daddy4ms

Jessica Thompson's chapter on "God Our Father" in Everyday Grace is so good.  She reminds us about God as Father to us as how that should affect our parenting.  There are so many good things, but I will just share a few.  Pick up a copy for yourself.  Those on whom God has set his love are no longer children of wrath, but have been brought into God's family and are now referred to as "children of God". J.I. Packer writes, "To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is greater. God is a good father who loves blessing his children...He is a good father who gives good gifts, always...He loves each of us as he loves Jesus. The biblical definition of discipline, however, has no negative connotations at all. As a matter of fact, whenever God talks about disciplining his children, it is always in the context of love and delight. We confuse God's wrath for his enemies and his discipline of his ...

Today, I finished reading Family Shepherds by Voddie Baucham.  Baucham does a great job sharing from Scripture what God's Word says to fathers.  He unapologetically calls men to lead their homes spiritually.  Several chapters were of great value to me.  They were: A Three-Pronged Approach to Biblical Discipleship Heralding the Gospel at Home Male Headship in the Home Corrective Discipline  Here are a few quotes from the last few chapters of the book: "Thus the family shepherd must view the Bible as more authoritative than the cultural trend." "Church membership is the most important aspect of lifestyle evaluation." "A healthy church will expose us to the regular teaching, preaching, reading, and singing of the Word of God that will shape the way we think about all other aspects of life." "Mature men and women in the church will gently call us out when we go off the deep end." "Rare indeed is the man who looks honest...

I am reading through Baucham's Family Shepherds .  As with any book, there are things I agree & disagree with.  Here are a few quotes related to parenting: "Hence, doing good is something that one can accomplish apart from Christ through proper conditioning.  This is a direct contradiction of Jesus' teaching. . ." "The result is a child-training approach that relies on behavior modification as opposed to spiritual transformation." "As Tedd Tripp writes, "Addressing the child's character places the emphasis on issues of the heart. It enables you to get underneath the behavior and address the thoughts, motives, and purposes of the heart." "This is the heart of formative discipline. We must bring our children back to the cross again and again. We must teach them why they sin, what the consequences are, and how Christ is their only hope. " "If you can't find a precept in the Bible, ask yourself why you've ...

Jeremy Pierre is assistant professor of biblical counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of member care at Clifton Baptist Church . He and his wife, Sarah, have five children and live in Louisville, Kentucky. Twitter: @jeremypierre. Watch Your Conjunctions in Parenting "I love you, but you need to obey." Every English-speaking parent has said that phrase at some point or another. It's our attempt as parents to express commitment to our children even as we require them to obey: "I love you despite anything you do, but you also need to obey what I tell you." I'd like to take issue, however, with using the conjunction but between these phrases. Using but may be communicating something we don't want to say---namely, that there is some kind of conceptual opposition between "I love you" and "You need to obey." You may be dismissing me as a sharp-nosed grammarian at this point, but let me ex...

Be sure to read about Day 1 to better understand the context for this post. On Day 2 of Kansas Family Strengthening Summit, we picked 3 workshops to attend throughout the day. The first workshop I attended was led by Lief Noll of PREP on the topic of fatherhood. He shared about some great work being done in the state of Ohio in the area of fatherhood. We started by talking about assumptions we and others have about fathers. We then transitioned into what were the ideals of fatherhood. Most of the workshop was breaking into 4 groups to discuss specific areas related to fatherhood. The first group was to brainstorm the ideal fatherhood program. They came up with resources that are appealing, using the same curriculum, and adequate funding. Three areas guided their work: loving, coaching, mentoring. Under loving, they would provide activities and events. Coaching would focus on skills and responsibility. Mentoring would provide 24/7 support for the fathers. The second group disc...

The first speaker for Day 2 of the D6 Conference was Dr. Kevin Leman . I have to admit that I have not read any of his books because it seems they focus on behavior management rather than changing the heart. His words at the conference made me want to pick up one of his books. He started by saying, "Marriage is in trouble!" He shared the statistic that only 1/1052 marriages end in divorce if a couple prays together 4 times a week. Here are a few quotes that he shared during his keynote: Parents need to be a healthy authority. False praise is destructive. Instead be an encourager. God is not authoritarian. Rules without relationship leads to rebellion (quote by Josh McDowell). Let reality be the teacher. Fighting with our kids is an act of cooperation. We are in charge not them. We should respond rather than react. Train up a child (Proverbs). It is not instant. Also, we need to remember that it is the way God would have them go not us as parents. We should not use wa...

This afternoon, I spent a couple of hours reading at Lincoln Perk. For those of you not from Hesston , it is a great coffee place with great atmosphere. I will often see at least one person I know when I am there. I have learned this wonderful practice from my fellow pastors. Thanks Brad and Steve! I was amazed at how much I learned today. As I mentioned before, I am reading two books on parenting right now. Both have given me a lot to think about and put into practice. I will finish both of them within the week or so. The first is Parenting is Heart Work by Turansky and Miller. The second is Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham . I wanted to share some great quotes and ideas with all of you today. Parenting is Heart Work This chapter focused on helps in correcting or disciplining your child. "Repentance requires the following six steps: 1-Settle Down and Stop Fighting, 2-Be Willing To Admit You've Done Something Wrong, 3-Realize There's Something Different Yo...