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Like Father, like son

Daniel DeLuca

Daniel DeLuca

Seasoned Member
Real Person
Male
My pastor tweeted this out, the other day:

https://twitter.com/KieBowman/status/1287445523268599808/photo/1

Yes, that is my wife sitting there, and you can see my head in the picture, as I was asked to help out in taking down the names for follow up.

So my older son has been bringing his friends to church, and the pew that we sit in, is full every week, with us and a bunch of teenagers. I shared the gospel with one of them, but you know how that can go sometimes. I had hoped he might respond tto the pastor's invitation some Sunday, but that didn't happen. A week ago Sunday, it occurred to me, as if the Lord were prompting me or something, that if I just introduce him to the pastor, and let him talk to the pastor, the pastor would share the gospel with him, so I talked briefly with the pastor, told him that I had shared the gospel with him, and I asked the pastor if he would be willing to talk to him about what it means to be a Christian. Sure enough, I brought the young man to the pastor, and the pastor shared some Scripture verses in Romans, and he came to faith in Christ.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. My little boy wanted to bring his two friends (twins) to church. He has been hanging out with them every day this summer, ever since he learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He said that he had been trying to share the gospel with them, but you know how that goes. He said that their parents would not allow them to go to church, which I thought was strange, so I asked them myself, and they said it was OK. When the church service was almost over, my wife told me that he wanted to bring his friends to talk to the pastor. Sure enough, I see them coming to talk with him, and the pastor pulled up a chair, and began sharing with them. Well, my son also has a friend whose parents, we have been good friends with, and occassionally, he will spend the night at our place, and he happened to be there this Sunday. So when the pastor asked if those two young boys wanted to get saved, they said that they did, and this other friend, said that he wanted to get saved too.

Well, there you have it! I figure that our pastor is a home run hitter. We just got to get him to the plate. Once he gets up to bat, we know that he will hit one out of the park. A week ago, it was a solo home run. This week, it was a three run shot! It's always cool to be a part of something that the Lord is doing!
 
1). Praise Yah that the Kingdom is growing, you are teaching the boys well.
But
2). You are inadvertently teaching your boys that you are not the spiritual head of your family, you have handed that over to the pastor.
When the time comes that your pastor decides that you must break fellowship with the church because your beliefs differ from his, will your boys be ok with just transferring that authority back to you? Or will it create a void in their lives? A void that causes the foundation of their faith damage.
 
steve said:
1). Praise Yah that the Kingdom is growing, you are teaching the boys well.
But
2). You are inadvertently teaching your boys that you are not the spiritual head of your family, you have handed that over to the pastor.
When the time comes that your pastor decides that you must break fellowship with the church because your beliefs differ from his, will your boys be ok with just transferring that authority back to you? Or will it create a void in their lives? A void that causes the foundation of their faith damage.
Click to expand...
I will learn his presentation through observation. I'm not worried about how my boys will perceive this. I have a pretty good handle on the younger one. There is not much that I can do about the older one, except pray for him, and have as many BF friends here pray for him as well.

What I would like to see, is a trend started where so many people are bringing friends and family to be saved, that the pastor won't be able to handle all of them, and he will ask for some help. I'll then raise my hand and take it from there. Honestly, I don't care who gets the glory. Ultimately, I want God to receive the glory. I have to move as the Lord prompts me to move! :)

I don't think that the pastoral staff, has had any intent to throw me out in an effort to get my sons to see the pastor as an authority, nor have they pondered this notion that I have handed over any authority to him. The pastor is just thrilled to have SOMEBODY in the church who will bring lost people to him. That will make it extremely difficult for them to throw me out, which is not why I and my son did this. All I know, is I planted the seed, and my pastor has been saying good things about me to the entire congregation. You never know, when you plant a seed, if it lands on good soil, until you see the yield! I have already told him and other pastors, that if he does come around on this, he should be careful not to get himself fired. I figure, if I can leave the church on good terms, which will only happen in the unlikely event that he does reexamine his position on polygamy, but if that does happen, that is not a bad thing.

My pastor is not the enemy. I love my pastor, but I have not been bashful about pointing out some things that he could improve on, and I have even done so in a conversation with my older son, who has gotten frustrated with the church; some of that is due to the way he feels that he has been treated by the church. I am perfectly willing to admit though, that this man is gifted, when it comes to sharing the gospel message with an unsaved soul. When God prompted me to move, the furthest thing from my mind, is this notion of handing authority over to the pastor. I knew what needed to be done, and I know my boys look up to me, for what I did. I can't imagine trying to tell my little boy not to follow my example in bringing his friends to talk to the pastor! All I really want, is to see God's kingdom grow, and it wouldn't hurt, when the time comes for me to start a new church, to have a few believers in attendance every week.
 
A short summary of what I just typed out:

This
steve said:
You are inadvertently teaching your boys that you are not the spiritual head of your family, you have handed that over to the pastor.
When the time comes that your pastor decides that you must break fellowship with the church because your beliefs differ from his, will your boys be ok with just transferring that authority back to you? Or will it create a void in their lives? A void that causes the foundation of their faith damage.
Click to expand...
is really just plain silly, and it's sad that someone might overlook a prime opportunity to reach a lost soul for the kingdom, because they are worried about something like this.
 
Daniel DeLuca said:
A short summary of what I just typed out:

This

is really just plain silly, and it's sad that someone might overlook a prime opportunity to reach a lost soul for the kingdom, because they are worried about something like this.
Click to expand...
Whaat???
Never did I mean to indicate that the lad should not be brought to salvation.
You are the priest of your house. I am trying to encourage you to take your position and lead the lad, even teaching your children to lead their friends to salvation.

Teaching your children that salvation comes through church leaders is a vestige of the Catholic system.
 
Maybe it's just me, but does the pastor really need to share with the world what 'I just did?'

~ Couldn't get past that for the rest of the conversation. ...
 
Before this gets heated,
@Daniel DeLuca, I didn't take @steve to be criticizing, only encouraging and slight warning. Even evangelical churches can retain some vestiges of sacerdotal sentiments. That was his observation in this issue, not the glorious salvation of this young man. Yes, there are many ways to skin a cat, as long as people realize that anyone can, not just the butcher.
 
PeteR said:
Maybe it's just me, but does the pastor really need to share with the world what 'I just did?'

~ Couldn't get past that for the rest of the conversation. ...
Click to expand...
I see the discouragement on his face, as week after week, hardly anyone responds to the invitation. Yes, if there is one criticism I have, and I have expressed it to others in the church, is that he comes across as being pretty much all about himself.He tells his congregation how he has fasted, or prayed for seven hours straight, and I could go on. Those are good things, to be sure, but when he preaches to the congreagation, it is always brow beating. They don't do enough of this or that. He certainly doesn't deflect praise very well. So I can look to my former church for an example of how to do things, and I can look at my current church to find examples of how NOT to do things. The contrast is enormous. At my former church, it was always said that the people of that church, were what made that church such a great church. There are opportunities in any church, certainly in this church, to lift of the people and encourage them to do more good works, but I don't think I have ever heard anyone in the pulpit at this church, do so.
 
steve said:
Whaat???
Never did I mean to indicate that the lad should not be brought to salvation.
You are the priest of your house. I am trying to encourage you to take your position and lead the lad, even teaching your children to lead their friends to salvation.

Teaching your children that salvation comes through church leaders is a vestige of the Catholic system.
Click to expand...
Don't worry about that. I got it all under control. I have never taught my children that, and my church doesn't teach that either.
 
It is awesome whenever someone accepts that free gift, and the great commission is to share the message with all who will hear.
We all have different backgrounds and as a result different theological "baggage" as a result. I don't think as Mojo said, anyone wants to diminish the good....only point out that the harvest is great and you don't have to go to a pastor or be in a church to get those souls recorded above. Banks allow "mobile deposits" and our maker allows people to come to him wherever they are. Baptism too only needs to be done by one Yah has called who has responded and been baptised. It is the faith and obedience to Him that matters, not if other men or man made organisations recognize His servant....or make a certificate.....or keep records. :)
 
Wow...this brings back memories. When I was a youngster of about 9, I remember asking my mom about what it meant to be saved. She was wise enough to explain and demonstrate that it was a heart felt one on one conversation with God where I asked for Him to forgive me of all I had done wrong because of what Jesus had done. Not long afterwards our tiny Baptist Church where my uncle was the pastor, held a weeklong revival. One night as the meeting was wrapping up I went downstairs all by myself and had that conversation with Him. For some reason I shared what had happened with my cousins (PKs lol) before telling my parents. I'll never forget their young and naive reaction. "You can't get saved by yourself, you have to walk down front and let dad (my pastor uncle) do it!"
 
Robhar said:
Wow...this brings back memories. When I was a youngster of about 9, I remember asking my mom about what it meant to be saved. She was wise enough to explain and demonstrate that it was a heart felt one on one conversation with God where I asked for Him to forgive me of all I had done wrong because of what Jesus had done. Not long afterwards our tiny Baptist Church where my uncle was the pastor, held a weeklong revival. One night as the meeting was wrapping up I went downstairs all by myself and had that conversation with Him. For some reason I shared what had happened with my cousins (PKs lol) before telling my parents. I'll never forget their young and naive reaction. "You can't get saved by yourself, you have to walk down front and let dad (my pastor uncle) do it!"
Click to expand...
Of course, how a person is drawn to Christ is not as important as the fact that we are told to Go.
 
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