daddy4ms

Some of you may know that I serve part-time as social media coordinator for USMB conference.  One of the things I have done on their social media is share Bible verses with images that tie in with the words.  I decided to start sharing them weekly here on the blog. I hope you grow in your understanding of who God is from these verses.

My Aunt Kay Jean suggested I start sharing a verse of the day.  I liked her suggestion but decided instead of a verse of the day, I would share a verse of the week.  Be reminded of who God is from His Word. 4  “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Here is an article that I contributed to published in the June/July issue of the Christian Leader.  This article was birthed as a result of a workshop I presented with Jenny Wall, Ken Ediger, & Steve Fast in Oklahoma last summer.  We will be presenting a similar workshop in Omaha this summer.  Hope you enjoy! http://www.usmb.org/parents-hold-key-to-providing-faith-home

This morning, Craig Groeschel had a great message at Orange.  He started by asking this question, "What is success for the next generation?"  He said culture would say, "well-rounded, well-educated and happy kids."  He then shared Psalm 71:18 which talks about the next generation knowing the power of God.  Here is his answer to the question above: We are called to unleash single-minded, Christ-centered, biblically-anchored, world changers. What does this phrase mean? Single-minded means our kids understand their gifts and calling and are not average at a little bit of everything going against being well-rounded. Christ-centered is focused on Jesus not being moral or religion centered. Biblically-anchored means they hide God's Word in their hearts and know the Bible World changers focus on making a difference and focus on others. He then read from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and shared his thoughts on who to impart this passage to the next generation.  He expla...

Today, I had the privilege of leading the parent/child dedication at church. I have done a couple before. As I reflected on the dedication, I was again reminded of the importance of church and home. As I meet with parents, I make it clear that Scripture shows it is their responsibility to pass on their faith to their kids as seen in Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6, and Psalm 78. We in the church have said this for a long time, but we have failed because we do not then equip parents how to do this. I pray and hope this will change in the body of Christ. As Associate Pastor, I want to equip parents through training and teaching that will help them impact their kids. I want to encourage and pray for parents to do this well. This is just one part of the equation. The next part is my role as a parent. Not only does Scripture speak to this topic, but research is also supporting it over and over. Mom, you are the number 1 influence in your kids' faith development. Dad, you are number...

Starting in September, I am starting three different dad's groups. These groups will all cover the same information. As I have been praying and thinking about these groups, I came up with a list of 12 Challenges for each week that we are meeting together. These challenges are intended for us as dads to lead our families spiritually. My hope is that these challenges will help us be the dads God wants us to be. I decided I would post them here for your information. They are based on what I believe Deuteronomy 6 teaches us. Here they are: Read Deuteronomy 6 this week. How do these verses challenge you as a father? Pray with your wife and kids several times this week (Meals and bed times do not count). Share your favorite Bible verse with you kids and tell them why it is your favorite. Watch a movie or TV show together as a family and use discernment based on God's Word to evaluate or critique it. Read Ephesians 6:1-4. How do these verses affect your parenting? Talk with yo...

On Tuesday night, we had gathered together for our time of family worship. We have been exploring different ways to do this over the last few months. I finally decided to focus on Deuteronomy 6:4-9. We hope to memorize this passage as a family. I then told the kids that we would be looking at the "commandments" mentioned in these verses. So, we are starting with the most logical place and looking at the 10 Commandments. I started thinking about ways to make this more interactive with the kids. So, I decided that each night we would look at one of the commandments and the kids are to come up with a creative way to explain or teach that commandment. I was so excited on Tuesday when I got home from work because the kids were practicing their activity for our family worship. They could not wait to get to family worship that night. Mitchell prepared a skit about worshipping the bear god or the only true God. Mackenzie made up a song. Megan did a dance. Molly joined in ...

In a few weeks, I am going to be preaching on Deuteronomy 6:1-9. I chose this passage because of almost every book I have read in the last few months have referenced or made this passage central to their topic. As I have begun reflecting on the passage, I am thankful for Moses charge to the Israelites. Here is my paraphrase of what he says, "don't forget what you have been taught and don't just listen to it-but live by it too." What does it mean to leave a D6 legacy? I look forward to attending the D6 Conference in Dallas in September which will be addressing this topic. But here is what I am learning as I study. Leaving a D6 legacy means that I do everything I can to teach my children who God is and how to live for Him. This is not just verbal instruction but must be backed up by my actions. If I say Jesus matters to me and dramatically impacts my life and my kids don't hear me talk or live for Jesus between church on Sundays then I am not leaving the le...

As many of you know, I am the Associate Pastor of Family Ministry at Hesston MB Church in Hesston, KS. One of my main ministry responsibilities is encouraging and equipping couples and parents. So, for the last 6 months, I have been reading several books on the subject. Let me offer a few recommendations: For Dads : The Dad in the Mirror by Patrick Morley They Call Me Dad by Ken Canfield For Parents : Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram Parenting is Heart Work (currently reading) by Turansky and Miller DVD Curriculum: Visionary Parenting (currently reviewing) by Rob Rienow One passage from the Bible continues to pop up in most of these books and studies. It is Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This passage was given to the Israelites. It is a guideline to us as parents. Our goal in parenting is not to have the most intelligent, most athletic, most musical, best behaved children, but instead that they love God and love others. I am excited about a conferen...