Big Time Awesome Club!

I was a little surprised when my sixth grade daughter announced she had formed a “recess club” at school. But, it sounded like a breakthrough social development, so of course I asked all the right high-level, probing parental questions:

• "What's the name of your club?"
• "So who's in your club?"
• "What does your club do?"

 And, to my delight, she didn’t roll her eyes in despair. Instead, she seemed to appreciate my interest and shared the whole story with me. Turns out this new club consists of six new friends from her four-classroom team, and they call themselves the BIG TIME AWESOME CLUB. They spend recess doing big time awesome things like finding bugs, playing four-squares, making up t-shirt designs, creating secret codes, and reading awesome books. Anyone is welcome to join, and each girl gets a turn at big time awesome suggestions. Much to my relief, nothing earth shattering came to the surface. It’s simply a group of pre-teen girls who accept and enjoy each other’s gifts and unique qualities.

What I learned about myself, though, was the realization that I really was concerned more about my daughter’s answers than I was excited for her new social opportunity. Hey, I’m a parent – I get paid to be on guard! And parents don't want their children to be mean or unkind to others. It’s a basic desire for our children to be good people. I know the pre-teen relationship years enough to know it’s a hormonal minefield to navigate. I admit it – I wanted to find out who she’s hangin’ with at school, and whether or not she truly had a solid self-image and wholesome interests. If truth be told, I also was a bit jealous that I don’t have a big time awesome club of my own.

Or, maybe I do. If I do what I can to form and fashion a Big Time Awesome Club for God at home, my children's faith might better be able to sustain the relationship challenges of their youth and adulthood. And, if I invite my local church community to belong to my Big Time Awesome Club for God, they will help guide and equip my spiritual journey so I can have honest dialogue and transparent faith with my children.

In my Website (www.thechurchguide.net) Tip “Church Searching by Population Type,” I suggest it’s more important for parents to find a church that feeds them spiritually than it is to find a church their children like. The unChristian research that reveals the church skepticism and distrust of the under-40s tells me it’s a critical time for parents to find their own Big Time Awesome Club and invite their kids – and their faith communities – to participate.