Leader’s Guide

As one who is slowly seeing the folly of my evangelical lifestyle, developing proper convictions is a most difficult task. And leading my family to understand them is tougher still.

Oodles of choices frequently present themselves as convictions for us to either affirm or reject: educational approaches, military commitment, large family, transracial adoption, paedocommunion (and a host of other worship issues), political parties, etc.

I sense danger on all sides. I could spend my hours naval-gazing yet deciding nothing. But convictions adopted in haste are sure to turn me into a thunder-puppy, wasting my hours shouting down thunder puppies of the opposing pack.

One thing is clear. Before adopting a conviction I should know its place in the gospel. If I can’t explain why I believe something in a way that shows it is part of the gospel then I don’t understand it or the gospel well enough. The less essential a conviction is to the gospel the less valuable it is. My life’s focus must be on believing the right gospel, without stopping short of its fullness or going too far.

This is also the guide for leading a family. A fast, but wrong, way to attempt change in a family is through a kind of gospel-less law. “You will homeschool”. “You will submit to me”, etc, etc. But rather than domination, I am to lead by the gospel, teaching my wife and children how our convictions fit into our gospel understanding.