SWaDU Parenting
Discipling your children.
We get it. Parenting can be challenging. With all your normal responsibilities, adding discipling your children can seem a little too much. Besides, the church has taken care of discipling your kids for a long time. It’s easy to think the church can do a “better” job teaching the Bible stories, characters, and principles than you could. Maybe. But is that really enough?
The church, even as good as it can be at teaching your children, still only gets 1 hour a week to teach them. Moms, Dads, you get around 112 (not including sleeping hours) with your kids each week. And honestly, it is not the church’s job to disciple your children. The church should help, but moms and dads have the responsibility of discipling their children.
We don’t want to suggest that you aren’t doing enough, and you need to add one more thing to your day. Discipleship can be as easy as sharing God with your children throughout your day, by having simple conversations as you sit at home, walk (drive) along the road, lay down, or wake up.
That is why we created SWaDU. Because coming up with new and creative ways to teach your kids can be challenging and time consuming. We’ve asked other parents, just like you, to share ideas that have worked for them. Look thru their ideas, find one you can use, and maybe share one of your own for others to try.
Hero Wanna-be
Equipping Parents
Fifteen years into my 20+ years serving as a youth pastor, God changed my purpose. I loved being a youth pastor. It made me feel like a super hero. Always there to help, encourage, pray, and sometimes even rescue. Honestly, I enjoyed the attention I received when I made school, extracurricular, or even hospital visits. “Here I am to save the day”. Then one day, God arrested me, and told me I was in the wrong place.
He still wanted me to serve as a youth pastor, but not as the super hero. He said, “I didn’t call you to be Batman.” “Ok cool,” I thought, “I can be Robin.” He said “No”. “Dads and Moms are supposed to be the super heroes”. “Well, if I can’t be Batman or Robin, who am I supposed to be?” “I want you to be Alfred.” God told me to let the parents be the super heroes. He said, “I want you to help equip them with the tools they need to be the best parents (super heroes) they can be.”
Somehow, the church got things mixed up. For too long in youth and children’s ministries, the youth or kids’ pastor has taken the lead roll in discipling the next generation. The role of church leadership has never been to swoop in and be the super hero. The leadership of the church is called to equip the body, so they can do the work of the “super hero”.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13NIV
In the churches’ effort to help, they’ve inadvertently taken over and parents have willingly taken a lesser role in discipling their children. After several generations, some parents don’t even realize it’s their responsibility. They think, if they take their kids to church or youth group as often as possible, the church will take care of things. Many parents don’t think they are qualified to teach their children about God. They don’t know where to start.
That is what led to SWaDU.
Mike
Am I an old young guy or a young old guy? I’m not really sure. How old I am doesn’t really matter, because I feel and look much younger than I really am. I love snow skiing, watching NFL, playing cards, hanging out with teenagers, playing softball and a good cup of coffee. I drink more water than soda (unless I’m eating Mexican, then I have to have a Coke), but I’m not a health freak, because I’d eat just about anything from Hostess. My dream vehicle is a Jeep Wrangler with the top down and the doors off. But more than all of that, I love being a dad to my wonderful girls and a husband to my beautiful wife.
Christy
We waited 15 years to have children because I didn’t want to get left out in youth ministry. Now, I can’t imagine life without our girls. As a family we love bike rides and board games, playing on the beach and in the snow, cuddle times and tickle fights. I don’t really have favorites, but since people don’t really understand that, I have decided to say that I like purple, Mexican food, a good action comedy, and sports cars. I love to paint, take pictures and can easily lose track of time in a good book. I love my husband and my girls ALMOST as much as Jesus, and consider myself incredibly blessed.