Church Life

As I travel around the country  and speak at mid-sizes churches I have been introduced to those who have the title of Family Pastor. Interestingly, when I ask them to describe their responsibilities, I hear varied answers. In larger churches, the title is usually given to a young person who is responsible to minister to the youth and oversee the children’s ministry. He also might be given other roles that accompany an associate pastor. But his primary responsibility is to oversee the children and youth. As one who has a heart for family discipleship and as a former lead pastor,…

This past week I had the privilege of speaking at our men’s retreat. Sharing our camp was another church that was having a father-son retreat. I came away with several thoughts. 1. A men’s retreat can include young men. The children in our church are relatively young. But we did have one teen come along with us. He circulated among the men, sitting at different tables when eating. He was appropriately engaged and listened.  And he sat in on men talking about, among other things, their struggle with pornography. This fits well into my understanding of the teen years. In our…

    How does family discipleship fit into summer activities? One simple response is to encourage natural intergenerational relationships. How? Just this week, my 20-year-old son unexpectedly reminded me of an event that happened when he was around seven. That year I was participating in a midweek men’s Bible study. To break up the routine and to celebrate summer, we decided to have a cookout/pool party and then end with a time of prayer. We would also invite our sons to come. In a low-key way, we cooked, swam, and prayed. (Oh yes, as dads we debated if they should…

“I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matt 25:35) One summer, I was at wits end. The elders graciously granted me a sabbatical of several months. During the Sundays of those two months, my family continued to attend my church while I took Sunday morning road trips to different churches. Several impressions remain from those visits. First, I remember how intimidating it was to go to a church where I did not know anyone. Second, I clearly remember how few people greeted me or took an interest in me. Of the eight churches I visited, exactly one person…

I love linking to important articles for my blog readers. So today, I would like to link to one I wrote. Its up at the Gospel Coalition website. The subject is How Churches Can Care for their Pastor’s Kids. My main points were: 1. Give grace to the pastor’s children on Sunday. 2. If you have a concern, talk to your pastor about behavior that characterizes the children. But do so with an attitude of loving acceptance. 3. Be generous in your praise. 4. Limit church criticism and complaint to private conversations among adults. 5. Be brave and rebuke the…