Monthly Archives: July 2011

Monday I spent most of the day listening to several presentations regarding the future of the local county commissions on children and families. The state commission is slated to cease existence on June 30, 2012, by legislation passed and signed by the governor this past session. No one is clear as to what this will mean for the local commissions. What is clear is that the governor has  made a pledge to aim state resources at ensuring that all children in the state of Oregon will be ‘ready to read’ by the time they enter first grade and that all children will be reading at grade level  by third grade. Those are huge promises.

I agree with the governor’s direction, but there are several assumptions that need to be questioned. First, not every child is at the same place developmentally at the age they begin first grade (or even by the time they have reached third grade).

Second, there appears to be an underlying assumption that the state has the responsibility to determine goals and objectives for children. My work as pastor and my work with Healthy Families of America/Healthy Start of Douglas County has made me aware of the reality that some parents are poorly equipped to help their children. But does that mean it is the state’s role to set the direction?

A third assumption is that our public school system as currently constructed is capable of  achieving these goals. I have been involved in public education since the early 1990’s and wonder if the system is truly able to accomplish such a task. So far the evidence is sketchy at best.

Fourth, there are a myriad of state agencies (as well as federal programs) all claiming to have the best interest of children and families at the core of their mission. Over the past ten years I have been deeply involved in community action partnering with some of these organizations. There seems to be a tendency for organizations to become entrenched in their own culture and to believe that they and they alone have the best solution to whatever the problem might be.

I wish I had solutions (I do have opinions!). An unasked question at most of the meetings I attend and most of the discussion of which I am part is this: Exactly what is the role of government? Where does the responsibility of the parent end and the responsibility of the school/government begin? Maybe an even more important question: when did churches abdicate their responsibility to walk alongside parents in raising their children?

So far my best advice is to get engaged in the process. Attend meetings, ask questions, send emails, make phone calls, read and study the reports that are being produced. Then, take out God’s Word and read, pray, and meditate seeking to understand God’s purposes and plan.

I had the privilege of riding to Salem and back today as a passenger to attend a meeting. As the driver and I visited along the way (we are both believers) I watched the traffic and the scenery. I don’t get to travel as a passenger very often. Honestly, I’d rather drive…although the driver was a careful driver.

Going north the traffic is light until Eugene (about 70 miles north of us on I-5). Then from Eugene to Salem, (about 50 miles) the traffic is steady and unrelenting. I couldn’t help but wonder where people were going. Were they commuters travelling to work (it was early Monday morning). A few out-of-state license plates suggested that people were travelling of vacation, perhaps they had visited family in the area, or maybe, they just wanted to drive in Oregon? After a four-hour meeting the driver and I traveled south from Salem back to Roseburg. Different cars but the same question. Where was everyone headed?

Indeed, where am I headed? As a follower of Jesus Christ I claim to be headed for heaven (some have suggested that my driving may hasten that destination). As a husband I want to be a better support for my wife, as a father I want to be a better parent to my adult children (and I include my son’s spouse as one of my kids). I want to be a better son to my parents – and of course my mother-in-law, and I want to be a better brother and uncle to the rest of my family. As a pastor I want to lead my church to more closely follow the Lord and be a more effective witness to God’s presence and power. As a community leader I want to help create a community free from addictions, free from the powerful pull of hopelessness and the degradation of sin.

Maybe as people pass me by they wonder, where is he headed? How do I live more transparently that others might see more clearly the direction I am headed?

Steve

The past thirty years have seen a huge shift in the way we think about families and what families need to thrive instead of just survive. A few examples of some of the challenges will suffice:

Living wage jobs are hard to find, and employers who need workers struggle to find people with the necessary skills.

Affordable housing is available, yet the costs of getting into housing (first and last month’s rent, cleaning deposits, and the fact that rental owners can afford to be selective) often make finding adequate housing difficult if not impossible.

Over 5o% of students enrolled in public schools qualify for free and reduced lunches and the distribution of food boxes continues to climb.

Douglas County is home to a significant proportion of older adults 65 and older (21.0% compared to the state proportion of  just under 14%). (These figures are from a recently released report, 2011 Community Needs Assessment, produced by the United Community Action Network).

One of the biggest challenges is trying to understand what a family unit looks like. When I was a child most families looked like my family of origin a stay at home mom, a dad with a good, family wage job, and a couple of children living at home. When my children were younger, it was much more common to find their friends living with one parent or the other as a result of divorce or separation. An increasing number of children are living with grandparents because parents cannot find jobs or adequate housing. At our church the number of children who attend our Sunday services varies each week as children are bounced between custodial and non-custodial parents for weekend visitation rights.

Another challenge is simply trying to define what families need. Of course, food, housing, clothing are basic needs for all families. But what resources are needed for parents to engage their children in healthy discussion about school and friends and the challenges of growing up? What resources are needed to assist parents with transportation? Living in a rural community where health care is concentrated in a town 9 miles northeast of where I live, there are families who go without basic health care because there are no funds for transportation.

Finally, does the church truly offer a message of hope in Christ that can sustain families in the midst of health and economic crises? Are our messages (the ones we preacher’s proclaim and the message our programs and systems demonstrate) geared towards pointing people to Jesus? Or, as I asked in my Sunday message last week, are we simply imitating what we have seen others do and claim that is sufficient for following Jesus?

The needs are huge. The challenges are overwhelming, but I believe God would have us look with eyes of compassion on the crowds and their needs; that God would have us touch them at the point of their need; and that God will use our resources (however limited they may seem to us) and multiply them to bring people to Christ, in whom we have hope.

Steve

Yes, I know that the 5th of July is not the holiday. Yes, I watched fireworks last night with friends and family as we gathered in the parking lot of our church. To top off my celebration I scheduled an 8am dr’s appointment for the 5th of July. A short night, but I was bright and early for the dr’s visit (news—I am gaining weight…:( more discipline needed).

Anyway, back to the 5th of July. There are days in our past that we celebrate because of their significance (ie the 4th of July, birthday’s anniversary’s, and so on). These events are worth celebrating! But what is of significance is what happens the day after the event. Marriages are not made by the ceremony but by the day-to-day choices made in between the anniversary’s. Life is not about being born, it is about the day-to-day choices between the celebration of our birthday. What made America great was not the Declaration of Independence but the daily choices of ordinary men and women who sacrificed greatly to put into practice the words the Declaration contains. So, happy 5th of July!

    O people, the LORD has told you what is good, 
      and this is what he requires of you: 
    to do what is right, to love mercy, 
      and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 (NLT).