The Journey Begins

I was asked to lunch this past week by a friend and leader in our church to discuss the future of families and their part of our church mission/vision. He and other members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) asked me if I would be interested in putting together and facilitating a group that explores what it means to be a mature and equipped family unit, and what it will take for us at Perimeter Church to produce these types of families and have that flow into the culture of who we are and how we do things at our church. I'm excited about this new challenge! I feel like something big could come from it. Not big so that I will have the glory and feel and accomplishment, but BIG...as in God-size BIG. There is something about a project like this that feels like Jesus is right in the middle of it and it has potential to not only affect our own congregation here at Perimeter, but congregations around the world. That's huge to me! It's not about 1 person or 1 dream, it's about a team of people seeking God and truly trying to discover where the role of the family unit fits into discipleship and how we live out our faith together. With a 7 year old, 5 year old, and 14 month old, I am right in the middle of the demographic we are targeting and wanting to come alongside to mature and equip them to live out a genuine faith in Christ as an entire family. Wow! What a pleasure to even be asked to be a part of facilitating something I feel has God's name written all over it!

Later that same day, I met with my mentor, Carl Wilhelm, and we began to discuss briefly the idea of what a mature and equipped family might look like:

1. Biblical structure within home

2. Husband leads by serving the wife, children, and others

3. Enthusiastic attention to the injustices of children and the least and lost of society

4. Clear evidence of close and sincere walk with the Lord as a family unit

5. Higher priority to spend time touching unchurched or unbelieving people than just hang around believers and not venture past those relationships of convenience and comfort

6. Lead well financially--that doesn't mean be wealthy, but spend money wisely and Biblically...basically making Biblical financial decisions

7. Parents more interested in shepherding the hearts of their kids and not just the actions

8. Intimacy in the home--deal with conflict Biblically and quickly. The respect and love for one another in the home is so great that any conflict or disagreement is quickly worked through, even if there is a loving decision to agree to disagree

9. Living out of Deuteronomy 6 and Proverbs 31

10. Consistency is agape love of each other and others

Lord,

As we start this adventure, please give us wisdom to know what a mature and equipped family truly looks like; what material and equipping we need here at Perimeter to make this part of our culture; and show us places that are doing it well so we can come up with some best practices. Anoint this team and do great things. May it truly do well the task that has been assigned it. IN JESUS NAME, Amen!

I read this in The Message Bible in Ephesians 4 this morning:

Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

^14-16No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Mature and equipped...according to these verses, that is what God longs for all of us to be. So, with feet of clay and a undeniable need of a gracious and loving Savior and Lord, I move forward and take on this new task I have been asked to be a part of. To God be the glory!