Thoughts on Family Ministry

Why should the “Church” engage in “family ministry”?

The notion of family ministry is important because it has highlighted a trend in church culture which is best described as “hyper-segregation.” Now, this is not a segregation based on ethnicity; rather, it is a segregation based on age or station in life. Segregation of this sort is not necessarily negative when used as an addition to a pattern of full corporate worship centered on the proclamation of God’s word. However, when taken to the extreme, segregated groups can virtually have independent church experiences concurrently within the same congregation. For example, children’s church pulls kids out of the broader corporate worship with the hopes of providing a service which speaks on the child’s level of understanding. This, in my thinking, is a trend toward hyper-segregation.

Some advocates of family ministry opine that aspects of church ministry, such as youth groups, should be abandoned all together. This is not my view. The children’s, youth, family, and senior adult ministries of the church are good and healthy ways to disciple and empower Christians in their walk with Christ. Nevertheless, this can not be taken to the extreme without negative repercussions.  We must value those times in our church experience when the broader family of God comes together to worship Christ. It is here that we as families, within the context of our broader church family, pass down the heritage of the Christian faith. Worshiping together as parents, children, singles, and elderly emphasizes the transcendent purpose (church is not about me) and universal relevance (we all must embrace Christ) of the Christian faith.

So then, families should not primarily view their identity as a segregated demographic within the church that functions concurrently, yet separately, from the church as a whole. Rather, family ministry should be viewed as a separate ministry focus (along with youth, singles, etc.), in addition to our prioritized corporate worship; wherein, we seize the opportunity to emphasize, equip, and provide the necessary tools for parents to disciple their children in the home.

Does the Bible teach this principle?

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Eph. 6:4

Yes, Scripture here and elsewhere implores us as parents to own the responsibility of teaching our children the ways of Christ. Yet, in order to provide balance (some writers have argued that it is not the Church’s job to disciple its children), let us observe verse 1 of the same chapter where Paul gives instruction directly to children: “Children obey your parents.” In this verse Paul is instructing children. We must conclude, then, that it is proper and right that the church invest and instruct its children and youth directly and deliberately. Nevertheless, we as parents must also accept the biblical mandate to raise our children in the ways of the Lord.

How is this sacred task best accomplished?

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 6:6-7

The best way to train your children is within the context of everyday life. Discuss sermons (your young children will not understand most of the preacher’s sermon, this is ok) over lunch. Fathers, talk to your sons about the things in life that are most important—not just football. Our homes should be consecrated unto the Lord. If the only Christian instruction our children receive is through church programming, then we as parents are squandering the precious time given to us by God to impact and raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  

Our vision for family ministry in the Church, then, should be to provide tools for parents and instill a sense of urgency in them to make Christian disciples of their children, within the context of the broader church. 

Thoughts on Contemporary Worship

I was recently reading an engaging article by D. H. Williams, dealing with contemporary worship (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/june/culturalmedium.html). Williams’s observations caused me to think through some concerns that I have had for several years. However, let me begin by stating that I perceive many of the discussions centered on contemporary versus traditional music in worship to be a little silly. Consider, for example, that 100 year old songs (many of which I cherish, by the way) were contemporary in style 100 years ago. There is nothing particularly sacred about a music format or soundscape. Many of the elements that define our traditional church song format were once considered controversial. For instance, harmony, at one time, was thought to be too sensual for church music; thus, voices in worship music were only allowed to sing melody!

For me, the more important concerns, as it relates to the topic of modern worship, are in the areas of lyric content and corporate compatibility. The older hymns were much more concerned, more so than many contemporary worship songs, with teaching Christians about the greatness of God and the foundational doctrines of the faith. Such themes give Christians the context and the inspiration to worship God. Many of the contemporary worship songs today are quite generic in content (there are some happy exceptions, of course). Many of these songs could just as well be about one’s significant other. And, some of these songs are, quite frankly, romantic in nature. This is a problem. However, fixing this problem does not entail tossing out contemporary music styles. Rather, the Church needs to foster better songwriting from its artists. Christian musicians need to be better trained theologians than is commonly the case today, and the Church should provide this kind of training and mentoring.

Corporate compatibility, with regard to modern worship, is also an issue that is a pressing but often neglected topic in contemporary discussions (Williams has some great thoughts on this in his article). Church worship is a community or corporate activity—or at least it should be. Yet, many modern churches set up their worship center like a lecture hall and plan their worship service like a pop concert. Now, this is fine—except for the fact that such things do much more for fostering personal worship than corporate worship. In other words, when the lights are dim and your fellow congregants’s voices are inaudible, then your obvious option is to engage in personal worship. But, church should be a corporate and community building endeavor. The evangelical church needs to be talking about this. We need to be problem solving here.

None of these concerns necessitate the rejection of contemporary worship songs. Nevertheless, as concerned members of the body of Christ, we must think through the implications of our worship formats and work on solutions that help us maintain a biblical model for worship in the Church. What do you think?