I am at the Orange Conference in Atlanta this week.  I am here with our Children’s Pastor, Steve Ogle.  For both of us this is our second time attending.  We have been excited about the conference and after leaving at 6:00 this morning we were especially glad to get to the conference center and checked in.

I will admit though, that after check in, I am very disappointed so far.  There is one thing I always look forward to after check-in and that is the conference bag and notebook.  The bag this year is from Plywood People (www.plywoodpeople.com).  The idea is pretty cool and I like the concept.  Don’t know if I will carry around the bag this week though because it really looks more like a purse than anything.

But what I was disappointed about the most was the notebook.  In the past years the notebook has been a really well put together resource that is suitable to take notes in and to put one my bookshelf at the office.  This year, I feel they tried to cut corners financially (which is odd because the cost of the conference was still expensive) by putting together a “newspaper” look.  No room for taking notes and completely pointless to carry around because it is so big and awkward.

I so hope that the conference from here on out doesn’t have a cheap feel.  Praying that even if it does, God will still give me the fuel to take EPIC to the next great thing He has for us.

by Winfield Bevins

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it”  –Proverbs 22:6

Pastor Your Family

The Puritans remind us of the value and importance of family ministry. Family worship was one of the hallmarks of the Puritan era and one of their greatest legacies. The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter knew the importance of family ministry:

We must have a special eye upon families, to see that they are well ordered, and the duties of each relation performed. The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all…. I beseech you, therefore, if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people, do all you can to promote family religion.

Your Home Is a Church

The Puritans believed that their home was their church and the primary place of learning the Bible and moral instruction. They knew the call to “make disciples” begins in the home. Discipleship begins in our marriages, by loving our spouses with the love of Christ and by teaching, loving, and disciplining our children. The Puritans believed that it was a parent’s spiritual responsibility to disciple and teach their children about the faith.

“Family worship was one of the hallmarks of the Puritan era

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As Christian parents, we should also want to raise our children to grow up to love Jesus and know the Bible. It is important for children to begin learning about God and the Bible at home. If every family in every church got serious about making disciples in the home, it would change our nation and our world.

How are you creating good discipleship in your home?

Just finished reading a book by Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof called, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity.

I would highly recommend this book to any parent no matter if you have children or teenagers.  Here is a review of the book:

When parents work in tandem with the faith community to raise their children, they increase their parenting capacity exponentially.

Most parents have so many demands on their time that they can’t be the kind of parent they desire to be. They need to know the Orange Factor: Two combined influences will make a greater impact on kids than just two influences. And it’s true. Parents who partner with the faith community are the best way to bring the next generation into the family of God-and keep them there.

If you want to order one, you can do so HERE or HERE.