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Statement of Faith
- The Bible is the inspired
and authoritative Word of God, the sole authority for
faith and practice.
- There is only one God who reveals himself
to man as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Man is separated from God due to sin.
- God's Son, Jesus Christ, was born of
the Virgin Mary, died on the cross for man's sins, and
bodily rose again on the third day, ascended to the Father
and will return to take his church.
- Man can only be saved, have eternal life
in heaven with God, by repenting of sin, and by faith,
accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. This salvation
is provided by the grace of God. Man cannot be saved
through his own efforts or works.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit who indwells
believers and enables them to live a godly life.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of
believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 Truths of the National Center
for Biblical Parenting
1. Parents have the God-given responsibility
to take charge of the home.
In a society
where making kids feel good is a high priority, many parents
have lost the mission for their family. Although we all
want our children to feel good and enjoy life, they also
need training. Parents today need to feel empowered to
lead in the home, teach their kids, set limits, and guide
their children to be the responsible, healthy adults
society needs. Parents set the rules and guidelines and
must continually follow through. Children may not like
the rules but that's
okay because the job of parenting is really an issue
of stewardship between the parent and God. At times
your kids may not like the way you're disciplining
them or your mother or neighbor may give you all kinds
of advice. Listening to others may provide insight
and wisdom but the ultimate responsibility for deciding
how to handle a particular problem is yours. (Deuteronomy
6:6-9)
2. Children are a gift from the Lord and must be treated
with honor.
Each child is a unique
treasure, a bundle of God-given ability, talent, and
character. Good parenting takes a child's special qualities into account and
trains that child according to his or her uniqueness.
Even when we must do the difficult work of correction
or setting limits that our child doesn't understand,
we try to do it in a way that values the child in the
process. (Psalm 127:3-5)
3. Sin corrupts family life.
As much as we wish it
weren't
so, sinful behavior has a way of creeping into relationships.
Parents as well as children develop unhelpful patterns
or reveal selfishness that must be addressed. Parenting
has a sanctifying effect on all family members, even
revealing sin in our own lives that we never knew existed.
Children need correction, instruction, and training to
address the selfish tendencies that will otherwise hinder
their success in life, and we, as parents need to continually
and humbly seek God for forgiveness as well. (Romans
3:23, James 1:13-15, 4:1)
4. All family members must take
personal responsibility for their own actions.
People tend to justify, blame, or rationalize weaknesses.
Looking at the mistakes of others often distracts individuals
from their own part of the problem. All family members
need to develop the humility to acknowledge their own
mistakes, take responsibility for them and avoid manipulative
techniques. (1 John 1:9)
5. Anger is good for identifying problems but not
good for solving them.
Anger is a God-given
emotion to reveal that something is wrong. Unfortunately,
many people take anger further and use it to solve problems.
That's
when others get hurt, relationships develop tension, and larger problems
of bitterness and resentment grow. The solution is
to use anger to point out the problem and then move
into different routines to solve it. To do this, parents
need more tools and resources to broaden their choices
of response. (Ephesians 4:26-27, James 1:19-20)
6. It's not enough
to be right, you also have to be wise.
Many parents are right
in life but lack the wisdom needed to make helpful change
in their children. In fact, most people can see when
something is wrong, but few know how to bring about change
in helpful ways. A wise parent will listen to advice,
evaluate options, and ask the question, "What strategy
might get the best result in this situation?" Wisdom
often comes from others. Becoming involved in on-going
parent support group can give parents added insight and
direction. (Proverbs 15:22, 16:16, 24:3)
7. Children need character training.
God is interested in the heart not just behavior.
Unfortunately, many parenting strategies on the market
today focus on getting the right actions down. Parents
who only use behavior modification techniques inadvertently
teach their children to look good on the outside, leaving
the heart virtually untouched. Effective parenting
strategies require a deeper look. Long lasting solutions
come when children develop the character they need
to be successful in life. (1 Samuel 16:7, Hebrews 12:11)
8. Good communication is essential.
Communication involves words, actions, voice quality,
and a host of other non-verbal cues. Parents need to
learn effective ways to communicate in family life
and teach children to do the same. Children also need
to learn what their cues are saying. The whole area
of communication in family life often determines the
strength of the relationships between members. (Proverbs
25:11, James 1:19-20)
9. God gives wisdom and power to those who ask for
it.
True healing in family
life starts with salvation. The Holy Spirit changes people
from the inside out and God offers wisdom to face life's
challenges. Parents need the power and wisdom of God
and must learn to rely on him in the midst of parenting
struggles. (Galatians 5:22-23, John 3:3, James 1:5)
10. Parenting is a walk of faith.
Parenting is a partnership
between us and God. We are not ultimately in control
of the decisions our children make. Although we will
continue to do our job as parents, we must also learn
to let go of the part that isn't ours. God is ultimately in control
and responsible for the discipline of our children.
Understanding God's role in our lives relieves
us from compromising for fear of rejection and allows
us to remain obedient to God in our parenting role
even in the face of abuse from our children. We have
a job to do and with God's grace we will do it.
(Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 20:7, John 14:1)
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