Great Resources for Parents, Part 2

What do you get when you cross a first-rate theologian with a concerned father? You get a fantastic book for teaching theology to kids. It is true that we don't usually think about "kids" and "theology" in the same sentence--tragic but true. It is tragic because I believe we sell our kids short in what they are able to understand. By theology, I simply mean the truths we believe about God: that is, who He is, what He's said, and what He's done. Kids can grasp these truths about God, and you can teach them without using the big words that most adults, let alone kids,understand. One reason we don't talk to our kids about theology is that most of us feel like we don't know where to start or what to say.

Fortunately, Big Truths for Young Hearts gives us a place to start and plenty to say. Bruce Ware, professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and sitting president of the Evangelical Theological Society is a seasoned scholar. He's also the father of two adult daughters. Through the poignant foreword, Dr. Ware's girls share how their dad taught them about the greatest of God on their own level as they grew. In Big Truths, Ware presents 10 classic doctrines through 6 lessons for each which parents can use with their kids.

Big Truths is written in such a manner that a parent could read the lessons directly to their kids. I don't recommend this approach for elementary age kids. Though Ware does an excellent job of taking the big truths and making them manageable the lessons may still stretch the limits of endurance for most kids. Instead, the resource is perfect for a parent to read and them boil down into a 5 minute talk for elementary-aged kids. If your kids are older, it would make a great book to read and discuss together with them.

The book includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter and memory verses as well. I'm always looking for "handles" to give parents to hold on too to disciple their kids. I wish Dr. Ware had given more instruction on just how intended for us to use the book, but if you are ready to dig in with your kids and learn theology together, Big Truths is worth a look.

Great Resources for Parents, Part 1

This summer, our family has been using The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkidz, 2007) for our nightly devotional times. I have a 7 year-old and a 10 year-old. The subtitle of the book is "Every story whispers his name." That's a little misleading. In fact, every story SHOUTS his name. Lloyd-Jones does a masterful job of weaving the Gospel (God's Secret Rescue Plan, as she calls it) into every Bible story in a way that kids (and their parents) can easily see how the whole of the Bible tells the story of Christ.

Of course, as the title states, this is a storybook Bible. In other words, the stories are selective and paraphrased. Lloyd-Jones does no violence to the original meaning of the text, nor does she impose fictional thoughts into the essence of the Bible story. Rather, she is faithful to the message of God's Word and even is able to color many of the stories with humor and joy --the story of the Tower of Babel had my kids rolling! The illustrations by Jago are bright and engaging for the kids, too.

The stories are short. Most nights, the kids have begged me to read two. Although my 5th grader has enjoyed this storybook Bible, he's probably a little older than the intended audience. It's perfect for my second grader. If you have late preschoolers through elementary-age kids and you want them to have a grasp of centrality of Christ in Scripture, you need this book!

The life is more important than the lesson

Recently I heard a group leader for children say, "I feel like I don't know enough to teach these kids! I'm just trying to stay one step ahead of them. I don't know if I'm cut out for this." It's a common concern I hear over and over from children's Bible study leaders. We feel such a great responsibility to give kids the knowledge they need to know God and experience Christ that we are afraid we'll miss giving them something they need. Sometimes we may even fear that they'll ask a question--kids ask the darndest things--that we won't be able to answer and we'll be found to be not quite the biblical scholar we hope to be.

I tried to encourage this teacher the way I normally do. I asked her to recall a whole lesson she was taught as a child. She could not, of course. Then I asked her to recall a teacher who made a positive impact on her. She thought of a name immediately. I reminded her that it's not her lesson so much as her life that these kids were see. God was using Christ in her to teach. The kids were learning that faith was important to her and that she loved God enough to serve Him.

Of course, we all need to grow in our knowledge of the Lord and His Word. But there were some guys in the Bible that had more Bible knowledge than anyone. They were called Pharisees. Jesus had another name for them - hypocrites.

Yes, I want my kids to have knowledgeable Bible teachers. But more importantly, I want adult voices in the lives of my kids who are saying the same things I am with a heart that thirsts after Christ. If you love my child with the love of Christ and show her a life after God's heart, then suddenly, I'm not so worried about what you know.

When you wish upon a star...

We weren't even out of the Magic Kingdom parking lot before J and E had crashed in the backseat, worn out from all the adventure.

Having spent over 12 hours at Disney World yesterday I remembered why we would be so audacious as to make our new children's building attractive to, well, children! As you know Disney is all about the kids, right? It's about creating a world where dreams come true. I know that my 2 couldn't get to the land of Mickey quick enough. They were anxious to get there and reluctant to leave. Truthfully, Disney is not all about the kids. It's all about making money and they know dads like me and grandparents like my in-laws are suckers for spending coin on their kids to see that they're happy. A great marketing strategy - Reach the kids to get to the adults' money.

So, if Disney can leverage a child's imagination for profit, why can't we leverage it for the sake of their own souls and the souls of their parents? What if my kids were as excited about going to church as they were about Disney? A stretch? Only if we settle for less than God's best. He has blessed us with a vivid imagination and tremendous resources to be as creative as He is. Granted the facility is only a start - it will take excellence in programming, passionate volunteers, lots of love - but it's a pretty good one!