Coffee, Anyone?

I rush here and there. Gotta practice violin another hour. I’m behind on my business bookwork. My bedroom hasn’t been cleaned since…well, I won’t admit how long it has been.

My sisters suggest coffee together. Not one more thing for my schedule! Can I afford the time?

In Family Driven Faith, Voddie Baucham challenges families to cut back on their commitments, including sports and ministry events. He insists on scheduling family time.

If we don’t plan that family vacation, the summer will come and go and we will wonder what happened. If we don’t put that piano recital on the calendar, something else will fill the space. And if we don’t carve out time to disciple our children, it simply will not get done.

Dr. Baucham scored extra points with me for mentioning piano recitals, but he also steps on my toes. It’s time to schedule that coffee date.

Do I Fit in Here?

“She has white hair,” Mom said, describing a lady at church.

My sisters and I rolled our eyes. “Everyone at church has white hair.”

Since then, we have been blessed with two babies at church. Now we have the cane brigade, the bottle brigade and a few of us oddballs in between. Where are the young people? Why have we lost most of the twenty- and thirty-somethings?

Church leaders voice various opinions. We need a contemporary service. Drums and guitar will bring in young people. The sermon must be short and practical – none of this deep theological stuff. Have more social events. Start a singles group.

Others are more academic. Teach teens how to defend their faith. Give them proof for a literal six-day creation as taught in Genesis. Show them evidence for the existence of God and the truth of the Bible.

I love discussing those topics, but that’s not the answer.

I just finished reading a book that came closer to the truth than anything else I have read. The book is Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr. The answer is at home. The church cannot impart faith in one hour a week. God gave us families for a reason.

In my up-coming posts, I’ll discuss some of Voddie Baucham’s excellent ideas. I’ll share some of the things I question in his book. I invite feedback from you. If you’ve ever felt disillusioned with church (haven’t we all?), tell me why. Honesty is the first step in our search for truth.

Existential Hugs

It’s always special when one of my favorite authors quotes one of my other favorite authors, and I can count on Ravi Zacharias to quote C.S. Lewis regularly.

In a recent message, Ravi Zacharias told how C.S. Lewis was torn between pantheism and Christianity. He did not want Christianity to be true. If Christianity is true, there is a God whom we must obey, and that’s not convenient. But our desires do not determine truth.

Then Ravi inserted a seemingly unrelated story about wounded veterans getting prosthetic limbs. Two of them were interviewed for television. They said, “The best part about getting this now is that I can get a hug again.”

“You see,” Ravi explained “God has designed you and me for existential hugs. A temple will never embrace you. A ceremony will never give you a hug. But when you come to know Jesus Christ…” (and here’s that famous C.S. Lewis quote) ”…you don’t come to a place, you come to a Person.”

Have you had your hug today?