[This is a post in a series on Discipling Your Family Well.] When it comes to…
In our “specialist culture” we seem to divide up responsibilities for every facet of our lives and go to the “experts” at every turn. This is true whether it is a doctor, sports, trainers, and dare I say church? I am a firm believer however, that the primary responsibility for discipleship rests on the family. It cannot be left solely to the church, children’s ministry, or student ministry. There are a number of reasons for this:
The family is one of, if not the greatest, reflections of the gospel we have.
We are constantly seeing God referring to family. He is expressed as Father and Son. We are brothers and sisters within the body of Christ. We are His children. If the family fails, the church fails.
Parents are the most influential people in the lives of their children.
Study after study and poll after poll continue to show that parents are far and above the most influential people in their children’s lives. Parents will influence the lives of their children…make sure it is for the gospel.
God established the family first, then the church.
One of the first things we see in the book of Genesis is the forming of the family. The church is obviously formed in the New Testament. God prioritized the family.
God commanded it.
We do not need to look further than Deuteronomy 6 to find the weight of responsibility in this for the family.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 1
The command given here is aimed directly at the family…not the church.
From here…
From this foundation we will be looking at four “B’s” to help in discipling your family well. This post will serve as a table of contents to the posts that will follow. The four “B’s” we will be looking at are:
How intentional are you at discipling in your home? How well do you encourage and equip those in your ministry to do so? What makes discipling in the family difficult? What have you seen work? Leave a comment and let me know!
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1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Dt 6:4–9.
Photo credit: Takashi(aes256) / Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Jody, thank you for encouraging us to lead at home well. It is far more difficult to lead those who know the whole you but it is also a requirement for those in ministry. I would encourage guys to not try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to family discipleship. Take advantage of great resources and give yourself grace as you start. You will feel more inadequate leading at home than you do at church but your church can be healthy without you…your family can’t. There are some great resources for family discipleship at childrendesiringgod.org/resources/. The booklets and the fighter verses resources have been very helpful for us.
I agree completely. The places in life where we find it difficult to lead are almost always the most important. None more important than at home.