FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Thinking Biblically about Mission

Guests:                      Dennis and Barbara Rainey

From the series:       The Art of Parenting: Mission and Releasing (Day 1 of 2)

Bob: Dennis Rainey has a provocative, engaging question for parents to ask their children.

Dennis: “If you could do anything in the world and couldn’t fail, what would you do and why?” And then maybe toss this one out at the dinner table—it’s by A.W. Tozer—“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity we plan to do the things we can only do by ourselves.” Kids need to realize that if God is their God, they need to make their plans large.

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Thursday, February 21st. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. Are your children setting big goals? Do they have big dreams about how God might use them in the future? We’re going to talk today about how you stir that up in your child’s heart. Stay with us.

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. We have spent a lot of time over the last six/seven months talking about parenting—actually, for the last year. I’m going all the way back to when our movie, Like Arrows, came out in theaters a year ago—

Dennis: That’s right.

Bob: —and then the video series for the Art of Parenting™ came out shortly after that. Your book, The Art of Parenting, was released in September. We’ve been talking about parenting quite a bit; and of course, this is something you’ve been studying and reflecting on for decades.

Dennis: This is a passion of both Barbara’s and mine; and by the way, she joins us again on FamilyLife Today. Welcome back.

Barbara: Thank you much; glad to be here.

Dennis: For a little while longer, at least, welcome back.

Barbara: A little while longer. [Laughter]

Bob: A little while longer—yes; we shared with listeners earlier this week about the change that is coming.

Dennis: That’s right! Dave and Ann Wilson are going to be stepping into our shoes, and they are going to become the hosts of FamilyLife Today.

2:00

We’ve been at this for almost 26-and-a-half years, not quite.

Bob: Yes.

Dennis: But we’ve had the privilege of doing over 6,000 broadcasts that listeners have paid attention to dutifully and have been listening to what we’ve said here. Hopefully, we have helped you in your most important relationships in life. It’s kind of fitting, Bob, I think, that Barbara and I are here talking about this final pillar of raising kids, which is giving your child a mission and releasing them.

Something like FamilyLife Today can’t die with my hands or Barbara’s hands tightly gripped around the microphone saying: “No, no, no! You can’t have someone else lead this!” We’re all meant to pass it on—to pass the baton. We’re excited to be able to do that. Dave and Ann Wilson have been in ministry for a number of years, and I think our listeners are going to love them.

3:00

I believe, for FamilyLife Today and FamilyLife®, the best is yet to be. Bob Lepine is still going to be at the microphone, so I’m excited. What about you, sweetheart?

Barbara: I am too. We’ve known Dave and Ann for years. We love their enthusiasm; we love their energy. They are both very biblically-anchored, and they will just do a fabulous job. In fact, I think they’ll do a better job, in many ways, than we did—

Dennis: I think you’re right.

Barbara: —because they’re just—they’re great people, and everybody’s going to love them.

Bob: We’ve heard from them already this week. We’re going to hear from them again next week. It is nice when you can make a handoff to friends and people who you admire and respect; and that’s the case with Dave and Ann.

Dennis: Kindred spirit friends.

By the way, just a transition to today’s broadcast—because I want to get on with that—we’ve been talking, as you mentioned, Bob, for a number of months about the essence of raising children. We talked about how the Scriptures really break it down into four categories.

4:00

The first one is the Great Commandment, which is teaching your child how to have a relationship with God and with others. The second area of parenting is that of building character into your children—teaching them to be wise and not be a fool; teaching them right from wrong; how to choose what’s right; obey God—that’s what the Book of Proverbs is about. A little earlier this year, we talked about the third area, which is the issue of identity—emotional, spiritual, and sexual identity. The Bible speaks clearly to all of those areas.

This last one that we’re talking about today is really something that Barbara and I will probably fight one another for the microphone, because we both feel strongly about this; and that’s giving your child a sense of mission—helping them discover why God put them here, on the planet, in the first place. It’s really spoken of in one of my favorite verses that I’ve quoted many, many times, here, on FamilyLife Today—Ephesians, Chapter 2, verse 10:

5:00

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Did you hear what Paul was saying there? He was saying we are God’s work of art. Your child is God’s work of art. He has prepared that child for an assignment that is unique to him.

In doing research for this book, we found out that, way back in the 18th century, there was a doctor who discovered fingerprints. He was the guy who discovered that each person has a unique fingerprint on every one of their fingers and thumbs. I think it’s a statement of how God has a unique assignment/a unique ability built into every child. What your assignment is, as a parent—listen to me—your assignment is, as a pair of parents, or as a single parent, or as a blended family—

6:00

—you have to help your child discover who he or she is and cheer them on in the race of life, cheering them on to become all that God called them to be.

Bob: When we were working on the Art o...