"Is it just a New England thing, or is this happening everywhere?" That's the question I asked myself as I saw more and more families skipping church for their kids' sporting events. Well, apparently this trend is not unique to New England. According to the Fall 2006 edition of Leadership Journal, the overall busyness of families (which includes, but is not limited to, sports events), is keeping them away from church. Of the 490 pastors surveyed, 76 percent said that "the scale tipped toward family activities. This contrasts with the perception of 62 percent of respondents that a generation ago, free time was more likely to be spent on church commitments. The balance has shifted." In fact, 83 percent of the pastors surveyed said they are aware of situations where people routinely choose family events over church commitments!
What types of activities are families opting for over church? According to Leadership's survey, the most common reasons families give to their pastors for missing church are "kids' activities and weekend trips." Nine in ten pastors hear this frequently.
Hmm. Does this suggest a problem to you? What are we to think when Sunday sports or other children's activities take precedence over worship on the Lord's Day? I have to agree with R. Albert Mohler, who said on his own blog regarding this issue: "... When Christian parents take their kids to Little League games rather than worship on the Lord's Day, these parents teach their children that team sports are more important than the worship of God.
"Every kid has a 'thing' going on virtually all the time. That is the condition of life today, it seems. But when that 'thing' keeps the child -- or the whole family -- away from church, we need to name that thing what it is . . . at best a snare, at worst an idol."
Do you think that assessment too harsh? Then consider the command of Hebrews 10:24-25: "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (NASV, emphasis mine). Worship is both a public and a private duty. People who say, "We haven't been in church because of our kids' crazy sports schedule, but spiritually we've never been better!" are self-deluded. They have deceived themselves into thinking that the second commandment supercedes and is greater than the first commandment. Scripturally, our first priority is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Every other priority and value flows from our worship of God.
The word "worship" comes from the Saxon word weorthscype, which later became worthship. As Don Whitney notes in his book, Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life, "To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise. . . ." When we take our kids to a sports game instead of the weekly worship service, we tell them that their game is more important than God. Plain and simple. We can try to rationalize, philosophize, and theologize all we want, but that's the message we're driving home to them. Then we wonder why our children show little to no interest in things of the Lord when they leave home.
Granted, it is possible for one to attend church and not have his mind and heart focused on the things of God. That's another type of problem that I'll save for another blog posting! But for now let's deal with the issue on the table. Ask yourself the question, "What do I want most for my kids? What is my highest goal?" If you are a Christian parent, your answer will be that what you want most for your children -- more than a good education or job, more than a loving mate or healthy children (which are all good goals) -- is a heart for God (see Psalm 27:4; 84:1-4, 10).
To see this goal become a reality, we must develop a heart for God by modeling it in the home. They must see it as a priority in our own lives as parents and in our life as a family. But if our love for God is displaced by our love for other things, than our children will inevitably cultivate a greater love for the world than for our heavenly Father (1 John 2:15). They will worship and serve created things (e.g., sports, recreation, etc.) rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25).
In his excellent book, Age of Opportunity, Paul David Tripp states, "We have failed our children if we don't do everything we can to have them leave our homes with a sense of awe over God and the glories of his grace. . . . We need to recognize humbly that one reason we have not passed this on to them is because we may have lost it ourselves."
Whatever god is keeping you and your kids away from corporate worship, repent of it and get rid of it. For it is only as we seek first His kingdom, making the pursuit of Jesus Christ our highest priority, that we become conduits of God's grace to our kids and allow Him to instill in them, through us, a heart for Him.
What types of activities are families opting for over church? According to Leadership's survey, the most common reasons families give to their pastors for missing church are "kids' activities and weekend trips." Nine in ten pastors hear this frequently.
Hmm. Does this suggest a problem to you? What are we to think when Sunday sports or other children's activities take precedence over worship on the Lord's Day? I have to agree with R. Albert Mohler, who said on his own blog regarding this issue: "... When Christian parents take their kids to Little League games rather than worship on the Lord's Day, these parents teach their children that team sports are more important than the worship of God.
"Every kid has a 'thing' going on virtually all the time. That is the condition of life today, it seems. But when that 'thing' keeps the child -- or the whole family -- away from church, we need to name that thing what it is . . . at best a snare, at worst an idol."
Do you think that assessment too harsh? Then consider the command of Hebrews 10:24-25: "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (NASV, emphasis mine). Worship is both a public and a private duty. People who say, "We haven't been in church because of our kids' crazy sports schedule, but spiritually we've never been better!" are self-deluded. They have deceived themselves into thinking that the second commandment supercedes and is greater than the first commandment. Scripturally, our first priority is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Every other priority and value flows from our worship of God.
The word "worship" comes from the Saxon word weorthscype, which later became worthship. As Don Whitney notes in his book, Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life, "To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise. . . ." When we take our kids to a sports game instead of the weekly worship service, we tell them that their game is more important than God. Plain and simple. We can try to rationalize, philosophize, and theologize all we want, but that's the message we're driving home to them. Then we wonder why our children show little to no interest in things of the Lord when they leave home.
Granted, it is possible for one to attend church and not have his mind and heart focused on the things of God. That's another type of problem that I'll save for another blog posting! But for now let's deal with the issue on the table. Ask yourself the question, "What do I want most for my kids? What is my highest goal?" If you are a Christian parent, your answer will be that what you want most for your children -- more than a good education or job, more than a loving mate or healthy children (which are all good goals) -- is a heart for God (see Psalm 27:4; 84:1-4, 10).
To see this goal become a reality, we must develop a heart for God by modeling it in the home. They must see it as a priority in our own lives as parents and in our life as a family. But if our love for God is displaced by our love for other things, than our children will inevitably cultivate a greater love for the world than for our heavenly Father (1 John 2:15). They will worship and serve created things (e.g., sports, recreation, etc.) rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25).
In his excellent book, Age of Opportunity, Paul David Tripp states, "We have failed our children if we don't do everything we can to have them leave our homes with a sense of awe over God and the glories of his grace. . . . We need to recognize humbly that one reason we have not passed this on to them is because we may have lost it ourselves."
Whatever god is keeping you and your kids away from corporate worship, repent of it and get rid of it. For it is only as we seek first His kingdom, making the pursuit of Jesus Christ our highest priority, that we become conduits of God's grace to our kids and allow Him to instill in them, through us, a heart for Him.