Do you really know how to teach your child about God? Think about it. How do you teach a service mindset instead of a consumption mindset in your child?
One thing April and I said to our kids a lot when we dropped them off was “Be a blessing today!” This may have been at school, church, or at a friend’s house. But our point was to try and move the needle from being a consumer to being a server.
Question: What’s one way you instill a servant’s mentality into your child?
“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
—Matthew 20:26-28
The strategy in this article is just a snippet from The Connected Father digital course—full of videos, podcasts, eBooks, tip sheets and bonus resources to help you be the dad who leads with no regrets. Snag the full course at The Connected Father.
Church is where we serve, not just “get fed”
One reason our kids have thrived in church is because they know that church is not just some place to “be fed”! It’s a place to serve others! We’ve encouraged them to walk in the door with the mindset of finding a marginalized kid or overworked pastor and jump in to help.
I think most godly parents really want their kids to fall in love with a local church and get plugged in. One way we work against this is when we do the “Sunday-afternoon-post-sermon-critique”. We talked about how to get children to listen recently. Do you converse in such a way that you open up healthy dialogue?
It’s one thing to come home after church and “unpack” the sermon: talk about it, share stories, discuss what it made you think of. That’s all fine and good. But, it’s quite another to come home and “pick it apart”. To point out what parts you didn’t like; outline where the preacher was doctrinally off, “He really meant second Timothy…” Biblical parenting understands the difference between unpacking the sermon and complaining about the pastor.
Battle the spirit of entitlement
When we do this – we’re turning our kids from members into critics. Then, as they age, we’re surprised and shocked by their decision to leave the church.
But, along the way, we taught them that church is like a restaurant. You go there so long as the food tastes good to you. But if you’re not fed just the way you want – you can leave.
What’s more, we’re teaching them to walk in starving every single week. Who needs six other days of Bible study? I’ll just get it all on Sundays. No wonder they’re spiritually impoverished.
If you want to be a Connected Father, help your kids adopt a servant’s mentality to battle entitlement and consumer-like behavior, especially at church.
Question: What’s one way you instill a servant’s mentality into your child? Tweet @manhoodjourney or email us anytime.
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