daddy4ms

The month of August means birthdays for my parents.  My dad's birthday is August 2nd and my mom's birthday is today.  Happy Birthday!  Below is a picture of my parents with Mackenzie at her 8th Grade Promotion.  Hope you have a good birthday month! And another one from a trip my mom took the oldest granddaughters on.

So, hopefully you went to the movies this weekend as part of Date Night Hesston or just to see a great movie.  As someone who now has seen the movie three times, I am amazed at what God does in me each time I see it.  My prayer for this movie is that once the credits play, people will not just say, "That was a good movie and continue life as is."  I am hoping the Holy Spirit will empower people to be who God has created them to be.  For some, this might mean reconciliation in damaged relationships, for others it might be a decision to follow Christ for the first time, or maybe for some it might require some changes in how we interact with God, our spouse, our children, or those with whom we are in relationship with. Therefore, I want to share a a few opportunities with you while the movie is still clear in your minds.  First, if you were challenged to go deeper with God, we have several opportunities for you through Sunday School or small groups.  Current...

I read a great article in the Sunday paper in the Parade section. It was by President Obama on fatherhood. I thought I would share a few quotes from him. "As an adult, working as a community organizer and later as a legislator, I would often walk through the streets of Chicago's South Side and see boys marked by that same absence (referring to his own absent father)-boys without supervision or direction or anyone to help them as they struggled to grow into men. I identified with their frustration and disengagement-with their sense of having been let down." "I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill." "That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one." "And that disengagement (speaking of physically present, but emotiona...

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there! What a great day to celebrate the men in your life who have shaped who you are and influenced your life especially your father. The man who has provided for you and taught you and cared for you. As I reflect on my role as a dad, I am challenged by God's Word about who I am to be. It is not enough that I provide financially for my family-I must also be involved in their lives. It is not sufficient that I teach them a few good "sayings"-I need to help them understand who God is and how His Word affects how we live. It is not OK if I am just a good guy and live alongside my wife-I need to love her unconditionally, serve her, set an example of how a husband treats a wife, show my daughters what a godly man will look like. Fathers are so influential in the lives of their kids. Statistics support the importance of an engaged and loving dad in the lives of both boys and girls. No, I am not saying we are more important t...

I am excited about this weekend as we are having Parent/Child Dedication at our church and Molly is going to be dedicated. It will also be my first opportunity as Associate Pastor to be involved in this special event. I am enjoying meeting with families to talk about the significance of their role in the faith development of their children. Let me share a little about what I am learning about family worship. I had heard about this concept before, but only used in a negative sense and most often associated with the word, "boring." I also realized that as a father I am to be actively involved in the spiritual training and instruction of my children. I cannot delegate this important responsibility to the church alone. But I have also come to understand that the "how to's " are lacking. It seems the church has challenged the family in this area, but resources are not readily available. However, I discovered several resources that are helpful. First, I send a...

As Associate Pastor of Family Ministry, one of my joys is meeting with couples/parents to get to know them better and for them to get to know me. I enjoy hearing their stories of how they met and to find out more about their lives. Currently, I am visiting families to talk about parent/child dedication. This serves as a reminder to me of the importance of the partnership between parents and the church. What a blessing it is to know you are not alone in parenting, yet at the same time to stand before your church family and commit to raising your children to love God and love others. I look forward to Molly's dedication as well as six other families at Hesston MB on June 21. I finished chapters 6-7 of Voddie Baucham's book, "Family Driven Faith" this afternoon. This book is definitely a challenge to the way we do children and youth ministry. The basis for his book is Deuteronomy 6. He does a great job of integrating the Bible into everything he says. Let me...

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...

Happy May Day! I am so excited about the growth I am seeing around my house. I love going for a quick walk every couple of days to see how the plants are growing and if anything is budding. Things are growing so quickly with all of the rain. Thank you God, for the rain! This got me to thinking about growth in other areas of my life. First and most important is growth in my spiritual life. Just like the new flower brings excitement, so too does growth in areas such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). What about you? Are you experiencing growth? The first step is a personal relationship with Christ. If you do you not know Jesus, you need to start there. We are all sinners saved by grace. Grace is a free gift from Jesus. Have you made that decision to follow Christ as your Lord and Savior? Once you have the personal relationship, you need to grow in that relationship by getting to know Jesus better ...