I have been thinking lately about what one on one discipleship will look like at LifeTree Church. One of our obstacles is time. People in Paulding County typically work outside of the county, and spend a great deal of time commuting. My wife, Karen, generally spends 3 hours a day driving. The fact that people have less time during the week to spend with their families is a major consideration for the family integrated church format. It just doesn’t make much sense to me to ask people to give up time spent with their families on the weekend in order to strengthen the family and communicate biblical values.

So how do we accomplish one on one mentoring in a family environment? As far as mentoring goes, there is no good substitute to time shared together. This is one reason why children take on the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of their parents. The kids see mom and dad in their most unguarded states. When out in public, we tend to project a persona. We guard our actions and control our emotions so that the world only sees what we want them to see. Sometimes this doesn’t work, but in general, everyone does this. However, at home, we let down our guards. We are uninhibited in our reactions and emotions. Home is where one can let his guard down and simply be.

This transparency is beneficial for the children. They see who we really are and emulate us. They perceive which beliefs we truly believe and which ones we merely give lip service. Because they see us and hear us, they model themselves after us. This is why the Bible talks about the sins of the father being passed on from generation to generation. Parents model life to their children, the children follow in the parents footsteps, and generally commit the same mistakes, hold the same beliefs, and value the same character traits.

This is where my thoughts are at the moment. Obviously, LifeTree Church will utilize the parents to disciple the children. But how do we disciple mom and dad? How do we share life together with a large number of adults, but do so effectively?

Feel free to respond to these questions.