Raising Our Own Children

An Illinois pastor says parents, not churches, should raise children. From OneNewsNow:

"A lot of people would say, well, I work too many hours; I only see my kids from six p.m. to eight p.m.," he shares, then adds: "You can come up with whatever excuse you want, but it boils down to your obedience to honor God in the way you raise your children."

I'd trust a good church with my children 10 times before I'd trust a government institution with them once, but he's absolutely right. Too often, we parents are looking for ANYONE to raise our children but ourselves.

This church in Illinois is changing the way they do things, in order to bring the family closer together. And while the "children's church" approach has it's advantages (like the parent hearing whole sermon without having to stay on top of fidgety kids), this pastor has a very good point.

"We're having kids, reading-age and up, in the service with mom and dad -- and this is new for us," he acknowledges. "We're definitely going into a new adventure."

But parents must be willing to sacrifice in order to make sure that their children are raised according to biblical standards, he states. "It's neat to see God change some of the hearts of the parents as we discuss this [new approach], as we see the value in this [and] as we have a heart for the next generation," says Baumann.