Will You Step Up?

In our current cultural moment and place, responsibility has stealthily slipped from the prescribed biblical entities to those that seem to be more convenient, but are actually less effective in creating a thriving society. 

For instance, rather than the church being ultimately responsible for the care of the poor, orphans, and widows, most people turn to the government to assume this responsibility. Instead of parents owning their responsibility to disciple their children in the ways of the Lord, churches, youth pastors, and children’s ministers step into the void. A quick survey of Scripture confirms that parents are ultimately responsible to instruct their children according to the ways of the Lord throughout each day.​​

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-7

In modern terms, this lifestyle discipleship could be reworded as “Talk about them when you sit around the dinner table and in your family room, when you drive along the road, before bed, and when you prepare for each day in the morning.” ​

What rhythms and structures have you intentionally established to maximize key moments of each day? ​

​Sitting at home

1. How many times per week do you eat meals together as a family?
2. Do you have "no technology, no distractions" rules set for meal times?
3. How intentional are you with the movies and video games that you sit to watch or play? Do you use them to teach truth? 
4. Are you thoroughly aware of what your children are learning in school in order to reinforce God’s truth while they are working on their schoolwork? 
5. Does your child’s school schedule or athletic, youth group, and fine art activities erode time to sit together? 

Drive along the road

1. Does media hamper your ability to hold conversations while you are driving? Are you able to be comfortable with the silence that precipitates reflection and conversation? 
2. ​Does your harried schedule eliminate your ability to focus on conversations in the vehicle?

Morning & bedtime

1. Does your schedule allow you to participate in a morning or bedtime routine with your children? 
2. ​Have you established morning and bedtime routines that remind your children of the goodness and truth of the Lord?

During this time of forced slow-down, make it a goal to maximize the time you have at home to establish new rhythms, set into place new rules and structures, and embrace your God-given responsibility to disciple your children throughout the day. As you look forward to the end of this period of social distancing, take a hard look at your family’s schedule, including athletics, fine arts, youth group, and your child’s educational model to be sure that you are setting your family up for success by ensuring plenty of time with each other. 

Will you step up?

Author: Julie Phipps, ACA Dean of Students