September 20th is National String Cheese Day. Here’s an activity your family can do to celebrate in a snacky way! BIG IDEA We can support and encourage people by standing up for them. KEY SCRIPTURE 1 Samuel 17:17-18 MATERIALS supplies to make your cheese stick snack PREPARATION 1. Choose one [...]
September 12th is National Encouragement Day. Here’s an activity your family can do to encourage one another. BIG IDEA We should encourage each other as a family. KEY SCRIPTURE 1 Thessalonians 5:11 MATERIALS Enough Sticky notes for each person to give to everyone else in the family, markers PREPARATION 1. [...]
Here again I find myself recommending one of the few books that I’ve read more than once! Two amazing Christian leaders, Dr. Richard Ross Ph.D. & Dr. Ken Hemphill Ph.D., collaborated to produce, for churches and families, a seemingly one stop shop on the topic of family ministry. After reading [...]
September 9th is National Teddy Bear Day! Here’s a fun Family Time Activity you can do as a family to teach your children about comfort this week! BIG IDEA God comforts us so we can comfort others KEY SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 1:4 MATERIALS your favorite stuffed animal PREPARATION 1. Find [...]
AFTER Hannah dedicated her son to a life of serving God at the temple learning from Eli, she rejoiced in God. She praised Him. She called Him her horn, which is a symbol of strength. Without God’s strength and provision, she would have never been able to entrust her son, [...]
By this time, you have likely entrusted your children to teachers to begin the new school year and are a couple weeks into your new routine. Let’s think about Hannah and her courageous step of entrusting her son into God’s hands. She made the commitment that if God gave her [...]
There are many more things to learn from Hannah and her parenting journey. Last week we talked about her longing for a child and the importance of our children knowing they are gifts in our lives. Today, let’s talk about what she did about her longing. Sometimes when people long [...]
Chris Shirley was one of the reasons I returned to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for training in family ministry. He serves as the Associate Dean of the Jack D. Terry School of Educational Ministries and is a professor of educational ministries. His expertise includes, but is not limited to, family [...]
It’s back-to-school time again. The first day of school used to be one of my favorite days of the year when I was in school myself. I loved the smell of new crayons, the feel of brand-new clothes, seeing all my classmates again, and being in my new teacher’s class. [...]
You know when you are drinking a milkshake and there are just a few last drops left in the bottom of the glass? That’s what the end of July feels like to me. You’ve got to get your straw and savor it! So why not pick one or a few [...]
A few years ago, my wife started noticing that I had the ability to fall asleep basically anywhere! Also, when I would fall asleep in random places, I often looked pretty funny. So, in good humor, my wife started documenting these random sleep moments and the funny faces I would [...]
If you don’t teach your children what the Bible says, who Jesus is, and the life and eternity God wants for them, they may never learn. If you rely on your church’s children’s and student’ ministries to teach your children these truths, you are at the mercy of ministry scheduling. [...]
Deal with the Dilemma of Distance Thanks for joining us again as we work our way through the Legacy Coalition, “My Declaration” for Grandparents to unpack key ideas in being a grandparent who will guide their grandchildren to know and love Jesus by example. In our global society with technology [...]
In continuing my study through Jenna Hallock’s book, What is Family Time? Exploring God’s Plan for Engaging in Biblical Home Discipleship, the second chapter talks about the beautiful partnership that can exist between parents and those other people in our children’s lives who invest in their spiritual growth. One of [...]
When I was initially exposed to prominent family ministry voices, Brian Haynes came highly recommended to me. At that stage in my growth, I was like a sponge. I loved reading as much as I could in this new (to me) world of family ministry. Authors like Brian were blowing [...]
I have been going through Jenna Hallock’s book, What is Family Time? Exploring God’s Plan for Engaging in Biblical Home Discipleship. There are some awesome things I’d like to highlight. The entire book is so good and I highly recommend it! It is short enough to read in one sitting [...]
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 What is the last compliment you paid your daughter? Stop for a moment and really thing about it. A compliment many parents pay their daughters [...]
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:16 When my family goes to the beach, each of us has a part in getting settled in a good spot on the beach. Each person [...]
As a child of the 90s, I grew up in a great era of basketball heroes. I just knew that one day I would be slamming the ball like Shaq or confusing defenders with super-human dribbling skills like Iverson. Unfortunately, I’m only 5’9” and can’t jump very high. Although there [...]
Thanks for joining us again as we work our way through the Legacy Coalition, “My Declaration” for Grandparents to unpack key ideas in being a grandparent who will guide their grandchildren to know and love Jesus by example. Today’s topic is abounding in affection. Being an intentional Christian grandparent is [...]
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15 As you and your child face those cultural “waves” together, you are teaching him how to face them head on, and assess the best [...]
Rewriting Fathers by Brandon Cave and Preston Cave If I’m honest, it has always been hard for me to get excited about books that are targeted to fathers. I love the topic, but so many of the books, I see on the shelves, seem to market ideas that don’t really [...]
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:14 In the midst of all sorts of waves of teaching and cultural upheaval, our [...]
If I am not intentional with my children’s summer (fall and spring) breaks, the time flies and screen time wins. Here are some ideas I have used with my children to use our time together well during the summer months: 1. Pick a theme for each month of your summer. [...]
We covered the importance of tending to and guarding our flocks as shepherds in our homes. Today we’ll cover the importance of being an example to the flock in our homes! 1 Peter 5:2-3, says “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not [...]
I’m going to jump out there with an assumption...You kids probably don’t know enough about you. Now, again, I know I’m assuming things here, but its something that I’ve noticed over the years. For many children, the lives and backgrounds of their fathers remain a mystery, but who cares? Family [...]
Last week we talked about the importance of tending to our flocks as shepherds in our homes. 1 Peter 5:2-3, says “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; [...]
Thanks for joining us again as we work our way through the Legacy Coalition, “My Declaration” for Grandparents to unpack key ideas in being a grandparent who will guide their grandchildren to know and love Jesus by example. What does it mean to “nurture their nature?” Having raised your own [...]
In 1 Peter 5:2-3, Peter trains the elders in the scattered early churches to “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to [...]
"Raising Worry-Free Girls" by Sissy Goff I’ll never forget the moment that I found out I was going to be a dad. I was on a church staff retreat in Broken Bow Oklahoma. It was an early morning, and my pastor was cooking us breakfast. My wife and I [...]
Last month we talked about hurdles to getting started having intentional home discipleship with your children. It’s so important to know what those hurdles are and how we can get over them! Sometimes all it takes to get over a hurdle is to hear a new perspective, recognize that you’re [...]
In the last 2 posts, I shared a Discipleship Map helping us train our children in the next steps in their faith. I gave you the opportunity to answer these questions: 1. Has my child ever accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus? 2. Does my child know how to [...]
A Uniting Dad I’ve always been interested in music. During my adolescent years, I focused an enormous amount of time on the different tones that guitars and amps could provide. I had a certain tone that I loved and always sought to imitate that tone within my own equipment setup. [...]
We are working through a Discipleship Map in this 3-week series! In the last post, we answered the question: 1. Has my child ever accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus? I shared some options based on your answer to that question for each of your children. Please go back [...]
In our first exclusive Grandparent blog post, we talked about showing God’s grace to our grandkids. Over the next several months, we’ll be using the Legacy Coalition, “My Declaration” for Grandparents to unpack key ideas in being a grandparent who will guide their grandchildren to know and love Jesus by [...]
In our first exclusive Grandparent blog post, we talked about showing God’s grace to our grandkids. Over the next several months, we’ll be using the Legacy Coalition, “My Declaration” for Grandparents to unpack key ideas in being a grandparent who will guide their grandchildren to know and love Jesus by [...]
Discipleship Map – Starting with the Gospel 4/21 Parents and grandparents are often at a loss when it comes to discipling their children. There’s a process I have gone through with teen as a student minister and with our children that I learned in youth ministry training in college. It [...]
Youth Ministry That Lasts a Lifetime by Dr. Richard Ross Dr. Richard Ross is a youth ministry professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has served faithfully in that role for several decades. He is a sought-after speaker and author in youth ministry but is also a scholarly and passionate [...]
What would your life be like without knowing the truth of Jesus’ Resurrection? Without the resurrection, there is no hope. As parents that’s a pretty scary thought. Why have children at all? If you have them, what hope and purpose do they have? If this life is all there is [...]
Growing up, I always felt the need to give the impression that I could defend myself. Even though I had never been in a real fight, I worked to give off the impression that I could stand my ground if necessary. Most of the guys around me did the same [...]
Intentional Life: Empowering your children to Live for Jesus 3.21 Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is [...]
All month we’ve been talking about the hurdles to getting started having intentional home discipleship with your children. Over the years, we’ve heard from families about their personal pain points and MANY of them are the same across families. Is it difficult to find a regular time to have Family [...]
Intentional Freedom: Helping your children avoid captivity 3.21 In addition to telling our children the truth of the Gospel, we need to live our lives as though we have been saved. According to Galatians 5:1, we must stand firm and stay free. If our children look at our lives and [...]
Intentional Freedom: Helping your children avoid captivity 3.21 In addition to telling our children the truth of the Gospel, we need to live our lives as though we have been saved. According to Galatians 5:1, we must stand firm and stay free. If our children look at our lives and [...]
Family Ministry Field Guide: How Your Church Can Equip Parents to Make Disciples by Timothy Paul Jones For the life of me, I cannot remember how I was first exposed to the writings of Dr. Timothy Paul Jones of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.1 Regardless, I’m very thankful to have [...]
Intentional Invitation: Sharing the Good News of Jesus with your Children 3.21 I published the Good News of the Gospel on the home page of my personal website. A friend texted me about a week after I sent her the site to tell me her daughter accepted Jesus using the [...]
Helloooooo grandparents! We LOVE YOU! Family Time counts it a privilege to minister with you to see your grandchildren come to know God’s Word and by His Spirit trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Today we’re beginning a series based on a beautiful piece of artwork called “My [...]
In our short study of Colossians 3:1-14, we have talked about setting our hearts and minds on things above, getting rid of whatever is in our earthly nature, and recognizing our place as royalty to help us act like royalty to help our children do the same. We talked [...]
Recently, I scheduled an appointment to get a haircut. This is a monthly ritual for me, and I always look forward to spending time with my barber. We always have great conversations about a myriad of topics but in this particular visit, the discussion drifted toward the topic of family. [...]
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 What has God forgiven you of, friend? If you are like me, you would rather not answer that question. I’d prefer to answer with “everything” or [...]