Curling Parents
I wanted to write about helicopter parents in this post, however in the process of doing some research, I discovered the Scandinavian term “Curling Parents.” They are parents who run in front of their children sweeping away all the bad things that might get in the way. So in honor of the Winter Olympics, let’s use that word picture to guide our discussion today. Curling
I take leading my group of Middle School students that I pastor seriously. I love them and their parents, but are we teaching them how to live out their faith when we keep sweeping everything away? A few years ago during a lesson on personal evangelism, the question, “Who do you hang out with that needs to know about Christ?” was asked. I had a small group leader share with me that in the group she was leading, not one of them could think of any non believer they knew or a time when they would have the opportunity to share with a non believer. Their parents did not allow them to have any interaction with non believers. They couldn’t play on a non-Christian sports team or dance squad and were not allowed to hang out with any neighborhood kids that did not go to church.
In the process of cleaning the way for our students, have we sanitized the faith? I don’t remember seeing age recommendations put on the great commission in the Bible. I’ve never seen a passage that says not to tell others about Jesus until after you turn 18. If we are not allowing students the opportunity to share now, will they ever see it as an important part of their faith? Will they think, “I’ve lived for the last 10, 12, 14 years without needing to tell anyone about what Christ has done in my life. Why should I start now?”?
Where is the line between protection and sanitation from the world? And have we crossed it?
Great thoughts Chad. I have been wondering this myself, which is why I’ve started talking about evangelism with my youth group. I’m starting a Sunday School series using the book “Share Jesus Without Fear” by William Fay. The goal is to show people how important it is to share your faith, and give them a method that can help overcome fear. Then we won’t need to sweep away bad things anymore, because our kids will be dangerously equipped to bring the gospel to people who have never truly heard it before!
Heavily agree’d. If a student is sheltered all throughout their middle and high school career’s when they graduate into the big world how will they know how to handle people who don’t think the same way they do? I’m glad my parents did not shelter me, gotta have thick skin to be a bold Christian.
While reading over your blog entry, I realized that the point I’m about to make can be relevant to any age. I don’t think the real issue is how much exposure a student has to lost people at all. A teenager who attends a campus with 3,000 students isn’t any more likely to seek out a lost person and share the gospel. In general most parents who would describe themselves as Christian don’t model this in their own lives. For whatever reason it hasn’t become relevant for them in their lives. More than likely they weren’t shown and then encouraged to practice an effective method themselves. So, if a student (or adult) doesn’t see it modeled, how are they to learn and most importantly find the courage to try it themselves? It’s not very practical to just say “you’re a Christian, go witness to your lost friends but don’t do the things they do” and expect a positive result for either the person sharing or the one receiving. That old saying “practice makes perfect” applies. “The Way of the Master” is a very effective method that has the person on the receiving end answering for themselves how they fall short of keeping the Lord’s commandments. I like how it provokes a person to pause before using the term “good” to describe themselves. What it boils down to is it doesn’t matter how good the method is if you don’t see it as one of your responsibilities as a Christian.