The problem with being both a pastor and a parent at the same time is finding and adhering to the distinction between shepherding the church members and being a father to one’s children. A distinction must be made between pastoring a church and parenting one’s children because of the nature of each responsibility which when combined with the other produces a difficult situation. While being a pastor requires a caring heart for one’s congregation, being a good parent requires a love for one’s children that is so deep that caring for anyone else pales in comparison. Problems arise when a pastor cares too much for his congregation or what they think of him and ignores his family in the process. One’s family should always come first not matter what the career is. Many times when this lack of distinction happens, a pastor will “over-shepherd” his kids in hopes that he can influence them in the same way he seems to be able to influence their church. In short, he treats his children like parishioners except with added expectations because of the children being his own. Other pastors will have little to no involvement with their kids in the hope that this will solve the problem. Instead of spending less time with his church members and more with his family, the pastor does the exact opposite. These two polar-opposite approaches to solving the underlying problem of being a pastor and a parent give a great starting point for an exploration into the wilderness of parenting while the “pastor-factor” adds even more adventure to an already perilous journey.
“Sheltered” is a term used by many to express the amount of exposure an individual has to the world outside of a certain setting. This may be a good or bad thing as we can see in...
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...ave. One expectation is that the PK should be a role model to other children in the church. Cameron Lee states this expectation in his book Life in a Glass House by saying “like the minister and his wife, the P.K. is somehow expected to be more than human, an example for all” (168). Lee is referring directly to the congregation of the pastor when he makes this statement.
Works Cited
Newman, Alex. "Down side of ministry." Toronto Star (Canada) n.d.: Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 1 Feb. 2010.
Lee, Cameron. PK helping pastors' kids through their identity crisis. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1992. Print.
Lee, Cameron. Life in a glass house the minister's family in its unique social context. Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library, 1989. Print.
Mickey, Paul A. Clergy families: Is Normal Life Possible? Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Pub. House, 1991. Print.
First, although Sweeney is an expert in American religion and culture, the book has inaccuracies. According to Mullin, “Pat Robertson's second-place finish in the 1988 Iowa caucuses surprised "all but his supporters," he did not win as Sweeney reports (150)” and “the World Relief Commission of the NAE began in 1944 (not 1945) as the War Relief Commission (172).” However, these inaccuracies do not take away from his premise. Yet, the reader is left wondering if the author’s research was specious. Next, while Sweeney does mention women as a vital part of the American evangelical story, a themed chapter devoted to their labors would be beneficial to both laity and scholar. Ziefle agrees. In his review, he states, “one cannot help but think a separate chapter specifically set aside to discuss women’s roles would have also been desirable.” Nevertheless, Sweeney does represent the rich heritage that women have contributed to the movement. Lastly, Sweeney disappointingly concludes his history of evangelicalism with the 1960s. Leaving the reader to assume there has been no significant change in the movement in the past forty-five years. However, this seems unlikely, since Robert Warner has written a book entitled, Reinventing English Evangelism, 1966-2001: A Theological and Sociological Study. Therefore, Sweeney premise lacks the rich and spiritual powerful heritage of the movement from 1970s to
Ultimately, parents are responsible before God for their child; however, it is the role of the church and the school to support the parents in their God given responsibility. In Kingdom education, these three cords must work in harmony to evangelize, discipline and train each child to incorporate a biblical worldview into everything they do. Each partner must advocate a Christocentric education so that the child will grow to academic and spiritual maturity. Parents, schools and churches must recognize their interdependent task of raising godly children; they need to support and encourage one another, especially in the area of education.
... The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Revised Standard Version.(1977). New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. Nyberg, Nancy.(November 1997). Personal Interview and survey with Pastor of 1st Congregational Church of Dundee. Poole, W. Michael, D.Min., Th.D.(November 1997). Personal Interview and survey with pastor of Calvary Church of God. Strong, James.(1996). The New STRONG'S Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. Tierney, Michael J.(November 1997). Personal Interview and survey with Priest from Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Parish. Unger, Merrill F.(1967). Unger's Bible handbook. Chicago: Moody Press. Weizsacker, H.I(1958). The Apostolic Age. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. White, R.E.O.(1960). The Biblical Doctrine of Initiation: A Theology of Baptism and Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Gary McIntosh earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Rockmont College. He pursued a career in the business world before being called by God to enter into ministry. He attended Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, graduating in 1982 with a D.Min. in Church Growth. McIntosh has served as Vice President of a church consulting company as well as accepting a call to teach at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. In 2005 he earned a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological seminary. He is the recipient of several awards, including one from American Society For Church Growth. McIntosh is a distinguished author when it comes to church growth, appearing in several journals as well as having authored over eighteen monographs regarding church growth.
Many of us don’t have to worry about where we’ll be living in a month or whether we’ll be able to eat tonight; we have parents with a steady income and a life built around us, but not everyone is so lucky. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir following her dysfunctional family and their “adventures”. Despite many hardships as a child, she still manages to see the good in her upbringing and family: their loyalty to each other and the fun they did have together. Along with her older sister Lori and younger brother Brian, they manage to escape their impoverished childhood and become responsible adults, living the lives they hoped for as children. Jeannette Walls artfully captures her life story, showing the importance of resilience
Collins, G. R. (2014). Christian coaching, second edition: Helping others turn potential into reality. Tyndale House.
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.
Richardson, R. W. (2005). Bowen Family Systems Theory and congregational life. Review & Expositor, 102(3), 379-402.
The Family Friendly Church by Ben Freudenburg was an interesting book that I was not entirely sure how I would react to it because I had heard mixed reviews on it from different people; in the end, after reading it, I ultimately liked it. The book talked about a lot of truth in family ministry how it is not that important in many churches. Ben talked about how at one of his first church’s, he and his wife, Jennifer, took on the role of parents in the youth group and once they took another call the ministry fell apart because they had made it all about them and not the actual parents (Page 18). I like that Ben admitted this about his past and got me thinking about my home church’s youth ministry which parents were not prioritized to be involved
Bryant, James W., and Mac Brunson. The New Guidebook for Pastors. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2007.
Root, Andrew. "Talking About Sin with Young People." The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. Andrew Root and Kenda Dean. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press Books, 2011. N. pag. Digital file.
Ritchie, M. (1999). Community bible chapel. The story of the church – Part 4, Topic 5. The Protestant
“In His wisdom God decreed that the family should be the greatest of all educational agencies. It is the home that the education of the child is to begin.”
In Glen Shultz’s (2003) book Kingdom Education: God’s Plan for Educating Future Generations he addresses the importance of education in coordination with the family and church in developing and training future generations within a biblical worldview. He describes moral decline, increased crime rates, the disintegration of the family and the church’s inability to be the salt of the earth as examples of the increased secularization because of the removal of God and His word from our schools. The author’s answer for these dilemmas is biblical principles that are consistently taught in the home, church and school. Shultz (2003) compared kingdom education to the three legs of a milk stool “on which an individual can safely rest, regardless of the roughness of the ground (Shultz, 2003, p. 12). Kingdom education is defined through the lens of the kingdom of God where God reigns and is active in all areas in and around our lives. The focus of kingdom education is on biblical principles and is the incorporation of these principles into a child’s home, church and schooling. The purpose of kingdom education is twofold, the acceptance of Christ as a personal savior and the development of the mind for God’s use and glory. The three foundations of home, church and school are discussed in regards to the role each has in relation to kingdom education.
The last Synod of Bishops held from September 26 to October 25, 1980 said the importance of family was to “help man to discern his own vocation and to accept responsibility in the search for greater justice, educating him from the beginning in interpersonal relationships, rich in justice and in love.” The church would also like to spread the Gospel message to all people, especially those who are married or discerning the vocation of marriage. Only Through Christ and the Gospel message is marriage truly fulfilled in our expectations and lives up to its