Good News
Salvation Questions, Leading Small Groups, Kids and Bibles, and Chewed Out
Welcome back friends!
I trust that you and your family had a lovely Easter celebrating Christ’s resurrection, and the life and forgiveness offered to us through his sacrifice. Whether you celebrated together on a pew, feasting at a table, or hiding and hunting for candy-filled eggs, I pray it was a time of gratitude, joy, and celebration. Remember, Jesus is just as risen on Wednesday as he was on Easter Sunday. So don’t let the joy leave just yet.
If you find yourself working at a church, I also hope you’ve been able to find some rest this week. Obviously, Easter is a big day in the life of the church, and a lot of time and resources get poured into making that day feel special to so many. Just in case no one else has told you, thanks for all your work planning lessons, welcoming families in, and finding ways to connect them to Jesus and the life of the church. Your work matters!
It’s a new week, which means a new book in my quest to read more consistently and thoughtfully this year. I get a LOT of parenting books sent my way, and probably read fewer of them than I should. After all, who doesn’t need help parenting? I certainly do. Just ask Annie, or the kids. The problem for me is, so many parenting books end up feeling like a laundry list of things I should do, but don’t have the time or capacity to actually make happen. I already feel stressed out, stretched thin, and ill-equipped for the weighty task of parenting. I don’t need anyone else to tell me that I’m missing the mark when it comes to parenting.
Thankfully, our friends at Crossway passed along an advanced copy of Adam Griffin’s new book, Good News for Parents. You probably know Griffin from his work with Matt Chandler on Family Discipleship. Griffin doesn’t make us wait to find out what the good news for parents is. It’s right there in the subtitle—How God Can Restore Our Joy and Relieve Our Burdens. This is a parenting book I can get behind! Who doesn’t want to experience more joy or feel the weight of burdens being relieved??? It doesn’t release until later this year (August 19th to be exact), but I wanted to share a couple quotes from Griffin’s introduction that got me excited to dive in (and may get you excited too!).
“But this is not a how-to parenting book. It doesn’t clash with most of those that are, but it is different. It is far more gospel than law.”
In a time when parents carry the pressure to be perfect everywhere—home, work, coaching baseball, leading scouts, planning class parties, etc.—this offer of grace over law is compelling. He paints a picture of himself as an imperfect father (relatable!), who wrestles with his own downheartedness (more relatable!) and his need for grace when he inevitably makes mistakes in parenting (super relatable!). He’s not trying to raise the bar of parenting, but instead inviting parents to something different. Not a discovery of a new list of things to do, but a discovery (perhaps a re-discovery) of how God frees us, lightens the burdens we carry, grows our faith, offers peace and forgiveness, and untangles us from what’s dragging us down.
“Christian parents, if I may be so bold, allow me to reintroduce you to the profound grace of God. I know you need it. You know you need it. This grace will embolden and encourage you.”
Griffin organizes this book for parents by examining the fruit of the Spirit. The Lord longs for us to taste each of these fruits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), and be energized by them as we set our hands to the work of parenting. Regardless of the problems we face, a deeper experience of God’s grace and mercy is essential in getting through them. The book sets out to help parents taste each of these fruits as they continue on their parenting journey. Feasting on these God-given gifts can help parents find joy and not grow weary in their work of raising children.
“Before we jump into these grace-filled chapters, let’s make sure we are on the same page about sin.”
He knew you guys were gonna hit him with the, “what about sin though Adam?” question, but he’s one step ahead. He unpacks the reality and severity of sin (our as parents, and in the kids we’re raising) powerfully and succinctly. This won’t be a book that blows past sin as insignificant. If the diabolical power of sin isn’t a death sentence, then God’s grace is robbed of it’s life-giving, death-defeating power.
In short, after reading the seven page intro, it feels a little (okay, a lot!) like Adam Griffin somehow crawled into my brain Inception style, uncovered all my insecurities as a shaky believer and failing father, and used them to write this book to talk me off the ledge of seeing myself as a parenting disaster. It’s easy to read, full of humor and encouragement, and highlights God’s heart for those who love him. I couldn’t be more excited to dig into this one. More to come.
Salvation Questions (Parenting, Discipleship)
Our guy, Champ Thornton, just released a new book. 10 Questions About Salvation is a devotional that wrestles with ten questions about salvation across thirty devotions for families (parents, kids, teens, etc.). I haven’t gotten my hands on this one yet, but the good folks at Crossway have a preview (3 devos worth!) up on their site to promote the book. They’re sharp, biblically rich, and centered on actual experiences you or your kids have likely dealt with in the real world. If the rest of the book shakes out as well as what’s in this preview, it’ll be worth your time. Give it a whirl here and get inspired!
Leading Small Groups (Student Ministry)
“Small group discussions are an important part of discipleship. They can be spaces that offer accountability, foster community, and help students grow together in their knowledge of the Bible. When we think about what our small group discussions should look like, youth leaders should remember two key questions: what’s the goal and how should we structure them accordingly?” Here’s a really helpful piece from Cole McCartney over at Youth Pastor Theologian to help you hone your small group skills. While small groups aren’t the only part of youth ministry, they’re an essential piece of both discipleship and growing relationally. There are a million ways to do small groups, but McCartney pushes us to focus on determining what our goal for them is and then structuring them accordingly. Of course, every church is different (size, demographics, culture, etc.), so you’ll have to give some thought to your own space and place in order to shape these groups to fit your goals. The quick and dirty “Do’s and Don’ts” section is especially helpful in providing some practical help in making these groups successful for both students and leaders.
Kids and Bibles (Parenting, Discipleship)
“And where do children (and students and adults) find Jesus? We discover the Word—Jesus—in God’s Word—the Bible. Based on data from Lifeway Research, “The single greatest influence over spiritual health is regular Bible reading while growing up. Plainly put, the parents of young adults indicate that regular Bible reading as children yields the greatest influence over their spiritual health.” Landry Holmes looks at some interesting research about reading the Bible at a young age as an indicator of spiritual health. So then, you might ask, what should we do to train our kids to build that discipline early in life? He’s glad you asked. He walks through how to build Bible skills with a physical copy of a Bible before introducing the digital format and all the bells and whistles that comes with it. There’s a lot of good info here, and encouragement for parents to both be involved and trust the Spirit to draw their kids to Jesus. Considering how we can model the importance of time in the Bible to our kids is always a good idea.
Chewed Out
It’s amazing how true some stereotypes can be, and the difference between first and second (and third!) kids happens to be a stereotype that proves to be true in our house. This is a great use of a great clip from a great movie (lots of greats!). Here’s to finding laughter in parenting!