May 15, 2013

‘Did Baby Jesus Wear Diapers?’

When my niece Allie was 5, she frequently asked me imaginative questions about God. One day Allie arranged a pastoral ministry session for me. I waited on the front steps of her house while she gathered several of her friends. A study group gathered, and Allie announced, “My uncle is a preacher, and he can tell you what kinds of ice cream there will be […]
May 10, 2013

The Discipline Checkup

When our children were young, Barb and I quickly learned that parenting skills were not intuitive or inherited, so we sought mentors who could help us. Bill and Jane, a couple in our church, the parents of five wonderful daughters, agreed to share dinner with us once a month to discuss parenting issues. I remember the evening that Bill and Jane taught us about what […]
May 4, 2013

Why Children Need The Sabbath

My oldest son started high school this fall. At his orientation, the counselors spoke to parents about the greatest challenge they see students face in school. I expected to hear about poor study habits or substance abuse, but to my initial surprise, these were not at the top of the list. Apparently, the greatest challenge presenting itself in the office of the high school guidance […]
April 25, 2013

The Power of 5

This week, I am rocking it out to “dubstep” worship music at a ministry conference in Atlanta, Georgia. If you don’t know what dubstep is, you are either old, boring, or my own mother. (Just Kidding)  During this conference, we continue to review a statistic that came from two national surveys a few years back from Rethink and Lifeway. Those studies examined adults who stayed […]