You may know that I am a fan of golf. I enjoy playing, though I actually do so only about 4-6 times each year, but I also enjoy watching and reading about the game. I am by no means the world’s biggest Tiger Woods fan, but if you’re a fan of the game, you can’t help having some measure of interest in him both as a player and a person, as he exhibits skill in the game that just hasn’t been seen before. I don’t scour the news looking for stories on Tiger, so this may be old news, but an article I read today was the first time I had ever seen it mentioned.
Tiger seemingly guards details of his private life with meticulous care. In fact, one of the more prominent theories as to why he split with his former coach, Butch Harmon, about four years ago was that he had grown weary of Harmon’s penchant for acting as an unofficial spokesman for Tiger in the media. One part of his life I had never seen addressed was his faith. Well, it would appear that the root of his faith is Buddhism, which he learned from his Thai mother. It is not the focus of the interview, but one of the things he talked about in this article.
I would not be surprised if the result of this disclosure were a renewed commitment to privacy, as I suspect Tiger is going to be hearing a lot from the Christians in his life in the months to come.
When I was about four years old (I may have been slightly younger than that) my family had made one of our frequent trips to my father’s home town. My grandparents lived in a very small town - the town’s sign on the highway claimed exactly 1,000 residents, but I’ve always been a bit skeptical of that figure - and their home was on a corner diagonally across from their church. We went to church with them, and I did not want to go into the children’s class with kids I didn’t know, so I promised my father that I would be quiet in church if he let me go to the service with the adults instead of going to the children’s program. He consented to this, and from that time forward I attended the regular worship service both there and in our church at home.
It surprises me now, looking back on that, that I have allowed my own children, who are now aged 6 and 8, to attend children’s church up to this point. I was directed last week to an article that brought those events of my childhood to mind, and I have decided that my wife and I should change our Sunday routine to include taking our children into the service with us from now on. They are certainly old enough to sit through the service, though they may find the adjustment difficult for a time.
The article I read was written by John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Minneapolis, MN. While it is not new, the issues involved have certainly not changed much if any in the 13 years since it was originally published.
Here is a key excerpt from the article:
Catch the Spirit
Parents have the responsibility to teach their children by their own example the meaning and value of worship. Therefore, parents should want their children with them in worship so the children can catch the spirit and form of their parents’ worship.
Children should see how Mom and Dad bow their heads in earnest prayer during the prelude and other non-directed times. They should see how Mom and Dad sing praise to God with joy in their faces, and how they listen hungrily to His Word. They should catch the spirit of their parents meeting the living God.
Something seems wrong when parents want to take their children in the formative years and put them with other children and other adults to form their attitude and behavior in worship. Parents should be jealous to model for their children the tremendous value they put on reverence in the presence of Almighty God.
If you would like to read the entire article, you can find it here. I will try to remember to report back in a few weeks as to how our family is adjusting to this change.
(H/T: Denny Burk)
I had the opportunity to take my family up to central Ohio on Saturday. My daughter had her first “away” gymnastics meet. Her competition was scheduled for Sunday morning early, so we didn’t really have a reason to rush on the way up. This was the first full meet I was able to attend, as her first meet took place in Nashville the same weekend we were hosting NCCT’08, and my responsibilities there kept me away from her meet. I obviously couldn’t miss this one, so the whole family made the journey. We saw a good amount of snow along the roadsides on the way up Saturday, along with some ice coating the trees in northern Kentucky, although the roads were trouble-free. On the way back Sunday afternoon, there had been more snowfall, and we drove through some moderate snow for most of our time in Ohio and the first hour or so of Kentucky, but thankfully managed to get out of the snow before the temperatures got cold enough to cause any real problems.
It’s amazing what six-year-olds will do without fear. She went out three times in front of the crowd (I would guess there were about 80-100 parents and other competitors there while she was performing her routines) and the judges and was seemingly unaffected by the eyes that were trained on her. Individually, she finished a very respectable 4th in her age group. (I think there were about 12 in her age group...) And her team finished 2nd overall, so they were able to bring a trophy back to the gym where they train.
The only other thing I had to do while in Ohio was try something that one of my co-workers has been pushing as the best thing ever, so we made a trip to Bob Evans for lunch, and I ordered some corn meal mush. If you’ve not heard of corn meal mush, I’ll do my best to explain it. Think of corn bread that wasn’t allowed to rise (though I’m not sure that mush is baked as a loaf), and then sliced less than a 1/4 inch thick and deep fried. Then it’s served with maple syrup. While it is good, I’m afraid that it was overhyped like everything else from Ohio is by this particular co-worker.
Bottom-line, I’m not sure who decided that mid-February was the perfect time to host a gymnastics meet in central Ohio, as the weather can certainly be dicey, but that’s where we found ourselves.
Abraham Piper is the son of well known preacher and author John Piper. And he's a one-time prodigal son who returned home and came to faith in Christ. He now works as part of his father's ministry, Desiring God.
The website of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has an article written by Abraham Piper, titled
Let Them Come Home. If you are the parent of a prodigal child, or you have friends or family that are, you may find the article very encouraging.
(HT:
Justin Buzzard)
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Evangelism, Parenting
Tim Challies is one of the better storytellers I know. (I say "know." I've never met Tim. We have traded email, and I anticipate that I will get to meet him when he is our guest, speaking at a
conference which I am helping to organize. But still I count him as a friend.) He shared a story on his blog yesterday, one which he heard from a friend, but tells it in a way that makes you feel almost as if you were present when it occurred. As always, the perspective is distinctly Christian. You will be blessed by reading
the story for yourself.
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Death, Salvation
Super blogger (and
2008 Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology speaker) Tim Challies posted an account of
his family's Christmas traditions today on his blog. I especially like the idea of heading off with the extended family the day after Christmas for a group outing.
As I write tonight, I'm marveling that the end of another year is upon us, and looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my wife and children. Our Christmas traditions are continuing to evolve. Our oldest is seven this Christmas, and we have much more of a set routine for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day than we did when we first became parents.
On Christmas Eve, we'll enjoy a late lunch/early dinner (take your pick) together, and then head off to the candlelight service at our church, which is early in the evening. We might take a little time to take in some Christmas lights around our part of town, whilst sipping some boiled custard, on the way home. Then we'll come home, and read the story of the Nativity from the Gospel of Luke. Next up, maybe a snack, and then we'll watch the Dr. Suess version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. After this, we might (*might*) let each of the kids open one gift of our choice, but we don't always do that.
Now it's time to tuck the kids into their beds, and begin waiting out the few minutes (hours!) that it takes to go to sleep on Christmas Eve! This is the first year that we no longer have any true believers in Santa Claus in the house, but he will come anyway, so after they have given up and gone to sleep, we'll stuff stockings and get out the Santa presents. (His aren't always wrapped.) Then we'll make a few final preparations for meals on Christmas Day, snack on Santa's milk and cookies, make sure the camera and camcorder batteries are in good shape, and head to bed. (Now, it's not unprecedented for me to then have to take time to wrap my wife's gifts after she goes to sleep, and I'm on track for that so far this year. Let's hope she doesn't happen across my hiding place!)
On Christmas morning, we'll be eager to see whether the kids wake us up, or whether we have to wake them as we have every year thus far. First thing we do is let them (and us!) empty their stockings. Then we go and have breakfast (I'm the cook for Christmas breakfast - either pancakes or waffles, and this year it's waffles) before we open any gifts.
After breakfast, we'll gather around the tree, and begin opening gifts. This leads, of course, to Mom and Dad working to get the toys out of their packages, where they are sufficiently secured to stay put if they are aboard a space shuttle at launch. Then batteries must be installed where necessary, or charged in some cases. You parents know the drill. And then the playing begins in earnest. Dad is available to consult on construction where necessary (legos, erector set, etc.) or will try his best to understand what it is that you're supposed to do with a doll (what? you style their hair?). Mom can also sometimes be pulled into such consultations, though she is likely to be thinking about preparing Christmas dinner by this time.
A more recent tradition has been gathering with friends for Christmas dinner, either at their home or ours. This year, we're blessed to host them in our home. And our gathering is growing - we'll have nine adults and eleven children around our tables this year, and we can't wait to hear the sounds of life as the children scatter after dinner to see what new toys they can play with.
This is absolutely one of my very favorite times of the year. I always look forward to the celebration, the music of the season, the fun of trying to surprise loved ones with gifts they will truly enjoy, the joyous gatherings of friends and family, the wonder of the Nativity and Incarnation of our Lord, the decorations, the anticipation on the faces of the children, and the smiles when they discover what gifts have been given to them. How thankful I am that God the Father sent His Son to be born, the baby Jesus, in such a humble place, and that He chose me among those who would believe and know the joy of His salvation. Truly the meaning of Christmas is worthy of our praise and celebration. Christmas blessings to you and yours.
When your father has founded three companies that became Fortune 500 enterprises, you have big shoes to fill as you try to follow in his footsteps. This
interview with Wayne Huizenga, Jr., is an encouraging read. He was saved in 2001, and has made his faith a very real part of his family and work life. There's a link at the bottom of the page to part 2.
