Cultivating a Life of Worship Q & A WITH PHIL & KIM COLLINGSWORTH
When your children were young , what did you do to help them know , love , and serve Jesus ?
What a daunting task this seems to parents who want their children to love and serve Jesus . How well we remember the feelings of inadequacy we had in raising our children . Out of a strong sense that we needed help beyond our abilities , we felt led by the Lord to start a prayer meeting , just the two of us . Each Tuesday evening we specifically focused on praying for two things : the salvation of our four children and that our music ministry would be effective in building God ’ s kingdom , not our own . We still have these prayer meetings even though our children are grown .
We felt directed to do specific things for our children from these prayer meetings : things they wanted to do and were interested in and excited about . Each summer , we took time out of our performance schedule to take them to their favorite youth camp , and Kim and I participated as staff . We took them to a youth challenge each fall . This event was packed with sports , challenging speakers , and good fellowship with their friends .
Early on in our parenting , someone gave us good advice when they said , “ Work hard together as a family but play hard , too !” What great advice this was , and we did our best to implement this wisdom in equal amounts .
As a family , we prayed about everything together . When times were tough , we would get together , discuss the issue , then pray . The kids were able to see God come through over and over in this way . The old saying , “ Much more is caught than taught ,” is so very true . While we were as human as the next set of parents , I believe they caught the atmosphere of passion we had for Jesus , prayer , music , and fun .
Perhaps the most important thing was something we learned from our parents . This was the importance of being genuine and real . Don ’ t be afraid to say , “ I ’ m sorry ” to your children . It ’ s okay to acknowledge that you ’ re human and make mistakes . We learned we had to be big enough to
acknowledge those mistakes if necessary and apologize . Kids are fair and square and also very forgiving . A genuine life lived for Christ speaks volumes and rings true with their young minds and tender hearts . Talking one way and living another will always breed confusion and ultimately rebellion in a child ’ s heart .
What did family worship look like for your family when your children were younger ?
Family worship was a time for teaching the children fundamental values and truths directly from the Bible . Many times we had Bible quizzes given by Phil , which was a favorite . The quizzes were always exciting , fun , and challenging . The children looked forward to family devotions . They were never too long or boring , and it was something all four kids became involved in emotionally and intellectually . They would sit on the edge of their seats , just waiting for their dad to call their name to answer the question . They especially liked it when Dad would quiz Mom on Old Testament issues , and she would often get the wrong answer . The kids thought this was great since Mom was their official homeschool teacher and surely would know the correct answer . I still think Phil purposely asked me the most challenging questions about minuscule details , knowing I wouldn ’ t know the answer . He enjoyed the laughter from the kids , and we always got a good laugh from this . We had everyone contribute their prayer requests around the circle , and it ’ s in that setting they first learned to pray about everything and trust God to answer in His own way .
Why should family worship be a priority for parents and grandparents today ?
Family worship sets the culture of your family , the tone , and the priorities . In the atmosphere of the home , children inadvertently catch what is important to their parents , and they instinctively begin to act accordingly . Giving family
14 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW