On Sunday I mentioned that I was going to try something a little different for the Adult VBS Class this year. VBS is each evening from 7/24 – 7/28. The overall VBS theme is “God’s Kingdom,” and the theme for the adult class is “Impacting Your Family for the Kingdom.”
I am planning to teach/lead discussions on shepherding the next generation of believers within two non-traditional family contexts – stepfamilies and grandparent-led homes. I’ll be “dusting off” a couple of the workshops that I gave back when I was with House on the Rock Family Ministries and adding in some other material as well.
So why did I pick these topics? I want to stress that these discussions are meant to be helpful for EVERYONE. Obviously, I believe that they will be helpful for folks who are currently living out these realities. I also believe that the discussion will also be helpful for folks who have loved ones living out these realities. But even if you don’t find yourself in either of those categories, I still believe that you will get a lot out of coming each night.
So before I talk about the discussion topics, let me deal with the “elephant in the room” right away. Many pastors and churches have a fear that by embracing stepfamilies and other non-traditional families the church will be perceived as being soft on the issue of marriage and condoning divorce.
Here’s the deal – my experience…both professionally and personally…is that stepfamilies and grandparent-led homes do not need the Church’s help in understanding why God wants marriages to last for a lifetime. They are well aware of the reasons why the Bible teaches what it does on marriage, co-habitation, and divorce. So rather than stand in judgement, I believe the Church needs to walk alongside these families and offer them as much help, encouragement and counsel as possible. We also need to offer them Jesus! AND I believe we can do all of that while standing firmly on God’s Word.
As I mentioned on Sunday, I am putting this series together in such a way that each night can stand on its own. In other words, you don’t need to be there on Monday to understand what is happening on Tuesday, and so on. Here’s the schedule:
Monday – Stepfamilies – Myths and Realities
Tuesday – Unique Challenges of Stepfamilies and How to Overcome Them
Wednesday – Grandparents as Torchbearers and Blessing Givers
Thursday – Grandparents as Garden Tenders and Legacy Leavers
Friday – Being a Prophet, Priest and King in Our Kingdoms.
We are going to be meeting in the sanctuary from 7:15 to 8:15 each night. The kids have their opening from 6:30 to 7:15 or so and then come back at 8:15 for their closing program.
I’m sharing all of this with you so that you can extend an invitation to someone you know who might benefit from coming. These won’t be hour-long lectures…we’ll be having what I hope are robust discussions as well! We’ll have some flyers at the church on Sunday if you’d like to grab one. If you are planning on coming, let me know so I have plenty of handouts!
Here’s what’s happening:
- This past Sunday I gave a brief congregational update on some of the things that have been happening “behind the scenes” at The Bridge. Unfortunately, the recording for it did not turn out well. However, I also handed out a list of projects that we are looking to do over the next couple of years (with the ultimate goal of a building expansion project). There are copies of that list in the lobby.
- VBS Week is 7/24 – 7/28 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm each night. We are still in need of help in a few areas. See Elizabeth Barrett for how you can be a part of the fun!
- We will be having a time of coffee and fellowship starting at 9:30 am each Sunday in July and August! There is a sign-up sheet by the front door if you would like to provide a light breakfast snack for folks to enjoy.
- Next Sunday, 7/23, we will be having baptisms at the conclusion of the worship service. Please plan to stay a few extra minutes to be a part of this time.
- On Sunday 7/30 we will again be having some baptisms at the end of the worship service, but this time we will also be having a fellowship meal! If you are able, please bring a hot and a cold dish to share.
This Sunday we are looking at the spiritual discipline of service. God has given each of us gifts that He wants us to use to serve others, because if we don’t use them the whole body suffers. We are going to look at what Jesus said about service (and how He demonstrated it), why we need to serve, and what God’s blessings for service are. Looking forward to our time together!
Scott