Raising Churchy or Godly Kids?

When my children were little, we decided that we wanted to raise them in church. So we did. We went to church EVERY Sunday, without fail, unless someone was sick, and even then, one parent stayed home with the sick child and one parent went to church with the well child. Church was very much an integral part of our children's "upbringing" and certainly not something to be ashamed of. I'm glad I took my kids to church. It is where they needed to be.I wanted them to go to church and learn about Jesus and all the stories of the Bible, because as an adult who came to know Christ as an adult, I always felt embarrassed that I didn't know the Bible very well. I wanted my children to KNOW the Bible.Both of them accepted Jesus as their Savior as young children. An important milestone to say the least. They both were baptized as young children as well. Then when they were in elementary school, they started attending a private Christian school. Trust me when I tell you, my kids KNOW the Bible. They know it better than I do.But I forgot one important thing. I was pretty keen on them knowing the Bible, and that is exactly what happened. I wish, in hindsight, that I had wanted them to really love Jesus with all their heart and soul and mind and strength, and that I had wanted them to love their neighbor as themselves. I think I raised up churched kids, but I don't know that I raised up godly ones.As adults, they have had to find their own way to loving Jesus and loving others. Because I, we, the church, was focused on teaching them the Bible on a knowledge level. I'm glad they have had mentors and role models in their young adulthood who have helped them. People like Casey Cease who uses his life stories to rescue people from themselves. And people like Matt Shepperd who is showing them what selflessness looks like lived out (www.hydratehope.org)I think today, as a church, we are doing a better job of balancing knowledge and application. If kids have all the knowledge in the world, but don't have love, what good is that? (I think that's in the Bible . . . I Corinthians 13? Sounds familiar).But, I think we still have to be careful to teach our kids to love God, love others, AND love His Word. Imagine a generation of people who have their priorities in order. :)

All that to say, this is an excerpt from a parent blog I started in April. The idea is that parents ask a question and I answer it on the blog. So follow the link
www.justforparentslikeyou.blogspot.com, ask your parenting question in the comment section, and I'll answer it for you. Periodically, I will just add some thoughts on parenting for you parents out there.