On Sunday mornings at church, all parents have a choice. You can put your child in a classroom, or you can take them with you into service. As a parent, I understand the reasoning that we can tell ourselves. Will I know who the volunteers in the class are? My child says they don’t want … Continued
“Did you date your spouse?” This question stares back at me each week as I fill out my staff meeting agenda. We have decided as a church staff that it is a priority. We know we should not sacrifice our marriages on the altar of ministry, work, or anything else. So, did my wife and … Continued
Early this morning I was drinking coffee and reading the first five chapters of Psalms, since it is the first day of the month. I noticed Brooke was drinking coffee and looking at her phone. Then and there I made a decision. It’s a decision that earlier in our marriage I have been scared to … Continued
Last week, my four-year-old walked around the house for at least twenty minutes singing, “You are good, good, oh!” We sang “King of My Heart” that morning at church, and I think he could hear the church singing from his classroom. Our church already sings quite loudly, but that refrain always brings out the loudest … Continued
As we close out our first five months of writing about making disciples and planting churches, I thought it would be only fitting to revisit the top five posts we have had so far. If you haven’t read them yet, by all means, take the opportunity to do so now. If you’ve already read them once … Continued
Pastors have a series of weak jokes they tell about how their views on parenting have changed as they’ve matured. The idea is that young ministers preach with certainty about parenting, but the older, wiser pastors who have actually raised kids preach with a much less certain tone. They are silly jokes that aren’t funny and … Continued
If you really want to be the best parent you can be, make your marriage your priority. Soon, Brooke and I will be like those couples who’ve been together longer than they were apart. We were married at 22 and are thrilled to be in a thriving 21-year marriage. That means I was with Brooke … Continued
There’s a lot of things parents shouldn’t do. In a recent sermon series we talked about how, as parents, we want to go beyond obedience and get to the heart of our kids. That means we don’t want to make decisions as parents that simply modify our children’s behavior, but instead we want to train them … Continued
At Valley Life, our vision for kids ministry is to help parents raise their kids to love Jesus. We know that parents are the main disciplers of their kids (Proverbs 22:6), and the hour a week that we have them isn’t enough to change their lives. Only Jesus can do that (Acts 4:12), but parents … Continued
Are you a dad that says “please?” When Mommy or Daddy say “please” as part of instructions given or requests made to their child, it is a powerful moment that the child can emulate. Politeness is a way of acknowledging the dignity of others and a verbal recognition that speaks of this truth: “I’m not … Continued
