A church in Tacoma that I appreciate, Soma, sends a weekly update newsletter to its people. I'm on the list; here's what a pastor there, Justin, wrote this week:
It's been helpful for me think of the gospel as God meeting our deepest need, which is reconciliation with himself. Here's how a few others have expressed the same idea:
"What's the greatest benefit of being a christian? Relationship with God." --Abe Meysenburg
"The best and final gift of the gospel is that we gain Christ." --John Piper"I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." --Paul
Be encouraged that as undeserving as we are, we get God. That's some good news.
Read today about the phenomenon of 18-22 year old adults taking a "break" from church:
"...more than two-thirds of young adults who attend a Protestant church for at least a year in high school will stop attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22."
One researcher had this to say:
"...Parents and churches are not passing on a robust Christian faith and an accompanying commitment to the church. We can take some solace in the fact that many do eventually return. But, Christian parents and churches need to ask the hard question, ‘What is it about our faith commitment that does not find root in the lives of our children?’"
He says, "What is it about our faith commitment that does not find root in our children?" An excellent question.
I have officially entered the realm of "crazed sports dad" now that my daughter, in her new school, is on the middle school tennis team.
She is 5 and 0 for her first five official matches of the tennis season. This from a girl who was convinced only last week that she "could never win a tennis match."
Plus, she is playing very well. She has great ground strokes, a bold attitude in coming to the net, a consistent service game, and a real passion to win.
Where did she get her tennis ability?" some people are asking me. I tell them, "I'm not sure." Truth is, she played at a great city-youth tennis program here in Tucson over the last 18 months and those coaches did a great job of instilling a love for the game.
Now, she owns her own love for the game, and that's pretty exciting for a dad to see. I'm proud of her accomplishment, of her ownership, and of her actual skills.
But more importantly, I'm proud of her attitude. On Thursday she played a girl who was significantly less experienced that she was, and was very kind, and very encouraging, throughout her 6-0 victory. I'd even say that they both had fun.
Thank you Lydia for reminding me about sportsmanship, about team-spirit, and about how great it is being a dad to such a wonderful girl.
