year old you some stuff, what would you say? What do you wish you had known at 13? (or 14, or 15, etc.?)
Share in the comments.
