Dear Church Family –
We continue to hear positive responses to our Life Action event last week! Thank you. The Children’s ministry was a highlight for many families. It was great to have a conference with a children’s component. One of the foundations and emphases of Life Action ministries is personal, godly morality, and personal, Christ-like character.
That’s what’s needed in America today.
Dr. Jim Eckman, former president of the former Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, writes a weekly article “to provide thoughtful, historical and biblically-centered perspectives on current ethical and cultural issues.” I was struck by a couple of paragraphs from his latest article. He wrote:
“Americans have lost the importance of character in the expectations they have for their leaders…. Many conservatives today do not consider personal morality that important…. the importance of personal character used to be an important metric for leadership in America…. I am reminded of the convicting comments the evangelical sociologist, James Davison Hunter of the University of Virginia, [wrote] in his book, The Death of Character: ‘We say we want a renewal of character in our day but we don’t really know what we ask for. . . We want character without conviction; we want strong morality but without the emotional burden of guilt or shame; we want virtue but without particular moral justifications that invariably offend; we want good without having to name evil; we want decency without the authority to insist upon it; we want moral community without any limitations to personal freedom. In short, we want what we cannot possibly have on the terms that we want it.’”
I don’t think we can over-estimate the importance of the family in raising future leaders with character and personal morality.
Yesterday, for Mother’s Day, I quoted an article from a Christian author, “Twelve Things Kids Should See Mom Do.” I thought it might be good to think about them again today.
Kids should see mom treat your husband with respect
Kids should see mom tell the truth
Kids should see mom speak kindly to everyone
Kids should see mom pray
Kids should see mom keep a positive attitude
Kids should see mom reach out to the needy
Kids should see mom read your Bible
Kids should see mom care for your household
Kids should see mom speak well about your body
Kids should see mom fail – Yes, fail. Seeing mom deal with failure teaches kids how to accept failure and recover and learn
Kids should see mom honor your in-laws
Kids should see mom have fun
I would add, Kids should see mom involved in church and helping others encounter Christ and the Bible.
Thanks, Emmaus Church family, for creating a church environment that honors and helps and encourages godly families! Thanks for setting up the next generation to live for Christ, be a light for Christ, and find joy in God and His ways.
Because of Christ – Pastor Tim