Building Kids, Building Parents, Building Families!

My daughter Jill Sallee Lewolt (pictured below), serves as a children's pastor at Journey of Faith Church in Manhattan Beach, California. She is building God's Kingdom through family ministries on the west coast. Occasionally Jill will work with Michelle Anthony, one of the nations foremost family ministry leaders. Several of her books are cited in the NBFamilies Resource Guide section of the NBFamilies.info blog.

Michelle Anthony’s book, “Spiritual Parenting” asks us parents to discover what it means to seek God as our primary audience. She says, “Spiritual Parenting isn’t perfect parenting - it’s parenting from a spiritual perspective with eternity in mind. This means putting God at the center of the family. If we want faith to endure for all generations, we must become increasingly confident and focussed about the kind of faith we are trying to pass to our children (Spiritual Parenting, Page 27).”

Psalm 78:1-8 has been called the blueprint for families who understand that God has called them to be the primary disciple- makers for their children. The Psalm explains that it is God’s desire for each family to pass on their faith to the next generation. God set up the infrastructure that He envisioned would be best for this replication – the family! (Spiritual Parenting, Page 30)

Psalm 78:1-8 My people, hear my instruction; listen to what I say. 2 I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past— 3 things we have heard and known and that our fathers have passed down to us. 4 We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the Lord, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children 6 so that a future generation— children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children 7 so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep His commands. 8  Then they would not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

It is exciting to dream that one day your great-great grandchildren will gather to recount how their ancestors were God- fearing and faithful examples of Jesus’ devoted disciples. They will describe how without you, your children, your grandchildren, and their children had faith that has impacted the world. (Spiritual Parenting, Page 31)

Faith in Action

John 15:5 warns the disciple that the focus should not be on the fruit. Rather, the focus must be on “remaining or abiding” in Jesus.

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

James is cautioning against the extremes:

1. Adopting a solely intellectual belief system of biblical knowledge and the things we “say” we believe. (Faith with no works)
2. Adopting a system of works, “doing things,” without being led by the Holy Spirit or by His power to accomplish them - like Pharisees. (Works with no faith) (Spiritual Parenting, Page 33)

“I Can Do Nothing”

Jesus instructs us that if we remain/abide in the Vine, then and only then, will we bear fruit. Our faith is exercised in the tension between the intellectual assent without works and legalistic works apart from faith. Real vibrant faith is a blend of Holy Spirit enlightenment and the missional efforts that flow from it. (Spiritual Parenting, Page 35)

Two Foundations

Jesus instructs in Matthew 7:24-27 about two foundations. One falls and one stands in the storm. Most assume that Jesus is the Rock. However, this passage reveals the identity of the two foundations:

Matthew 7:24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7:26  But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

In this parable the “Rock” becomes obedience. In the context of Spiritual Parenting and passing our faith on to the next generations, “building on the Rock” means obeying God’s Word in our everyday circumstances and letting our children be eye-witnesses to that solid-rock way of living. (Spiritual Parenting, Page 36)