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LAC Families-
I was recently helping my daughter with her homework where she was studying idioms, proverbs and adages. I couldn’t think of a better idiom that represents our current situation with regard to electronics and out children than the tooth paste is out of the tube.
We currently live in a world, whether we like it or not, where the smart phone (and all that it entals) is an essential part of our life. Schools, churches (yes, Lake Avenue!), teams, etc. all communicate through social media. It would be a very difficult endeavor to try to prevent our children from participating in social media or the internet.
So the real question as a parent is, how do we manage it – and in addition to that, how do we model it?
Lake Avenue Family Ministries is hosting a webinar on April 7th at 7pm to discuss this very topic with national speaker Rick Rekedal and auther Arthur Bamford. We would love to invite you to join us! Rick hosts a podcast and has traveled the country talking about this issue and Arthur just released a book with Fuller Youth Institute discussing the topic of teens and technology.
There is no way to get the toothpaste back into the tube. The ship left the station. There is no turning back. There is a great, big world out there underneath that screen and it is all things good, bad and ugly. I think we are only now starting to see the signs and trends of children raised in the era of the smart phone and those signs are not all good.
What’s essential is that we as a church body are working together and supporting each other as we struggle. We are a true fabric of believers and no one should think that they are unique or alone in dealing with these issues. We have been praying for our families and after a long year of what has amounted to mandatory screen time, this topic couldn’t be more relevant.
Pastor Chuck mentioned on Sunday that a dead smart phone is basically worthless. The only value of a smartphone, and by extension, our spiritual lives is to be charged – plugged in – engaged. Unfortunately, I think the only way to see fruit in our children’s lives would be if their smart phones were dead! It reminds me of that Simpsons episode when everyone’s favorite tv show became bland and boring and the kids discovered the joy of going outside. (Start at 1:20!)
Could you imagine a world where our children chose, of their own free will, to run around outside to play? Unlikely. I think we’d have a better chance seeing pigs fly.
So let’s be honest, time is money. We’re burning daylight. There is no time like the present. When the rubber meets the road, the tough get going. Or something like that.
We love you and hope to see you at the free webinar next week! More details and registration HERE!
FYI: An idiom is a common saying that is different than the individual words, a proverb is a saying that offers advice in a unique way and an adage is a saying that expresses something about human nature.
Blessings,
Matt Wilson
Family Ministries Division Member
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