Back to the Gospel

It's time that we go back to the Gospel. It suddenly occurred to me sitting at dinner this evening. I was in a hurry to get to an event at church. I stopped for a moment and looked down at my son, who was happily scooping up his mashed potatoes. What am I doing as a father, as a Christian father, to lead my son to know Jesus. I know, he's only 1. But where will his life lead him? Will I have time to show him the right path? Or should I begin showing him now. Should I be more attentive to the ways I act in his presence. Should I be more attentive to the ways I act when he's not around?! We as parents have the enormous, monumental task of leading our young ones to know Christ. To show them the path to salvation. Are we doing our part? As I have been involved in church life as an adult, I've noticed that things have changed. Parents of today's youth have changed. When I was younger, church came first. And I was led to a life with God by watching my parents lead a life with God. They didn't simply insist that I attend church, which most parents aren't doing today. They showed me how. They walked with me. They walked in front of me, giving me footprints to follow. A path to find my way. We too must do that. Given the current decline in the morality and relationship with Christ in today's youth, what will it be like when my son is a teenager? What will society through his way. And will he have the tools to counteract it. I pray that I can provide the footprints for him to follow, as my parents did for me.

That said, there is an interesting movement taking place within the United Church of Christ Denomination. You may have seen news reports, or commercials about the UCC. Last year, they approved an Equal Marriage Rights resolution. In years past they've tried to remove the masculinity from God, using nouns like parent, child, and it instead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The unfortunate thing is that they've spent so much time pressing these issues that you may or may not agree with, but that aren't really the crux on which salvation lies. Salvation is only given by the gracious sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. An individual, a pastor, a church, a denomination, a religion should focus on that issue. Should preach that issue in every sermon, every bible study, every discussion, every prayer. And the interpretation of the Scripture should be reflective of that focus. Christ is the center of the Christian faith. And the Scripture (in its entirety) is the way by which we find God's will for us. The movement within the UCC is called "Faithful and Welcoming Churches" If you are affiliated with the UCC, or put off by it's recent actions, I encourage you to follow the link to their website: www.faithfulandwelcoming.com Hopefully, those more essentially involved can set your mind to rest about where we should be headed as a church within the UCC