Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Debelak
When I lived in Anaheim, the order of the day was the program which had children saved by the 6th grade (really, it was a curriculem) and "Journey through the Bible" toward that end. In the Midwest, where I'm from and now live, there are "new efforts" such as MountainTop and Ignite. So many ways and means...
My most fundamental concern is this: when we engage in Christian and "spiritual" activities with our children, do we have faith?
... do we need to raise them in "Christianity" - always "nudging" them toward salvation or (after they're saved and baptized at age 6) toward their greater sanctification?
It seems to me that our practice reeks of a lack of faith. Let me ask: do we believe God is true? Do we believe that "God arranges men's seasons that he might grope for Him"? Do we believe that, faced with the vacatness of this life, with a realization of personal poverty, that man realizes and recognizes His need for a savior when he hears the gospel?
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I have a view that I call "The two kingdoms". The first kingdom (domain, realm, sphere) is the one inside. We control that (by God's grace and mercy, of course). If we are happy it is because we have decided to be happy. If we are anxious, miserable, sad, angry, whatever, it is because we have decided to construct a kingdom of such. Though we usually blame it on others (It's raining; I didn't get the promotion; I got a flat tire, etc), actually it is because we chose to feel this way.
The second kingdom is everything outside. All that belongs to God. And that includes our car, our house, our job. And yes, our family. Children are special, though they are outside us, because for them the 'barrier' between self (me) and the world (you) is not clear yet. It usually takes a dozen years for it to begin to form clearly, and another dozen to become firmed up. So when I am with a child, if I want them to laugh, I laugh, or do something silly. If I want them to be unhappy (I don't, I am just saying this for contrast) it is pretty easy to arrange. I used to love to act out stories in front of children. Thier faces were like mirrors, shining back whatever role I portrayed.
The kingdom which that growing child constructs is ultimately between them and God. What we can do, beyond what has been stated by others on this thread, which I agree with heartily, is to build our own kingdom and let God flow. Because God is real and does want to flow. If we push our version onto the little vessel in our care it does them a great disservice. Because our version is on display 24/7 already, and they are sponges.
On a related note, the reason people push their version of the gospel of Jesus Christ onto others is because it is someone else's view that got pushed pushed on to (into) them. Witness Lee somehow had to be right, which meant we all had to do what he said. Then we push that same thing on our children and our gospel contacts. No difference, in my view. Sometimes it gets results but the results are not as good as when we get out of the way and believe in God.
Excellent thoughts, Peter. Your characterization of what you call "the program" is I think spot on. My disquisition was my feeble attempt to say 'amen'.