By Mark A. Taylor
Several years ago, I spoke with a friend who was pursuing a graduate degree in a city about two hours from home. During this time he regularly stayed overnight there with a minister whose name every Christian church leader knows.
More than once he commented on a ritual this minister and his teenage son shared. Each evening the two gathered at the kitchen table, ate from a plate of cookies, and read out loud a chapter from the Bible.
This was their practice every weeknight, and we”re struck with its simplicity. Any family could do something similar.
This is exactly what a children”s minister at one large, suburban megachurch suggests. When she offers parenting classes, she tells moms and dads, “Just read the Bible with your children.” She shakes her head when she relates their dropped-jaw wonder, as if she has suggested something revolutionary.
According to researcher George Barna, almost a third of Christian parents list “helping their children to become more spiritual” as a major challenge. It”s a challenge every Christian parent should consider. Barna asserts, “There is no viable substitute for a parents” spiritual imprint on their children.
Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age 13 boldly shape their spirituality for the duration of their life. Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else.
Many parents feel inadequate or ill-equipped to make a “spiritual imprint.” But these two examples, as well as one more from Lynn Gardner this week, should encourage them. (His article, the first in a series of four, begins on page 4.)
He refers to Chuck Colson, who reports dramatic rehabilitation results with prisoners who are taught that the Bible is God”s Word. When prisoners don”t believe in the Bible, they don”t develop faith in God.
Gardner”s series will be a refreshing reminder to many that we can trust the Bible. It”s not just that it inspires us or teaches us wholesome ways to live. The Bible conveys the very heart of God, preserved by him to encourage and guide us.
We communicate that we believe this, and we set the course for our children”s whole future, when we make a habit of simply opening the Bible with them and in front of them. It”s an opportunity before us with each new day.
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