In this series of posts we are talking about passing the baton of faith to our children.

Last week we talked about “discipleship in the home;” this week we are covering the vital relationship between the “church & the home;“ and next week we’ll be talking about “how to impart a biblical worldview” to the next generation.

And we have to remember that each of these are impossibly hard to do… every family will face the incredible gale force winds of the cultural “formation machine” (Dallas Willard) as well as the insidious lies and “counterclaims” (CS Lewis) of Satan!

If we don’t want to end up like the Israelites in Judges chapter 2, we must be strong and courageous-standing on the ancient truths of God’s word, so that a generation will grow up “knowing and seeing” all that the Lord is capable of!

We say it’s a message we wish we could give at Easter because I (Ben) always feel this tension, like most pastors, to convince the “Christmas & Easter” attendees that there’s so much more life available to them!

One year I did give a version of that Easter message titled, “Begin Again” (of which the empty tomb is such compelling evidence… i.e. that every person can begin again, anew in Christ!)

But the best way to begin again is through regular Christian fellowship; there’s just no way that any of us married/single/kids/no kids can get through this era of tribulation without one another…

That Sunday I shared:

But what is the role/relationship of the family & the Church?
If they are both institutions of God, don’t we need both?
Why all the needless competition between discipling at home VS discipling at church?

The role of church life in the family

Now because Reggie Joiner already wrote thee definitive book on the subject (“Think Orange”), I’m merely going to quote him and move on.

He says,

He continues,

Finally, just for a bonus-because we’re all legacymakers here:

And that’s why we need the church and the family for formation! For more nuance on this conversation feel free to check out our latest podcast episode, titled “Pick a Church and Plan to Die there”

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Other great think orange quotes:

“Technically, anything that a ministry does for the family could be called family ministry but that’s actually part of the problem. There is a difference between doing something FOR the family and doing something WITH the family. Family ministry should not be another program you add to your list of programs. It should develop the process that drives how both the church and the home combine their effort to influence the next generation in their faith and character. If you really believe that nothing is more important than someone’s relationship with God, it makes sense to combine the influences of the home and church.” ― Reggie Joiner, Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide…

“Church has believed that parents probably wont’ assume responsibility for their own children’s growth, so they have tried to become a parent substitute. This in turn ha s fostered parents to adopt a “drop-off” mentality. Maybe the greatest gift a church can give parents is the confidence and courage to do what God has wired them to do.” ― Reggie Joiner, Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide…

Thanks as always for joining us and please feel free to subscribe & share!

-Ben & Rylee