Was getting gas with my 6-year old son yesterday – we snuck away from the other kids while they were at swim lessons just as an excuse to be together – which doesn’t happen to often when there are 3 other kids in the family! He helped me pump gas, we got a Coke and sat together in the front seat during the car wash that followed. As we were driving back in the pool we had one of those great father-son moments and he said, “Dad, I love being your son.”

Best. Sentence. Ever.

Now, let’s be clear – I’m not always a perfect dad. In fact, I drop the ball really often, find myself buried in my phone all too much and have to intentionally be present like the rest of us. But one of my 3 life goals is to love my kids. To be a great dad. To help them love Jesus and be Kingdom builders.

If you’ve got kids: be a great parent. Love them more than you love youth ministry. Think about their development like you do your students. Care about their discipleship. Shower them with love. Lovingly discipline them as necessary. Get a Minecraft account. Text them often.

If you don’t have kids: commit now to being a great parent. Learn from those one life stage ahead of you. Ask to be mentored, read up on it. Fight selfishness and ministryaholism with reckless abandon.

I hope that “being a great parent” already is or quickly becomes one of your life goals as well. How sad it would be if we saved the kids in youth group only to lose our own?

JG