Meredith Miller, the author of “Woven: Nurturing A Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have To Heal From” writes, “What if you are not meant to be a faith exemplar for your children? What if you are meant to be a regular person who loves Jesus, so that they can see what it looks like for regular people to love Jesus?”
Welcome to a season of “regular.”
I know we live in a bubble that does not often advocate for “regular.” We cheer (yell?) for our kids at their games, we sign them up for all of the extra-curriculars (sometimes because they want to, sometimes because we want them to), we prioritize good grades, we send them to the best schools, we do all of the things the best, the best, the best.
Perhaps that’s why following Jesus can be so disorienting. Jesus never called us to be the best in the world. And he certainly didn’t call us to raise our kids this way.
The Young Families ministry at Westminster exists to partner primarily with parents as you 1) deepen your own relationship(s) with the living God and 2) fumble along the journey of inviting your kids into the same. There is no path to “the best” that you can follow, no one to give you a grade, and no way to ace this thing we call faith.
I hope that feels like good news and that you haven’t thrown this in the trash bynow. Because in this next season of young families ministry we are, quite honestly,hoping for “regular” in most all that we do. We aren’t looking to be the shiniest young families ministry in town. We are looking for regular. We aren’t looking tohave the busiest calendar around. We are looking for regular. If you’re looking for these things, you might just be disappointed.
But don’t be confused.
Regular doesn’t mean less than. It doesn’t mean pointless. Quite the opposite. The “regular” we are aiming for in this next season looks like:
- deeply transformative worship and faith formation for parents and families;
- deeper engagement with scripture (it’s not fancy, but it will change your life);
- meaningful, deep relationship building with new and old friends here at WPC; and journeying with your family to discover the ways God is calling you to lovethe world and all that is in it that God created.
Kate Bowler says that rituals and practices are sturdy enough to carry the weight ofour lives, of the world. We see this type of living in Acts 2 where, before thosetongues of Holy Spirit fire had even smoldered out, the community was worshippingtogether, eating together, playing together, and caring for others together. We seethis in Jesus’ greatest commandment which implores us to love the Lord our Godwith all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. And to love our neighbors asourselves. And so, every bit of the programming that follows in these pages servesthese ends, serves the God of our faith. Nothing more, nothing less.
It is a strange time to be alive. It is a strange time to be raising children.
We believe strongly that Jesus is the only anchor that will hold, and the only anchor that will hold us. And so we hold on tight right back. Here’s to regular ol’ faithfulness in this next season. Regular… and hopefully quite extraordinary.
We sure hope you’ll join us. You belong here.
See you at church and around town,
Ashley
Associate Pastor for Young Families