Everything That Rises

So, earlier this week I came across this unfortunate video: To say I am disgusted by this is an understatement. However, we live in a culture of outrageously expensive weddings (weddings many of us claim are "sacred"), enormous Bar/Bat-Mitzvahs, and ridiculously lavish "sweet sixteens," so should we really be surprised that there are people who have "stylish adult baptisms"? As a Baptist, I practice believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism). I view baptism as an extremely important and meaningful step in following Jesus. It is not a social event. It is not simply some societal right-of-passage. Baptism is first and foremost about following Christ, so it is impossible for me to justify having such a lavish and expensive "event" for what is supposed to ignite a life of following the one who preached "blessed are the poor." While my complete disgust with this is beyond words, it has caused me to reflect on another practice ...

Recently I was asked,  “What’s the most important lesson to teach your children?” Here's my response. As one who has yet to experience the joys of parenthood, I can only tell you what I hope will be the most important lesson to teach my children. There are so many things our children need to know, so many things that they must learn in order to navigate the tumultuous waters of this life. There are also so many forces that act to shape and influence our children that are simply beyond our control. If there is one lesson I hope my children (and anyone who knows me for that matter) learn from me it is simply this: God loves you and wants you to love him and everybody else. It seems like such a simple thing to learn, but I find myself still struggling to learn such a simple, deep truth each and every day. It is the most important lesson to teach our children and ourselves. CPT