I’ve been reading Pop Goes the Church for about the last month (I’m a slow reader), and let me just start by saying this is a great book. Tim Stevens has put into words what I’ve been feeling about the church for a long time. You should definitely read it, its awesome in pure form baby.
Something jumped off the page that I’ve got to share and ironically it doesn’t have much to do with Pop Culture and the Church. Tim uses an example of how truth can be found anywhere if we are looking for it, and in this case he found truth in a TV show called ‘Shark.’ ‘Shark‘ is about a big time attorney named Sebastian Stark who always wins in the courtroom, but rarely wins at home with his teenage daughter. He’s too busy and he constantly misses opportunities with her. Tim realizes that with 2 teenage daughters of his own he sees this show in a whole new light, through a lens that not everyone sees through. ‘Shark‘ speaks volumes into his life about the importance of his relationship with his daughters during these formative years of their lives. This is what he says,
“Sebastian is a hero at his office - but misses so many opportunities that only come through quantity* time with his daughter.”
I know, I know, the first time you read it you think, “What! thats not right, it’s supposed to be quality time not quantity time.”
Well, notice the little *asterisk*, he put that in there, so I look to the bottom of the page and this is what he says,
“*This isn’t a typo. You may think quality time is more important than quantity time. But you never know when those few minutes of quality time are going to happen. The only way to ensure that you will have good quality time with your kids is by spending large amounts of quantity time with them.”
How true is that? How long have we been living the lie that its all about a few minutes of “quality” time over serious amounts of time. We’ve got it all backwards, especially a lot of us in ministry. How many families are victims to “the ministry.” Kids growing up blaming God because they took a backseat to “the ministry.”
I’ve heard pastors say, “when you’re in ministry, and your busy taking care of God’s people, God will take care of your kids (since you’re never there).”
Dude, if I felt comfortable cussing on my blog, that right there would deserve a ton of colorful wordage. That is the most ridiculous pile of crap I’ve ever heard.
If you can’t or don’t take care of your family, then why would God trust you with his. As a Pastor, my first priority in this world is my wife and kids. PERIOD. End of story. And not in a few minutes a day of “quality” time, but in quantity… as in everyday, face-to-face time.
My promise to my baby girl and my wifey is that no matter what, I will be there with them. It’s that simple.
Your thoughts?
As of today around 1 pm (I think), I’ll be saying goodbye to my twenties. Thats right, I’ll be an old man (as if I wasn’t already), right on up there with this old guy. Which I’ve got to admit is somewhat painful. I try to ignore my birthday every year, but now with flippin’ Facebook I can’t, it won’t let me… thanks everybody for the birthday wishes!
