TODAY'S CHURCH

As people who work with kids in the ministry (or as parents) we may ask ourselves this question on a regular basis: “Do they ever really get it?” How do you know when it finally takes, because we rarely see the effect our teaching has on them in that one hour we have them at church on Sundays…

Illustration: the other my wife and I loaded up the car with our two boys. Drake is 5, and Parker is 2. Parker sits behind my wife so it is easy to glance back as we are in the driveway getting ready to head out for the day. So I turned on the radio and there was a fun song playing on KLTY. I proceeded do to a funny little dance and encouraged Parker to join me. All of the sudden Parker became like a kid in Jr. High that was just too cool for school (no offense to any Jr. High kids reading this blog). He had that look on his face like “I don’t even know who you are? Don’t expect me to do anything like that now or ever.” He had one eyebrow raise and no hint of a smile. As a child he had been so fun, but now I couldn’t help but think that stage was over. Kids grow up so fast. I tried a couple of times with the same response so I decided to just pull out of the driveway. I drove up our street and turned onto the next street. The next thing I know Drake is cracking up and he says “hey look at Parker!”

Only 15 seconds after I turned away he started to do the most hilarious dance you can imagine (for a kid strapped into a car seat anyway.) With each hand he had an index finger doing the disco point, tilting his head side to side and the silliest look on his face.

I think that happens way more than we know. We teach our heart out and model what God would have us to do, and the kids stare back at us like we are nuts sometimes. But if we are steadfast in all that we do they will wait until we are not looking and emulate everything they have observed to the ‘T’.
So yes many times the answer is yes they do get it. The real question is “will you have the satisfaction of seeing what you have taught them actually being lived out?” Maybe not, but that does not mean you have wasted your time.

*Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Hang in there. They will get it. If it glorifies God, it is definately worth it! Thanks to you, Christianity will be at least another generation away from extinction.