Wednesday
May022012
the modern family {behind the scenes}
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 5:04PM
it's been awhile since i've blogged about {non} traditional families. evidence #1: my friend sarah asked "do you still blog about {non} traditional families?" oh boy. hint taken. trust me, out of mind {or, out of blog} ≠ out of heart.
so, of course i was thrilled when children's ministry magazine asked for an article on the topic for their may/june issue. i said yes! and excitedly told sarah, "see! i still care!"
in the article i mention my personal journey towards serving the modern family:
heres's the thing: my motives are selfish. i want church to be a great place for my friends. many of my friends admit to having a deep relationship with god and a faith that grows everyday. they're simply unable to connect their personal faith with local church communities. it breaks my heart. i'm trying to influence church leaders towards inclusive language and programming so that my friends will re-consider church participation.
in our approaches, we don't have to be perfect, just mindful.
here's the other thing: whenever i talk about this topic i feel nervous about people's reactions. i understand the topic is heated. i wish it weren't, but i understand why.
i believe BIG time in productive, calm, reasonable conversations.
we don't have to all agree, but we all must come to the table and share our experiences, our beliefs, and our helpful ideas for moving forward. i sometimes worry that we don't talk about this topic because we're afraid of the tension. i know that's true for me.
i propose we eliminate the fear, we eliminate the need to speak poorly towards those with different opinions, and we begin to approach each other with a spirit of openness.
in our conversations with each other, we don't have to be perfect, just mindful.
imagine! engaging in the conversation for the sake of all families. c'mon--let's do this!
so, of course i was thrilled when children's ministry magazine asked for an article on the topic for their may/june issue. i said yes! and excitedly told sarah, "see! i still care!"
in the article i mention my personal journey towards serving the modern family:
i come from a very traditional christian family. i'm the oldest of five kids who grew up in the church, my parents are still married after 35 years together, and my siblings are christians who married christians. i graduated from bible college, worked in ministry, and married a christian guy from a christian family.
but, i've had numerous friends in my life who've come from or chosen to be part of a nontraditional modern family. these friends have given me an entirely new perspective on creating places in the church for all families.
some of my closest friends are divorced or gay, married or single, raising adopted children, or intentionally choosing not to have children. i've witnessed firsthand my friends' experiences in the church, and often these experiences have not been pretty. i've watched as my friends have decided not to participate in a church because they were unable to find a place that welcomed their family.
heres's the thing: my motives are selfish. i want church to be a great place for my friends. many of my friends admit to having a deep relationship with god and a faith that grows everyday. they're simply unable to connect their personal faith with local church communities. it breaks my heart. i'm trying to influence church leaders towards inclusive language and programming so that my friends will re-consider church participation.
in our approaches, we don't have to be perfect, just mindful.
here's the other thing: whenever i talk about this topic i feel nervous about people's reactions. i understand the topic is heated. i wish it weren't, but i understand why.
i believe BIG time in productive, calm, reasonable conversations.
we don't have to all agree, but we all must come to the table and share our experiences, our beliefs, and our helpful ideas for moving forward. i sometimes worry that we don't talk about this topic because we're afraid of the tension. i know that's true for me.
i propose we eliminate the fear, we eliminate the need to speak poorly towards those with different opinions, and we begin to approach each other with a spirit of openness.
in our conversations with each other, we don't have to be perfect, just mindful.
imagine! engaging in the conversation for the sake of all families. c'mon--let's do this!
Reader Comments (5)
Great article Amy. This is a topic that all of us who work in children's ministry need to be prepared to address. Also, thanks for the shout out the article. Very much appreciated!!!
I know I've shied away from talking about this, at least publicly, because of the tension. Consider me at least willing to try to be a part of the conversation.
What a great Article. This is a very timely topic for all of us that are wanting to reach out to those in our communities.
That issue of CMMag has been sitting on my desk for the past couple of weeks. I haven't had time to even open it. If I knew that you had an article in there, I would've pored over it immediately! Now I can't wait to go back to my office and read the article!! :)
[...] we continue engaging in productive conversations concerning how to love and care for {non} traditional families in the church, i’m hopeful that we can agree {regardless of our current beliefs} on one [...]