Understanding Your Teenager?

On Sunday night, we held a parenting seminar called "Understanding Your Teenager." This was a conference for parents of teens and preteens, and the speaker was Wayne Rice. It was an incredible seminar for everyone involved.

Wayne gave our parents great instruction on how to not only understand, but how to lead students in the home. We saw over 150 parents attend this evening, which just shows once again that parents are looking for ideas and encouragement in leading their families.

For me, it was a great day to hang out with Wayne Rice. Of all the books written on Junior High ministry, Wayne's is still the best. It was great to spend time with Mr. Rice during the day on Sunday. I was struck by a few things about him:

1. He was humble. You'd never know from speaking with him that he'd written tons of books, co-founded Youth Specialties, taught lots of seminars, etc.

2. He cared about us. He wasn't just another speaker that performs and then prances to the dressing room - away from people and ministry opportunities. He stayed after the seminar to answer each parent's questions.

3. He spoke highly of his pastor. He attends David Jeremiah's church in California. He spoke very highly of Jeremiah.

Overall, it was a great day in the lives of our ministry.

Broome Family Update...

Hello everyone. It seems that it is getting increasingly difficult to post on the blog. Please bear with me, I am a work in progress (usually). My family is continuing the John Newton Challenge this week (see previous blogs), and I must admit that it is a difficult calling to lead the family. On Monday, we sat down to breakfast and I read Matthew 5:33-48. As I read this passage, I wondered how Jesus was feeling as He spoke to the multitude. Surely there were 3 year olds and 2 year olds running about. I wonder if they stopped whatever they were doing to listen to His words. As you might imagine, that didn't happen in the Broome house.
Life with little ones is challenging. I long for the day in which we can have a deep, thoughtful discussion of such pericopes. I can't wait for the difficult questions and life applications that we can sort through together. Still, I do understand that we are laying a foundation for our children.
For example, this week we are teaching Joshua Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of God's glory." As we reviewed this verse, I couldn't help but think that someday my children would come to grips with this verse and realize their utter need for a Savior.
I have several friends who read the Bible with their children every day. To those friends - you are my heroes and I long to join you in your commitment. We definitely spend each night praying over our little ones - Joshua really likes to kneel and use his "praying hands" for these times. These are great times with the kiddos - but we know that God has an even greater calling for us - to impart His words to our children.
Here's a thought that helps drive us:
"Imagine your children reading the Bible each day because they've never known anything else. Imagine your grandchildren having time with God because your children have taught them." - Steve Wright
As I think about this, I can't help but be excited about the legacy we get to leave behind.

So Long...

Hi everyone -
I'm so sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. Let me give you the latest update on the Broome bunch. On Saturday afternoon, Lindsey sprained her ankle while painting the baby's nursery. She is on crutches and the ankle looks bad. I think what we've learned is that taking care of 2 little ones is much harder when you can't walk. Who knew?
The family is doing well here in Macon. Joshua and Anna Bell are growing up and have a good relationship. I can tell that Lindsey is doing an amazing job with the children. It has been such a blessing to have her stay at home. Granted, we would love to have an extra salary. Still, the exchange isn't worth the price to us. Life is good.
I am currently reading The Best Question Ever, by Andy Stanley. It has been great so far and is full of Godly wisdom about making decisions. Stanley argues that life would be much less regretable if we would only take the time to ask ourselves this great question (I don't want to give it away - check out the book). In truth, I feel that most of my terrible life decisions could have been avoided only if I would've listened to the Holy Spirit's prompting. The truth is that God knew that you and I would occasionally desire (ok, usually desire) to walk in darkness. We are sinful, you know, and our sinful desires are always at work against the guiding of the Spirit. I would ask you, my brother or sister, before committing that gross act of sin (or messing up as some might call it - although the Bible doesn't say that the wages of "messing up" is death - check Romans on this one), do you not willfully choose to do so? I know that there are sins of commission as these, and there are also sins of omission (not doing what you know you should have done).
Still, with sins of commission, you and I would do well to listen to the Holy Spirit. Each and every stinky sin-filled decision I've made since my salvation has been done knowing that God had a better choice for me. Sometimes the answer isn't to ask yourself the best question; it is to obey the Holy Spirit. God went through the effort to be with us and in us in this incredible part of the trinity - it seems that we should rely on His provision.
Having said that, this is still a good book and will be valuable for decisions in the future.
I hope that my next entry won't be so long awaited.

By the way, we are trying to decide on a name for Baby Broome. We want something biblical - not like Jethro or Judas - something with a more pleasant sound and background. Any suggestions?

John Newton Challenge Kick-off...

Many of you may not yet know about the John Newton Challenge issued by Steve Wright of Providence Baptist in Raleigh. Basically, this is a challenge for all parents to return to their Biblical roles as leaders and imparters of truth to their children. It is a call back to Deuteronomy 6.
We kicked off the year last night with a parent meeting in which we issued the J.N.Challenge. The response was amazing. We had 51 families sign up to lead their families using this 52 week Bible reading plan. In less than 24 hours of offering the Challenge, I have already heard great stories from several families. One family went home last night after our parent meeting and started reading Psalm 1 right away. Others began this morning and discussed Psalm 1 on the way to school.
There is an excitement in the Middle School ministry about this challenge. If you'd like to know more about it, or are a youth pastor who is kicking off the challenge soon, please call 478.477.7251 (Ingleside Baptist Church, Macon GA) and I'd love to help you out.

Faith Like a Child

Lindsey and I are truly blessed with our children. Let me give you a glimpse into the Broome house. Each day, there are challenges just as every family faces. In general the day begins with Joshua eating his dry cereal and dumping most of them on the floor or couch (things disappear in our plush leather couches - that have been in my family for about 15 years). There's also the typical brother/sister showdown. The showdown usually begins with Anna Bell antagonizing her brother and ends with his physical response (pushing) followed by her desperate cry in effort to get him into trouble. Throughout the day there are multiple opportunities to see the evidence of the Fall of Humanity in the lives of our dear little ones.
In the grace of God there are other times. As mention previously, Joshua loves to say his Bible verses and recites them several times each day. He's now memorized Ephesians 6:1 and John 14:6. Each night as I tuck him in bed, he asks to say his verses. After saying them, he always ask to learn a new verse. We are teaching him one per week.
There are times with Anna Bell that she gets to play the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For instance, while sitting down to a delicious meal prepared by Lindsey, things can be hectic. Making sure each child has milk, juice, water, ice, food, utensils, plates, trays, etc...can be interesting. We once finally sat down to eat and we'd bypassed a prayer over our meal. There we were, stuffing our faces with fine cuisine in similar fashion to the cookie monster chomping down his favorite snack. Then, when taking a breath from the gorging exercise, out of the corner of my eye sat little Anna Bell. She patiently sat there with her hands folded together, seemingly waiting for the most important part of the pre-meal custom that we'd forgotten about. As a family we stopped and prayed together and then Anna Bell finished the prayer with a hearty "Amen!" (I think that's what she said anyway - could've been "Oh my!").
So as we wait for the next child to come in December, we can only wonder what God will teach us through this new little life.
I have gotten interesting and diverse responses from folks when they hear the news of our next baby. I believe that children are a blessing from the Lord; and Lindsey and I are so blessed to be learners of these little ones. Hopefully we can teach them some things as well.

Spiritual Disciplines and Raising Children...

Recently, my good friend Jason told me that he and his wife, Shanna, teach their 4 year old daughter Bible memory verses. I thought"wow, that's incredible!" After the conversation, I considered someday teaching my children Bible verses. It seemed to me at the time that my son, Joshua (2), wasn't quite old enough to begin this task. That was until this week.
Lindsey taught Joshua Ephesians 6:1, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right." Here's the crazy part - Joshua memorized this verse in two days. Even crazier - he loves to say this verse! For instance, as I tucked him in last night, he said, "let's say our Bible verse."
Thank you Lindsey for having faith that God's Word wouldn't return void, not even for a two year old. I still have much to learn about parenting and raising my children in the Lord. The bar has been raised a little more in the Broome house now that my son can memorize the Word. Isn't it great that God's word is multigenerational?
Could I encourage you to do as my wife did? Challenge your child to memorize a Bible verse. Learn it with them and make it fun. I knew of a great man of God in Boone, NC who led his family in reciting their weekly memory verse each night before dinner. Admittedly, that man knew more Scripture than anyone I'd ever met (as well as his family).
Incidentally, I had the opportunity to preach at Ingleside this past Sunday morning. It was a great opportunity, and I sensed the strength from the Lord. If you're bored or a glutten for punishment, you can listen to it in iTunes. Go to http://www.ingleside.org/ for more info.
Keeping you posted (it's been a while),
Fred

Family Time...

We are new at this whole notion of leading family worship times. Our times so far have been great, and we've been blessed by our children as they are learning the Word of God. You'd be surprised what Joshua can learn. Of course, we think he's probably a genius (as all parents think of their own children).
Let me explain where we've been in the process. We have tried with each family time to bring a visual aid to teach a core truth. For instance, we have tried to explain that God created the light by turning on the light switch. As you might imagine, one can eventually run out of great visuals for teaching. After speaking with our preschool director, I decided to begin writing a book about the subject. My thoughts were to come up with as many visual aids to teach Scripture and then give them to others as a resource.
Fortunately, someone has already beat me to it. After speaking with Dr. Rob Rienow, he referred me to FamTime.com for family times. I must tell you that this is a great resource for families who are attempting to teach their children. If you've never checked it out, it's worth your time. I hope you can use my findings to bless your home.