Your Family Blueprint
Season 1
Heart Connections
by Clint Culpepper
When we think of the heart of the next generation, the heart is important. The Eastern way of thinking would understand this best as the physical heart. Western minds think of the heart as the mind. So, the heart is so important. Parents are given the ultimate job in protecting their heart and establishing a heart connection with them. While in seminary, I was able to take this one course on family ministry. The professor is widely known as a top leader in family ministry. Every word of the course really connected with my heart and really changed my life. Richard Ross impressed on me the importance of the heart and then the connection it has with their parents or guardians. That pipeline really is crucial. To quote him “Kids have an emotional gas tank. 1. Kids are drainers. 2. Parents are fuelers”. What we do matters each and every day. We have to be connected with our kids…we have to guard their hearts like it’s the end of the world. That’s where the pipeline comes in. The pipeline connects your heart to theirs. Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. We must do our part to guard their hearts. Our kids need: 1. Unfailing love 2. Significance 3. Security Whoever has the heart connection has influence. We must have the heart connection and point them to Christ daily. Challenge: Part one: Monitor the tone of your heart connection with your kids. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Let that be the tone of the relationship. Work on that daily Part two: Find something you can do together with your child(ren). Whether it be a sport, board game or walk, make sure to listen to them and communicate to strengthen that heart connection. Conversation starter: What was a good that happened to day and what was a bad thing? Listen and discuss.
Parents: Batters Up Week 1 Growing up in the church, we always heard it is the church’s job to disciple the kids and youth. While that is true and the church has a tremendous job especially now in the Covid-19 era, the church is to partner with families in growing young disciples. The task can seem incredibly difficult, almost like a mountain that cannot be scaled. When we look at our children or grandchildren, we should recognize that they each have a soul. Each one is destined for one of two places, heaven or hell. We all would say that we want our family to be with God in heaven. Easy, right? But now we get to the point of action. What do we do in response? Church is vital for their spiritual growth. Church is community. Church is fellowship. Church is a place they need be to experience the Word taught, preached and modeled. But there is a component that is easily missed that is vitally important. That is the parent, grandparent or guardian. Your child looks to you always, even when you think they don’t. So, you play a vital role in connecting your next generation to Christ. What do we do? 1. Acknowledge the importance of connecting with a local church community. Find one today. 2. Accept the responsibility in the Spiritual formation of your family. How do we do that? 1. Visit, join or reconnect with your local Bible believing church and their family ministry. 2. Ask your local pastor how to begin a family worship time at home. 3. Incorporate prayer, and Bible reading/studying in home today. First Challenge: One night out the week, with all distractions taken away, tell your family about this new journey, and read Deuteronomy 6: 4-19 together. Spend time sincerely praying for each other and any other specific prayer concerns. Write this day on the calendar as a remembrance of the powerful new journey that you and your family have just begun!