What is a Strategic Question?

This might be the question you and I am asking right now? What does a question have to do with being a family-equipping congregation? Dr. Timothy Jones helps us understand the significance of this question as he says, “A question that filters good versus best activities. How will this element of our ministry equip families to function as a foundational unit of discipleship?”

Is this really necessary? Why don’t we just do it the way we always have done it and call it good? As I am reading a book by Mark Holman titled, Church+Home: The Proven Formula for Building Lifelong Faith, the observation is made, “Our enemy, Satan, is  continually at work to stop Christianity from advancing, and it has become clear over the last few decades that Satan has moved his emphasis to the home. Satan realizes that he will not prevail against the Church because Jesus has already declared that he will not. Yet no such promise regarding the home was made; therefore, Satan realizes that the home is open territory for him to go to work. And during the last 40 to 50 years, Satan has been at work to take Christ and Christlike living out of the home because he realizes that if he can accomplish this, he can impact the advance of Christianity not only for today but also for generations to come.”

Wow! Do I recognize my own home as a spiritual battle ground? So, what about the “question?” We believe, as leaders of the church, that we need to ask ourselves critical questions when events or activities are planned. For example, does this activity bring families together or pull them apart? How will this program or event resource, train, or involve parents to disciple their children?

If we are going to “say” we champion the family, then our “doing” better reflect that conviction. I definitely recognize some areas we at Vann are intentional about equipping the family. I see our TeamKID ministry sending home a take home piece called Faith Talk where the home is encouraged to spend time during the week reinforcing the lesson learned. It encourages the home to read the Scriptures, pray, and discuss together what Jesus calls the family to do. In the youth ministry there are monthly magazines and take home pieces that encourage the home to be discussing the topic together. I am thankful for Pastor Eric, promoting and attending himself with his wife, the Instructing a Child’s Heart conference at First Baptist Henderson. We have both our intergenerational ministries, Titus 2 and BMen, striving to embrace intergenerational relationships and seeing the importance of equipping the next generation. I’m sure I missed other things, but these initially encourage me to see what we are doing and where we believe God is leading us.

“Whatever else may be said about the home, it is the bottom line of life, the anvil upon which attitudes and convictions are hammered out. It is the place where life’s bills come due, the single most influential force in our earthly existence. . . . It is a home, among family members, that we come to terms with circumstances. It is here life makes up its mind.”

Charles Swindoll