I was reading an article by the son of Stuart Briscoe about raising children in the ministry. His father recently shared with him, "In my generation, we sacrificed family on the altar of ministry. This generation is more apt to sacrifice ministry on the altar of family."
This convicted me. We highly value family togetherness; the time we spend, the pursuits we undertake. Yet it is possible to take such a noteworthy goal too far: to have one's devotion to family border on idolatry. I often hear, regarding an invitation to church: "That is our only morning to sleep in and eat breakfast as a family", or "Sorry, they've started putting our kids' ball games on Sundays, and we can't miss" or "I am so tired from the week, come Sunday morning, it's just not worth it." I am wary of legalism here, but why is it that when our lives are most hectic, rather than taking inventory and changing something else in our schedules, church involvement is the first to go? Sunday becomes the overflow day from a hyper-scheduled week. Worshipping as a family, in a community, gets bumped down the list. And because we are spending time with our family, and we know that's important, we feel we've been "spiritual enough."
`The most lasting gift I can give my children is an understanding of who God is and the experience of following Him within a community of faith. It's an invitation into a world which does not entirely center around them, but of which they are an integral part. And church, flawed though it be, is a great place to start that adventure.
2 comments:
Julia, this is very pertinent issue. Nowadays, families and individuals do tend to be over-scheduled.
I don't know how you feel about this, but one thing that is done at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans is the Wednesday evening community. On Wednesday evenings, the church has a celebration of the Eucharist, then dinner together, then Christian education classes. Dress is extremely casual. Some families make this their weekly worship and fellowship community rather than Sunday.
Honestly, I think that the Wednesday evening community works better for introverts, too. On Sunday there are larger Christian education classes, followed by a formal and dressier Eucharist, and then a free-for-all coffee hour (which I detest!). On Wednesday evening, you don't have to mingle. You eat dinner at a table with a manageable group of people to talk with.
Actually, if you ask me, sometimes I think Christianity works better if you're an extravert! Well, I certainly veered from your topic. Sorry!
So true. And why do we feel that family time always has be be "alone" time? You go to church together as a family, right? Ben and I hope that our family times will be times where we are being a ministry as well as being together. I realize there is a fine balance here, and alone time is good too. But I'm glad you brought up the issue.
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