Virginia Vacation
You gotta see these pictures at http://mccallum.shutterfly.com - vacation with Morschers and Yoergers.
(NOTE: There is a password on this, and it’s the Greek word for “alien”.)
You gotta see these pictures at http://mccallum.shutterfly.com - vacation with Morschers and Yoergers.
(NOTE: There is a password on this, and it’s the Greek word for “alien”.)
When Hillary came out with her book, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” it was met with a howl of outrage and protest from conservatives and evangelicals, who responded with, “No! ‘It Takes a Family to Raise a Child!’” Rick Santorum wrote such a book praised by Dobson and Robertson’s organization.
For generations, the trend among evangelicals has been to view the family as the basis of all spirituality. Santorum’s book was hailed by the Christian organizations as, “based on sound values — including the centrality of the family to all social and political life.” In Western Christianity, “church” is typically a one-hour affair on Sunday morning to serve as a family outing.
The evangelicals were mistaken, however. And therein lies the heart of the problem with fundamentalist conservatism: it’s all about “Family Values”. The home is a fortress against the World System, dominated by fathers, who are often carnal, materialistic and emotionally sick from career-driven lives in pursuit of prosperity.
It isn’t working. My generation (40 and over) is the last one to be familiar with Christianity. Aside from the mass exodus of the church by youth (see the Barna article), there is a wholesale rejection of Christian doctrine and world view:
The family is not the highest value in life (a surprise to many), the kingdom of God is. The family stands to serve God (Mt. 6:33). True, there is probably no greater blessing and joy than a Christ-centered family, but it is not an end unto itself. God wants us and our children to be committed to him first, then to the rest of the family (Mar 12:29; Luke 14:26).
Successful Christian families are plugged into a vital, thriving church life, the research shows:
“In situations where children became mature Christians we usually found a symbiotic partnership between their parents and their church. The church encouraged parents to prioritize the spiritual development of their children and worked hard to equip them for that challenge. Parents, for their part, raised their children in the context of a faith-based community that provided security, belonging, spiritual and moral education, and accountability. Neither the parents nor the church could have done it alone.”Barna Research
For this reason, Barna concludes, “ministry to young people may be the single most strategic ministry activity” we could undertake in the church.
I was compelled to stay up last night, engrossed with talking to Sean. I’ve always heard of these “man-to-man” talks fathers should have with sons — my dad tried it so many times I can’t even count them — but now at age 52 with three boys, I think maybe I get it. A “man-to-man” with dad always meant a lecture, which isn’t a terribly earth-shaking event since parents can dish out lectures at a-dime-a-dozen. Still, it’s the curse of parents, I suppose, to dish it out, knowing it probably won’t get heard.
But now I understand the “man-to-man” quite differently. I don’t believe it’s a lecture. It can’t possibly be. Men can’t really lecture men, in my experience. The male ego and machismo is the original “Clash of Titans” in which nobody really wins, but perhaps one gets more “beaten-down” in the end.
What proved so illuminating was to understand “Man-to-Man” means something more like, “Well hello there, son! You made it after all!” And there’s something sobering but still wonderful to see when your son is suddenly standing there fully grown and standing eye-to-eye, adult-to-adult, “Man-to-Man.”
It’s a breathtaking experience. It’s not at all like the sad-but-beautiful face we parents try put on the truly-tragic realization that “they’re all grown up now, dear.” That one comes as a rude shock, I think, because it means the kids aren’t so wonderful and sweet any more, and their delightful laughter and high-pitched voices have cracked and croaked and dipped into teenage bass tones. What a heartbreaking transition that is! Yuck!
But the “Man-to-man” is quite different altogether. You only realize it when it’s already in-motion. A real “Man-to-Man” talk can’t be contrived.
