Growing Faith’s Top 5 articles of 2012
We take a look at the top articles you clicked, liked, shared, and commented on during 2012.
Thank you for joining us over the last year, as we explored some of the issues facing Christians parents in our modern world. If you haven't had a chance to read them throughout the year, below are the Top 5 Growing Faith articles from 2012. We have some great articles coming up in 2013, and look forward to sharing them with you soon!
1. Ten tips for going to church with your family
By Christine Jensen
"Growing up in a family that didn’t go to church, I was determined when I married, for ‘church’ to be the centre of our family. Of course, this was idealistic, and there were many moments when I thought it would have been easier to stay at home.
I hadn’t realised that this goal of mine wasn’t as easy as it sounded. I wanted my children to go happily, for church to be a delight to all family members. But this does not always happen. We certainly had a revolt on our hands for a couple of years, by a couple of teenagers who simply did not want to go to a Bible Study on Friday nights in addition to one on Sunday afternoons with church to follow! I know that we should just go to church come what may as we want to meet the Lord, but are there any tips we can share about creating a positive attitude to what is a pretty important activity?"
2. Changing the 'maybe' cultures in our churches
By Jon Thorpe
"In an over-full, over-committed life, it’s easy to just click ‘maybe’ on a Facebook event. The thought of making another decision about anything seems a little overwhelming, and ‘maybe’ seems a lot nicer than a flat out ‘no’. At the very least, it defers the rejection until you have the emotional fortitude to say it nicely. In the end, you wait until the absolute brink and bumble your way through “I am really sorry… the kids have been sick… the dog needs a kidney transplant… sorry… see you soon… it would be great to catch up…. I hope it goes well… sorry".
As the receiver of a ‘maybe’, what are you supposed to do with it? Do you set a place at the table, metaphorically or literally, for each ‘maybe’? Do you ignore the ‘maybes’ and invite a few more guests, hoping that ‘maybe’ really does mean 'no'. On the receiver side, no one likes ‘maybe’, so why do we keep doing it to each other?"
3. A wise mum trusts in God
By Sarah Condie
"Before I became a mum, I imagined that I would be a calm and serene mother. I thought I would be a perfect mother in every way – wonderful relationships with my kids, perfectly behaved children, and a perfect marriage. I didn’t think I would be working in paid employment. I imagined that each day I would cook choc-chip cookies or blueberry muffins and my children would come home from school to the aroma of these freshly baked goodies. We would sit around the table and chat peacefully about our day.
This picture couldn’t be further from the reality of my life. I discovered I am far from a perfect mother, I have far from perfect children, and my marriage is certainly not perfect. Most days, I could tell myself I am a complete failure."
4. Why kids stop going to church
By Zac Veron
"As a member of the same church for seventeen years, many of which I originally served as the Senior Minister, I baptised many babies who grew to become leaders of the children’s and youth ministries. I saw a church with hardly any kids in Sunday School and youth group grow into a Christian community with hundreds of young people.
How did the church grow? Well, under God’s grace and sovereignty, Christian parents did the most important thing they could ever do - they led their children in Christ. Yet in these seventeen years at St George North Anglican, I have also seen some children drop out of church. This sad outcome happens for many reasons, both theological and practical.
But of these reasons, two stand out, which I will explore in more detail below."
5. Loss and Grieving
By Christine Jensen
"We lost our first grandchild, Jonathan, who died at birth. His parents, Chris and Elizabeth knew this is what would happen. He was diagnosed well beforehand as having a disease, which meant his kidneys would not develop. I can’t begin to tell you how dreadful that was. It was one of those times in life when as a mother, I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do to make it better."
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