BRANCHES May 2013

to be their best friend. I have to be their parent.
Every once in a while, George and I will look at
each other and go, “Oh, my gosh. We’re really
parenting. We are really parents.”And I think
about speaking truth in their lives and not just
throwing a Bible verse at them. When I talk to
my kids about Romans 8:28 or when I talk to her
about Philippians 4:13, it’s because of what those
have meant in my life and how I know for a fact
that all things are not good. But the hope is that
God, through your relationships with your friends,
with your youth leaders, your church, your small
group, your Crew is going to work those together
for good at some point. And how do you get
through those? You don’t get through them on
your own strength. You get through because of
Philippians 4:13 and the truth in that.
George: What we are talking about is
Deuteronomy 6. As you get up, as you lay down,
as you eat, as you sleep, walk down the street. I
provide something steady in the midst of a
changing world. That’s probably our number one
observation as we work with these students. It’s
remarkable how much they change from year to
year. So it’s not just physical, obviously, but the
emotional/spiritual change that they go through
is remarkable
Steve Williams: Yeah, I was going to say we’ve
got to consider all these kids. We can talk about
parenting, but every kid is very, very different. I
mean, you can’t parent them all the same. They’ll
all turn out like a bunch of whack jobs. And so
we’ve got to keep that in mind and we’ve got to
know that there’s not one way to get there. And
fortunately we’ve got small groups. We’ve got
High-Life. We’ve got their friends. And you can
control their friend group to a point and then you
kind of hold onto your kids and you don’t let go
of your kids. Some people say, “Oh, we just got
to the point now we just let our kids go.” You
for them? That’s the struggle. The concept is true
and right, but it’s how to make it tangible in their
lives.
Chad: How does the ministry of Southwood
come alongside you as you parent your kids in
these struggles?
Bill: I think a big thing is that this is another
avenue that they can share what’s going on
in their lives—what they are struggling with—
another comfort zone they can go to that makes
me feel, as a parent, that there is something that
if they don’t tell me, they told someone here at
High-Life.
Carrie: It’s a safe zone here.
Bill: But what I’ve seen in particular is my son
having the opportunity to also play that role of
listener because some of his friends are going
through some of the same struggles. Which
means he’s actually had an opportunity to be
“Every kid is very, very different. I mean, you can’t parent them all the same.
They’ll all turn out like a bunch of whack jobs.”
mean, having those conversations which happen
every day and not just, “Hey, let’s sit down. Let
me grab my Bible and let’s look at this.” That’s
a quick turnoff. How are we “Jesus with skin on”
even for our kids? It’s a lifelong task.
Chad: And it’s taking kids that are constantly
changing and applying something to them
that’s steady, and that’s the word of God. But it’s
contextualizing it. You know your kids far better
than we do, and we’re here because God’s
chosen us to come alongside you and help you
as you raise your youth and it’s really just kind
of do what we can to provide relationships,
to encourage you in the word, but to really
don’t ever let go. You let the rope out slowly and
then accelerate so then you’ve got these big rope
burns on your hands from them taking off. You
just have to remember that they’re so different. I
mean, there’s no one-stop shop for how to raise
kids. You’ve got to be sensitive to that.
Cathy: Amen.
Carrie: But I do struggle with how do I really teach
them what their identity—teach them to the point
that they know what their identity is? I can say it, but
I know it’s hard for anybody to grab that concept,
and especially for them, they’re like, “Whatever,
Mom.” But I try, on a daily basis, to teach them who
they are in Christ. How do you make that tangible
something like a counselor, someone to help
them through the situation or at least be the
listening ear.
Brock: He’s got wisdom, right? You’ve imparted
wisdom. He’s gained it here at High-Life, so yeah,
that’s great to see him responding.
Kim Pell: For my kids it is just being with their
leaders in their small groups that has been so
helpful. The biggest thing is that nobody at
High-Life trivializes anything that’s going on,
realizing that what they’re dealing with is a big
deal and that’s what’s important in figuring out
their daily life.