BUILDING A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW AND A FAMILY SPIRITUAL DYNASTY

Building A Christian Worldview and A Spiritual Dynasty
By Brannon S. Howse

The following is the preface of Brannon's new book, Building A Christian Worldview Verse by Verse. For further details on this new book please click here: http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/store/product.php?ProductID=483

It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention, and that is certainly the reason this book is in print today. Like many that make up this series, it was written out of my own need as a father. The necessity to teach my children Biblical doctrine weighed heavily on me-not in spite of the fact that they were only 4, 7 and 10 when this book was written but because theywere so young and in need of instruction from early on.

Hopefully, you think it's normal that a father would be so concerned about teaching Christian truths to children, but you would be shocked to find out how many parents, and even pastors and Sunday school teachers, do not think about teaching children anything but simplistic Bible stories. They ignore a child's need to know the truth behind the tales. The American church is in a sad state today because most have neglected doctrine in favor of entertaining stories.

I recognize from my own upbringing the astonishing shortcomings of my Christian school and church, and I have been committed to laying the foundation for my own children so they will not be false-coverts as was I until an adult.

To accomplish the goal of training my children, I turned several years ago to a catechism for children. The book was structured so as to ask a theological and doctrinal question. Then children were to memorize a long paragraph with huge words that most adults could not define. I found myself scratching out certain words and substituting others my children could understand. After a few family devotions with this book, I realized my children were not going to learn sound doctrine this way!

Since my family and I travel thousands of miles each year to one speaking engagement after another, I have lots of time to think as I sit behind the wheel of our motor coach. So one day I asked myself, "What do I want my kids to learn"? To that simple question I arrived at a simple answer: I want my kids to learn how to think Biblically. To do that, I knew they had to learn
doctrine, and the best source for that is the Bible. After all, which would I rather have them commit to memory: a man-made paragraph or the divinely inspired word of God?

Later that day, I typed out 52 questions-one for the kids to work on each week of the year-on my laptop. They are the questions for which I want my children to have a ready answer, from memory, from the Word of God. After coming up with my 52 questions, I searched the Scriptures for just the right verse to quickly answer each question.

While I was writing this book, my then 10-year-old son was dreaming about the upcoming hunting season. He imagined owning a particular 20-gauge shotgun and joining me and my two labs for quail and pheasant hunting when he turned 11early in the fall. Although my son had been saving his pennies, he counted out his jar of coins and bills only to discover he had nowhere near the funds needed to buy his gun.

I sensed a motivational opportunity, so once I completed this manuscript, I printed it out and placed it in a three-ring binder. I told him that if he could memorize all 52 verses and be ready to answer any of the 52 questions with the appropriate Bible verse, I would buy the shotgun for him. The challenge resonated with him, and within three days he had memorized the first five verses. He also mapped out a plan to memorize all 52 verses in time to go hunting.

Over the next few weeks I asked, "Who created the universe," and my son would quote John 1:3. "Why is there evil in the world?" He quoted 1 John 3:8. Each time I threw out one of the 52 doctrinal and worldview questions, he answered them with a Bible verse. Wow. How cool, I thought. He's learning doctrine-and Scripture!

My boy is now well on his way to memorizing all 52 verses, and I really can't wait to buy him that shotgun. He'll make a great hunting partner. And if the Lord tarries and my son has a son, he can pass along that shotgun, together with the story of why his father bought it for him. The gun will be not only a great family heirloom but the physical symbol of a spiritual dynasty in the making. Oh that his shotgun were passed down to 10 generations of Howse sons as a reward for hiding the Word of God in their hearts!


The For more information on Brannon's new book, Building A Christian Worldview Verse by Verse. For further details on this new book please click here: http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/store/product.php?ProductID=483

By Brannon Howse Email: Brannon@worldviewweekend.com Click here for bio and archived articles

Re: Building A Christian Worldview and A Family Spiritual Dynasty Posted On: 11/29/07 08:33:18 PM Age 38, CA Pushing aside how sickened I am about a child so eagerly wanting to go snuff out the life of an animal (no, I'm NOT a vegetarian, and, no, I'm NOT a PETA member), I think the the idea of finding creative ways like this to teach doctorine and scripture to our children is just brilliant! Thank you for the great article, which I'm going to share with my husband. We'll see what we can come up with to get our two boys to learn scripture. This one deserves posting on the church bulletin board. Thanks so much! Re: Building A Christian Worldview and A Family Spiritual Dynasty Posted On: 08/10/07 11:39:43 PM Age 48, TX I've homeschooled my children for 7 years, I sure wish I would have had your book when I started! I know what you are saying about trying to go through a catechism book.... I will be checking out your book. Thanks for writing it, it's never too late. Re: Building A Christian Worldview and A Family Spiritual Dynasty Posted On: 08/09/07 08:30:16 AM Age 60, MO I applaud you, Brannon, for bringing out the importance of the parent's responsibility to keep their children in the Word. Many of the articles on this website present world problems that could be avoided by following your lead of helping our children understand proper Biblical doctrine. But more than just knowing the Scriptures, it is an indication of trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you. George Cancilla