Sunday, October 30, 2005
Sermon: “Walk the TalkScripture:
I Thessalonians 2:9-13
Reverend Larry Gerber

 

Guys these days are into bigger baby buggies — strollers that look like Hummer SUVs. But to be a spiritual parent, you’re going to need more than a cool perambulator.

Introducing the aptly named “Ironman” — a beefy vehicle geared for both the street and the trail.

Check the specs — fat all-terrain tires, elastometer shock absorbers, “plush suspension for on-road comfort and performance.” Plus, it looks cool with a sleek design and colors like black or racing yellow. It’s the kind of ride that makes men stop in the tracks when they see one in use and ask questions like, “Are those 14- or 16-inch wheels?” and “How’s it handle off-road?”

The Ironman, though, is no next-generation SUV. Truth is that it only seats one. And the occupant has to weigh less than 35 pounds. That’s because it’s a baby stroller built with gadget-obsessed dads in mind. The Ironman!

The somewhat pedestrian (and, some would say, feminine) design of the babies every-day ride has been pumped up with new features that have dads standing around talking about them like they used to talk about their mountain bikes.

“All the new strollers have struts and shocks and big wheels,” says Stuart Goffman of Baby Universe, Inc. — one Page 2 of the Internet’s biggest baby stuff suppliers. The Ironman, manufactured by BOB Trailers, Inc., is just one of these new entries in the market. Others, like the Stokke Explorer, feature a higher than average seat with an adjustable handle bar, giving the baby more eye contact and taller dads a better grip for the big push. Stokke even offers “test strolls” at the company’s stores in major cities.

Trading up to the manliest of strollers isn’t cheap, though. The Bugaboo Frog, for example, comes in at $729 retail — more than twice as much as some of the more popular strollers on the market. The big ticket price, however, hasn’t deterred the determined dads and moms who jog through the trendiest neighborhoods pushing baby in style. New dad Scott Cohen discovered that his ultra-foldable Zapp stroller, which breaks down Jetson-style to almost nothing, caused lots of passersby to stop him in the street for a look.

Oh, and by the way, isn’t the baby cute?

While functional, the big thing about these super strollers seems to be the “cool” factor. The Frog even comes with its own maintenance kit. How cool is that?

Beyond the baby buggy, many companies are now pushing a wide range of products geared toward new dads. Diaperdude.com sells diaper bags that look like messenger pouches and come in colors like camouflage, or black with dragon or guitar designs. Another company offers wearable “bottle shorts” for dad with pockets that hold baby bottles, pacifiers and other infant gear.

All this gearing up has made it possible for Dad to hit the street with a lot of credibility, and maybe, as a result, they’re willing to spend more time moving around in what used to be Mom’s exclusive territory. If a trail-rated buggy is

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what it takes to help dads get out more with their kids, and  if hip diaper bags make changing said diaper a more manly experience, well, so much the better.

Bottom line is that it’s cool to be a dad these days.

The apostle Paul understood that dads, whether biological or spiritual, are vital to the nurture of the children of God and their growing faith. He writes to the Thessalonians as one who dealt with them “like a father with his children” (2:11).

The first-century “sensitive guy,” Paul is even secure enough in his own manhood to also see his spiritual parenting in motherly terms. “We were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children,” he says back in 2:7.

For Paul to say, however, that he relates to them “like a father with his children” meant a lot more than a simple push around the block or just bringing home the proverbial bread. Paul’s image of fatherhood involved a lot of “urging and encouraging ... and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (2:12).

Clearly, Paul was not just interested in taking this young church for a simple spin around the block and then heading off to his next business trip. Instead, Paul gives us a hint of what it looks like to be a spiritual father (or mother) and move the youngest among us, be they kids in age or children in the faith, toward real maturity. First, real spiritual parenting involves work (2:9). As a parent works to support the family, so Paul and his companions worked to support themselves as they ministered among the Thessalonians. That work, however, was not motivated by the “flattery” and “greed” (2:5) that

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cause many parents (and pastors!) to work long hours at the expense of their families. Rather, Paul’s work was directed at bringing him closer to his spiritual children. It enabled him to be in a place to share with them not only the gospel, but himself (2:8).

Our primary work as mothers and fathers in the faith is not the acquisition of stuff for stuff’s sake, but rather to see our work — our jobs, our careers — as means to an end and not the end itself. Our real work is to invest the bulk of our energy, time, effort and resources into raising others up to have a relationship with Christ.

Next, spiritual parenting requires that we walk with Christ ourselves while we walk alongside others. Paul, unlike many athletes and celebrities, is more than willing to be a role model to these young Christians. He reminds the Thessalonians that he had been “pure, upright, and blameless” among them (2:10). That might sound a little self-righteous to us, but the reality is that Paul backed up his words with action. He walked the talk!! And, he had no problem inviting others to imitate him in his walk with Christ and in living by that example.

We who are parents have to realize that, when it comes to our kids, more is caught than taught. Our children will watch us closely to learn what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Rather than beg off that responsibility or pop in a video of Mother Teresa to give them a righteous example, we need to be out in front of our children rather than pushing from behind, showing them the joy of following Jesus in our own lives.

But there’s also the need for us to use personal words as we lead our families at home and at church. Paul’s spiritual parenthood involved dealing with “each” of the

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Thessalonians “like a father with his children”(2:11), which implies that he spent individual one-on-one time with people in the fellowship. His “encouraging, comforting and urging” were powerful witnesses to each of them as they sought to grow “into a life worthy of God” (2:12).Paul was talking to a young church; people of all ages, mostly adults, but young in their faith. We are an established church, now nearly 18 years old, and many of us having grown up in churches much older. Yet, many of us are still babies in the faith. We have not learned what it means to walk the talk; to be strong enough to share our faith with others; to be a spiritual parent to others who are seeking the same faith journey.

 How do we get connected to a vital relationship with Christ, and then, how do we best help others get connected to that same vital relationship? It’s not through more gadgets in our worship space and programs that seem to have more style than substance. It happens little by little, one moment at a time, as we intentionally spend quality and quantity time listening and loving, whether it’s at church or at Starbucks or even together on the golf course. It’s not about the biggest and best golf cart, it’s about the quality of time on the course, the course of life.

There’s a real good chance that babies won’t ever remember riding in a Hummer-like stroller, and there’s an even greater chance that said stroller will find itself parked in the garage and on its way to Ebay long before it’s ever worn out.And, it’s absolutely certain that at some point in time, one parent or the other will look at the Bugaboo Frog, or the Ironman, over there in a corner, and say, “We paid how much for that?”   Even if we are beyond baby buggies, we can all look at corners of our garage, and say: “We paid how how much for that?”

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We can walk the talk. We can be a one on one witness others in our walk with Christ. As a minister of the church, I am only one. I cannot have a one on one walk with each of the nearly 1200 persons who call this their church home during the next 6 months, but I can walk the talk in worship, and in study groups. And, hopefully, you will be better equipped to walk your talk with others. One on one relationships can best come through the Stephen Ministry program. If you are ready to walk the talk, consider taking the 20 week training session, so that you can encourage, comfort, and urge others who are babies in the Christian walk.Investing our work, our walk and our words with others, be that at home, at church or anywhere else is a way better investment. Consider where you are, and where you ought to be, in your walk with Christ. Do you need help in the walk? Ask for a Stephen Minister. Are you ready to help others in their spiritual walk? Sign up for the training session, and equip yourself with the tools necessary to help others in a time of spiritual need.