March 17, 2008

• Relationship

  What is the single most important relationship in your life today?

  Here is some interesting research done by Barna on the subject of relationships:

  Among the related findings were:  
         (Most Americans listed family above God as their most important relationship.)

  1. The people most likely to list God were 40 or older.
  2. Political conservatives were almost three times as likely as political liberals to identify God as their most important relationship (33% vs. 12%, respectively).
  3. People in the Midwest were only half as likely as residents of the West and Northeast to say their children are their most important relationship.
  4. The only subgroup for which at least one-third said God was their most significant relationship was evangelicals, among whom 70% listed God.
  5. Thirty percent of Protestants listed God as their most important connection. In contrast, just 9% of Catholics did so.
  6. Blacks were about twice as likely as all other Americans to describe their bond with God as their most important relationship.
  7. Women were nearly twice as likely as men to list their children as their most important relationship.

  I wrote this article for our local paper:   I’d love to hear your thoughts.
  

  P & D Article – Africa & family

   

  In the early part of this year I traveled with a team of Children’s Pastors to Nigeria, Africa.  My 22 year old daughter, Alicia went with us.  We trained over 200 Children’s Pastors/Children’s Workers for Children’s Ministry.  The question that was asked over and over again was this: “What are we to do with all these children?” 

  I saw a lot of children while I was in Nigeria.  We went into one village and began to talk to a few children.  The few children soon became over a hundred children.  They were so fun to be with.  They enjoyed trying to say our names.  (We enjoyed them trying.)  They made funny faces at us and us at them. 

  In the 2 weeks I was there I made some observations.  I only saw one family unit in all that time and that was at the conference.  What I mean by a family unit is a Mom & Dad with their children.  What I saw was a lot of children by themselves.  Many times the children were headed to the town water well or coming back from school.   Another observation was the amazement of the Nigerians of my daughter and me working together.  Apparently that is unheard of in Nigeria.

  I was impacted by a statement of one the Nigerian Children’s Pastors.  His name was Ime Joseph and lived in the southern part of Nigeria.  It took him two days by bus to get to Jos, Nigeria, where the conference was being held.  Ime told me that he had been praying for America.  I was humbled by his statement.  He went on to tell me that he felt America was on a downward trail because of America’s treatment of her children.    I’ve not been able to get that statement out of my mind.  It made me grateful for what we have, but I had to wonder what we’re loosing.  As a nation we don’t value the unborn & the born as we should and there is an attempt to redefine the family.  When we have strong bible defined families we have a strong nation.  

   

  • 7:03 am
  • 19 Comments