If you’re a dad and granddad, as I am, you have incredible opportunities to pour your life into your children and grandchildren. Together, we are compelled by love to invest time and energy in shaping their lives for success in life. Most parents try really hard to be at every ball game, school play, and other expressive activities. Many parents engage further by coaching or immersing themselves in the interests of their children. There are a host of ways parents can disciple their children toward adulthood.
Wise parents model success for their children by making choices that don’t seem like much at the moment, but they make a world of difference in the future. Things like worshipping together, reading scripture together, guarding the words that come out of our mouths, respecting our elders, responsible stewardship with our money, cherishing the members of our family, and loving our neighbors living near us or on social media.
After all, the goal of parenting is to invest time in your children so they develop into godly, responsible young adults who have faith, wisdom, virtue, and applied skills. There is not a course to take to instill the value traits we want to see in our children. It is done in a moment. The greatest “learning moments” tend to happen spontaneously, and your children remember them the rest of their days; these moments are the touch points that say to a child or teen, “I accept you and I love you.”
Regrettably, there are those moments, even teachable moments, that parents and grandparents miss because of distance, demands, and obligations of life. These words may sound like a lame excuse to your child.
To push back on regret, I encourage fellow parents to become attentive, creative, and engaged. Be generous with your time and resources by giving your children what they need (not necessarily what they want). Watch your children flourish via your love, acceptance, and forgiveness. By the way, this works in all relationships. Capture the moments.
How about church moments?
For a decade now, every October I have provided in this column multiple ideas for church leaders to use for the celebration of “Minister Appreciation Month.” We are back again this year with some super ideas, and it is not too late to use some of them to demonstrate love, acceptance ,and forgiveness toward your church’s minister(s). Try some of these:
• Pray for your pastor and other members of your church’s ministry staff, and after you pray, write them cards or make call expressing appreciation.
• Take out a paid display ad in your local newspaper. State your church’s mission and vision, then publicly celebrate your pastor’s expressions of wisdom, virtue, and understanding. If you cooperate with others in your church, it is much easier to buy a larger ad.
• Create a year-round encouragement team to bless your pastor. It doesn’t have to be a formal team, but it could be. They are the cheerleaders who seize the moments to celebrate your pastor and his family.
• Ladies only: invite your pastor’s wife to the local coffee shop or eatery. Make no demands. Create a safe place for laughter and fellowship.
• Pay for your pastor and his wife to experience a journey to Israel and/or Greece. Such an adventure brings Bible locations to life. Once your pastor experiences these wonderful places where Jesus walked the earth and the apostle Paul made disciples, you may want to go with him the next time.
• Take your pastor on a hunting or fishing day, or try golf. Get him out the office and out of his routine.
These are just suggestions. The goal is to create moments away from the routine and express how important your minister’s ministry is to you personally or collectively. When churches are openly generous with their pastors, it is a testimony of our Lord’s generosity toward us, to a world that is bent on self-centeredness and brokenness.
Don’t regret later that you failed to initiate a blessing for your pastor. You don’t want to miss this moment of blessing.