Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Singing Men & Crying Babies - Part 1

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I recently came across the image below while doomscrolling on Facebook.

“Signs of a healthy Church – Singing Men & Crying babies”

Admittedly, I had to chuckle a bit. But the image and meme convey and confess an important truth: for a church to be healthy and growing, it needs men who raise their voices, set an example, and sing like no one’s watching—and the church also needs babies. 

Today, I want to briefly discuss the importance of men, specifically fathers.

An article published by Touchstone Magazine years ago revealed that research showed children often do not stay in the Christian faith if their father does not regularly attend and participate in church. What’s even more alarming is that only 2-3 percent of children raised attending church with their mother continue in the faith. However, if the father attends and participates, the likelihood of a child remaining in the faith increases to nearly 50 percent.

This isn’t shocking if we take a step back and look at this situation through a theological lens and the importance of men in a child’s life.

Throughout the book of Proverbs, we hear
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching. (Proverbs 1:8)

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Even in Luther’s Small Catechism, Martin Luther expands on this theme from Holy Scriptures as he wrote before each Chief Part of the Catechism:
As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household.

Throughout history, there has been a natural understanding that the father, as the head of the home and family, will guide and influence the children in more ways than we can ever imagine. 

Now, Good Shepherd is very fortunate to have many fathers bringing their children to church each week. Their example cannot go unnoticed.

It’s important that we keep supporting the men of Good Shepherd, and by all means, encourage them to keep singing, even if the babies are crying!

In Christ,
Pastor Rogness

Article from Touchstone