On Sunday, October 25, 2015, I had the once-in-a-lifetime honor of being in the baptismal pool to assist in the baptism of my oldest son Caleb. From outside the water, it may appear that this is simply just the natural progression for a pastor’s kid. But as you can imagine from just merely considering your own faith journey or the spiritual development of your child(ren), the road is filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, and everything in between. So as I continue to reflect on what took place on Sunday, here is what my head and heart are mulling over:
1. I am a Christian father first. My boys are not particularly enthralled by my Masters of Divinity Degree or that people refer to me as pastor or reverend. To them I am just their dad. And like other dads, I battle my own desires of selfishness and laziness. So daily I must pick up my cross and follow Jesus by putting the best interest of my children ahead of my wants. This is not simply about time spent but about influencing my boys for Jesus. Should my life end tomorrow, what would my sons remember about their dad? While I like throwing the football with them, I LOVE pointing them in the direction of Jesus. This must be my main objective every day.
2. Being a Christian father is the most important responsibility of my life. One day, someone else will be the pastor of this church but no one will ever get to play the role of father to my sons. So while leadership in this body of believers has its place, it does not come at the expense of my wife and sons. Therefore, having the right energy, focus and devotion to leading my family in the Lord is a non-negotiable. I need to be as prepared to love and lead them everyday as I am prepared on Sunday mornings to teach.
3. Being involved in spiritual/church activities with him is essential to both his spiritual development and mine. I have coached Caleb’s basketball team the last two years. We serve together at Lower Lights, take care of various projects together here at Mountview, and we read his Bible together and talk about God at work in our lives. Caleb needs to learn what a Christian man believes and how He honors God from hearing and seeing God at work in me. This is BEST and ONLY done together. He learns and I learn. He grows and I grow. He is stretched and I am stretched. And by the grace of God we mature together in the love and likeness of Jesus.
And so together we stood in the baptismal on October 25. As he went down into the water, God took me with him both physically and spiritually.
~ Physically my hands held him as he powerfully symbolized the death to his old life and his being raised again to the newness of life in Jesus.
~ Spiritually God was again inviting me to rededicate myself to His desires for my life as expressed above for His glory and our good.
God brought us to that moment, not because I am a pastor or because I am the best dad in the world but rather because by His grace, we are walking this road together. I pray this will resonate in your heart and in your life and you will join me in making our families the most important mission field God will ever allow us to go into on His behalf. (PASTOR KEVIN SNYDER)