Book Review: Family-Driven Faith (Part II)

Here's a little food for thought on a biblical worldview. Still expanding on Family-Driven Faith, but using quite a bit from Barna's website today too. (My words are in blue today. Words in brown are from www.barna.org)

Researcher George Barna found that less than 10 percent of self-proclaimed "born-again Christians" in America have a biblical worldview. What's worse, he found that only half (51 percent) of America's pastors have a biblicalworld view.

Yikes! Half our pastors don't hold to biblical teachings themselves!!! What do the remaining pastors and 90% of our "born-agains" believe?

By a three to one margin (71% to 26%) adults noted that they are personally more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a comprehensive set of beliefs taught by a particular church. Although born again Christians were among the segments least likely to adopt the a la carte approach to beliefs, a considerable majority even of born again adults (61%) has taken that route. Leading the charge in the move to customize one’s package of beliefs are people under the age of 25, among whom more than four out of five (82%) said they develop their own combination of beliefs rather than adopt a set proposed by a church.

So...pretty much we pull an Oprah...I believe what I like, and if I believe it, it must be true. Hey, I like Oprah, but she is way off base in her beliefs on God, spirituality, and eternity.

If I was choosing my beliefs, I'd leave out some too: belief in hell, pray for your enemies, forgive 70 x 7, and a few others. It'd be an easier pill to swallow, but it's not truth.

Evidence of people’s willingness to part with church teaching was shown in other data from the survey regarding what people believe. Among individuals who describe themselves as Christian, for instance, close to half believe that Satan does not exist, one-third contend that Jesus sinned while He was on earth, two-fifths say they do not have a responsibility to share the Christian faith with others, and one-quarter dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.

And these are the Christians...we should be like the Bereans in Acts who "eagerly accepted the message and examined the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was true."

So, what is a Biblical worldview? If I am going to pass it on, I need to define it.

For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

Voddie Baucham defines a biblical worldview much the same way, but he expands on the principles a bit more.

Here's a great quote about truth from his book.

"That which corresponds to reality, identifies things as they actually are, can never fail, diminish, change, or be extinguished, must be able to be expressed in propositional statements, and is sourced in the God of the bible who is the author of all truth."
~Paul Shockley


Why It Matters

Ongoing research by The Barna Group on these matters consistently demonstrates the powerful impact a person’s worldview has on their life. A worldview serves as a person’s decision-making filter, enabling them to make sense of the complex and huge amount of information, experiences, relationships and opportunities they face in life. By helping to clarify what a person believes to be important, true and desirable, a worldview has a dramatic influence on a person’s choices in any given situation.

Barna’s research has discovered that there are unusually large differences in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices.

The firm’s studies have also pointed out that a person’s worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13; it is refined through experience during the teen and early adult years; and then it is passed on to others during their adult life. Such studies underscore the necessity of parents and other influencers being intentional in how they help develop the worldview of children.

To read more, go to Barna's website.

Life Around the Homestead

Setting up the tent in the front yard - notice the caveman tool. All three big kids slept out there alone for the first time. They were out there all night anyway; I'm not sure how much sleeping was done.

Nothing like falling asleep in your spaghetti

Look Momma, we used all the blocks.

It's amazing how fun the sandbox is when it's been cleaned out.

Book Review: Family-Driven Faith (Part I)

I thought I'd share a few things that I've gleaned from a book I just finished reading. The book is called Family-Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God, written by Voddie Baucham.

Take a look at this quote from the beginning of his book:

According to researchers, between 70 and 88 percent of Christian teens are leaving the church by their second year in college. That's right, modern American Christianity has a failure rate somewhere around eight (almost nine) out of ten when it comes to raising children who continue in the faith. Imagine the alarm if nearly 90 percent of our children couldn't read when they left high school. There wouldn't be room enough at the school board meetings to hold all of the irate parents.

Doesn't that quote just take your breath away? What is going wrong? Why aren't kids who are taken to church their whole lives making God and the church part of their adult lives? It is the job of the parents to pass the torch of faith on to their children. What are we doing wrong? What do YOU think?

This is obviously very important to me because I am in the season of life of raising my children and trying to pass on that torch of faith. And I don't want to get it wrong because knowledge of, love for, and commitment to God are the most important things for them to learn, with more eternal consequences than learning reading, writing, or arithmetic.

Think on this quote for a while, and I'll share some more gleanings in part II.

It Works! It Works!

Here is Sam modeling the latest in a TLSO brace, otherwise known as a body jacket. And yes, it is covered in cute little zoo animals. Hey, you can choose from about 40 different patterns and matching straps. Statistically, for infantile scoliosis, the brace will halt or improve the progression of scoliosis in 85% of the cases.

Guess what? For the first time in a long time, this boy falls in the majority! Last September, his curvature was 28 degrees, which means we wait and see. By December, it had progressed for 40 degrees. He began wearing the brace in February, and his curve now measures 30 degrees, which his body can maintain with the brace off. We are giving thanks to God for this good news!

Because it limits his ability to do about everything (since he can't walk), he only wears it at night. It really isn't that big of a deal, as we slip it on him after he falls asleep. He does get a little stuck on the bed sometimes, and usually has to be flipped over a couple of times during the night, but he goes right back to sleep. The biggest issue with it is it makes him sweat a lot.

Please don't tell me to keep the room cool! I can't tell you how many people have asked if the room was cool - like I have no idea that a hot room might make him sweat more! He's just a hot baby, has been since he was born, and a plastic vest doesn't help. Hey, wrap yourself in plastic wrap and see if you sweat ;)

During the day he wears a Benik vest - imagine a soft vest made of wetsuit material. If you look closely in some of his pictures on this blog, you'll see him in it - it's royal blue and goes right over his clothes. It gives him a little bit of posture support, but is flexible enough to allow him to move and bend in any direction.

Anyway, we are very happy to have some definitive good news! He will continue to wear the TLSO and Benik, and we'll go for a re-check in four months. Will he continue to improve? Only time will tell, but so far Sam's progress is wonderful.

Portraits of June

The Little Garden Girl
(Our rock garden actually looks like a real rock garden this year!)

The Little Sunday Driver

Peony in Full Bloom

Mixed Lettuce and Spinach
(It's even organic!)
Price of comparable greens at the store: $2.99