Friday, October 19, 2012

The Stewardship of Our Children

When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked....But they did not understand what he was saying to them.      Luke 2:48-50

I take so much encouragement from these closing verses of Luke 2, which provides the only glimpse of Jesus in his adolescent years.  If Jesus’ (The Sinless Jesus) parents were astonished, questioned His behavior and didn’t understand Him, somehow that gives me hope as a father of teenagers.

There is no doubt that the adolescent years can be a mystery at best and a storm at worse for parents.  Someone wisely defined that experience this way: “Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years.”

At PCC, our philosophy has always been that every parent is the primary faith nurturer of their kids. On November 3-4, we have an unprecedented opportunity to be equipped in this role by one of the top researchers and experts on adolescents.
  • Jim Burns of Homeword Ministries (www.homeword.com) will be speaking at a Saturday seminar on November 3 and then will be preaching in all services on Sunday. God is using Jim in such tremendous ways to equip families: He has published 1.5 million books on adolescents and families in 27 languages. His Homeword website, a site I access at least on a weekly basis for resources, gets almost 100,000 hits a month. Over 50,000 people subscribe to the Homeword weekly podcast and his radio programs are on over 1000 stations in America.
This seminar will include presentations from Jim (Finding Replenishment for Overcrowded Life, Discipline and Grace: Creating a Grace-Filled Home; and Communicating with Affection, Warmth and Encouragement) along with break-out parenting panels (early childhood, elementary and adolescence).

I don’t want you to miss this opportunity!  If the greatest stewardship before us is the stewardship of our children, if we will stand before Almighty God one day to account for how we molded and shaped our kids, if our greatest ministry is the ministry within the four walls of our homes, if our greatest legacy will indeed be the legacy we build through our kids, what would take precedence over investing four hours on a Saturday to be encouraged and equipped in the area of parenting?  Whether you are a parent of pre- teens or adolescents, this seminar is for you. 

Child care provided for Infant through preschool age. Please preregister at our Sunday morning patio table or through email dainj@wearepcc.com.

Cost for the seminar: $10 per person (includes Dr. Burns book Confident Parenting), $15 per couple (includes one copy of Confident Parenting). Doors open at 8:30am on November 3.

This weekend, we continue following in the dust of our Rabbi looking at Jesus’ teaching on prayer!  We will be in Luke 11:1-13; read up and prepare your heart to gather together as a community on Sunday.  I look forward to being together.

I Love Being Your Pastor!

Gary