Monday, March 26, 2007
Responding to good points...
The really professional bloggers respond to comments as part of an ongoing communication stream. However, those of us who think the comments are sometimes better than the original post are slower to respond. I have been struck by some of the comments from the last couple of posts and thought I would take a minute to respond.
I am convinced it is the parent's job to ensure that their children have faith. Don't expect the church to do your job for you. In fact, the most important job of a parent is to impart faith to their children. No matter what your children accomplish in academics, athletics, or in their chosen career...if they do not have faith you will not have succeeded as a parent. If they have faith, nothing else will really matter. So don't blame the church, don't get mad at the youth minister, don't count on a program to do your job.
Having said that, I will say the church should be intentional about equipping parents. We should try to provide resources that assist parents. And we should make provision for young people that do not have Christian parents. This would include converts, and includes young people whose parents are members, but not faithful.
I also need to comment on the political blog from the other day. I think I would not argue that both polical parties are Christian. In fact, I would argue that neither party is Christian. I would even be hesitant as a Christian to identify myself too strongly with any political party. Personally, I am hesitant to identify too strongly with any country. After all, this world is not my home.
Finally, I was one overtime game from nailing the final four. :)
I am convinced it is the parent's job to ensure that their children have faith. Don't expect the church to do your job for you. In fact, the most important job of a parent is to impart faith to their children. No matter what your children accomplish in academics, athletics, or in their chosen career...if they do not have faith you will not have succeeded as a parent. If they have faith, nothing else will really matter. So don't blame the church, don't get mad at the youth minister, don't count on a program to do your job.
Having said that, I will say the church should be intentional about equipping parents. We should try to provide resources that assist parents. And we should make provision for young people that do not have Christian parents. This would include converts, and includes young people whose parents are members, but not faithful.
I also need to comment on the political blog from the other day. I think I would not argue that both polical parties are Christian. In fact, I would argue that neither party is Christian. I would even be hesitant as a Christian to identify myself too strongly with any political party. Personally, I am hesitant to identify too strongly with any country. After all, this world is not my home.
Finally, I was one overtime game from nailing the final four. :)
