APRIL 25, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

Some things we do as parents should be written in pen and be permanent.  We should always say that honesty is good and lying is wrong.  We should teach that love is the best answer to hate from others.  We should always stand on the fact that God wants a relationship with us, and that it is only offered through faith in Jesus Christ.  I never want to communicate anything different than those truths. 

But there are other things we do as parents that should be written in pencil.  Those are the times we try to do what’s best as parents, but we can’t really be sure they are what’s best.  The good thing about pencils is that they have erasers on the other end.  Make a mistake and all you do is recognize it and then erase it away.  I always want to be humble enough to admit my mistakes.

The best parents have the courage to know when they are parenting in pen and when a pencil is more appropriate.  That’s because we all make mistakes as parents.

That’s a little bit of what I shared last Sunday and I just wanted us to think about this a little deeper, especially in the way we parent children as well as the way we treat others (in a broader sense).  To help you think through this, I thought I’d toss out a few questions for you to consider— with your pen and pencil handy:

1. Are you willing to forgive your parents (or others) for the things they did to you by using your “eraser” to remove their “pencil-like” mistakes against you? Honoring your parents is one of God’s ten commandments, and if you will forgive them (even if they don’t deserve it) God promises to bless your life (Ephesians 6:2-3). 

2. Are you careful about what you write in permanent ink as you teach your children right and wrong? Know what truths you’re willing to die for and what ones you’re not.  Focus your parenting on the former, not the latter.

3. Do you let your kids write with “pencils” and allow them to use their “erasers” when needed? Allow your kids to make safe mistakes and learn from life on their own.  Give them room to try, to succeed, and yes, even to fail.  Give them gradual but controlled measures of independence as they grow up.

Parenting will humble us.  So will relationships with all kinds of people.  The more we stand on what is right (by using our “pens”) and extend grace where we can (by using our “pencils”) with our kids and with others, the more we will be successful in dealing with both.

Warmly,
Vince

APRIL 18, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

This past Tuesday, as we mentioned in services last Sunday, Lakeshore celebrated its 29^th birthday.  I love to tell the story of our very first service.  Looking back, April 16, 1995 was such an amazing day in our history!  

The weather was nice but chilly.  After three practice services the previous Sundays, and after 14,464 direct mailers were sent out to all homeowners 54 years old and younger (I was only 33 years old back then), Lakeshore held its first public service...  In a bar...  At the Marriott hotel...  That held 75 adults comfortably...  The rest had to sit in a booth and watch the service...   Seated sideways (you paid a price for being late back then).  On that day, 112 people showed up and three people became Christians in the somewhat beer-scented bar.  It was an exciting day for our family and many others.  Lakeshore Church was born. 

God has done amazing things since then:

» 795 people have been baptized

» About 1,300 people have professed a first-time faith in Christ

» Just over half of our attenders are involved in serving somewhere in the church

» We’ve given away about $1.3 million dollars to world missions to impact our world for Jesus

We are still just as passionate about reaching people in Rochester as we were 29 years ago!  That’s not the norm for churches, because most gradually turn inward and focus on their own needs.  I am convinced that our best days are still ahead of us.  I hope you are too.

Thank you for your part in helping Lakeshore fulfill God’s mission in the world.  Sue and I thank God for you!  After God, you’re the reason why we’re still helping people discover and develop a growing relationship with Jesus.

And next year, for our 30^th anniversary, we will be celebrating in style with a great event for which plans are already in the works. Save the date: Friday, March 28, 2025!

Happy birthday to you, to us!

Warmly,
Vince

APRIL 11, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

I’m really concerned about what’s happening to children today.  One of the most incredibly tragic (and evil) trends I see happening all around is how our children are being systematically torn down at almost every turn.

It starts with an alarming number of parents who allow their kids to be fed a lot of negative things with little to no concern of how damaging it will be to them.  Not long ago, for example, I was observing some kids playing in the yard with some music playing pretty loud.  One of the songs that played just repeated the refrain, “F--- that!” every few lines… again and again and again.  I wondered why their parents (who were home) would let kids so young listen to such coarse music? 

It’s also in our culture where so many voices that have the attention of our children throughout the day are feeding them a steady stream of lies.  Like the radical ideology that tells them they are whatever they feel like they are.  Frequently this is done in full denial of objective reality, like when a child thinks they were born the wrong gender.  They live with little to no certainty of who God made them to be and why they are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him!  Yet, a lot of parents aren’t aware of this intentional indoctrination.  Some just pretend it isn’t harming their children and just want to “go along to get along”.  Worse yet, some even support it.

As these children grow up, what will they become?  In the most optimistic terms, they will become less than they could be in character, in charity toward others, and as contributing members of society.  Only time will tell what the actual answer will be.  This concerns me deeply.

This is why we began a new series on parenting last Sunday, Parenting Isn’t For Cowards.  I want anyone who will listen to be the best parents they possibly can be by applying the truth of God’s Word to their parenting practices.  The more parents do this, the more likely they are to raise godly kids who are confident, make positive contributions to society, have less heartache as they grow up, and most importantly add to the list of people who live to honor and glorify the God who made them with their one and only life.  Just like the kids who gave of their time last week to serve others at Flower City Work Camp.  There are so many great kids all around, but we want that number to grow.

If we don’t turn it around really soon, our nation won’t be strong and free for much longer (see Proverbs 14:34, 2 Chronicles 7:14).

So let’s do what we can to learn how to be the best parents and best adult models for every child that we can as we learn about parenting over the next few weeks. Our children are counting on us to show them the way.

Warmly,
Vince