One father's take on disciple-making

Several days ago I proposed a radical model of discipleship. As much as we may recognize the need for spiritual coaching, most of us don't have a sense of what true discipleship looks like. (Perhaps it's related our culture - we like "once a week programs" way more than "ways of life")

Anyways, I stumbled upon a related post by Mark Batterson at Evotional.com, in which he describes a year-long discipleship program he has initiated with his son. Can you imagine if all dads were willing to spend one year doing something like this with their children?

Just thought I'd share the three challenges that are part of my year-long discipleship of my son, Parker. I'd love to help some other dads while I'm trying to figure out fatherhood myself! Parker and I signed a covenant and Parker committed to complete a physical challenge, intellectual challenge, and spiritual challenge. If he completes the challenges, I'll take him on a pilgrimage at the end of the year as a celebration of his accomplishment.

For the physical challenge, we are going to train for and run a 10K together. We're eyeing the Capitol Hill Classic next May. I think it will teach discipline and pursuing a common goal creates a unique bond.

For the intellectual challenge, I'm having Parker read a dozen books. I don't have all of them picked out, but I'm going for a cross-section of books that have impacted my life yet are age-appropriate for him.

For the spiritual challenge, we're reading through the New Testament together. I want to teach him spiritual disciplines so we'll also do a forty-day Lent fast. Not sure what we'll fast, but we'll both give up the same thing. And I want to help him come up with a code of conduct and life goals.

Honestly, I don't really know what I'm doing! I just figure that if we sweat together, talk together, and pray together we'll probably grow close together! Sure, I have a plan. But I'm not sure what this will look like six weeks or six months from now. One thing is sure: I'm not going to let our culture raise my son! I'm determined to disciple him myself!

My Birthday Surprise

So, Katherine has been telling me to keep this weekend free for weeks now, because she has a birthday surprise planned. Now I know why.

Turns out, Katherine conspired with Jason, my best friend from high school who now lives in Washington, and he showed up on my doorstep yesterday! He's here all weekend for a few days of revelry and carousing, staying up until all hours, playing games, and eating snacky foods! Woot!

I'll have to drop more thoughts on the whole thing later. Right now, we're getting ready to drive to Apple Hill in Placerville to enjoy some beautiful fall leaves and some apple-y goodness. Freshly pressed cider awaits!

New Poll Up

Hey, there's a new poll posted in the sidebar on the right. Let your voice be heard, or something.

If you don't like your choices, vote anyway (just like real life). Then, submit your funnier and more creative alternative in a comment on this post.

Best. Job. Ever.

Last Tuesday, we had a fun evening out with our junior highers. Instead of our regular youth group night, we all met at the bowling alley. We had 28 enthusiastic kids! What fun!

Writing Overload

It's that time in the quarter at Seminary when things start being due. The fun and frivolity of classroom lectures is giving way to the demand for actual work product. So, I find myself writing like a madman.

Over the last 30 hours or so, I have written over 3200 words about the roles and relative importance of music, prayer, and preaching in worship gatherings. I have explored biblical modes of worship and responded to selected musings from the reading list. I have drawn conclusions about where contemporary worship gatherings could come more in line with God's intentions for them, and I have notated everything in accordance with the MLA Handbook. In that time, I have also worked a full day, slept a little bit, watched the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and drank 3/4 of a pot of coffee.

Why cram all of this into such a short time period? Because my Ever-Lovin' Wife has a special weekend planned for me. You see, Thursday and Friday is our weekend, and this particular weekend falls directly before my birthday on Monday. So, ELW has formulated some super secret birthday plans for me. Which she says will fill the weekend. Which means I had to finish all of my papers before this afternoon. Which I have done.

So now, I can sit back, relax, and enjoy whatever it is she has planned for me. I just hope my brain isn't too mushy to appreciate it.

What do I write about?

One of the blogger features I enjoy is being able to flag each post with the topics it covers, and to track how many posts I've written that relate to each topic. Over the past year, these are the topics we've visited most often (by number of posts):

Youth Ministry: 40
Fair Oaks Church: 22
Just For Fun: 19
Thoughts: 17
New Orleans: 13
Africa: 10

Late-night ramblings of a would-be disciple-maker

Fellow Christians,

why do we think in terms of ‘giving God our time’, when really, He made us, He made time, and He gives us just a bit of it to use for His glory? Who's giving what to who? What’s the point of living a life too busy to make a difference in God’s Kingdom?

What if…

we approached discipleship not as a classroom curriculum but a valuable relationship? Jesus lived, walked, ate, and ministered with his disciples. What would happen if we lived out our faith this way?

Imagine…

if we chose to share a home with a disciple, intentionally sharing all aspects of our life with them? It would be costly… maybe we couldn't spend so much time at work, pouring into a career. Less time to spend on self-fulfilling hobbies. We’d have to develop our own faith, make it worthy of sharing. Maybe get a little flexible with the definitions of “mine” and “yours”.

What if...

over dinner, we dreamed together of what could happen in our church, our community? What if we shared our God-given passions and encouraged one another to follow them shamelessly? What if, over breakfast, we prayed and devoted ourselves to living out His call? What if we cared enough to actually do something uncomfortable?

Could we...

actually equip a generation of Christ-followers to pick up their cross, let their light shine, and show a cynical world true faith not just by what they say, or how they vote, but by what they actually put into practice? Would we change the world by honoring God with more than just our lips?

(Admit it, aren’t you thinking right now: Yes! Someone (else) should definitely do that!)

It's pretty radical, I admit. Maybe even crazy talk. But as Christians, we are all commissioned to go forth and make disciples of all nations. So, if this isn't how you want to make disciples, how are YOU going to do it?

Kid Nation

When I first heard about the new reality show “Kid Nation”, I was horrified. What kind of parents would let their kids run around without adult supervision for 40 days, for the sake of being on TV? What would happen with these kids? I imagined a chaotic 'society' in which the bullies would run wild, scarring the other kids for life.

As I actually sat down and watched a few episodes of the show, however, I was surprised by how greatly the (portrayed) reality differed from my expectations. For the most part, the kids demontrated great maturity and dedication to what would be best for the group as a whole. They consoled one another when homesick. They took care of each other when hurt. When one district slacked on chores, the other kids came in and washed all the dishes, simply because it had to be done.


On the show, the kids are given the opportunity to rebuild society in an abandonded town called Bonanza City. (For a full description of the show, there's a great write-up on wikipedia). Each team leader is representative to a town council that makes decisions for the group. Every few days, the council is given a task to help bring order to the town. For example, the leaders are given the freedom to choose what time a town curfew should be, but must also enforce their decision.

Various challenges determine the respobsiblity of each district (winners are 'upper class' and take it easy, losers scrub toilets), and a good overall performance may result in a group prize. In a recent episode, the town earned a big reward - the choice between a collection of holy books (Bibles, the Koran, etc.) and having a miniature golf course built in their town. To my amazement, the kids chose the holy books over the golf course!

Although there are some of the scenarios one would expect absent parental supervision, there are far more examples of kids buckling down to work hard, encourage one another, and do whatever it takes to make the town succeed. Thank you Kid Nation - you've given me a renewed respect for our young people.