Free to Serve

Parenting Conference

Last weekend, Deepak Reju was here to lead us in a four-session parenting conference. He went through the gospel and parenting, getting to the heart of our kids' behavior, communication, and discipline. I appreciated a couple things, especially. First, the reminder that there is no manual for parenting except the Bible. We have been given tons of principles about godliness and some select commands about parenting and are called to put them all together, on a daily basis, as we raise our kids. Second, since this is true, it is hugely important to know your children. How do they struggle? Why do they struggle this way? What are their likes/dislikes? Deepak repeated again and again how vital it is to study your kids so you can best minister to them. 

Parenting is not easy. There is nothing more humbling than seeing your weaknesses repeated in the next generation. But there is hope as well, because God has not abandoned us to parent in isolation. He's given us a church for encouragement and instruction. Pray that as the years go by, we as a church do a better job of standing alongside parents, reminding them of the awesome and wonderful responsibility we have been given, and encouraging each other in the task at hand.

My Prayers for Parenting Conference

Even as I am getting ready for my sermon on Sunday morning, my heart and mind are focused on the upcoming parenting conference. Here are my prayers:

1. Adoration to God who has given His Word so we know what to do with our kids. The Lord is good. He has not left us without guidance. There is enough in Scripture to instruct us how to shepherd our kids. Moreover, there is parenting wisdom in the Gospel message itself. This is amazing. Praise God that He has lavished us with knowledge and wisdom and given us hearts that want to obey Him.

2. Confession of my own failures as a parent. There are many. As I prepare my own heart to come to this conference, I confess my own sins. Some are sins of commission (impatience/distraction) many sins of omission (erratic family worship, less-than-stellar quality time with kids). There are more!

3. Thanksgiving that we can have this conference. I'm thankful to God that there is such an interest in Gospel-centered parenting, that so many people desire to know what the Bible has to say about how to raise, train, nurture, and love our kids. I'm thankful for the facility that we have as a church to make retreats likes this possible, as well as the staff and volunteers who work so that the details of the conference don't get in the way of the purpose of the conference. I'm especially thankful for our children's ministry staff, Terry Earl, the coordinator, who urged us to have such a conference, and Kathryn Searle, who joined us recently and has been so faithful to roll up her sleeves and get involved. Finally, thanks for Deepak, his time, and the unique gifts he brings to this conference. 

4. Supplication: there are so many things to pray for:

• Attention. That after a long day, we would be ready to listen, eager to learn, and energetic enough to think.
• Our children. That our children would thrive during these hours that they are away from us. That they would enjoy time with other kids and that there would be no emergencies!
• Amazement. That we would be amazed by what God has done for us in Christ. This is the heart of godly parenting.
• Relationships. That as we meet together we would grow to know one another better, that many great, deep, honest conversations would take place.
• Action. That what we learn would positively and practically affect how we parent. That no one would drive away from the conference without a firm commitment to act out what we have learned.

So, whether you are here Friday and Saturday or not, join me in praying!

How to Think About What's Happening In Egypt

As demonstrations persists in Cairo, it is hard to know, from the West, what is best. Is it better for the autocratic President Mubarak to remain in power or for the revolt to have its say, Mubarak be forced to resign, and a more democratic leader be elevated? Certainly lovers of democracy and religious freedom would say, "The more democracy, the better!" True. But what if power is seized by a group that turns out to be less democratic than Mubarak? This is possible.

Our heart, as Christians, should be for the Gospel to spread in the Middle East. Here are a couple guides as you think through how best to pray for the situation. First, an article from the Kairos Journal. This is an online journal for pastors, but this article is open to the public. Finally, check out Michael Youssef's writings on the topic. He is the pastor of Church of the Apostles here in Atlanta, and an Egyptian. His writings on the topic are worth reading.

Sow Diligent

It is difficult not to get excited about the upcoming parenting conference at MVBC. My friend, Deepak Reju, is going to be teaching. Deepak is a wise and godly man. He and I spent many an evening talking at the Lincoln Memorial in 1994 when I moved to Washington, DC. He was called to ministry shortly afterward, received an PhD in counseling at Southern Seminary and now counsels as an associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC. He also oversees the children's ministry at the church. Deana and I have sought him out for counsel with our own children! 

If you are in the area, I hope that you will come. It is the Friday night and Saturday. The cost is minimal but the investment is eternal.

The Evangelicals

A couple weeks ago I began a sermon quoting from Christopher Catherwood's new book, The Evangelicals: What They Believe, Where They Are, and Their Politics. I was most amazed by the discussion regarding where evangelicals are. They are growing by leaps and bounds--just not in the United States. He talks about the rising number of true believers in Africa, but ends with these words about China:

So the country with the world's greatest number of evangelicals in the twenty-first century could indeed be the People's Republic of China! Could those brave missionaries from Britain and the United States in the nineteenth century ever have thought it? Going to China was not the "white man's grave" (a few years of service followed by an early death) that a missionary in West Africa often faced--but with transport in the Victorian era not being what it is now, leaving the West for China was often a lifetime commitment. Now, in the twenty-first century, overt missionaries are illegal, but the evangelical and all other kinds of Christian population of China probably exceeds the total population of even the biggest countries of Western Europe, such as Germany, France, or Britain. Such has been the changing nature of Christianity in the twentieth and now twenty-first centuries.

This is exciting! How often do we grow discouraged because we fail to see our gospel work reaping benefits? How often do we grow discouraged because we don't see the numbers of conversions (in our own families, our own churches, our own mission fields). Perhaps God does this to humble us. Our generation is given the privilege of reaping amazing spiritual fruit in China so that it is clear that it was not our work, it was the work of missionaries who labored decades ago and, ultimately, the work of God. 

Do not grow weary in doing good, in being faithful, in making the Gospel known. God is at work.

Sunday Reflections

This Sunday I had the privilege of teaching the youth in Sunday school. We looked at the account of Martha and Mary from Luke 10. All the preparations surrounding hosting Jesus distracted Martha from actually listening to Jesus. When Martha expressed her frustration that Mary was not helping, Jesus assured Martha that Mary had chosen what was better.

I read a devotional on this passage a few weeks ago that really struck me. Martha was doing something good, but that good thing nonetheless distracted her from something better. In the midst of all that we do, sometimes very good things (service, fellowship, etc.) we can be distracted from the Best, Jesus Christ himself.

Sunday morning was the last in our series through 2 Thessalonians. In these closing verses Paul tackles the topic of idleness. Some in the church were refusing to work, instead being supported by Christians in the church. I made two points. First, idleness undermines the Gospel. Jesus worked hard his entire ministry. He is an example of diligence. That diligence is most evident in his final days when he earned our salvation through his death. Paul wanted to model diligence for that church (he refused to be paid for preaching) so that they would better understand the ministry of Jesus Christ; a selfless, pour-yourself-out-for-others ministry. Such a ministry is not reflected in a life of idleness. Second, the idle must be warned by the church. Refusing to obey the commands of Scripture may be a reason for church discipline. Paul talks about it in verses 14 and 15. This is a hard text but an important reminder to local churches that we must take unrepentant sin seriously. I was very helped in thinking through this by an article written by Jonathan Leeman. He asked when sin should be brought before the church as a whole. He gave three rules of thumb: when the sin is outward, serious, and unrepentant. For more, look here. 

In the evening, Brad Thayer delivered a terrific devotional from Numbers 6:26. He urged us to look to the One who is able to bless, to long for the Day when we will see the Lord, and to know that we have and can experience peace. Good words and great preparation to celebrating the Lord's Supper.

Sunday are full. My prayer on Monday is that we live out what we've learned.