Family Friday Links 4.20.18

Daniel Im the Founder of NewChurches.com and the Director of Church Multiplication for LifeWay Christian Resources he is also the Teaching Pastor at The Fellowship, a multisite church in Nashville. Daniel wrote a blog entitled Trends of Kids Ministry. Daniel writes, "Kids ministry is really hard work. You have to build and train an army of volunteers that serve faithfully. Although kids ministers get into kids ministry because they love kids, the reality is that they work with adults more than they work with kids. This means reaching both parents and volunteers. In order to do this effectively, pastors need to partner with kids ministers to capture the parents and help them realize the need to disciple their children at home. Kids ministers need the whole church to rally behind the idea."

Ligon Duncan at Together for the Gospel conference last week had a fantastic sermon about The Whole in Our Holiness. He ties in our need for holiness and our following the commandment of loving our neighbor. Ligon says, "If we would have just obeyed the commandment to love our neighbor, racial tensions would be in a very different place." I recommend you check out this sermon as we raise the next generation to love all people. Ligon also shared a few resources at his blog for youth ministry. Check out those Youth Ministry Resources.

J. D. Greer is the lead pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and he wrote for the Gospel Coalition last month a post about What Your Kids Need From You. J. D. wrote, " Love is not enough. The Bible teaches us that our kids have more than a behavior problem; they have a heart problem. They are spiritually dead. And no amount of our love can change that."  One of the most helpful pieces of parenting advice I ever received was this: Be their dad, not their pastor. The pastor is always busy telling them what is wrong with them; a dad is just excited about who they are. You can’t force the affections of their heart to grow. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, and he does it in the security of unconditional love. If you focus on your kids’ hearts and not their behavior, it’s going to change everything—including how you discipline, how you pray, and how you celebrate success."

What are you reading? Leave your links in the comments below!