Family's on a road trip from Oregon to Texas.
Here's a video of a gathering at Sweet Tomatoes in Stafford, TX, on July 16, 2009, where we met nearly 50 of friends from our years at Fort Bend Community Church for dinner.
Showing posts with label FBCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FBCC. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, April 02, 2007
Dear John Letter
I received a "Dear John Letter" last night at a dinner hosted by jack and Lena Y. After reading this, I found myself thanking God for the years He has given me in Fort Bend. Grateful, too, for the privilege of serving Him and being used as His instrument. I usually don't self-publish my press reports, but I did promise Steven's parents I would do this. Steven K. put a lot of hard work into this. Thanks, Steven.
Dear Mr. Frank,
I would like to take the time to thank you for all of your hard work in the Children's Ministry at Fort Bend Community Church. I am now in 7th grade, but I still remember you as one of my heroes. You were always there at Awana to support us and help us with our games, worship time, and memorizing verse. On Sunday during our children's worship, you led us through songs and preached the Word to us. You tried to make the Word fun and interesting to learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for all your help and encouragement. I wish you a safe trip to your next destination where God has wanted you to go and preach the Word. Finally, May God Bless You and Your Family.
Sincerely yours,
Steven Kung
Dear Mr. Frank,
I would like to take the time to thank you for all of your hard work in the Children's Ministry at Fort Bend Community Church. I am now in 7th grade, but I still remember you as one of my heroes. You were always there at Awana to support us and help us with our games, worship time, and memorizing verse. On Sunday during our children's worship, you led us through songs and preached the Word to us. You tried to make the Word fun and interesting to learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for all your help and encouragement. I wish you a safe trip to your next destination where God has wanted you to go and preach the Word. Finally, May God Bless You and Your Family.
Sincerely yours,
Steven Kung
Monday, October 23, 2006
MyVideos
Yesterday's appreciation program for me and my family was a blast! The slideshow by Jimmy Chueng was great--only problem was that it had too many pictures of me. Nobody else but me would probably want to sit through that long a show of watching pictures of the same person. 'Nuff said.
Staying on the topic of videos on the web, I recently found this video interview that was made in 2003, I think.
As for my video resume from my last blog entry, I uploaded it in chapters to Youtube today. Check it out.
Staying on the topic of videos on the web, I recently found this video interview that was made in 2003, I think.
As for my video resume from my last blog entry, I uploaded it in chapters to Youtube today. Check it out.
Monday, August 21, 2006
the last five years; ramblings & memories
disclaimer: i decided to forego the rules of grammar in this post.
5 years, wow! that's nearly a seventh of my lifetime. here are a couple of pennies' worth of reflection on this period of time.
anne finished 5 years of elementary school in one school district (actually 2 schools).
ellie-joy & nathan came to know Christ as Savior during this time.
joy was hospitalized & had surgery
nathan-now six years old, has doubled his weight in five years (from 26 lbs. to 52 lbs.)
betty and i got our green cards.
except for working part-time in different positions at dallas seminary, fbcc marks my longest employment term ever.
attended cpc (children's pastor's conference) 6 times
i'll keep adding as more random, trivial observations come to mind.
5 years, wow! that's nearly a seventh of my lifetime. here are a couple of pennies' worth of reflection on this period of time.
anne finished 5 years of elementary school in one school district (actually 2 schools).
ellie-joy & nathan came to know Christ as Savior during this time.
joy was hospitalized & had surgery
nathan-now six years old, has doubled his weight in five years (from 26 lbs. to 52 lbs.)
betty and i got our green cards.
except for working part-time in different positions at dallas seminary, fbcc marks my longest employment term ever.
attended cpc (children's pastor's conference) 6 times
i'll keep adding as more random, trivial observations come to mind.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Rumor Busters (alternate title: if you want to know what's going on, ask ...)
The Fort Bend Independent School District's website has a section on its site dedicated to clarifying and correcting rumors. Apparently I need to add this section to the blog as well, in order to clarify some of the news and rumors about my resignation from FBCC.
If you hear anything related to our situation and you're not sure about the veracity (truth), feel free to email me for clarification.
RUMOR
I heard that you're leaving at the end of September.
TRUTH
My ministry end-date at FBCC is October 31. I informed the church of this date at the end of July.
I had originally submitted my resignation on June 22, with an effective date of September 30. In that letter, I asked FBCC to consider allowing me to extend my ministry on a month-to-month basis in order to better handle the transition. The Church Council in July asked me for a definite end-date instead. Thus, the date of October 31.
RUMOR
I'm not sure but some people are wondering if you were fired.
TRUTH
No, I was not fired. In fact, when I informed FBCC of my intent to resign, I was asked repeatedly to reconsider and stay.
RUMOR
I heard that because you're resigning, AWANA will be cancelled this year.
TRUTH
There is no decision concerning any changes in AWANA. At present, we are going ahead with the plans to begin AWANA at FBCC on Sept. 8, the Friday after Labor Day. However, there is a real need for volunteers and leaders in AWANA this year. We still don't have a Commander and have many other vacancies in key leadership positions. We need the parents and adults at FBCC to step up and volunteer in order to implement AWANA at the same level of excellence and quality. We are presently approaching some possible individuals to ask them about the Commander position.
RUMOR
Fourth grader: "My parents wants to know the real reason why you're leaving. They said God is not the real reason."
TRUTH
God IS THE REAL REASON. Betty and I have prayed over this decision for several months before we finally decided what to do. Our original commitment to FBCC was 5 years and in fall of 2005, at the beginning of our fifth year at FBCC, we began to pray for God's direction for our future. We did struggle over the timing, knowing that FBCC was already undergoing transition in the English ministry.
RUMOR
Is FBCC not pursuing family ministry? Is that one of the reasons you're leaving?
TRUTH
Family ministry at FBCC is not a reason for my leaving.
FBCC is pursuing family ministry. This is one of the goals for 2006, and is also a major part of the 10-year vision. There are many parents in the church who are responding to the challenge of pursuing family ministry. But this will require a lot of work and is not as easy as it sounds. FBCC is a North American ethnic Chinese church with different generations worshipping under the same roof.
RUMOR
Congratulations! I heard that you already have several job offers from other churches. [08/13/06]
TRUTH
I started sending out my resume to different churches on July 18. The list of churches included several in the Houston area and some out-of-state. Two churches emailed me to ask for a chance to get to know me more. I met with a contact from a local church and talked on the phone with a contact from out-of-state.
There are no offers, and I'm still waiting to see if the churches will contact me further. Also, the hiring process of church pastoral staff is usually a protracted (longer) one compared to hiring for other jobs. In most cases, the process will take the following steps:
RUMOR
I heard that you're planning to move away from Houston.
TRUTH
Whether or not my family moves is uncertain. I have sent my resume to local churches as well as out-of-town churches. It's too early to tell if we'll end up moving or not.
If you hear anything related to our situation and you're not sure about the veracity (truth), feel free to email me for clarification.RUMOR
I heard that you're leaving at the end of September.
TRUTH
My ministry end-date at FBCC is October 31. I informed the church of this date at the end of July.
I had originally submitted my resignation on June 22, with an effective date of September 30. In that letter, I asked FBCC to consider allowing me to extend my ministry on a month-to-month basis in order to better handle the transition. The Church Council in July asked me for a definite end-date instead. Thus, the date of October 31.
RUMOR
I'm not sure but some people are wondering if you were fired.
TRUTH
No, I was not fired. In fact, when I informed FBCC of my intent to resign, I was asked repeatedly to reconsider and stay.
RUMOR
I heard that because you're resigning, AWANA will be cancelled this year.
TRUTH
There is no decision concerning any changes in AWANA. At present, we are going ahead with the plans to begin AWANA at FBCC on Sept. 8, the Friday after Labor Day. However, there is a real need for volunteers and leaders in AWANA this year. We still don't have a Commander and have many other vacancies in key leadership positions. We need the parents and adults at FBCC to step up and volunteer in order to implement AWANA at the same level of excellence and quality. We are presently approaching some possible individuals to ask them about the Commander position.
RUMOR
Fourth grader: "My parents wants to know the real reason why you're leaving. They said God is not the real reason."
TRUTH
God IS THE REAL REASON. Betty and I have prayed over this decision for several months before we finally decided what to do. Our original commitment to FBCC was 5 years and in fall of 2005, at the beginning of our fifth year at FBCC, we began to pray for God's direction for our future. We did struggle over the timing, knowing that FBCC was already undergoing transition in the English ministry.
RUMOR
Is FBCC not pursuing family ministry? Is that one of the reasons you're leaving?
TRUTH
Family ministry at FBCC is not a reason for my leaving.
FBCC is pursuing family ministry. This is one of the goals for 2006, and is also a major part of the 10-year vision. There are many parents in the church who are responding to the challenge of pursuing family ministry. But this will require a lot of work and is not as easy as it sounds. FBCC is a North American ethnic Chinese church with different generations worshipping under the same roof.
RUMOR
Congratulations! I heard that you already have several job offers from other churches. [08/13/06]
TRUTH
I started sending out my resume to different churches on July 18. The list of churches included several in the Houston area and some out-of-state. Two churches emailed me to ask for a chance to get to know me more. I met with a contact from a local church and talked on the phone with a contact from out-of-state.
There are no offers, and I'm still waiting to see if the churches will contact me further. Also, the hiring process of church pastoral staff is usually a protracted (longer) one compared to hiring for other jobs. In most cases, the process will take the following steps:
- (a) The church will communicate by phone or email for more information from the APPLICANT. (b) The church's search committee (or people in charge of hiring) will go over the list of applicants and decide who to consider as a PROSPECT. (c) The church will invite the PROSPECT and family to visit informally and allow key leaders from the church to get to know the PROSPECT in person. (d) The church's search committee (or people in charge of hiring) decides whether to upgrade the PROSPECT to a CANDIDATE. (e) The CANDIDATE is then invited to come in for a formal interview and additional meetings with other key leaders of the church. (f) The church's search committee (or people in charge of hiring) meets and decides whether or not to tender an offer. (g) The church contacts the CANDIDATE with the offer, and the CANDIDATE decides whether or not to accept the offer.
RUMOR
I heard that you're planning to move away from Houston.
TRUTH
Whether or not my family moves is uncertain. I have sent my resume to local churches as well as out-of-town churches. It's too early to tell if we'll end up moving or not.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
One Cycle At Last
Object Lesson No. 1: If God gave you ten apples and asks you for an apple back, would you give him an apple or just the core?
I presented three object lessons taught together within the lesson hour during Junior Worship last Sunday. At first glance, they appear as isolated lessons but thrown together, they do present a whole. I taught this series of lessons several times during 1999-2001 in different churches. But after I accepted the position at Fort Bend Comm. Ch., I haven't had the chance to "re-teach" it to the kids.
Last Friday, I came to a realization though. Five years have passed since I first came to Fort Bend. The grade school kids I taught to in those five years have passed on to the youth, and one whole Cycle for me has arrived. I can now teach all the lessons I taught back in 2001 without repeating to any one child. Such freedom, such relief. This is extremely liberating!
I went back to my teaching history notes (back then, I religiously kept track of my teaching topics) and found some of the old but reliable sets of lessons I used. One such set is the Ten Apples-PB on My Face-Jonah Surprise Sketch. I have to confess to being exhilarated to teach the kids with something "low-tech" for a change. No computers, no fuss, no videos, no remotes. Just me, some apples, peanut butter, a marker, and a sketch pad. One of our Junior Worship volunteers commented that this was certainly not her idea of "low-tech," given the amount of creativity presented in one lesson.
Later, I talked with Tony Y., who serves as CM deacon and Junior Worship coordinator, about the Cycle. Since we teach third through fifth graders as a group, we actually have a three-year Cycle. Instead of looking at new lessons every turn, it's about time to take a look at the lesson series taught the last five years, evaluate them, and select the ones that will fit into a three-year Cycle.
This is certainly one of the best lessons I've learned from serving at Fort Bend these five years. That as you accumulate lessons and history, it is time to stop and evaluate which lessons God has truly used and you will want to teach again. We have a scope and sequence in our Sunday school curriculum, but have not considered that even in worship this will be effective.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Time for Change
My life is a series of adventures in faith orchestrated by the hand of God. I clearly don't believe in coincidences. So many of my past experiences have helped to create in me a whole that is greater than the sum total of its parts. Events and experiences that seem isolated pop up later to provide insight or depth to a new situation.
Our family is approaching a new milestone this year in October. I am resigning from the Children's Minister position at Fort Bend Community Church and am looking forward to God's leading. Am I concerned? Yes, but Betty and I are willing to let God take charge. Pray for us at this time as we deal with transition, search for new ministry, and possible future relocation, if necessary.
We've built many relationships these past five years and we'll need to find a way for closure in some relationships and be creative in continuing others, and wisdom to know the difference.
Our family is approaching a new milestone this year in October. I am resigning from the Children's Minister position at Fort Bend Community Church and am looking forward to God's leading. Am I concerned? Yes, but Betty and I are willing to let God take charge. Pray for us at this time as we deal with transition, search for new ministry, and possible future relocation, if necessary.
We've built many relationships these past five years and we'll need to find a way for closure in some relationships and be creative in continuing others, and wisdom to know the difference.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Family Tidbits
January 20. Anne competed in the Spelling Bee at her school, Dulles Elementary, and won. Her winning words were arcing and teemed. She'll be competing next in the district/county competition on February 25. I honestly really don't have high expectations on how well she may do in the next round, only that she should do her best to study and prepare. I have a quicktime movie of her reaction to winning but I still have to figure out how to put it on the site.
January 22. Preached in Encounter worship at FBCC on the topic "Beliefs to Convictions" and showed an 18-minute excerpt from Beyond the Gates of Splendor DVD. I encouraged parents to examine whether we are just passing on a belief system or an unwavering conviction and commitment to the cause of Christ. I got a lot of good feedback, and felt it was mostly undeserved. Since my main outline came from Josh McDowell's website and I only got to preach half of the sermon (the DVD preached the other half).
January 25-28. Betty and I were out of town in Orlando, Florida for Children's Pastor's Conference. We didn't travel to any of the theme parks, so did not get to see the Big Cheese, er, Big Mouse. However, Betty did get a few photo ops with Super-U, Roc-Fish, and Miss Patty-Cake.
January 28. Last December I bought several copies of Pastor Karl's Order of the Ancient and received one autographed copy signed to my oldest daughter Anne. Elise Joy wasn't too happy about that then, so it was a pleasant surprise to her to receive her own copy of OOTA, personally signed by Pastor Karl. She brings it to school almost every day and is reading through it right now.
February 5. Preached in the Cantonese service. This is the fourth time I'm preaching this message (part of my Must-Preached Series), its current title being Parenting Lessons from Selected Psalms & Proverbs. This is the same message as the Superman sermon, albeit without the Man of Steel and his parents. I used Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club to illustrate the generational and communication differences in the immigrant Chinese population here in the U.S. I borrowed from the discussion of high-context and low-context culture from a literature course in a New York university.
February 8. Nathan turned sixth. We're real proud of him as he reaches this new milestone. Nathan was at the dentist yesterday, and apparently the anesthesia caused a side-effect in that his lower lip swelled three times its normal size. We felt bad for Nate but he just shrugged it off. Didn't even bother him one bit.
February 9. I'm undertaking a new blog, Jonah 101. It's a resumption of a journey I started a few years ago, but has set aside. I now want to go back and resume it.
January 22. Preached in Encounter worship at FBCC on the topic "Beliefs to Convictions" and showed an 18-minute excerpt from Beyond the Gates of Splendor DVD. I encouraged parents to examine whether we are just passing on a belief system or an unwavering conviction and commitment to the cause of Christ. I got a lot of good feedback, and felt it was mostly undeserved. Since my main outline came from Josh McDowell's website and I only got to preach half of the sermon (the DVD preached the other half).
January 25-28. Betty and I were out of town in Orlando, Florida for Children's Pastor's Conference. We didn't travel to any of the theme parks, so did not get to see the Big Cheese, er, Big Mouse. However, Betty did get a few photo ops with Super-U, Roc-Fish, and Miss Patty-Cake.
January 28. Last December I bought several copies of Pastor Karl's Order of the Ancient and received one autographed copy signed to my oldest daughter Anne. Elise Joy wasn't too happy about that then, so it was a pleasant surprise to her to receive her own copy of OOTA, personally signed by Pastor Karl. She brings it to school almost every day and is reading through it right now.
February 5. Preached in the Cantonese service. This is the fourth time I'm preaching this message (part of my Must-Preached Series), its current title being Parenting Lessons from Selected Psalms & Proverbs. This is the same message as the Superman sermon, albeit without the Man of Steel and his parents. I used Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club to illustrate the generational and communication differences in the immigrant Chinese population here in the U.S. I borrowed from the discussion of high-context and low-context culture from a literature course in a New York university.
February 8. Nathan turned sixth. We're real proud of him as he reaches this new milestone. Nathan was at the dentist yesterday, and apparently the anesthesia caused a side-effect in that his lower lip swelled three times its normal size. We felt bad for Nate but he just shrugged it off. Didn't even bother him one bit.
February 9. I'm undertaking a new blog, Jonah 101. It's a resumption of a journey I started a few years ago, but has set aside. I now want to go back and resume it.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Narnia Theme Night
A magical world awaited the Awana children on Friday (12/9) as they stepped into the wardrobe and saw the lamppost for the first time while snow flurries floated around them.
Anne, Nathan, and Joy (Mr. Frank's children), "we are taking pictures of Anne, Nathan, and Joy" (Nathan speaking).
Anne, Nathan, and Joy (Mr. Frank's children), "we are taking pictures of Anne, Nathan, and Joy" (Nathan speaking).
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Awana Is Back
Sunday, July 24, 2005
How to Raise a Superman
I preached today in the Encounter (English) service on the topic "How to Raise a Superman: Lessons from Jonathan & Martha Kent" This is a summary of that message. The mp3 file can be heard on the www.fbcchome.org website.
He was an alien living among ordinary men and wome. Born on a faraway planet that revolved around a red dwarf star, he was the only survivor of a great though doomed advanced civilization. Sent to earth as a baby infant, his kryptonian physiology allowed his cells to absorb the yellow rays of our sun, transforming him into a living solar battery. The power that was stored within him would eventually manifest itself in superhuman abilities of speed, strength, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, and a host of other abilities. But in all the mythology surrounding Superman, the accounts that I find most interesting are the ones concerning his earthly parents. The reason I find Jonathan and Martha Kent, also known as Pa and Ma Kent, fascinating are because they are the single most important influences in the story.
There have been a plethora of differing versions of Superman's story through the years—different incarnations or origins as presented in novels, comics, television, and movies. It seems that each new writer who takes over the mantle of writing Superman stories feels the urge to rewrite the story according to a fresh perspective. In one of the recent revisits to Superman's origins, the writers of Superman revealed that Jor-El, Superman's genetic father, when he sent him to earth, intended other designs for the baby's fate. Jor-El already knew that baby Kal-El because of the yellow sun and earth's lesser gravity would gain superhuman powers that would make him all-powerful and nearly invincible. His hope, or rather his plan, was for Kal-El to take over the earth by force and become its ruler. But we all know what happened: Instead of ruling the earth, Superman decided to be known as Clark Kent instead; he adopted the values and teachings of his earthly parents as his own, and chose to use his powers to fight the battle for truth, justice, and liberty. HE HAD TWO BENTS IN HIM—A GOOD ONE AND AN EVIL ONE. AND HE CHOSE TO FOLLOW THE GOOD.
What does this have to do with the Bible or with us as Christians? Like the fictional superman, Scripture teaches us that all children are born with natural bents—both good and bad—and God has entrusted a special role to us parents in guiding our children. Everyone wants the best for their children, and in order to see how you can raise your children to be the Super individual God wants them to be, we must go to the Scriptures. In this message, we shall visit two of the Wisdom books—Psalms and Proverbs.
Psalm 127:3-4
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. As arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. (The Amplified Bible)
The Kents found the baby and acknowledge that Clark was a gift. As parents, the first step in parenting is to acknowledge our children as gifs from God. No child is an accidental birth in God's eyes. They are gifts from the Giver, intended for a purpose (the arrow analogy, but more on that later). Acknowledge and thank God for the gift of your child. Your child is given to you for a purpose, to aim true and release later.
Psalm 139:13-14
For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. (The Amplified Bible)
Pa and Ma Kent understood the baby had a destiny, a noble purpose, and they took the time to instill ideals and values reflecting that purpose.
Each baby from conception is formed by God. Emmanuel (the Lord is with us), every step in the growth and development of the embryonic process. He formed our cells, muscles, tissues, facial features, and yes, even the occasional deformities and imperfections. Not only is He involved in the process of conception and birth, but verse 16 of Psalm 139 declares that He is involved in each and every day of our life after birth. Just as God so diligently and wonderfully fashions us, He also diligently and wonderfully plans a purpose for us. (Romans 8:29 adds to this by saying that He purposed His intention for us even before conception, before the creation of the world.)
While most parents would be willing to dedicate their child for God's blessing, few seem to grasp that this involves surrendering the child to God's plan and purpose. Parents sometimes wish they could live vicariously through their offspring, see their children accomplish dreams of mom and dad. This would be a mistake though for we would be playing God.
Durng the previous two weeks, I made a dog puppet, Fluffy. The puppet was birthed from my own design and pattern. I sewed it together, and when I presented the puppet to the children at church, I had in mind a list of do's and don'ts, and rules regarding the use of the puppet. I had a plan and purpose for the puppet I had created. And for Fluffy to fulfill his true purpose, Fluffy has to submit to my plan. If Fluffy rebels against me, I withdraw my hand, and he loses his life and meaning.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. (The Amplified Bible)
Adapt the training of your child so that it is in keeping with your child's individual gift or bent, the God-given characteristics given to your child at birth, and when maturity comes, he will not leave the training he or she receives.
According to Charles Swindoll, parents often commit two common mistakes in parenting. One is to raise a child in the same way they were raised. This kind of parenting is what I call "default parenting." You do what comes naturally (what you yourself went through) when you don't plan and purpose before God your parenting scheme. The second mistake is to raise different children in exactly the same way. Children are different, even siblings. The parent's task is to discover the child's unique design—gifts, strengths, weaknesses, temperament, intelligence, etc.—and from there infer the best way to mold the child's unique design in line with God's purpose.
Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity ; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful.] (The Amplified Bible)
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. (New Living Translation)
Then, of course, the EVIL BENT also exists. The sinful nature, passed on from Adam to every human child, also known as the "want-to" to sin, the "want-to" to choose our own way. The only cure for a defective heart is a new one—only available in Christ. There is no other way to solve the EVIL BENT but God's solution through the death of Christ on the cross for our sins.
In summary, the Scriptures teaches us the following basics on parenting and our children:
My heart's desire is that parents will take time to think and plan their parenting, submitting to God's plan and purpose, get to know how God has wired their kids, and in this way, bring up a child, who can glorify God in the way God planned it out in His book.
He was an alien living among ordinary men and wome. Born on a faraway planet that revolved around a red dwarf star, he was the only survivor of a great though doomed advanced civilization. Sent to earth as a baby infant, his kryptonian physiology allowed his cells to absorb the yellow rays of our sun, transforming him into a living solar battery. The power that was stored within him would eventually manifest itself in superhuman abilities of speed, strength, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, and a host of other abilities. But in all the mythology surrounding Superman, the accounts that I find most interesting are the ones concerning his earthly parents. The reason I find Jonathan and Martha Kent, also known as Pa and Ma Kent, fascinating are because they are the single most important influences in the story.
There have been a plethora of differing versions of Superman's story through the years—different incarnations or origins as presented in novels, comics, television, and movies. It seems that each new writer who takes over the mantle of writing Superman stories feels the urge to rewrite the story according to a fresh perspective. In one of the recent revisits to Superman's origins, the writers of Superman revealed that Jor-El, Superman's genetic father, when he sent him to earth, intended other designs for the baby's fate. Jor-El already knew that baby Kal-El because of the yellow sun and earth's lesser gravity would gain superhuman powers that would make him all-powerful and nearly invincible. His hope, or rather his plan, was for Kal-El to take over the earth by force and become its ruler. But we all know what happened: Instead of ruling the earth, Superman decided to be known as Clark Kent instead; he adopted the values and teachings of his earthly parents as his own, and chose to use his powers to fight the battle for truth, justice, and liberty. HE HAD TWO BENTS IN HIM—A GOOD ONE AND AN EVIL ONE. AND HE CHOSE TO FOLLOW THE GOOD.
What does this have to do with the Bible or with us as Christians? Like the fictional superman, Scripture teaches us that all children are born with natural bents—both good and bad—and God has entrusted a special role to us parents in guiding our children. Everyone wants the best for their children, and in order to see how you can raise your children to be the Super individual God wants them to be, we must go to the Scriptures. In this message, we shall visit two of the Wisdom books—Psalms and Proverbs.
Psalm 127:3-4
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. As arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. (The Amplified Bible)
The Kents found the baby and acknowledge that Clark was a gift. As parents, the first step in parenting is to acknowledge our children as gifs from God. No child is an accidental birth in God's eyes. They are gifts from the Giver, intended for a purpose (the arrow analogy, but more on that later). Acknowledge and thank God for the gift of your child. Your child is given to you for a purpose, to aim true and release later.
Psalm 139:13-14
For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. (The Amplified Bible)
Pa and Ma Kent understood the baby had a destiny, a noble purpose, and they took the time to instill ideals and values reflecting that purpose.
Each baby from conception is formed by God. Emmanuel (the Lord is with us), every step in the growth and development of the embryonic process. He formed our cells, muscles, tissues, facial features, and yes, even the occasional deformities and imperfections. Not only is He involved in the process of conception and birth, but verse 16 of Psalm 139 declares that He is involved in each and every day of our life after birth. Just as God so diligently and wonderfully fashions us, He also diligently and wonderfully plans a purpose for us. (Romans 8:29 adds to this by saying that He purposed His intention for us even before conception, before the creation of the world.)
While most parents would be willing to dedicate their child for God's blessing, few seem to grasp that this involves surrendering the child to God's plan and purpose. Parents sometimes wish they could live vicariously through their offspring, see their children accomplish dreams of mom and dad. This would be a mistake though for we would be playing God.
Durng the previous two weeks, I made a dog puppet, Fluffy. The puppet was birthed from my own design and pattern. I sewed it together, and when I presented the puppet to the children at church, I had in mind a list of do's and don'ts, and rules regarding the use of the puppet. I had a plan and purpose for the puppet I had created. And for Fluffy to fulfill his true purpose, Fluffy has to submit to my plan. If Fluffy rebels against me, I withdraw my hand, and he loses his life and meaning.Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. (The Amplified Bible)
Adapt the training of your child so that it is in keeping with your child's individual gift or bent, the God-given characteristics given to your child at birth, and when maturity comes, he will not leave the training he or she receives.
According to Charles Swindoll, parents often commit two common mistakes in parenting. One is to raise a child in the same way they were raised. This kind of parenting is what I call "default parenting." You do what comes naturally (what you yourself went through) when you don't plan and purpose before God your parenting scheme. The second mistake is to raise different children in exactly the same way. Children are different, even siblings. The parent's task is to discover the child's unique design—gifts, strengths, weaknesses, temperament, intelligence, etc.—and from there infer the best way to mold the child's unique design in line with God's purpose.
Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity ; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful.] (The Amplified Bible)
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. (New Living Translation)
Then, of course, the EVIL BENT also exists. The sinful nature, passed on from Adam to every human child, also known as the "want-to" to sin, the "want-to" to choose our own way. The only cure for a defective heart is a new one—only available in Christ. There is no other way to solve the EVIL BENT but God's solution through the death of Christ on the cross for our sins.
In summary, the Scriptures teaches us the following basics on parenting and our children:
Children are God's gift—Thank Him for them
Children have God's divine purpose—Submit to Him
Children have God-given bents—Discover and cooperate with their individual bents- Children have sinful bent—Lead them to Christ
My heart's desire is that parents will take time to think and plan their parenting, submitting to God's plan and purpose, get to know how God has wired their kids, and in this way, bring up a child, who can glorify God in the way God planned it out in His book.
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