This Week in Faith 10-25-19
/Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and What to Make of Celebrity Conversions
Today, Kanye West released a new album that is full of songs that reflect the newfound faith in Jesus that he recently began talking about. How should we respond to this? How should we help our kids process it?
The truth is it’s hard for us to know exactly how to respond when we hear the news of a celebrity’s belief in Jesus. Like the article says, we either hold them up as an example too quickly, assuming their celebrity status gives them faith maturity. Or, we become cynical quickly, doubting their genuineness and trying to figure out what the catch is. Either way, it’s important for us to know how to think about these moments because it’s important for us to help our kids process them. We want our kids’ faith to be rooted in something that is lasting, Jesus himself, and not just in the fact that someone their friends think is cool says they have similar beliefs.
It’s natural for kids to want to find role models for their faith in the celebrity arena- athletes, musicians, movie stars. It can help them believe that their faith is relevant to their lives. But there’s a tendency in American Christianity to have an unhealthy relationship with celebrities who claim faith in Jesus because people believe their faith is finally justified since popular and successful people have accepted it. This is a thoughtful article that helps us find the middle ground for a healthy response to these reports.
Click here to read the article by Trevin Wax.
Raising Children In the Word: 3 Things to Remember, 5 Things to Do
The author here is quick to point out that there are no silver bullets for parenting. So he’s sure this article doesn’t provide one. But the article does give us some basic things to be remind of and some important things to consider as we walk through parenting. My favorite one is the last one- Enjoy It! It we really believe that “the chief end of man is to glorify God and ENJOY him forever” our kids should be able to see the daily joy we find in following Jesus and should see a smile on our face as we talk about the good things he has done for us.
Click here to read the article by Carl Laferton.
Some Social Media Suggestions
If you ask my kids, they would probably tell you that I hate technology and social media but that’s not really the case. I think there are some great uses for it and some ways in which God can redeem these platforms to produce really good things in our lives, and in the lives of those around us. But I do talk to my kids a lot about the dangers of it because I know that, if unchecked, these things can form unhealthy habits in our lives that cause us to do things we would never do, had we thought through all the repercussions of our choices. I’m aware of plenty of mistakes that I’ve made over the years, too. Here are two articles that help us think through how to use these things wisely. Hopefully, they will help you think well about how you scroll and what you post.
Who Says Social Media Can’t Make You Wise?
Click here to read the article by Jen Wilkin.
Two Things to Remember Before You Share About Your Kids Online
Click here to read the article by Jason Thacker.
PODCAST: Ginger Hubbard: Biblical Wisdom For Taming Your Child’s Tongue
The way our kids talk, and the way they talk to each other, feels like the most regular thing we deal with in our house. And to be honest, it’s one of the places I struggle the most myself as well. This is a great interview that covers a number of helpful things including the importance of addressing our kids words instead of just hoping they’ll grow out of it and some practical ideas for getting to the heart of our kids’ complaining, whining, and mean words instead of continuing to be frustrated because just telling them to stop isn’t working. We have had Ginger Hubbard’s Wise Words For Moms on our refrigerator for many years of parenting as an extremely helpful chart of what the Bible says to help us address our kids’ most common struggles. Much of this interview stems from a new book she has written.
