{"id":36346,"date":"2022-08-11T18:22:42","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T22:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/blog\/why-faith-and-character-matter\/"},"modified":"2024-04-10T20:31:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T00:31:14","slug":"why-faith-and-character-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkorange.com\/blog\/why-faith-and-character-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Faith and Character Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Putting Faith in Action: Our Strategy for 252 Curriculum<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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I remember a children\u2019s organization asking a strange question several years ago in a survey they did with parents. \u201cWould you rather us teach your kids about God or<\/em> character?\u201d The question seemed oddly leading. I simply wrote into the margin,<\/p>\n

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\u201cI would like you to teach my kids about God and<\/em> character.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Our team at Orange wrestles everyday with the real tensions that we believe exist in discipling a generation. Whenever you tend to treat faith or theology with an or<\/em> not an and<\/em> mindset, you risk handing a shallow faith to a generation. There are simply real tensions in theology that require critical thinking. Issues like . . .<\/p>\n

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Justice and Mercy<\/strong>
\nLove and Truth<\/strong>
\nSin and Righteousness<\/strong>
\nFaith and Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Embracing and exploring the paradoxical ideas that exist in theology is an essential part of discipling this generation to have a real and resilient faith.<\/p>\n

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So, whenever someone asks, \u201cShould we teach kids about God or character?\u201d we should change the \u201cor\u201d to an \u201cand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Knowing God is an invitation to discover God\u2019s character which influences how someone trusts God. Trusting God\u2019s character influences how someone reflects God\u2019s character.\u00a0 So yes, we should teach about God and character. Building a wall between those issues actually has the potential to sabotage someone\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n

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Jesus never separated the concept of loving God and loving others. It was always a \u201cboth and approach.\u201d At the very beginning of his ministry, He invited a generation to participate in a unique kind of community. How He described God\u2019s kingdom gave us a clear description of what it potentially looks like when people reflect God\u2019s character. He emphatically appealed to His listeners to trust God in a way that would impact how they should treat each other and live together. Jesus challenged humans to demonstrate characteristics or virtues that are rooted in love. Then after He explained what it looked like to live out the virtues of God\u2019s Kingdom, Jesus made it even more clear, He said, \u201cIf you hear these words of mine and do not put them into practice, it\u2019s like building your house on sand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not \u201chear or<\/em> practice.\u201d<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s \u201chear and<\/em> practice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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When James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote a letter to the church at Jerusalem, after Jesus resurrected and ascended, he echoed Jesus admonition, \u201cBe doers of the word, not hearers only, or you deceive yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In other words, if we don’t lead this generation to actually do what Jesus said, then we are negatively impacting how they build their life.<\/p>\n

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Trusting God\u2019s character should move us to demonstrate God\u2019s character.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s why we define a virtue as \u201csomething God is doing in us to change the world around us.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Virtues\u2014at least by the way we define them\u2014start with God. When we talk about character or virtues we are always referring to concepts that we believe are \u201crooted in love\u201d for God. Virtues should never be positioned or taught in the context of earning credit with God, or the way to find redemption. Virtues are simply a \u201creflection of\u201d or a \u201cresponse to\u201d the character of God.<\/p>\n

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Remember two things:
\n1. Every human was created in the image of God.
\n2. Every Christian is being transformed by the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n

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We are not made like God, but we are made in the likeness of God. In other words, there is amazing potential in any human to reflect and respond the character of God.<\/p>\n

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A parent who loves a child is reflecting the image of God.
\nA teenager doing a service project is reflecting the image of God.
\nAny leader confronting evil or injustice is reflecting the image of God.<\/p>\n

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Jesus also said,
\n\u201cLet your light shine in front of others so they can see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.\u201d It should be noted that when Jesus said this, He was addressing everyone in the crowd regardless of what they believed.<\/p>\n

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How we reflect the character of God to the world around us has both spiritual and human potential.<\/p>\n

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The question for leaders and parents is not, \u201cAre you going to teach faith or character to kids and teenagers?\u201d But rather, \u201cHow are you going to teach faith and character to kids and teenagers?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Every adult is automatically teaching character to kids whether they know it or not. We teach character by what we say, what we ask, how we respond, and how we treat those around us. One primary question we need to ask is, \u201cHow does faith influence how we teach kids and teenagers about character or virtues?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Every kid and teenager should understand they are made in the image of God with a capacity to love and think and grow in how they reflect the likeness of God. Responding to God\u2019s character in practical ways is a matter of faith. When we fail to lead kids to understand spiritual virtues, we choose to hand them an ineffective and irrelevant faith.<\/p>\n

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At the elementary phase of life, kids need help connecting the dots. They need to see how the things they\u2019re learning about God in church will relate to their everyday lives.<\/p>\n

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We organize our scope and cycle around what Jesus said matters most, which is to \u201clove God and<\/em> love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d We actually believe the Great commandment was positioned by Jesus to give context for Scripture and the practices of the New Testament Church. That\u2019s why every month we will highlight a virtue or character quality that is anchored to what Jesus emphasized about love. We want to give kids and families at least one creative way to apply the stories and truths from the Bible to their practical life experience. Our hope is that families can engage in a practical conversations that shapes their faith and<\/em> character.<\/p>\n

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There are so many terms we could use when we talk about demonstrating God\u2019s love to others. Depending on your experience or circles, some of these terms may have baggage. Words like morals, principles, character, values, and virtues can actually be used to label what is sometimes derogatively referred to as \u201cbehavior- based\u201d teaching. The ultimate goal of spiritual teaching should never be to change behavior, it should always be to influence someone to trust God. But it is also important to make a clear connection between that trust and how it influences our motives and actions. Simply stated, whenever your motives change your behavior should follow.<\/p>\n

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We also use the word \u201cvirtue\u201d because it is common language for most families. For a season we used the word \u201cLifeApp\u201d instead of virtue, but after interviewing 2,000 parents, the term \u201cvirtue\u201d was an easier concept to explain. Using a common language helps us to keep our resources user-friendly for parents inside and outside the church.<\/p>\n

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Every parent wants their children to grow in areas like honesty, courage, and kindness. This approach gives families an immediate point of entry\u2014especially for those who are unfamiliar with the church or faith in Jesus. If you have been around Orange for very long, we put a high value on presenting concepts in a way that helps us build a bridge to every parent, whether or not they are attending a church on a given Sunday.<\/p>\n

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We organize the virtues throughout the year with a practical strategy in mind. We want each virtue to connect to what a kid might experience at a given point during the year. For example, we might talk about friendship at the beginning of the school year, as kids are starting new classes with a new group of friends. Or we might talk about resilience in May, when kids really want school to be over and for summer to start. We plan our teaching content strategically in order to help kids connect God\u2019s unchanging truth to their everyday world\u2014and so they can clearly understand how to live out their faith each day.<\/p>\n

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Although we use contemporary language, the virtues we highlight in our resources can be linked back to what Jesus taught and the New Testament amplified. The writers of the New Testament evidently believed it was important to connect our faith to what we actually do.<\/p>\n

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Paul, the former Pharisee turned Follower of Jesus said, \u201cDon\u2019t get tired of doing what is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s another compelling idea from Hebrews,
\n\u201cStir up [provoke, stimulate] one another to love and good works.\u201d Hebrews 10:24<\/p>\n

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Paul also recognized the potential of faith and virtues to shape how people think. In his letter to Philippians he wrote, \u201c\u2026whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable\u2014if anything is excellent or praiseworthy\u2014think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me\u2014put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What if we just do that?
\nWhat if we help kids put that list into practice?<\/p>\n

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Every coach, counselor, and psychologist will agree with that idea. Paul insisted that we guard our minds by focusing our thoughts on what is good, to replace thoughts that are wrong. Even non-Christian experts know the power of choosing to think about what we should be thinking about. It\u2019s not a new idea, it was God\u2019s idea.<\/p>\n

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The New Testament writers gave clear instructions on how we should act toward each other. It\u2019s almost as if they took Jesus at His Word when He said, \u201cLove each other as I have loved you . . . by this will all people know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d When you read through their inspired letters to the church in their day, it seems like they are simply expanding and applying what it looks like to love others. Take your time reading through a few of them.<\/p>\n

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We should make sure to . . .<\/p>\n