Shepherd Your Kids Into Adulthood

Watching some old family home videos a few weeks ago, Linda and I were flooded with nostalgia. We loved every stage of parenting.But we are also very pleased with where our kids are today. All three loving God, loving and involved in his church, and serving. They married committed Christians, and have now established Christian households of their own. There’s no greater joy than that.Because our lifestyle was always closely tied to our church, many of those videos were church functions and gatherings with other families with kids in the same age bracket. There were a lot of parties, campouts with other families, Awana and youth activities, and just families getting together.Some of those kids are still doing well, as are their parents. But too many, sadly, are not.I certainly don’t mean to say that any style of parenting is foolproof. Everyone is responsible for their choices, even our kids. But let’s face it, we as parents, have the biggest influence on our kids, and their choices are often a reflection of that influence.As a pastor who has seen it all when it comes to parenting, one striking similarity between those whose kids walk away and those who do not, has to do with the commitment parents have to shepherd their children spiritually, all the way into their adult years.For a lot of parents, it’s a big deal that they “lay a foundation” in the younger years, and they make sure their kids are in church, children’s ministry, Awana, etc. But it's almost as though they think that foundation, when they're little is enough. So when the kids start to push back as they enter their middle school and high school years, it’s not as important to them. When they were little, it was fun to talk to them about “Jesus.” After all, Jesus loves the little children. But what about when they start to get a little snotty, or whiny, or disagreeable? Are we still eager to talk to them about Jesus?Your kids need you to shepherd them all the way into adulthood. They need to see you being a consistent Christian, even when they aren’t. They need to hear from you why we serve the Lord, even when they are complaining about it. They need you to have the courage to send them to youth group, where they will be surrounded by young adults who love God. You need that help, too. While we make a big deal about Awana in our church (for good reason), in my mind, it’s more important that kids have a youth group in middle school and high school. That’s when they need the added spiritual support the most.But sadly, not only have I seen too many parents back off, and sometimes cave altogether, when it comes to training their older kids to love God and serve him, too often, those same parents would begin to drift during the same years. Commit yourself, right now, when your kids are young (or even if they are older), to being a consistent example to them throughout your life. And commit yourself to shepherd them spiritually into their adult years. It’s not enough just to give it to them when they are little. That’s only the beginning.A decade from now, I’m sure I’ll be perusing videos of church functions and activities from these years. And I’ll see you and your kids, and memories will flood my mind once again. Where will you and your kids be, spiritually, then? I hope and pray it will be loving God, and loving and serving his church.