Published by
Steve Wright under
Pastors,
Steve Wright on
July 4, 2008
Recently I sent an article to the parents in our ministry. I had an overwhelming response as many parents were encouraged and given hope. Just the thought that John Piper had a child that rebelled lifted a ton of guilt for many of our parents.
I often share with parents I meet with that God placed Adam and Eve in an incredibly “safe” environment. The problem they faced was more of a matter of the heart than it was external influences.
We are also encouraged with great news concerning a prodigal in Luke 15. An often overlooked detail of this story was that when the son demanded “his portion” of his inheritance that his father “wrote the check”. Even though he knew his son would more than likely blow it all (which he did) it would be worth it if his son found Christ.
Here is an encouraging article if you have a prodigal.
John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.”
Published by
Steve Wright under
Pastors,
Steve Wright on
July 3, 2008
Over the last 6-7 weeks I have had numerous conversations with men from difference states who are questioning their call to ministry.
Some of these men are tired. Some are in unhealthy church settings and some of these are young men who want to serve Christ but aren’t sure where.
All of these conversations remind me that we (the church) must do a much better job with confirming, training and mentoring these men. John Adams once said that as a young man he considered ministry as a vocation. He would take long rides to school and remember how difficult the pastors at his church had it and then decided that law would be the easier path for him.
I have found an excellent resource for you or your church to consider. Am I Called? This resource can be downloaded for free.
If you have specific questions please feel free to leave a comment.
Published by
Steve Wright under
Parents,
Steve Wright on
July 2, 2008
John Owen in His great work “Mortification of Sin” reminds us of the real “S” word that should concern all parents. He asks “Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.“ (p.9) Our Providence students are reading this great book that was written in the 1600’s in our Summer Bible Studies.
Here are a few quotes;
- “Mortification of sin by self-strength, carried on by ways of self-discipline, unto the end of self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world.” (p. 7)
- “(Much of organized Christianity) is made up of designs and contrivances to pacify conscience without full surrender to Jesus.” (p. 37)
- “He that changes pride for worldliness, sensuality for Pharisaism, vanity in Himself to the contempt of others, let him not think that he hath mortified the sin that he seems to have left. He hath changed his master, but he is a servant still.” (p. 26).
- “It is to be feared that very many Christians have little knowledge of the main enemy that they carry about with them in their hearts.” (p. 31) (OUCH… sometimes haven’t we just socialized and Christianized our love of money, personal ambition, and love of the praise of men?)
- “Jesus is the (only) fire that burns up the very root of lust.” (p. 19)
Do you ever see your children sin? Do they misbehave and require constant restraint? Do we realize that they are fighting a great battle?
What compounds this problem is that we too as parents bring sin to this relationship. Our children battle sin and so do we.
This realization alone should cause us to desire to demonstrate grace. We should graciously extend to our children the amount of grace that has freely been extended to us.
Instead of becoming angry by the sin we see so often in our children we should be equipping them with those resources that have helped us gain victory over sin. Are you experiencing victory over sin today? If so you know this is an act of God’s grace in your life. How might you best demonstrate this grace to your children? It may seem that our battle is at times against our children but our true battle is daily fighting that little three letter “S” word. SIN
Something to consider…
Has God’s grace been extended to you today? Can you think of three specific examples? Maybe you heard the birds singing outside today, maybe you have good health today to enjoy time with your family or perhaps you God is still perfecting His great work within you. GRACE! GRACE! GRACE!
God’s grace should literally be perched on our our lips so that we are ready to share of His goodness. Maybe today your children would be ministered to if you shared how God’s grace was extended to you today.
Give it a try. It sure beats yelling and screaming…..
Published by
Steve Wright under
Parents,
Steve Wright on
July 1, 2008
Family Worship Guide…
1. Start slow and simple and build from there.
* Don’t try to do too much and draw it out
* Keep a manageable time frame (15-20 min)
* Start with once or twice a week (i.e. Tues/Thurs)
2. Set a regular time.
* Allows everyone to plan for it
* Pick time that is best for your family
* Time that is not hurried or pressured (Does this exist?)
3. Choose a simple Bible reading plan
* Makes it simple and to the point
* Personalize with brief story/illustration
* Allow time for questions
4. Include the basics in your time together:
* Brief prayer to begin your time
* Short reading of the Word
* Comments/questions
~1 thing you got out of it
~1 question that you might have
* Prayer requests
~write them down
~ask for volunteers to prayer for each one
* Prayer time
5. Seek to be as consistent as possible
* Not all family members need to be present to proceed
* Don’t have to be rigid if not workable for planned time
~Seek to reschedule
6. Value the contributions of all those involved: God and family.
* Seek to create a healthy, friendly, enjoyable environment
* Remember, you can’t grow a garden overnight: it will take time and effort to make it like it could be and should be.
Published by
Steve Wright under
Parents,
Steve Wright on
June 30, 2008
Sounds like the start of any eventful vacation, doesn’t it? It does if you are vacationing with my family. OK, here is a little bit of the story.
We had planned on going to my parents house for some time after our church camp. Both of my boys were especially excited because they would be able to drive their Maxxam Dune Buggy all over their grandfather’s farm. Just think 15 acres of wide open space with absolutely nothing to run into. OOPS! Did I say nothing?
There was one little something. My mom and dad have always had well-water and you surely wouldn’t want to run into that slab of concrete. We had literally been at my dad’s house about ten minutes when I heard the worse bang I had heard in a while. As soon as my dad heard it he said, “I think William just found my well”. Not only did he find it, he hit it so hard that he busted the concrete as he and his cousin flew over the top of a 30 inch concrete top that stuck out of the ground.
When I went to inspect the disaster area I saw pieces of concrete everywhere. Fortunately both boys were fine and later on we were all able to laugh about it. I had the opportunity to dig around this large pipe today for six hours so we could begin the repair work tomorrow.
God hasn’t shown William or I how this will be used in our lives yet but I am sure it will be for our good and His glory. Tyler reminded me today about Romans 8:28a. It says, “All things work together for the good to those who love God…”
Hopefully I can get back to work soon so I can get some rest.
Published by
Steve Wright under
Steve Wright on
June 29, 2008
Last week I was in Summerton, SC with a few hundred of my close friends. Each year our church graciously offers a camp for the teens of our church.
This year Pocket Full of Rocks provided the worship and our camp pastor was JD Greear. Both did a great job. You can read a wrap up of our camp on a blog we started to communicate better with our parents. During the week this blog received over 3,000 hits from parents of our students.
A highlight of camp was our students learning about their spiritual gifts. Their gifts were matched up with ministries in our community so that they and their families can serve together once they returned from camp.
I praise the Lord that I am surrounded by such an incredible team of leaders who serve faithfully in our ministry. We took 50 volunteers from Providence who served for the week. The majority of these use a week of their vacation serving Christ in this way.
Chris and Miriam Gardner serve as our camp directors for Impact. They will take the next two weeks off from anything related to camp and then will begin planning next years camp.
God has graced us so miraculously as a church body with such wonderful volunteers.
Published by
Steve Wright under
Norma Weekman,
Parents on
June 27, 2008
![[Miranda+in+cage.jpg]](http://bp1.blogger.com/_kzjcm_cwPbE/SAwn8nNNC8I/AAAAAAAAAAo/eMrnkjZR2i8/s1600/Miranda%2Bin%2Bcage.jpg)
It was Zane’s “Call the Shots” day. He had his check up and endured the vaccines due, so he’d earned the chance to go to the store and buy one reasonably-priced reward. He also got to decide what the whole family was having for dinner.
He chose a big ol’ bucket of KFC chicken for the family meal. And for his reward… a gerbil.
I was a little on the fence about the gerbil. We’d had two fish, one hamster and one sweet, ancient Pekingese just a couple of years ago. Within a few months all of them departed their mortal coils. It was traumatic string of pet-deaths that left me none too anxious for more critters. But Zane, Mr. Relentless, pointed out that gerbils are cheap and we already had the cage from our stint as hamster-owners, so all we’d be in it for after buying the fur ball was bedding and food.
When Jimmy got home, we quickly ate the KFC, and he and Zane headed to PetSmart. After an hour or so, they came home with a black and white gerbil. Zane named it “Mark.” Yeah, I know. He explained that he’d chosen Mark because he was the biggest guy in the cage and he’d be lying on top of all the rest of the gerbils. Had to be the alpha-gerbil.
I, being the mom I am, immediately felt sorry for Mark because he’d left his family behind. Jimmy told me that there were two others we could go get in a day or so. They were all males. It said so on the cage.
Zane took to gerbil-care like nobody’s business. He played with Mark everyday. What blew us away was that Mark would take a paper towel roll and shred it in just minutes. Life with the gerbil was great for the first couple of days. Then Mark got “nippy.” Every time someone would go to pick him up, Mark would bite. YIKES!!! We’d had an evil, razor-toothed hamster that no one could touch. Looked like the gerbil was headed in the same direction.
Exactly one week to the day after “Call the Shots” day, Zane came home from school. It was our first cage cleaning day. I don’t think anyone was too excited about the gerbil hygeine event that looming on the horizon. Zane wanted to get it over with, but I told him he’d have to wait for his dad to get home to help him. Reluctantly, he headed back to the family room to try to play with Mark until Jimmy came home.
He’d been out of the office where I was working on the computer long enough to walk down the hall to the family room and open up the cage door when I heard the yell: “Mom! MOM! MOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!”
My first thought was, Oh no! It’s only been a week and we’ve already completed the circle of life! I was running through the short list of ways Mark could’ve met his demise so I’d be prepared for what was to come when I went into the family room to see what had Zane all shook up, but before I could stand up to go to him, Zane came running back into the office.
“Mom! Mark has babies!’
“What?”
“Mark. He has babies. I think. There are little brown wiggly things in Mark’s cage and he’s sitting on them.”
“You’re going to have to change that gerbil’s name because if he has babies, he’s not so much of a he.”
Sure enough, when the counting was done, Mark had seven gerbil babies. We weren’t in on the end of the circle of life. We were there at the beginning. Seven. Gerbil. Babies.
We’ve heard all the jokes: “Eight for the price of one! What a bargain!” and “The Gerbil with the Secret Surprise Inside!” and “Buy One… Get 7 Free!”
No… it’s not what we’d have chosen. There’s no way in a million years we’d have looked in the cage at PetSmart and said, “Hey, these male gerbils are nice, but do you have a pregnant female one we can buy instead?”
But… it has been a blessing. We’ve love watching life develop. We’ve loved seeing Miranda (Mark DID get a new name) take care of her babies. Jimmy and I have adopted Miranda. Zane’s new gerbil is Hershey. Kelsey has Killer. And Zack’s pet is L’il T. The other four babies were adopted by wonderful new friends. No one is alone. Everyone is happy.
I was having my quiet time the other day and came across Proverbs 16:9: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” His plans aren’t always mine. They’re better.
Published by
Steve Wright under
Melinda Villena,
Parents,
Pastors on
June 26, 2008
DRUG PROOF YOUR KIDS is a facilitator-led program designed by Focus on the Family for parents and those who work with kids and families. The program stresses three key areas: EDUCATION, PREVENTION, and INTERVENTION and seeks to open up the important conversations between parent and child about alcohol and drugs, believing that it is never too early to focus on education and prevention, and never too late to intervene.
Following is an excerpt from How to Talk to Your Kids About Drugs, by Stephen Arterburn and Jim Burns, (2007).
Emily is 14 years old. She’s an above-average student, very pretty, well-liked by her peers, faithful in attending church, and comes from a stable, middle-class home. Everyone believes Emily has a lot going for her. But by the time she graduates from high school, the chances are:
80 percent - she will experiment with alcohol [1]
53 percent - she will try an illicit drug [2]
49 percent - she will have tried marijuana[3]
32 percent - she will get drunk at least once [4]
21 percent - she will smoke marijuana regularly [5]
9 percent - she will try cocaine or crack [6]
Those statistics ought to be sufficient to get the attention of anyone, especially parents!
In early 2006 I attended Drug Proof Your Kids facilitator training and met other parents, educators, law enforcement officers, youth pastors, counselors and others concerned about how to address the issue of alcohol and drug use among young people. At the close of training we were challenged to use what we learned, not only in our own homes and churches but in local schools, community groups, and other agencies and ministries who work with youth and families. I was privileged to meet three other Moms and we have become not only partners in this ministry but good friends. Each of these women has children who are college age or beyond, giving me the blessing of their wisdom and experience (my own children will begin 9th and 5th grades this Fall) in parenting. The relationships that they enjoy with their children, who are in their late teens or early twenties, are very encouraging to me.
Prior to the birth of my sons, I worked as a substance abuse counselor in downtown Chicago, Illinois. This was the late ’80s to early ’90s, and things have changed a great deal since then as far as trends in drug use, so I had a lot of catching up to do in order to be familiar with what is happening here in our area today.
Our team of four facilitators has gained even more insight as we have had the opportunity to do parent workshops at Church of the Apostle, Building Together Ministries ,and Millenium Revival Center here in Raleigh. The workshops are designed for multiple sessions, but recognizing that it is often difficult for parents who are interested to commit to 4 or more meetings due to jobs or child care issues, we worked on trimming the program a bit so that we can present a fairly thorough overview of the material in two sessions. The parent workbooks that are provided to each participant are an invaluable tool, and Focus on the Family provides information on additional resources to address specific needs of the participants and their families or community groups.
Probably one of my favorite parts of the workshops is listening and learning from the other parents and teachers/leaders. One of our ice breaker activities is a fill in the blank exercise, “One thing I’ve learned from parenting is…….”
If you are interested in having Drug Proof Your Kids presented in the Raleigh area or if you have specific questions, please feel free to email melindavillena@bellsouth.net Those outside the area can contact DPYK@family.org to learn of facilitators in your area. While Focus on the Family is a Christian organization, the curriculum is designed to be utilized in both church and secular settings.
Additional Resources:
Drug Proof Your Kids website
Drug Proof Your Kids video
[1] Maia Szalavitz, “Underage Drinking,” STATS
at George Mason University, http://www.alcoholnews.org/underage_drink.html, April 29, 2005.
[2] “Troubling Teen Drug Use Statistics,” http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teendrugstatistics.html, October 9, 2006.
[3] “How Many Teens Use Marijuana?” National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens, http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_mj1.asp, October 9, 2006.
[4] “Troubling Teen Drug Use Statistics.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, “NIDA InfoFacts: Crack and Cocaine,” http://www.drugabuse.gov/InfoFacts/cocaine.html, October 30, 2006.
[5] National Institute on Drug Abuse, “NIDA InfoFacts: Crack and Cocaine,” http://www.drugabuse.gov/InfoFacts/cocaine.html, October 30, 2006.
[6] CASA, “So Help Me God: Substance Abuse, Religion, Spirituality,” November 2001, http://www.TheAntiDrug.com/Faith, October 30, 2006
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