Missio Dei Suburbia

Discipleship Begins At Home

Dream: to see churches disciple children more effectively.

Making that dream possible: churches who equip parents to disciple their kids.

Winfield Bevins provides parents with a helpful list of practical ways to pass along the Christian faith to their children:

• Find a good children’s Bible.
• Remember to have fun with your children while learning the Bible.
• Keep the time brief to hold the child's attention.
• Recite the verse several times a day in your child's presence so it becomes familiar to them.
• Make flash cards with Scripture on one side and the book, chapter, and verse on the other.
• Put the verse to music or rhythm. Your child will enjoy singing and clapping their hands.
• Think of fun activities to make the verse fun and easy to remember.
• Tell them you are proud of them and have them recite it to someone else, like a grandparent or teacher.
• Pray with your children every day at meals and before they go to bed at night.

Check out Winfield's entire series of posts on discipleship in the home here.

Homemaking and Mission

From Girl Talk...

So What Do We Do About Santa?

A couple of years ago, after hearing that Lindsey and I aren't making Santa Claus a big deal in our house, one of the mothers in our church emailed me to let me know it would not be appreciated if I encouraged that kind of thinking when I was preaching.

Since I'm not in the anti-Santa business, that wasn't really a problem. But because I'm in the pro-Jesus business, I'll post this from Thabiti Anyabwile:

I'm not arguing a dogmatic causality here. I'm simply asking the question, "Why include Santa Claus at all?" Is the imagined upside of following the culture here worth what we think it's worth? And are our justifications helping us to point our children to Christ or masking the reality that we may be pointing our children away from Him? Personally, I doubt Santa Claus is worth it, and pointing our kids away from Jesus at Christmas may be the worst form of child neglect I can imagine.

Anthony Bradley - Bringing Some Old School Funk

I've really liked Anthony Bradley since I heard him speak at the Reform and Resurge Conference in Seattle in '06. I liked him even more after hanging out in the back of a hotel ballroom in Atlanta during the 2006 PCA General Assembly.

I've thought Anthony is an important voice in the continuing conversation called the Gospel - particularly because of his concern about what the church has done and is doing to men - the image in your head should be Jackie Sherrill castrating a bull.

If you don't think this is a serious issue in the church, check out what Anthony has to say about why more than a few guys in their 20s and 30s want to die - literally. And then read this as just a reminder that more than a few men have grown up completely smothered by their mothers.

Oh, and then for grins and giggles, read what Anthony posted over at the World Magazine blog about the role that growing up in a conservative suburban evangelical church may have played in leading Matthew Murray to go on a shooting spree in Colorado recently. I'm not going to lie to you - I spend alot of time with students at UGA who haven't gotten to where Murray was, but they're pissed off and confused because what they got growing up in church was something other than or in addition to Jesus and it's done nothing but jack up their world. And like Murray, more than a few guys that I know who don't fit the 'influential, extroverted, key guy' stereotype that many churches and ministries target live with a lot of  bitterness and flat-out anger that they don't know what to do with.  Massive problem.

And here's one last post from Anthony - his net worth is somewhere in the neighborhood of $-50,000. I post that only because I'm swimming in the same financially choppy water - $40,000 of student loans will do that to you. For me and Lindsey, that means we're starting our own Total Money Makeover thanks to Dave Ramsey - we'll keep you posted.

When Jesus Doesn't Make A Difference

What are suburban Christian parents doing to guarantee their kids will end up in counseling? Find out here.

Bible Story Books for Children

Finding childrens' story Bibles that actually focus on the story of the gospel is more difficult than it needs to be. Al Mohler provides a great service in posting about two great resources for younger children here and a resource for older kids here.

Questions for Kids

At last weekend's Desiring God National Conference, John Piper made reference to some great questions he had come across to ask his children as their father. Justin Taylor has posted them here:

• How are your devotions?
• What is God teaching you?
• In your own words, what is the gospel?
• Is there a specific sin you’re aware of that you need my help defeating?
• Are you more aware of my encouragement or my criticism?
• What’s daddy most passionate about?
• Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home?
• Are you aware of my love for you?
• Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
• Do you have any observations for me?
• How am I doing as a dad?
• How have Sunday’s sermons impacted you?
• Does my relationship with mom make you excited to be married?
• (On top of these things, with my older kids, I’m always inquiring about their relationship with their friends and making sure God and his gospel are the center of those relationship. And I look for every opportunity to praise their mother and increase their appreciation and love for her.)

What John Piper Said At His Granddaughter's Funeral

Earlier this week, I posted about the death of John Piper's granddaughter, Felicity Margaret, who was stillborn. Her funeral was yesterday - here's what John said at the funeral. Again, I'm putting this in front of you as evidence of how years of working through the biblical relationship between pain and suffering and the sovereign goodness of God plays out when hope seems lost.

John Piper on the Death of His Granddaughter

Besides providing you an opportunity to pray for Abraham and Mollie Piper and their extended family, I'm posting this as a reminder that God has 'wise and loving reasons that we wait to learn with tears and trust.'

Equipping Sons (and Daughters) in Playing Sports to the Glory of God

Brian Chesemore over at The Family Room blog has pointed back to a March 2006 post by CJ Mahaney on how he has taught/discipled/equipped his son, Chad, in regards to making sports a means of honoring God instead of a subtle yet powerful idol. I'd encourage all of our dads to read, digest and begin to work this out with your boys (or girls).