Good resources and conversations about Christian parenting
I had an opportunity yesterday to attend the “Journey” Sunday School class at Liberty United Methodist Church in Liberty, Missouri. I attended with my sister and family. Their class is using the “Making Children Mind without Losing Yours Video Series” by Dr Kevin Leman, which is based on his book by the same title. Their class is mainly for parents, and has a great format: Discussions in class, frequent fellowship events, and group mission activities. They have purchased an inexpensive apartment which they maintain as a class and lease to (usually) a single parent with children living in their area. What a unique mission project!
Here are a few notes I jotted down yesterday in class which I thought were both thought provoking and worth sharing.
Rules without relationship lead to rebellion
Super parent syndrome says: “I own my children”
– they are gifts, we don’t own them
The Christian home is not a military bootcamp
Misused verse: spare the rod and spoil the child (that is not the verse)
Proverbs 13:24
Quote from El Guapo: “I know you like I know my own smell” (from movie “Three Amigos”)
Don’t be afraid to do things that are counter cultural, you want your kids to be different
– Kids who aren’t different are married 7 years (before divorce) and have 1.7 kids
Research question: Do kids behave better on a playground with fences or without? With fences
Being counter-cultural is a big issue
God lets me choose right or left, he does not force us to be good
– are you good at letting your children choose and make decisions?
Letting our kids make choices is SO important
– good idea to take your kid’s picture when they dress themselves, and when you pick your clothes for them (this worked for parents who wanted their daughter to realize what she looked like sometimes when she chose her own outfits)
Do you want your home to be a cage or a nest?
[END OF NOTES]
Earlier this year the Sunday school class used the “Fireproof Your Marriage” curriculum, and my sister said it was great as well.
I do enjoy teaching 5th grade Sunday school, and this will be my 4th year to teach it at our church in Edmond. I miss opportunities like this Sunday school class to discuss parenting, family and personal issues with others however, and to go to a Sunday school class with my wife. Their “Journey” class is a very warm, welcoming group and clearly a great outreach ministry of their congregation.
If you’re involved with or leading a church class for parents, you might check out both the curriculum options I’ve linked in this post. Both sound great for Christian parents to use! And, if you happen to live in or near Liberty, Missouri, consider visiting Liberty United Methodist Church and the Journey Sunday School class!
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Dr. Leman is one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing what you have learned in your class at church. As a parent I agree that we need to allow our children to grow to be independent as God has created them to be and not control their lives. But I do put in place God’s Word and influence through church, teachings, ect. We’ve been doing a lot of great reading this summer, including the Bible (which she also studies at camp). One that she is really enjoying is by author David Millette called, “Ben’s Big Bang Botheration,” which is a fiction story that focuses on God being the creator of the universe. My daughter is not a fan of science, but this one she can’t put down. It’s a great read for middle school aged kids.
I love Kevin Leman’s book on birth order. He has great insights on how your place in your family affects your whole being, your way of looking at the world and reacting to other people. He’s got a great way of making any topic interesting and absorbing, not to mention easy to understand. Another good resource for Christian parents, especially home school parents, is “Ben’s Big Bang Botheration” by David Millette, who’s a Christian educator in a public school system. It’s a work of fiction, about Ben, whose science teacher insists God has nothing to do with whole the world was created, that it just “is.” Ben, of course, has been taught differently, and starts to doubt his teachings. In his search for logical answers he finds it’s OK to bring his questions and doubts to his parents, and ultimate begins to see why God truly is the most logical explanation for the existence of our universe. The book counters the theories taught in public systems that are contradictory to a God-created universe and is the first in a planned series, each of which will focus on a narrow topic. (This one is causation — God is a necessary cause for the existence of our universe). It’s a great conversation started, both spiritually and academically.