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Obstacles to Family Worship: 8. Churches Are Not Emphasizing Family Worship
Obstacles to Family Worship
8. Churches Are Not Emphasizing Family Worship
Even though I have grown up in church and have been in ministry for 22 years, I had never heard of taking family worship this serious or being this consistent with it until studying the subject in seminary. This concept seems to be almost completely forgotten and neglected today. Not only has it been neglected and forgotten by family leaders, but church leaders, as well.
I have never heard family worship taught nor emphasized at any church that I have been involved in. Previous to being in local ministry, I traveled with a parachurch ministry for 15 years and worked with over 30 churches each year. Unfortunately, not in one single church did I ever encounter a teaching, a plan, or an emphasis on family worship.
I am amazed that something that was once considered crucial and foundational, later became peripheral, and now seems to have virtually vanished from our churches.
Parents have completely surrendered the reigns of spiritual development of their children, and sadly the churches have not called on the parents to take them back. Now, the only way that most Christians believe they can be fed spiritually is to enter into a church building on Sunday mornings.
Churches must cast the responsibility back to the individual and the family. Churches must promote family worship and make it common place, once again.
Obstacles to Family Worship: 7. Reliance on the Church Only
Obstacles to Family Worship:
7. Reliance on the Church Only
Many families have given huge parts of their children’s upbringing to others. Education is now something that the state oversees. Many parents are, for the most part, hands-off in the education of their children. Unfortunately, their children’s spiritual growth is often treated the same way. They have consigned the church to oversee their children’s spiritual education.
Sadly, parents have become people who make money to support a family, but the other roles of education and the things of God are divvied out to others.
The concept of family worship is that the parents, not the church, are the first and primary ones in charge of training a child up in the ways of the Lord.
The church should play a role, but it was never designed to be the only place. The home was the primary training ground long before there was ever a church building.
This home training ground must be reclaimed.
