I had two out-of-the-ordinary conversations today. The first was with some grandparents from our church. They’d been wondering what was going on for youth (they have a few headed toward 6th grade) and had no idea. So they asked me to lunch and plied me with questions. They had definite ideas about what we should be doing, and those ideas were sort of at odds with our practice. I got the chance to tell them the story of how youth ministry has changed, and how we can make a difference in this next generation. When they heard my rationale for the way we’re doing ministry they found themselves agreeing with me, and even offered to jump in to serve with us in some role. Isn’t amazing how powerful the right story can be?
And tonight after youth group (which was SO good! We talked about Jesus’ teachings on the Kingdom of God) I had a 5 minute chat with a dad who’s been coming to help out for a few weeks now. He was apologetic for not being more involved up to this point. I replied that if more dads were involved in our ministry I believe that we’d see some remarkable growth in our ministry, and in their families. That led us to talking about how our faith was shaped by our childhood–for good or bad. Most dads I know feel woefully inadequate when it comes to discipling their kids and leading their families. They know that they’re supposed to do it, but they don’t feel qualified, don’t know how, don’t have a plan…and that leads to feeling guilty, discouraged, and defeated. But some dads are taking steps, trying to do some different things, making an effort. And that’s significant.
The redeeming truth is that I get to write the story of US for my family. I get to shape and define what my kids know as normal. And it can be as passionate and Jesus-centered, as wildly radical and generous and faith-infused and risk-taking, as obedient and hopeful and loving as I want it to be.
Parents, you get to write the story for your family. You get to define normal.
What story do you want to tell?
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