When Your Kid Becomes a Preacher

I’m not sure I can put my thoughts into words, but I’m going to try.

Marc and I pray for our children daily. One of those prayers goes something like this: “Lord, let them love and serve You even more than we do.”

You see, we know that we are not perfect. I’m sure Chaz and Harley would agree. We did the best we could to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Mistakes and all, we have still seen both of them surrender to serve the Lord in full-time ministry.

First, it was Harley. She surrendered to missions a few years ago and began planning to attend Heartland Baptist Bible College for her training. We encouraged her in this commitment that she made. We tried to help her realize that being in “missions” wasn’t just going to miraculously start when she went to college. We wanted her to see that she could be a witness here and now. I’ll admit, it was a little difficult to accept that she would be rejecting numerous scholarship offers to various colleges based on academic merit, and instead choose to attend Heartland where all tuition, fees, and room and board would be paid out of her pocket. We also had to get past thinking… What if this is a mistake? What if God didn’t really call her to be in the ministry? What if she changes her mind? In the end, those thoughts were put aside as the Lord reassured us that Harley wouldn’t be spiritually worse off for attending Bible college. Financially, maybe. And which is more important really?

Then there was Chaz. The boy with big dreams and the talents to make it happen. He was going to be a doctor. An orthopedic surgeon. Or an osteopathic physician. Yes, I had to look up how to spell that and I’m not quite sure what they do. When you say your child wants to be a doctor, you get some interesting responses. Some are very impressed. Some nod with a “yeah, right” look in their eyes. We knew that if that was the path Chaz chose for his life, he had the ability to make it happen. I mean, seriously. When watching television, he would often share a diagnosis, such as pneumothorax or some other medical jargon that we did not really understand. I did learn pretty quickly that pneumothorax is a collapsed lung. 😊

The summer before Chaz’s senior year of high school, he began to entertain the idea of going into the ministry. Briefly—and on his terms. He thought maybe he could be some type of traveling musician. He is very gifted musically as well. He shared those thoughts with us, and we began to pray for the Lord to give him clear direction. When school started that year, it didn’t take long for Chaz to go back to his plans to become a doctor. We talked to him a lot about his future and reassured him that we just wanted him to do what God wanted him to do…whether that was being a doctor or going into the ministry. As a mom, I watched his spiritual struggle, knowing the Lord had called him to the ministry but he wasn’t ready to surrender his plans. Chaz has a perfectionist personality (wonder where he gets it? 😉), and I think he put a lot of pressure on himself to be who people thought he should be. He was valedictorian. Very smart. Musically gifted. He should be doing something more (than ministry) with his talents.

While Chaz was not much fun to be around for those few months while he wrestled with God, it was amazing to watch him flourish once he surrendered to go to Heartland. He decided to major in music. It was really hard for him to take this step of obedience because he didn’t know exactly what God wanted him to do, and Chaz likes to be a man with a plan (so he gets that from me too!). We encouraged him to just obey—one step at a time. And once again, we had to briefly mourn the financial scholarships and future opportunities that were waiting for him had he chosen to be a doctor.

Now, we’re on the other side of Chaz’s first year in Bible college and getting ready to send Harley off in the fall. It has been amazing to watch the Lord work in Chaz’s life this year, to watch him grow in the Lord. This shy, quiet young man could now be found singing for the Lord in front of people when he used to be content to sit behind the piano.  He is currently interning at a church in a suburb of Chicago. He’s had the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of the ministry there, including teaching and preaching.

Yesterday, he preached for the very first time anywhere. I asked him to send me a copy of the message.

There is something strange about sitting under the preaching of your own child. To be taught by him. If I’m honest, I’ll admit that Chaz has “preached my face off” sometimes this year just in the course of our conversation without even trying.

I can’t help but feel thankful…and humbled.

I consider where my children are and I know that there are parents just like me, who have a different story to tell. Their children, for whatever reason, have chosen a different path. I’m not talking about a different career, I mean they have walked away from God, the church, and the Bible. Their choice has broken their parents’ hearts and, sadly, left those parents wondering what they did wrong. I have witnessed this among some of my friends and family. It is heartbreaking.

I just want to remind you that if you tried (or are currently trying) to raise your kids to love the Lord, it still comes down to a personal choice. All kids will come to an age where they will have to make a choice to serve God. For themselves.

If you think about it, we all have to make that choice. Over and over again.

We are all susceptible to backsliding. We must take heed lest we fall.*

As parents, we must keep on keeping on. Be the example our children need. Teach them. Train them. Exhort them to stay strong in the Faith. And we must do the same.

*Oh and by the way, this happened to be the point of Chaz’s sermon. 🙂