Peter Witkowski Discipleship

Thanksgiving Every Day

thanksgiving blogSometimes it was painfully awkward; sometimes it was refreshing, and sometimes it was just a touch weird.  Yet, we did it. Each Thanksgiving after the pumpkin pie had been put away, all five of us Witkowski kids would go around the table and list the one thing we were thankful for. (The first kid always had it easy. “I’m thankful for my awesome family.” Shocker, right?) Though I wasn’t always a fan of the tradition as a kid, I’ve come to realize that we need to regularly thank our creator. And our thankfulness needs to go beyond a material goods. We need to realize that God’s favor is not tied to stuff, health, or human relationships.

This is hard for us to grasp. From the time we start praying, we tend to focus on stuff. Think about how most young kids pray. “God, thank you for mommy, thank you for our dog Calvin, and thank you for my toy helicopter Aunt sally sent me.” Our thankfulness is often determined by what God has done for us lately.

But God’s definition of love is not tied to today’s stuff; its tied to him. We read in Romans 5:8 that, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The best thing Christ has done for you and me is to bring us to God. Our relationship with him is the source of joy, life, and peace. Regardless of what we and our kids have experienced this year, we can be thankful. We can praise Jesus even if we have lost our mom, buried the family dog, and totaled our car because none of those things can separate us from the love of God! Our thankfulness is tied to cross. Let’s start abounding with it 365 days a year!

Does your family have a Thanksgiving Day traditions? I would love to hear about them!

 

 

 

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/61525950@N02/10874493605″>Pillsbury Thanksgiving Table2</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;

Peter Witkowski Apologetics, Discipleship, Evangelism, Parenting

The Forgotten Culture War

When you hear the term “Culture War” what pops into your mind? Gay activists yelling on the steps of the Supreme Court, Christians praying in front of abortion clinics, or perhaps politicians arguing for the removal of a nativity set? Typically, we don’t think about little Johnny lying to his mom. But, we should.

A World of Lies

Every cultural and spiritual battle is ultimately a battle of truth. Think back to Genesis 3. The snake deceived Adam and Eve. Lying blogSin arrives via the snake’s lie that God is not good. And sin continues to spread via the lie.

We get angry when we pick up another loss in fantasy Football or when our spouse forgets to empty the dishwasher, because we think victory or an empty dishwasher will bring true happiness. For that moment, we believe a lie.

And we spread lies because we don’t want to insult grandma’s cooking or because we don’t want to suffer the penalties that come with embezzling from our boss. We believe that lying will helps us avoid consequences. But it doesn’t because the perfect Judge sees everything and will hold us accountable when he returns.

Not too surprisingly our world which is ruled by the father of lies, Satan, is dominate by liars. Some researchers estimate that 1 in 5 adults are habitual liars. And this is not a new trend for these grownups.  Around 90% of people master the art of deception by the time they turn 4. It turns out that the little white lie is not so little after all. It’s a plague that infests our culture.

Why Kids Lie

As parents, pastors, and lay leaders, we should not be surprised to see kids lie. It happens all the time because most kids are living a lie. Many kids live for good grades, for softball championships, or for having tons of friends. They believe that something other than God can will make them happy. As the apostle Paul wrote, they as are all unrepentant sinners controlled by “deceitful desires” (Eph. 22).

Kids living for a lie will quite naturally be liars. They will lie about report cards and about breaking the lamp. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. When kids have corrupt deceptive hearts, lies will pour out of their mouths. That’s all they know to do.

The solution is truth. First, we have to begin telling the truth. Many kids keep lying long after 4 because their parents lie. “Honey, tell Grandma I’m in the shower.” We have to be faithful truth tellers in our everyday life. Jesus is, “the way the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). To follow him we must proclaim the truth. We must tell others that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and we must take grandma’s phone call.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. – Eph. 4:25

Next, we have to confront our kid’s lies. Their lies are not cute or insignificant. They may be bizarre. I had a young family member once tell numerous people that Shamu ate him. Please don’t start punishing kids for being fanciful, but do help them understand that such stories are not true. Even at an early age, kids can learn that truth resides in God and cannot be made up. Reality cannot be remade on a preschooler’s whim.  And that which is unnatural cannot be made natural by the Supreme Court. We need to help our kids understand the limits of imagination when confronted with God’s reality.

And lastly, we must discipline our kids for deliberate lies. I lied all the time as a kid, including doctoring my 6th grade math report card for an entire semester. Needless to say my parents were surprised to see that my standardize test ranking was in the 60th percentile. Yeah, turns out all those A’s were not so real after all. I spent the next several summers doing summer school. And as I wrestled with my punishment, I was acutely aware that I was sinner. By punishing me for my lies, my parents took on the lies that were controlling my heart. They showed me that true life and happiness is not found in escaping school work. It’s found in Christ.

By confronting a child’s lie, we can reach past their verbal message to the core of their heart. By championing truth in our homes, we show our kids that they need the savior of truth.

If we want our kids to embrace what the scriptures say about sex, abortion, and money management, we have to affirm truth in our lives and homes. Only truth of Christ can overcome lies of the snake.

Peter Witkowski Children's Ministry

M4G 2015 Camp Elva Form

Summer Camp GradesEvery year, I am can’t wait for camp. It’s a great time to connect with kids, celebrate shaving cream craziness, and to share the gospel. This year did not disappoint. FBCE’s kids ministry (Ministry for Generations) participated in three camps this summer (Winshape Day Camps, Connect Camp (FBCE’s very own camp!) and Centrikid). All three camps were phenomenal. Our campers were exposed to great biblical content and made a ton of memories during Trianglulaiton, OMC, and their track times . But with that being said, I’ve also come to realize that not all camps are created equal. Below, I will evaluate the three camps our FBCE kids attended, looking specifically at each camp’s production value, cost, organization, attendance (i.e. FBCE campers), and Bible content. Let’s take a look:

Winshape Camp for Communities

  1. Production Value: A-

  2. Cost: B

  3. Organization: A-

  4. Attendance (FBCE Kids): C-

  5. Bible Content: B+

Negatives: Although the Bible content was solid, it can occasionally slipped into moralism (one down side to having the camp pastor be college winshape 2015 1student). But the biggest drawbacks for FBCE is Winshape’s  cost and accessibility. Though the $199 per student is not ridiculous, the price can be a little much for parents with multiple kids. Combine the cost with the travel distance (we had to drive to Dublin, GA everyday) and you get only minimal participation. FBCE had only four kids attend camp this year.

Positives: Winshape is a fast past, great day camp. The worship is high powered and features a great combination of teaching, drama, music and video. The camp also runs incredibly smoothly. The kids get to experience a ton of activities. Moreover, the staff really cares about their campers and invests in them. In many ways, Winshape for Communities is like 9-5 VBS run by professional kid workers!  

Overall Grade: B

Connect Camp

  1. Production: B-

  2. Cost: A+

  3. Organization: B

  4. Attendance (FBCE): A+

  5. Bible Content: A+

 Negatives: Being our first year of camp, Connect Camp experienced some technical difficulties. We had to shuffle staff around on occasion to make sure every class and track was covered. connect camp blank logoAnd, we lacked the live band and custom videos found at Winshape and Centrikid. This year’s mantra was flexibility!

Positives: The three biggest positives of Connect Camp were cost, attendance, and content. Running the camp out our Kids’ Ministry budget, FBCE did not have to charge an attendance fee. Consequently, the number of Connect campers more than doubled the combined number of campers who attended Winshape and Centrikid. And most importantly, we got to ensure that the gospel was clearly preached every day of camp.

Overall Grade: A-  

  Centrikid Camp

  1. Production Value: A+

  2. Cost: A

  3. Organization: A+

  4. Attendance: B+

  5. Bible Content: B

Negatives: In most ways, I think Centrikid is the standard for all kids’ camps. The only negative for Centrikid this year was the camp’s biblical content.CENTRIKID-LOGO-ORANGE Admittedly, I struggled with this rating. The small group leaders did a great job relaying the gospel and of sharing their testimonies. But the camp pastor did not do so well. He taught (exegeted) great biblical truth, but he never tied his lessons back into the gospel. Because our kids left the main sessions without hearing the gospel, I dropped Centrikid to a B.

Positives: Centrikid Weekend Camps are the perfect way to introduce kids into camp life. Lasting three days and two nights, Centrikid is so jammed pack with activities, games, cool music, teaching, and OMC, the kids have no time to miss home. Plus the $165 cost (which includes all meals) is a very reasonable price. The weekend camp appeals to both campers and their parents, resulting in great FBCE participation. Every year our kids leave camp with a better appreciation for Jesus and of course a little exhausted.  

Overall Rating: A