Teeth and Changes

Earlier tonight I was on the computer checking e-mail when Rainy came running in the room cheering, "Teeth!" That's a one-word sentence that means, "Daddy, it's time for you to help me brush my teeth." It used to be that I would have to do all the work on her little nibblers. But now she pretty much takes the wheel and scrubs her little pearlies until she's ready for the next meal. Or until I put the breaks on.

She doesn't really need me in there. I think she just likes the company in the bathroom. So, it's sort of this routine we've got going. It's unbelievable how she's growing up. And Zeke too.

It would've been impossible to imagine a year ago all the changes that have happened in our family in the past few months. The kids are growing and changing. Areyna will be getting her driver's license soon. Not quite. The Lord is blessing as we work to get our ministry off the ground. He's providing the right contacts and the right people each step of the way. We've got some awesome people believing in what we're doing and assisting in many different ways. We're so grateful for that. Change is good.

Change keeps us on our toes. Change helps to wrap the unchanging message of Christ in a fresh package. Not that it needs any help. Don't get me wrong. His Word speaks for itself. We just have to make sure we change the right things - the methods, not the message.

So, I'm sitting here wondering where my kids will be in 10 years. 20 years. Where will I be? What will be the state of the church in 10 years? What will be the spiritual climate of America? Will my kids be walking with Jesus Christ intimately? Will they long to love and serve Him with their lives? I just wonder what challenges my kids will face in 10 years. In 20 years.

This last issue of Relevant magazine posed the question to several current church leaders, "What do you see as the greatest challenge for young Christians in the next 10 years?" Here's what Mark Driscoll said,

"There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. Some emergent types want to recast Jesus . . . I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more cultural than Christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the Bible, we will have less and less Christians, and more and more confused, spiritually self-righteous blogger critics of Christianity."

Bottom line? Whatever changes take place in my kids' lives, in my personal life, in my church, in my ministry, or wherever, I better make sure that the culture-penetrating, life-changing message of Christ doesn't change. I better make sure I always and fully communicate it to my kids. I better make sure they know the real Jesus of Scripture, not some Abercrombie-wearing, tree-hugging Jesus that 8th-graders want to be their homeboy. That's not the Jesus that my kids will know. That's not the Jesus that I will preach about or sing to. And that's not going to change.