7 Suggestions for Parenting our PK's

1. Level the Expectations

Hold your children to Biblical standards. Train them well. Discipline appropriately.

Hopefully you teach it – and you should parent what you teach.

But don’t be surprised when your children aren’t perfect. They aren’t anymore than you are – or anyone else’s children.

2. Let them be KIDS

Don’t expect them to care as much about ministry as you do when they are – SEVEN or even seventeen.

They might. Mine did to a certain extent – on certain days. And then other days they just wanted to shoot basketballs in the church gym while I went on church visitation.

3. Live what you Preach

If you want them to appreciate the ministry, let them see you, the pastor, as authentic.

Authenticity means you are in private who you claim to be in public. And chances are good they are observing both.

They’ll respect you when you are equally transparent and honest with how you live your life on Sundays and through the week. And the more they respect you – the more they can respect the ministry.

Remember, their primary concept of ministry is you.

4. Protect your time at Home

When you are home – be home. This is HUGE!

Let voicemail and email inbox do their thing. Put down the computer. Say no to outside interruptions. There will always be exceptions in the role of a pastor, but they should be rare, not common place.

The children need to know you value your time with your spouse and them even more than your time with others.

5. Be their Parent more than their Pastor

You may be their pastor, but first they need a parent.

I actually found others on staff, or even pastor friends in other churches, were sometimes better at being their pastor anyway.

No one could replace my role as parent.

6. Give them roles as they desire

My boys helped launch a youth group. They led at camps. They worked with children and preschoolers.

But I never forced it. I let them serve where they wanted to serve.

Interestingly, when the idea was theirs, they seemed more likely to want to be involved.

7. Let them do ministry with you

My boys went to committee meetings. Staff meetings. Visitations. I took my boys on mission trips.

Unless it was a highly confidential meeting for the parties involved, I gave them access to my calendar.

They got to appreciate what I do as a pastor – not resent it because I wasn’t home.

Again, this was voluntary not mandatory.

(You can check out more from Ron at ronedmondson.com)

Your role as a church leader is SO VALUABLE.  The world needs you.

But your role as a parent is MORE VALUABLE.  Those kids need you more.

 

Let me say this, no matter what we do, our kids make their own decisions.

You can’t control that.

For myself, I’m praying that in spite of my errors and mistakes, my kids will follow after God.

 

The point of this post isn’t to make you a perfect dad or mom, but to take some pressure off of you.

Take a deep breath. Unload some of the crazy expectations.

They’re kids!

Love them, Nurture them, Build them up, Share life with them, Pour into them.

You don’t owe any explanations for them being kids and being imperfect.

 

Let me take it one step further:

Pass this along to your staff, and to your fellow church leaders.  They need to know it too.

Surround each other and Protect each other from the weight of “Perfection Expectation”.

Yes, we should carry ourselves well, and we should encourage our families to be as Christ-like as possible.  But we protect our kids (and I believe we even help to draw them closer to the heart of God) when we are genuine, authentic, realistic and most of all – present.

You can do this!  We believe in You!

By Brian Davis