Force 410 Update

As I write this update, we have just passed the quarter pole on the Force 410 racetrack. And I just asked myself the question, "Do the kids give more encouragement, or need more encouragement?" The answer to the question may vary depending upon in who's shoes you stand.

If you are a member of the congregation that is not actually in the Force 410 classes right now, you are probably receiving far more encouragement from the kids than they can possibly imagine. The parents are very proud of their young ones and excited to see them developing and growing and becoming. And us old folks are delighted to see the spark of faith that indicates that the things we treasure the deepest will be passed along to a new generation. As their teacher, it gives me great satisfaction to see their efforts, and to watch them succeeding in so many very important ways.

If, however, you happen to be one of those in the class, you may be really needing a pat on the back and a word of encouragement because some of the things you're doing the harder and more challenging than you've ever been asked to do at the church. The transition from little children to the boys and girls is not particularly easy for most. The tests can be overwhelming, though I wish you could see that they are only a measure of how well I'm doing in transferring information to you. And doing some of the service projects, whether publicly or privately, can be demanding.

So if you are one of those receiving encouragement by seeing the young people deal with this basic training, I hope you continue to take satisfaction, but that you will also take the time to offer encouragement to the trainees. They are building relationships that can sustain them through the teen years. And they are learning truths that can sustain them throughout their lives and into eternity.




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Keeping Them Quiet in Church--Reprise

This is an edited version of a post I wrote for a now defunct blog site more than a year ago. I hope you enjoy it.

This blog grew out of my response to kamirusma's blog yesterday. She introduced the issue of church being boring. No doubt it is a real factor within the families of faith. I suppose all of us have had heavy eyelids in church, as well as almost any other place we sit still for more than a few minutes.

In my opinion it is inexcusable to make the message of Christ boring. In our day of instant gratification, I suppose that to some the traditions of faith can seem dull, especially if those leading worship and presenting the message are just going through the motions.


I belong to a fellowship that is conservative. We do things as close to the way they are outlined in the New Testament as we can. We are not high church, if that is a functional term for this community, but not charismatic either. We sing acapella, no gimmicks to hype up our services.


But we try to make the message and the worship assembly meaningful and practical, we want it to be part of your life everyday and in every place.


One of the things we do is give our teens opportunities to be a part of the services and to participate in ministry of the word. I think it is an important part of why there are few who sleep in our services.


We have our Sunday school study centered around one passage or topic for the whole family on any given week. That way the families can read and share with their kids in discussions of the subject before classes. The intent is that everyone be aware of the subject before they get to class so they do not feel left out. They will even be likely to contribute to the lesson.


We do some other organized activities to help the young ones know the basics of faith so they will develop a faith of their own. Hopefully, by their teen years so they have made their decisions for faith and are not as likely to be "forced to go to church".


Skouba has some good ideas in the comments of kamirusma's blog, & I encouraged her to post them on her site too. She points to the need for mom and dad to train the children to worship instead of programming them to need to be entertained.


Another item that helps is that the messages in our services are not long and drawn out, at least not on a regular basis. I had a friend and mentor tell me long ago, "No sermon is all bad if it is short enough."


I don't know if this helps the debate, but I hope so.

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