Ever since those days, I have longed to pass along that same legacy to my sons.

Tomorrow Warren and I embark on a cross-country trip to San Diego.  Crazy, I know, but I couldn’t be more excited! I am blessed to work for Randall House and to get to go to some cool events.  This week I am headed to Children’s Pastors Conference – San Diego, CA where I will meet up with my other partner in crime, Randy Walser.

As we head out tomorrow our first destination is Tulsa, OK.  We leave mid-day, so it will be a long one!

In addition to the pure adventure of traveling across country with Warren, there is an even greater adventure going on: He and I will “begin” having so Pre-Adolescent conversations.  He is 7 now, and 7 will soon turn into 9 then 11, then 17 and he’s gone!  It’s hard to believe he’s already 7 as it is!  I am looking forward to these talks together.

My prayer for this trip is that our relationship will be strengthened even further, and that Warren will have yet one more layer of understanding as to what it means to be a young man in the pursuit of the heart of God.

Walking in Grace,

Matt

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Last night the boys, Katie, and I were watching one of my favorite DVD’s, Planet Earth (the Fresh Water episode) and I saw one of the most interesting encounters I have seen in a long time.  A family of otters took on an 11 foot crocodile…and the crocodile backed down!

Have you ever watched otters?  They are not the most threatening creature in the animal kingdom, but when it comes to standing up against a giant predator, they seem to have no fear.  I was really impressed with this…it sort of gave me a little more sense of pride for being high on the “otter scale” on John Trent’s Leading From Your Strengths assessment…but that’s not the point.

Anyway, what really intrigued me (as someone who spends a great deal of time thinking about family, parenting, and what the next generation will look like) was the power of a united family of otters.  As a group, they had power and authority.  As a family, they had confidence to take on the hostile environment around them.

Forgive me for offending (sometimes the truth can be hurtful for all of us…I know it can be for me), but I see far too many Christian families who are just going through the motions, doing little to nothing intentional to raise up spiritual champions for Christ.  If we are not intentional about helping our kids see a clear division between what is going on in our culture and the kingdom that is in the next world, then we stand a great chance of losing them.  How can we expect our families to stay tight and united in Christ when we do little to nothing to disciple our children at home?  If parents are not leading their kids spiritually at home (conversations, talks, teachable moments, faith breakthroughs, spiritual milestones…a whole mixed bag of opportunities to impress Christ on the hearts of our kids), then why should we expect them to be passionate about following Christ as an adult?  What do they see in you? Why would they follow you if it’s not important enough to you to take time to talk about your relationship with God at home?  Why would they grow up to be a Christ follower if it’s not important enough to you to plan time to invest in them spiritually at home?  This is the breeding ground for lukewarm/nominal Christianity.

I know what I see in me.  I see a whole lot of failures.  I am not the parent nor the person I need to be…growing in Grace, but not who I want to be as of this very moment.  Thankfully I am on a journey.  However, the journey does require responsibility out of me.  It requires me to have a plan.  It requires thought and action.

I am writing this because I feel a huge amount of responsibility. I have read a decent amount in the last two years about this stuff.  I have had many conversations with some people in this area who know their stuff, and what they are saying is essentially “our generation of parents must show our kids a clear distinction between the ways of the world and the love and hope of God because the messages of the world are so loud, strong, and dominating, that without a plan of action on the part of parents, we are very likely to loose our children to the world.”  I know that sounds so harsh, but I keep seeing it all the time.  It manifests itself in the way that we spend our time, the things we watch, the entertainment we consume, the lack of compassion for others.  It appears from my perspective that mainstream Christianity has become so consumed with the world, and less consumed with Christ.  Perhaps that is why Barna’s book Think Like Jesus says that only 9% of evangelicals have a true Christian worldview.

Again, I am sooooo far from being a perfect parent.  I stink really badly some days in my role as a father…just ask Katie.  However, we do have a loose plan.  We do faith talks/teachable moments with our boys.  We take them on dates to talk about eternal matters.  We read the Bible as a family and at breakfast.  We read “Bible books” most nights before bed.  We have car talks about life truths and challenges.   We talk about choices and how choices have consequences. We have mapped out spiritual milestones that have been and will be celebrated and memorable.

I do not know if my boys will own faith in Christ as their own when they are flying solo.  I hope they will.  Katie and I pray about this nearly every day.  Ultimately the choice will be theirs to follow Christ and to walk with him.  But in the mean time, I will continue to build out a plan based on Deuteronomy 6:5-7 which is my commandment.  Note: commandment not suggestion.

Do you have a plan?  Are you working on one?  Building one?  If not, today is your day to begin…there is too much at stake.  Sit down tonight and based on God’s word, map out what you want your children to look like (inner character…not job, career, or performance).  Once you know what your goal is, what is it going to take to get there?  What changes do you need to make in your life to raise up a champion for Christ? What can you do differently in your family to implement good interaction with your kids?

No family is perfect.  There is no perfect model because all families are made up of imperfect people.  God wants to work with your family where you are now.

2. It doesn’t matter how stinkin’ dirt poor the town is, it will have one kickin’ football stadium.  I drove through a town today where each of the houses looked worse than my neighbors shed. Few business existed, and the ones that were still standing were falling apart and sold livestock feed.  The local school was in bad shape.  However, just at the edge of town was a brand new high school football stadium with plush, artificial turf.  The turf alone values more than the entire fiscal county budget.

3. Every few miles there is a Ranch.  “What’s that off in the distance? Is that the gate to a new subdivision?  Nope, just another ranch.”  In TX, a ranch is not the place where Michael W. Smith goes to spend the weekend to write music…it’s the real deal.  A way of life.  I’m talkin’ real, live animals!

4. Two lane state highways in TX are the equivalent to the German Autobahn.  The posted speed limit is 70 mph.  The average, actual driven speed (I kept a tally) was about 80 mph.  Now this, I can get used to.

5. Storm clouds in TX really are larger, closer to the ground, dark black, and totally wicked (in the traditional sense).  I saw a tornado firsthand (no joke).  UPDATE: read in the news paper that what I saw was rotation but not a tornado.  I stand corrected!

6. All TX men who live outside of the city limits of a major city such as Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio are required to where coyboy hats.  I almost stopped to buy one our of pure peer pressure, but since I was driving 80 I felt as if no one should notice me.

7. Cars have recently been outlawed in TX rural counties, for I did not see a single car after I left the Austin city limits (which is on PBS on Saturday Nights at 10 PM Central, BTW).  Good thing Hertz gave me an Explorer.

I look forward to learning even more on my drive from Abilene to Dallas on Friday.

Well, it’s been a crazy six weeks with the D6 Curriculum name change (from CLEAR Curriculum to D6), 607 development meetings, pre-convention campaigns, D6 Conference planning, travel to Dallas, then California, then back to Dallas, then Branson, MO, next Atlanta, now I am headed to Austin, Abilene, and Dallas yet again.  Somewhere in there I earned another SWA Rapid Reward ticket that will come in handy for family vacation in August.

Ron Hunter (Randall House CEO) and I went to Atlanta last weekend to meet with Reggie Joiner about the Orange Conference and the D6 Conference.  We discussed brand distinction and introduced the topic of possibly trying to find ways to create synergy together in the future.  Regardless of whether we ever collaborate in any capacity, we began a friendship, and that seemed to be most important to both parties.  Reggie, Brad and Reggie Goodin were incredibly hospitable, and the turkey dressing was amazing (I think there was a hint of cinnamon in there somewhere)!  May God continue to bless the ministry of the reThink Group.

Well, my SWA flight to Austin has been delayed twice tonight…still waiting.  I fly SWA almost exclusively, and let me say that this is a rare experience.

Anyway, what an amazing passage about passing along what matters most.

Psalm 71:18

¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

A mother leaves for work, leaving her 9 year old son at home to take care of himself for the day.  Again, 1928 so he’s safe for the day by himself, right?  Wrong.  He is kidnapped and never to be found again.  The mother goes through a horrible ordeal trying to get the LAPD to actually do their job and investigate this case.  In stead, they say they have “located” her son, and the boy they give her is not her actual son…in fact he is 3 inches shorter!  Even though the dentist, the pastor and the teacher all say that this is not her son, the LAPD refuses to listen to the mother.

Then just when the mother won’t shut up, they throw the mother in an insane assilem because she is giving the LAPD bad press.  If you want to know the rest you will have to watch the movie, but just know that this movie is very hard to watch.  There were scenes where I had to turn my head because of the terror of what goes on in the world of social injustice, child abduction, and murder.

So today I am thinking, what can I do right now to help those who are hurting?  What can I do right now for the kids who are being sold into prostitution in countries all across the world?  What can I do to stand up against child abduction and child predators?  Don’t know that I have all the answers, but I am willing to do something. I have not been able to shake the sick feeling from my stomach since this movie ended because I know stuff like this happens every day.  I cannot imagine the rage God feels for people who harm helpless children.  That’s not my call, it’s His.  I don’t know how He processes that, but I trust that He is almighty powerful God who is Just, Holy & Compassionate all at the same time.

As to the purpose of this blog post…I am not quite sure!  I just know that I am not the only one out there who is outraged when little children are harmed & when our bureaucratic, red tape infrastructure actually prevents justice from taking place.  Thank God that the USA has come a long way.  May we continue to grow and change in the areas we need it most.

Today we have an afternoon meeting with the Wesleyan Publishing House.  Tomorrow I will be at the PCPA Conference (Protestant Christian Publishers Conference) here in Nashville.  It’s essentially a meeting with other Denominational houses to discuss common themes in our ministry & operation as well as to learn from one another.

Friday and Saturday I will be attending the Connecting Church and Home Conference in Brentwood, TN.  In many respects, this event is a lot like D6, just much smaller.  They even have two speakers who will also be sharing at the D6 Conference.  I look forward to this event and to making many new relationships/contacts.  I hope that in some way I can be enriched and that D6 can also make a contribution to the ongoing conversation at this event.

• rooming with Allen Pointer and getting to catch up…great conversations
• listening to real challenges that youth pastors face in working with Sr. Pastors
• watching Steve Greenwood’s video!
• talking with student ministers about the D6 Conference, D6 Devotional Magazines, and C2 DVDs
• listening to Steve Greenwood & Alan Hines talk about Elements Children’s Church Curriculum (NEW  from Randall House – Releasing September 09)
• late night double-cheeseburger at Waffle House with Tommy, Steven, and James
• listening to Francis Chan speak for the first time
• trying to figure out the “now what” after listening to Chan speak…this made for some great conversation
• talking about Crazy Love

Going to the YP Summit was a blessing…and being able to listen, share and learn from my youth pastor friends was incredible.  I look forward to next year.

Breakfast at Prestonwood Christian Academy

Lunch at a Children’s Ministers Network in North Dallas

Late afternoon meeting with Justin Hillhouse, new Student Minister at First Baptist Dallas

Check out some of the photos from our D6 breakfast sponsored by Prestonwood Christian Academy:

Larry Taylor, Head of School at Prestonwood Christian Academy kicked off the event by sharing his passion for families and how Deuteronomy 6 is paramount in defining the role of the parent in the home.

Mark Matlock shared the vision of what God is doing in connecting church and home.  On several occasions I have heard Mark call this “the most important conversation in the church today.”  Mark has an amazing message and I can not wait for you to hear him at D6.

Larry is championing the message of connecting church and home and reconnecting parents with kids.  He has dedicated much of his life to building faith at home and equipping parents to be spiritual leaders in the home.

The Three Amigos taking their show on the road once again.  We look forward to spending time with Mark every chance we get.  I look forward to his new curriculum coming out called Real World Parents.

Tomorrow we meet with Matt Hubbard and the Texas Southern Baptist Family Ministry team.

]]> http://www.mattmarkins.com/?feed=rss2&p=286 1 http://www.mattmarkins.com/?p=265 http://www.mattmarkins.com/?p=265#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:31:49 +0000 Matt Markins http://www.mattmarkins.com/?p=265

Last night we had time to catch up with Dr. Richard Ross for a quick meal.  I left our time with him wanting more…feeling a little cheated because an hour and fifteen minutes, just wasn’t enough.

Although he is a professor of student ministries at Southwestern Seminary, he spends many Sunday’s and Wednesday nights helping parents restore relationships with their teenagers all across the country.  I don’t have time to share the stories he shared with us, but I can say that we share a common passion.  The life transformation stories he shared with Ron Hunter and I nearly left me in tears.

You see the average Christian parent today doesn’t know how to authentically communicate with their teens, to affirm them, and to lead them.  Wounds happen, walls get built up, and it’s just too much work.  So let the distance and emotional scars begin.  He has found a way to heal and correct this process, and it’s completely biblical!  I wish every youth minister across the country would listen to him and implement what he is saying.

If we would integrate his message into our ministries, we could live out D6 like never before.  But if we don’t bridge the gap, healing won’t begin, and our students will not listen, and they will not own their faith (in mass numbers).

I will forever treasure the time that I spent with him last night.

Dr. Ross will be speaking at D6. I hope you will come listen to him and have the chance to meet him.