Within a ten-mile radius of the church's physical address, the largest age group is 29 to 49, which represents 32.5 percent of the total population in that area.4 The 29 to 49 age group is by far the dominant age group at FBC. The second largest population within a ten-mile radius of the church is the 9-20 age group, which represents 29.9 percent of the total population in the area.5 The majority of people between the ages of 9 and 20 would be classified as teenagers. . The median age of the population in this area is 34.3 years and 78.2 percent are white with a household income of 60,239.7. Demographics of average age, ethnic composition, and income correspond to the type of FBC members.
We approach God in likeness when we give ourselves.”5 The process of instructing and training one's children challenges parents to understand their need for the Father's sacrificial love and how to practically share His love with children. Therefore, a planned partnership between the church and the family became necessary for the spiritual development of the child to take place. 7 The partnership between parents and the church consists in parents understanding that they are the main makers of disciples and the church supports them. role by providing training and accountability to ensure that the biblical responsibility is being met.8. Moses begins in chapter 6:4 with the famous Shema, "The Lord our God is one God," declaring that God alone is worthy of covenant love.13 The Shema expresses uniqueness (being one) and unity (being a) God.
Moses writes to parents: "You must diligently teach this to your children and talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up." The teaching of God in the context of the home is imparted by a parent to a child, not by imposing a code of law. Moses describes the teaching, which must be done in the home, with the verb "diligent". The Hebrew verb 'zealous'. Sabourin writes in his study of the Psalms about the practical implication of verses 1-8: "The glorious deeds of the Lord must be proclaimed and a lesson drawn from history."37 Parents are the agents through whom God has entrusted to to take the initiative in communicating with their children about God's actions and character.
In the opening chapter of Proverbs, Solomon explains to the reader where wisdom comes from: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The command is presented to parents in the first sentence of the proverb: "Train a child." The Hebrew word "train" has the connotation of to "consecrate" a house (Deuteronomy 20:5) or a temple (1 Kings 8:63).49 The idea behind the expression "train a child" is that parents have been given a responsibility from God to dedicate themselves to faithful to teach their The ways of the Lord have a variety of meanings: 'to walk in his ways', 'the way of his footsteps', 'the way of his commandments', 'the way of wisdom', 'the way of.
Paul gives a positive admonition to parents in the second half of Ephesians 6:4: "but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The imperative "bring them up" has the connotation of "bringing them up." The word "discipline" denotes "the upbringing and treatment of a child who grows to maturity and therefore needs guidance, instruction, instruction and a certain amount of coercion in the form of discipline or even punishment."77 The word "discipline" " and. The opening sentence of Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21 repeats the same warning: “Fathers, do not provoke your children.” The imperative “do not provoke” communicates that God is interested in the way parents fulfill their biblical responsibility to train their children in the Lord.
The teenager is seeking to answer the question of identity: "Who am I?" The journey to answer this question has the potential to strike fear and anxiety into the hearts of parents. Tripp describes why sexual struggle is a significant characteristic for parents: “The teenage years are a time of physical awakening. Ed Welch, in his book When Men Are Big and God Is Small, writes, “The good news of Jesus is not about making us feel good about ourselves.
83Jeremy Paul Pierre, “‘Trust the Lord with All Your Heart’ The Centrality of Faith in Christ in Restoring Human Function” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2010), 35.
Parent Survey
Participants in the Class Participants in the Class
The last week of the project was spent collecting data to evaluate the effectiveness of the project by polling the parents in the class. The comparison measured the change in attitude, knowledge and competence from the start of the project to the end. The couples chosen to be mentors were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the parenting class by answering several questions.
Answers to the following questions helped improve the effectiveness of parenting classes. Fifth, mentoring couples were asked: "What were the strengths and ... weaknesses of the parenting class?". As a youth pastor, I realize how important it is to prepare parents to be able to teach their son or daughter in the faith.
The intent of the project was twofold: 1) for Fellowship Bible Church parents to understand the importance of addressing their teen's heart, and 2) for Fellowship Bible Church parents to learn to address their teen's heart. The premise of the approach was that Fellowship Bible Church parents should direct their teenager's heart to their need for the person of Christ in all aspects of life. The aim of the project was fully realized and pairs of apprentices were trained to facilitate the class in the future.
To achieve this goal, an entire lesson of the project was devoted to a biblical understanding of the biblical role and responsibility of parents regarding their teenager. Through the various roles and responsibilities of parents, God more than anything wants parents to be faithful in the parenting process regardless of the spiritual state of the teenager. A major part of the project dealt with equipping parents with the skills of being a Bible student from a heart perspective.
The first weakness of the project was that it did not include enough case studies. Second, offering specific actions that parents could take with their teen was a weakness of the project. The use of media would have improved the presentation of the project by making it visually stimulating.
Would Do Differently
One of the objections to parents not participating in the parenting program was due to my age (being younger than all the parents) and the reality that I did not have teenagers of my own. The length of the program in terms of consecutive weeks was an obstacle for parents to overcome along with their other responsibilities. Instead, children learn a different gospel than their parents, which includes a moralistic, therapeutic and deistic teaching of the gospel.
Paul warns the church in 2 Corinthians 11:4 about this happening: "For if anyone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we have proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you receive a different different gospel than one which you accepted, bore easily enough." The church cannot assume that parents understand the gospel correctly and are able to articulate it to their children. Scripture teaches us that God's intention has always been to pass the faith on to the next generation through the context of the family. During the course of this project, I have been reminded and encouraged by the ability of the Scriptures to adequately address the issues parents face when parenting their teenager.
During the course of the project, I became more aware than layman. psychology has infiltrated the church. I was able to articulate the shortcomings of the behavior modification philosophy of parenting with its lack of emphasis on the heart. However, the motivating aspect of the project for me was the vision of having competent, confident and loyal parents lead the classroom in the future.
Parenting teenagers is a daunting undertaking because of the constant changes that occur both in culture and in a teenager's development (physical, emotional and mental). The Bible commands parents to faithfully initiate the message of the gospel with their child, whether he or she responds or not. Therefore, the focus of this project is on parents understanding and applying the beauty of the gospel, both in their hearts and in the hearts of their teen.
I am interested in learning how to engage my teen's heart with the transforming power of the gospel. Trained in the Fear of the Lord: Family Ministry in Theological, Historical, and Practical Perspective. Household Codes." In Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, edited by Ralph P.
