Don’t judge the rest of this post by my next statement. This breakout was a commercial for the new book, “Parenting beyond your capacity.” However, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. This book is going to be a powerful new resource for parents and I think a lot of people are going to be really excited about it. So, this was an opportunity to hear from the authors about why they wrote this resource . Here are a few of my take-aways.
Most parents DO NOT have a strategy for leading their kids spiritual. Most parents “assume” the church will do it.
Carey equated this to dishes. To many parents see the church or the task of spiritual formation as using the formal dishes. We rarely use them and when we do, its awkward and a little uncomfortable. They don’t really see real life, just those special occasions. The every day dishes are what we’re comfortable with, what we use day in and day out and they experience the joys and pain of life. Spiritual formation needs to be like the routine of using our everyday dishes. The parenting strategy needs to follow the same kind of rhythm.
The book follows the five family values Reggie Joiner promotes in the Orange strategy also found in his book Think Orange.” They include:
  1. Widen the circle
  2. Imagine the end
  3. Fight for the heart
  4. Create a rhythm
  5. Make it personal
One overwhelmingly powerful message that all parents need to understand is that almost every family from the Bible is dysfunctional. Parents often get an idea in their head of what a biblical family is supposed to look like and then feel defeated because it’s impossible to achieve that image. Kids need to get a front row view of what grace and spiritual transformation looks like in their family. Dysfunction is the reality most families live in. God wants to transform lives as he works in our families.
Interesting stats:
  • 75% of parents have attended a church in the last 24 months.
  • 25% of families have both mom and dad living at home.
One thing Reggie said got me really excited about a potentially future resource. The environment I serve in is highly unchurched where most of our families are either not yet following Christ or very early in the process of spiritual formation. This doesn’t mean these parents can’t begin the task of spiritual formation of their kids, but it may require a totally different approach as well as an entirely different resource. Reggie mentioned the idea of writing a resource for this kind of audience. I think it that were developed, it would be my first choice with this book being the next book in the process (but I haven’t read it yet, so I don’t know).