Do you get paralysis by analysis when thinking about passing your faith onto the next generation? Don’t let the fact that you can’t do everything cause you to do nothing! Instead of looking for large experiences, start passing the “small baton” through lots of everyday experiences. In the following article, Dr. Jeff shares how you can take small, realistic, but powerful steps so you can begin passing the baton of faithfulness to those you parent and mentor.
Focus on the small, not the big! Obviously children need to understand the essential principles of the Christian faith as embodied in the Nicene Creed. But because this is complicated and takes a long time, many parents and teachers feel overwhelmed and end up doing nothing at all. Remember that old speech-class dictum? “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” It turns out you can pass the small baton through everyday experiences by remembering something very similar to this dictum: tell them, take them, and talk to them.
- Tell them—explain your convictions.
- Take them—gain experience together.
- Talk to them— debrief your experience.
Check out Dr. Jeff’s free article to unpack these steps in more depth.