Fishbowl

Here's another reason why I am thankful for Life Church and Craig Groeschel. Craig had a great blog this morning about the unique challenges that pastors and their children face. I thought it was worthwhile to pass it along because I know that you pray for me and when you understand the unique challenges that I face and pray for me then I can be a better follower of Christ, husband, father and pastor. Thanks Craig for mentoring me and thanks CATF for praying for us.

Raising Your Kids in the Fishbowl
Craig Groeschel

Ministry can be very hard on pastor’s children.

* Your kids will hear you criticized.
* Your kids will watch you hurt.
* Your kids may see you wrongly strike back.
* Your kids might see your hypocrisy up close.
* Your kids might reject the church because you’re always there.
* Your kids may enjoy the extra attention when they are young and despise it when they mature.

No matter how healthy your church is, a pastor’s kid will likely feel a different sort of pressure. Here are a few things we do to help our kids grow up in the fishbowl:

* We put the kids’ activities ahead of the church calendar. If my girls have a piano recital on Saturday night, either I pre-produce the message or have someone else speak.
* I rarely work evenings. The evenings are family time. I also try not to compromise my day off with church needs.
* I don’t talk about my kids in a sermon without their permission.
* Amy and I work hard not to talk negatively about the church.
* We don’t make our kids go to church every week. Every now and then we let them stay home or do something else so going to church doesn’t become a legalistic chore.
* We live our private lives with personal devotion to Christ. We pray and talk about spiritual things with our children regularly.