Training. It is something I have been familiar with most of my life. When I was in elementary school most of my training was repetitive math facts and flashcards. I remember coming home, sitting down at the kitchen table, opening up my backpack and pulling out my bag of flashcards. On one side was the problem and on the other side was the answer. Occasionally, my mom would “quiz” me by holding the problem side so I could see it while she gazed at the solution. If the card ended up on the table that meant I had gotten it correct. If the card ended up at the back of the pile, another attempt was needed. But as I great up more training took place in my life.

In middle school and high school, my most formative memories of training involve sports. Track in particular. While I played football in the fall, it is the training I received in track I most remember. Partially because I enjoyed and excelled at track far more than at football (something about being under 5 feet tall and less than 100 pounds in 8th grade doesn’t give one a promising NFL career trajectory). But the primary reason my training in track was astounding, was because of my coach. Training was his thing. He wanted us not just to run faster and better – his goal was for us to know how and why we could run faster. The same must be true in our parenting…

“The goal of parenting is not just to teach our kids to survive,

but train them to thrive.”

Chad Harrington

You see I learned many things from my high school track coach, but none more formative than his model for training. His method has informed many areas of my life, including parenting. So often, I talk to other parents and they seem to just want their kids to get the answers (especially in the teen years when they are testing and questioning everything). But as I dad I am constantly reminding myself that I don’t want to just ensure my kids know what to think or how to best live…I want them to know how and why of their thinking and behavior. This invovles intentionality and at it’s core is about discipleship. Chad Harrington shares some excellent insights on “Discipleship at Home” as he distills key elements of his experience being discipled by his dad.

READ THE ARTICLE

One of the gold nuggets in Chad’s article is the point he makes about discipleship at home being harder than we expect. It’s funny that no matter how hard I know parenting can be, I still find my expectations to be focused all on ease. What did you gather from the article? I’d love to hear your thoughts. As always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash