Launching the Next Generation… …Rescuing a Generation in Crisis!

. Launching the Next Generation… …Rescuing a Generation in Crisis!

If we keep doing the same things over and over again expecting different results what is that called again?

. Conference Overview: Saturday 1:30 pm Launching the Next Generation – (a practical Family Discipleship Plan) 3:30 pm Question & Answer Panel

Reforming the Church

. In the context of the church, the notion of “reform” implies improvements or changes that restore the church to a purer or more biblical state.

. Some of what we are doing today in the American church is not working. Albert Einstein: “The manner of thinking that got us into our current dilemma will not suffice to get us out.”

A Major Problem Many householders are being equipped to neither perform the work of the ministry nor to sustain the future life of the church by making disciples of their own households.

Many of today’s contemporary churches are built upon the flawed premise that the primary responsibility for discipleship of all its members rests upon the professional and lay staff of each local church.

While this is a noble undertaking, the church has often assumed an unbiblical mandate… • …inadvertently training the householders to not train their own families

. We must begin to evaluate the manner in which we are attempting to pass the Baton of the Gospel on to the next generation!

. Losing its youth to the world at a rate of 80% per generation, the church is failing in its most significant role - making disciples to replenish the church of tomorrow.

. The Family is the primary Conduit of the Gospel.

. How can we re-orient the church to be more successful in it’s most important mandates?

. Three Ways of Reforming the Church: 1. Restoring the Complementarian role between church and family. 2. Focusing resources on equipping fathers. 3. Raising up Household Embassies that disciple their children, minister to the church and reach out the world.

. The 1stWay to Begin to Reform the Church: Restoring the Complementarian role between church and family.

. Just like there is a complementarian relationship between a husband and wife… …so there is a complementarian relationship between church and family.

. A husband has certain biblical responsibilities in the home… …and so the woman… …the home tends to operate most smoothly when both the husband and wife identify and fulfill the responsibilities assigned to them by God.

. So with the church and home… …God has assigned the home certain roles… …and the church certain – other – roles.

. While they work toward the same goals, and often do similar things, they should not step on the jurisdictions of one another…

. God has designed into creation the administration of jurisdictions… …and the Family is an Autonomous jurisdiction under the biblical authority of the Father/parent.

. What is a Jurisdiction The territorial range of authority or control Personal Family Employment Government Church

. And while the home is to be submitted to the church, the church is obligated to • not usurp authority over the home • or to usurp the responsibilities of the home.

. Acts 5:1-4 [To Ananias] “While [the land] remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?

. By respecting the jurisdictional authority of the family, the church is able to foster the equipping of all of its members without “controlling” them.

. The church should equip, encourage and affirm heads of households in their biblical roles… What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2-3)

. In the wilderness, to the men of Israel who had seen firsthand many mighty works of God, God says… …Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons;(Deut 4:9)

. Do most Christian fathers in America hear, recognize and accept this mandate?... … to teach the things of God diligently to their children?… …Or…

. …have they emotionally passed this mandate over to their wives? …to the church? …to the pastor? …to the youth minister? …or the Sunday School teacher?

. Fathers must strive to become the shepherds and resident theologians of their homes… …autonomous heads of households are uniquely equipped by God to know and minister the spiritual needs of their families.

. …and are uniquely able to lead their families in the various activities of the church as the Lord would lead them.

. The church should regularly reminding Christian fathers and mothers of their vital role of making their homes effective centers for discipleship.

. And…what of that father, who never truly comprehending his responsibility to spiritually train his children, when he stands before God?

. He has abandoned his MOST IMPORTANT stewardship? Is he even aware of this?

. There is a complementarian relationship in discipleship between the church and the home… But ultimately …the father has the biblical mandate and primary responsibility!

. And the church should be enlightening, encouraging and equipping the father in that role.

. The 2ndWay to Begin to Reform the Church: Restore the Focus on Equipping Fathers

. The Family Is the Greatest Conduit of the Gospel from One Generation to the Next…

. What is a Conduit?

. First Roman Aqueduct, built 312 BC

. This Aqueduct was a conduit for the safe transfer of water for many miles…

. The Family Is the God-designed Conduit of the Gospel-lived from One Generation the Next…

. In the home…over the course of 20(?) years… where the rubber meets the road… …Fathers have the primary responsibility for transferring a heart-transforming presentation of the Gospel-lived to their children.

. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut 6:6-9)

. From this perspective… …we should see that it is virtually impossible for a pastor, Sunday School teacher or youth minister to adequately disciple our youth at the level of attention needed to be genuinely effective.

. What was Jesus’ model of discipleship? …living WITH His disciples… …24/7 …for 3 years.

. We cannot delegate this to a Church Leader... But we can assume that 24/7 discipleship role ourselves

. 2 Timothy 2:3 …entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Personal discipleship and mentoring do not escape church leaders under this model… …rather parents (family pastors) are included in the “faithful men” that are entrusted to take the gospelto their home,the church, the community and the world.

. If the greatest threat facing the church today is the loss of its youth to the world at a rate of 80% per generation. God has an anti-dote … ….Heart-level transformation for fathers and children!

. Malachi 4:6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, ESV

. A key objective of the church, then, should be to focus on mentoring men to disciple their families and to reach their communities for Christ.

Launching the Next Generation… …Rescuing a Generation in Crisis!