Children matter on the battlefront

 – extracted from George Barna’s book: Transforming children into spiritual champions

Simply put, if you want to win a war, you must control the battlefront.

In the complexity of the world these days, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that life is ultimately a spiritual battle and that each of us is a spiritual being who must declare a side in the war and then fight to the end for what we believe is truth. In that process, we must identify the boundaries of the battlefront before we can take command of it.

Where is the battlefront today? Is it to be found in the fight for the rights of unborn or the call to outlaw homosexual behaviour? Does it lie within the struggle to get adults to spend more than two hours per week at church in the hope of getting them to read the bible every day? Will it be found at the heart of the culture wars, which pit biblical morality against the garbage imbedded in a lot of the movies, television and music to which we are exposed? Is the line in the sand drawn to separate those who selfishly work to accumulate resources for personal pleasure from those who seek to distribute resources more equitably?

No, I believe the battlefront is found in the minds, hearts and souls of our children. Ever the strategic mastermind, satan knows that if you destroy the character and hope of children, you rule the world! Satan is not omnipotent, but he is intelligent and clever – certainly sharp enough to realize that if you win over children, you have won the war for at least one generation and probably more.

If we do a great job of training children to love God with all their heart, mind, strength and soul, then we will no longer have to invest time battling over moral and spiritual issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gambling and pornography.

The ways of God will flow naturally from the lives of the people who have embraced Him and His principles. We could trust our children to do what is right, because entrenched in their hearts, souls and minds is an unshakable understanding of what is right and a compelling desire to act accordingly.

DEVELOPING A SPIRITUAL LEGACY

There is no doubt that family life is under tremendous pressure in our day and age; and living in Jozi makes family life that much more difficult. I am not exactly sure why your family lives in Jozi; perhaps you relocated here from elsewhere in South Africa, or from other parts of Africa, however, one thing is certain; living in the great city of Jozi will impact the way you live as a family, and the way you live out your faith commitment. With the rapid rate of urbanization globally, families are becoming smaller, more nuclear and more isolated that ever before; leaving many people without the wider support network they may have grown up with in their childhood- this trend will continue into the future, and as Christian parents and families, we will need to be far more intentional about establishing strong Christian values and leaving our children a legacy of spiritual worth in a world obsessed with material success.

Renowned Atheist, Richard Dawkins, in his book, ‘The God Delusion’ states: “There is no such thing as a Christian child: only a child of Christian parents”. This statement in itself, set against the obvious backdrop of his claims, highlight the importance of what Deuteronomy 6: 4f speaks of in relation to fostering a spiritual legacy within our families that is transmitted inter-generationally. God cares about generations; even the generation yet unborn- and as parents, and grandparents, our primary concern need to be rooted in the spiritual legacy will create for our children.

As a parent, I know that it can be disturbing to realize that our children often mirror the way we speak and act; our lives impress upon our children and they in many ways emulate who we are, and how we act in situations. For this reason, it is important for parents to heed the words of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6: 4- 9:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.   

- Dr Desmond Henry

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL FORMATION: by Anna-Marie Russell (M Ed)

Dallas Willard says: “Spiritual Formation is the process through which those who love and trust Jesus Christ effectively take on his character. This process of “conformation to Christ”, as we might call it, is constantly supported by grace and otherwise would be impossible. But it is therefore passive” Grace as opposed to earning, not effort. In fact, nothing inspires and enhances effort like the experience of grace. Yet it is today necessary to assert boldly and often that becoming Christlike never occurs without intense and well informed action on our part.” (The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Spiritual Formation, p225, 1994) He continues to say: “Sometimes we think of Spiritual Formation as formation by the Holy Spirit. Once again, that’s essential. We can’t evade it…formation by the Holy Spirit. But now I have to say something that may be challenging for you to think about: Spiritual Formation is not all by the Holy Spirit; None without the Holy Spirit. But there is always more involved. And here again we run into the problems of passivity over and against activity. Here lies the deepest challenge to the very idea of obedience to Christ in our times. We have to recognize that spiritual formation in us is something that is also done to us by those around us, by ourselves and by activities which we voluntarily undertake…there has to be method.” Willard continues “Spiritual formation, without regard to any specifically religious context or tradition, is the process by which the human spirit is given a definite “form” or character.” (Renovation of the Heart)

Craig Dykstra confirms this he says: The practices of faith are not ultimately our own practices but rather habitations of the Spirit, in the midst of which we are invited to participate in the practices of God. The Presbyterian Church in the USA explains Spiritual Formation as” the activity of the Holy Spirit which moulds our lives into the likeness of Jesus Christ. This likeness is one of deep intimacy with God and genuine compassion for all of creation. The Spirit does not only work in the lives of individuals but also in the church, shaping it into the body of Christ. We cooperate with this work of the Spirit through certain practices that make us more open and responsive to the Spirit’s touch, disciplines such as Sabbath keeping, works of compassion and justice, discernment, worship, hospitality, spiritual friendships and contemplative silence.”

In this relativistic world where everything is permissible and Christianity is considered “outdated” we need to equip our children with knowledge and skills to enable them to get the message of Christ out into the world without feeling insecure, unsure and ashamed of their faith. In the spiritually volatile culture in society our schools need to be completely Christ centered, because when Jesus is central in the complete school programme, life and truth is brought to the present reality. Our schools need to b places where a high level of thinking happens, challenging our students with the higher order thinking skills, we need to teach critical and analytical thinking. As Christian schools we have an opportunity to fill an intellectual vacuum and provide and intellectually rigorous, spiritually vibrant alternative to what exists in many communities and schools. With our students we have to explore faith’s relationship to reason, we need to target their thinking as much as their feelings and will.  Spiritual Formation of students in Christian Schools goes beyond strategy and curriculum it looks at the heart; The heart of the school, the heart of the teachers and the heart of the students. It is like the forming of a pot from clay, it brings to mind shaping and moulding, helping something potential, become something actual. Spiritual formation speaks of a shaping process with reference to the spiritual dimension of a person’s life. Christian spiritual formation thus refers to the process by which believers become more fully conformed and united to Christ. Christian schools focus on the Expected Student Outcomes of the Association of Christian Schools International and include these in their school curriculum, Spiritual Formation and Biblical worldview outcomes need to be as important as the Knowledge and skill outcomes to enable us to educate holistically, in body, soul and mind.