The Family Chapter 8

Family and spirituality. These two subjects often times two of hot conversation among people around the country today. Whether it's, "Don't tell me what my family should believe!!!" or "We don't talk about God at home. That's what church is for." many people have some pretty concrete thoughts about how they thing their family and their spiritual life should mix. In chapter 8 of "The Family," Balswick and Balswick layout a model for the way that they both feel one's family and the family's spirituality should relate together. This model is a trinitarian form model with three parts.

1) Each family member is differentiated in his/her identity in Christ.

2) Within the context of the family, each family member establishes his/her own differentiated faith.

3) The spirituality of the family as a whole become differentiated and thus serves as a catalyst that unifies and transforms each family member's life.

After reading through this chapter and really chewing on what this model would bring about, I began to realize that the ideas and thoughts that I have on the subject of family spirituality, are very similar to it. I strongly believe that if a person is going to truly become a Christian and become the person that God intends for him/her, then he/she is going to have to develop his/her own faith. I don't mean that they come up with a new religion by any means. What I mean by that, is that each individual will "own" their faith. What they believe and why they believe it will be real and personal to him/her. No longer will a son or a daughter be living off of his/her parent's faith.

This past summer I was chose to become the youth intern at Bridges Christian Church in Russell, Kentucky. This was an exciting thing for me to do. One of my best friends had just become the youth minister there earlier in the year and he was looking to basically "reset" the youth group. The direction that we wanted to take the youth group in, was based upon this very concept, "How do we get students excited about their faith so that they will make it real and make it their own?" The verse that really fueled our efforts and plans for the youth group was 2 Corinthians 1.24. "But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm"

I believe that whenever you have a differentiated faith within your family, each individual has their "own" faith and knows what they believe and why they believe it. Not only does this allow each individual to stand firm, but it also proves to be a catalyst for growth and change among the other members of that individual's family. This is what Balswick and Balswick are getting at in their model for family spirituality. Each family member has his/her own identity in Christ and no one can change that (1). Based upon this new identity in Christ, each family member develops his/her own faith based upon his/her unique life circumstances and experiences (2). Finally, each family member is responsible for his/her own faith, however members can push and encourage other members in areas where that member may be failing. There is a sense of accountability and a source of exhortation that is created and exists among the members of the family (3).