Wheels Up

Swimming Safely, Struggling Prayer, Haidters Unite, and Sore Losers

Hello friends!

Is this newsletter early, or is it late? Like most of life, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Time for a quick story. I think I’ve mentioned this a few times here and there, but I help lead a Cub Scout pack that both our boys are in. Last weekend we hosted our pack’s annual Pinewood Derby. Depending on how dads feel about engineering, rule bending, and fierce competition, it’s either their favorite or most loathed event on the scouting calendar.

This year, our leadership team decided it was time to retire the well-worn wooden track the pack had been using for several decades. We carved out time Friday afternoon to get the new, futuristic, all-metal track setup and ready for racing. Normally, this is the time I spend writing the newsletter you’re reading now, but I’m a team player. Besides, how long could it take to put together a simple, downhill racetrack? We’re professionals after all!

Friends, nearly four hours, some scuffed knuckles, and plenty of frustration later, I made my way home. I’m happy to report that all the kids (and most of the parents) had a blast. Our youngest even finished second place in his den! But his trophy doesn’t put a newsletter in your inbox now does it?

So here we are. Me plinking away on my laptop flying toward San Diego for a quick getaway to explore a new city and hike through Joshua Tree with my wife. Consider this the one newsletter to rule them all, or at least the one that’ll cover last Friday and the Friday to come. Forgive my tardiness, and you’re welcome for me showing up early. A little charity is all I ask.

Speaking of charity, that’s the topic we’ll be covering from this week’s chapter of How to Teach Kids Theology. They’re talking theological charity, not just asking for a pass after a late/early newsletter, but you get the point. Luce and Williams begin by pointing out that our culture seems to have lost the ability to disagree without being at each other’s throats. Oh, you’re on the other side of a debate (theological, political, athletic, or otherwise)? Great! Now it’s my job to not only dismantle your argument, but to destroy you personally as well. It can be nasty out there.

What’s missing from these debates and disagreements in the current climate? Often, it’s charity. Charity is a word that’s fallen out of favor in our everyday language, used more to describe financial help or generosity than an aspect of love that the Bible speaks to. Charity, they argue, is an aspect of love with an active element attached. It’s our actions toward others that flow from our love of Christ.

The ultimate charitable act is the Father sending his own Son to die in order to rescue and redeem us. It’s one thing for God to say he loves us, but that love becomes more real when we see it demonstrated through this act of grace and mercy. Similarly, it’s easy to say we love our kids or neighbors, but without demonstrating that love in the way we speak to or engage with them, our confession of love can ring hollow.

Their work on charity is set within a conversation about theological orthodoxy. They unpack what doctrines have served as the backbone of theological orthodoxy throughout the history of the church. The Bible is clear and certain about many doctrines (think Trinity, Jesus’s resurrection, deity/humanity of Jesus, etc.), but there are other parts of theology where the Bible isn’t crystal clear (mode of baptism, church governance, spiritual gifts, etc.). Of course, there are also those whose views fall outside of historical orthodoxy (denying Christ’s deity, polytheism, or entire other religions). Charity is a crucial component to being able to engage with folks in any of those camps.

We, and our kids, will continue to come in contact with all sorts of differing points of view. Whether we’re engaging with secondary issues where the Bible gives us freedom to disagree, or with those who ignore the teaching of the Bible altogether, we should seek to extend charity and speak with love. We can disagree wholeheartedly without being jerks. We can do the same as we receive critique or correction. We must be able to extend and embrace grace and charity.

So what does any of this have to do with actually teaching kids at home or in a classroom? Great question. We want to hold before our kids the value of walking in love. That is, holding to both orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right action). It doesn’t matter if our heads are swimming full of knowledge if it doesn’t make its way to our heart and then bleed into the way we’re living our lives (think of the clanging cymbal Paul mentions in I Cor. 13).

We want our kids to have an orthodox faith, so we must spend time outlining what that looks like. Where are doctrines solidified, and where is there room for conversations and disagreement? We can model that by the way we speak to them about those we disagree with. Similarly, we want to model demonstrating charity in conversation and putting love into practice. How are you talking about the goober who just ran a red light, or the cashier taking forever to scan your groceries? How do you respond the news story on the tv or radio?

Finally, they encourage parents and teachers to remind them that Jesus is serious about love being a commandment (see Mark 12, Matthew 7, and much of the rest of the gospels). If we’re called to love one another, we should seek forgiveness when we fail to live up to that expectation. We can offer forgiveness because forgiveness has been offered to us. We were at our worst when Jesus drew near to us, so who are we to pull away from those that are in need physically, financially, or spiritually?

Even finding ways to create opportunities for our kids to commit to acts of love and service, big or small. You probably can’t take your entire Sunday School class around the world to build churches or dig wells, but you can teach them to love each other by serving each other goldfish, or cleaning up each other’s craft supplies. It’s not rocket science, but it does take some intentionality to make room for these opportunities and some conversation to remind them what they’re doing and why it’s important.

Once again, these two guys are making important connections between theology and the real world our kids find themselves in. There’s lots of practical wisdom in how to demonstrate the value of charity as we interact with both those inside and outside of our normal social circles. I love that they highlight God as the source of our charity. It’s not something we have to drum up within ourselves, but rather is another gift of the Spirit as we come to faith and learn to rely on him.

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Swimming Safely (Student Ministry, Discipleship)

“It might seem counterintuitive to teach our teenagers about the heretics throughout church history, but in order to guard them against the false teachers of today we would do well to educate them about the false teachers of yesterday.” We’ve got a new voice on the blog this week! Sean Nolan, a former kids and families guy turned church planter in Albany, NY, shared a piece with us about the value of studying heretical movements through church history. Knowing where theologians and pastors have gone wrong in the past helps us not only solidify our view of Christian orthodoxy, but also prepares our minds and hearts to respond to heresy we might encounter. In an ever shifting cultural climate, laying a sure foundation of the faith for our kids and teens is more valuable than ever.

Struggling Prayer (Devotional)

“There are many reasons why prayer doesn’t come easily for us. We’re busy people. We haven’t been trained in prayer. It’s just difficult to sit still for more than five minutes without sweating in distraction. These are all true, but I think it goes deeper than all this.” It’s launch week for my pal Jeremy Linneman and his new book, Pour Out Your Heart. He has a piece over at For the Church to promote this new volume, and to work through some of the reasons we struggle to pray. He offers some wisdom from surprising places, and provides encouragement to help move us from begrudging prayer to prayer that brings joy. It’s less about becoming a prayer expert, and more about giving yourself the space to explore what more of God’s presence in your life might look like. The book is obviously a deeper dive, but this article is a great place to begin your journey to joy-filled prayer.

Haidters Unite (Parenting)

I’ve talked a lot about Haidt and his latest book (The Anxious Generation) in the last year. It’s a big book, and may be difficult for some folks to wade through as he works through research, presents data and graphs, and interacts with other scholarly work on the topics of social media, smart phones, and anxiety. If you’ve been waiting for a TLDR explainer of his work and thoughts on this subject, a recent episode of the Armchair Expert podcast is perfect for you. Dak and Monica have a wide ranging interview with Jonathan Haidt about his most recent book (and some of his older ones), play devils advocate on some of the issues Haidt raises, and provide plenty of laughs and color along the way. This conversation is a great way to dip you toe into this conversation, and consider what changes if any you may want to consider with your own family. ***Warning*** There is some adult language sprinkled in a couple places, so you may not want to listen with young kids around.

Sore Losers

Our kids got Uno No Mercy for Christmas (or maybe before the holidays last year), and this exact scene plays itself out in our living room EVERY single time we play. There’s nothing like watching a kid go from a one-card-left Uno to being out of the game after having to draw 27 cards in one turn. Gotta keep your head on a swivel out there kiddo.