Raising Kids, Raising Leaders
By Tom Hovsepian
My daughter Leslie and her husband have the cutest 19 month
old daughter! She is so dang smart—loving anything new—all the while beaming
that photogenic smile of hers. Her parents have to keep up with her though, and
struggle to stay ahead. What used to occupy her for an hour is now examined and
discarded in minutes, if not seconds. She’s like that robot in the movie “Short
Circuit” wandering around moaning “more input, more input”. Indie Joy loves to
learn and was built for adventure. When she can’t satisfy that yearning you’ve
got one unhappy kid. What’s a parent to do?
The other day I was babysitting Indie and I found the James
Dobson book, “The New Strong Willed Child” lying on the counter. While the baby
slept I read a few chapters. What genius, grace-filled, practical advice.
I read the section on how to deal with a strong willed
teenager. Boy, did that bring back memories! I had four of them in the home at
once! I loved what James Dobson had to say about allowing your teenagers to
grow up. He says that all too often we rescue our kids from the consequences of
their decisions, instead of allowing those adverse circumstances to teach and
train them. In other words, give them the freedom to FAIL. Dobson used the
classic example of teaching kids to walk. It would be absurd for a parent to
suppose that a baby could learn to do so without falling often. The same holds
true for a child growing into a young adult.
Author and pastor, Bill Johnson, tells the story of teaching
his kids to ride a bike without training wheels. He knew they wouldn’t be able
to learn without falling, so he would take them to the park to teach them on
the soft grass. He provided a safe place for them to grow.
Just like raising kids, leaders must provide a safe
environment for their people to grow up as well. The example is often used of
how ridiculous it would be to give the keys of the family car to a 5 year
old. Well, it’s just as ridiculous to
NOT give them the keys when they’re 40!
Jesus had no problem doing this, as John Wimber so deftly
explained: Jesus did the works of ministry. Then He did the works of ministry
while His disciples observed. Next He allowed His disciples to do the works of
ministry, as He looked on. Finally, of course, the disciples were entrusted
with the ministry of Jesus and “turned the world upside down”.
Danny Silk, author of “The Culture of Honor”, explains that
the Scripture found in John 14:12
“He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he shall do also, and greater
works shall he do …” is one of the most empowering scriptures in the Bible. We
need to be people who raise up and train, not only our children, but also our
leaders, to take over where we leave off—and to even go beyond what we’ve accomplished.
We must have the ambition in childrearing, and leader training, to desire that
“our ceiling would become the next generation’s floor”. How Jesus could entrust
the Great Commission to the bungling disciples is beyond me, but He did, and it
worked. How much more should we, when it comes to raising up children and
raising up leaders!
Tom Hovsepian is the
pastor of Church on the Mountain, a vibrant community of believers in Crowley Lake 9:30 Sunday
mornings. Call for more information: 935-4272 or www.ChurchOnTheMountain.org
