A Lesson Learned From Finger Painting

This past summer I attended a wonderful seminar on the subject of the church and family called “Think Orange.” The idea is simple. We all learned as children that primary colors mixed together make new ones (although most of time my efforts resulted in the color ugly!). The church is represented by the color yellow. The family is red. When we join them, we get Orange! Orange is when these two powerful forces work together to be more potent.
If you are a parent or grand-parent what do you believe are the most important things in a child or teens life? Toys? Bikes? Cell phones? Cars? While some kids and teens believe those things are most important, many parents want kids to have something more eternal… an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.
That is what Think Orange is all about. Helping our children grow into mature Christians who not only love Jesus but love His church and the broken people in a broken world. While the type of education someone gets is important, it pales in comparison to the education we all should have about God.
A separation between the Church and Family has become apparent because many families don’t believe that the Church really has anything relevant to say about rearing kids. The Church has often looked at parents and said, “be like God as much as possible… or, you are the closest thing to God your kids will see,,, or only, see you next week.” There is also no such thing as a perfect family… only families struggling with this, that, and the other. Thus, there is no “normal family.” Sadly, many parents have just checked out because they know that life at home is far from the “Father Knows Best” or “Cosby Show” families portrayed on TV. It is more like the Brady Bunch on a really, really bad day. Life is complex because it now involves not only kids, but also step-kids, second or third marriages, etc… Most families aren’t made up of a first marriage and two biological kids. Even our culture tells us church has nothing significant for families at church. Baseball, soccer, and other family oriented events are now scheduled on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, both previously thought of as church times.
So what are we to do? Think Orange! Moses said in Deuteronomy 5 that we are to “ be very careful to act exactly as God commands you. Don't veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the road God commands so that you'll have a good life and live a long time...”The church is called to help parents by asking parents to spend quality time with kids, asking other Christians to spend time with kids, and seeing the whole process as an opportunity to trust God. For whatever reason, God seems to work through families, from Adam and Eve to Jesus to you. Have you ever wondered why so often the Bible gives genealogies or boring facts of who’s related to whom? It is because families are important. It may not even seem like it, but your family is part of a larger story. What role in God’s story will you or your children or your children’s children play? Who will they impact in their lives? What difference will they make for God? Who will grow up to be the next Billy Graham or Beth Moore or the hero who saves someone’s life or a great prayer warrior? Can you imagine if parents and churches partnered to help families be real and honest about the struggles of life and work to live as broken people in a hurting and broken world? I sure hope you can.