Leadership Thoughts: Legacy Bibles

I was honored this past month to preach at Elkdale Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama. I was able to teach on the right definition, message and ministry of the church in the morning service and then to talk about generational faithfulness and the exercise of family worship in the evening. It was a good day and I was thankful to be able to share what God has made the passion of my heart.
Little did I now that my joy would be made complete days later when I received an email for a wonderful lady that I met while at Elkdale. She shared a story of spiritual legacy with me that gave me chills and confirmed in heart the absolute truth of the importance of generational faithfulness. Her name is Louise King and I asked her if I could share her story in my newsletter. She was very gracious and replied, “Sure, Reid...no problem..”
Mrs. Louise started by saying that Legacy was a, “huge word in my life.” She went on to tell me the story of her Legacy Bibles. It all started when her mother died and she began to be aware of the power of her mother’s spiritual legacy in her life. She says, “When my mom died, her Bible was left sitting there on her dressing table and the task began of deciding who would receive it.”
As is so often the case, we do not fully recognize the value of the spiritual legacy that we have been left until we are left without it. Mrs. Louise said, “I realized then what a treasure it was.”
As leaders and parents, we often undervalue the power of our own spiritual legacy. However, Scripture makes it clear that the family is the primary means by which God intends his truth to be passed from one generation to the next. That is why it is important for us as individuals and as churches to understand that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, but our legacy will be determined by what we invest in those we leave behind.
Mrs. Louise became strikingly aware of this reality when she lost her mother and that awareness set her on a mission to pass on to all her descendants the treasure that had been left for her. She says, “At that point, I began working toward getting one of my Bibles in the hands of my children and grandchildren.”
What a grand investment, but most of us only have one Bible. I mean, I have dozens, but I really only have that one that has all of my margin notes and underlines. How could I get each child and grandchild a treasure of spiritual heritage like my “go-to-Bible?”
Mrs. Louise shares how she has gone about it. “To put it mildly, I mark my Bible. With my three daughters, I kept a Bible for three years, transferring notes from one to the other and then adding notes from sermons , studies, etc. for each one individually.”
I thought, “what a great idea . . . to pass down our spiritual legacy from one generation to the next, Legacy Bibles.” But Mrs. Louise did not stop there. What I read next brought tears to my eyes and overwhelmed me with the delight of the Lord. She continued, “I am now working through my seven grandchildren.” What a testimony!
Mrs. Louise will tell you it is no easy task, “I have had to shorten the time I keep the Bible. I am working on number three (for her grandchildren).” But she says the joy of the investment far outweighs the cost. “I can’t tell you what it is like jotting notes to them by Scripture. It is a joy in my life when I pass God’s Word on to my children.” Even something I said got passed down from generation to generation, even if she can not remember quite what it was, “Something you said Sunday morning . . . sorry can’t remember exactly what . . . But I wrote a note to Zec . . . ‘Zec, does your life reflect this verse?’”
Zec, I pray that it does and that you, like Timothy, walk in the faith of your mother and grandmother and great-grandmother.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 2 Timothy 1:5

Family Ministry Investment

Now that our family ministry summer is over at Bush, I am ready to get back on the road to work with churches to help move them towards a family equipping ministry model that helps them better develop spiritual leaders for the next generation.
I am looking for five churches to invest in this coming year and our goal is to help move those churches from where they are to a family equipping ministry model. I am looking for leaders who believe in three ideas.
First, that God instituted the family as the primary means of communicating his truth from one generation to the next, and that parents have the primary role in discipling their children.
Second, that God instituted the church as an aid, to equip parents for the ministry of leading their families spiritually and discipling their children, and to supplement what parents are doing at home by reinforcing it in a corporate setting.
Third, that the church fulfills a missional role, through age graded ministry, in reaching children and youth from unbelieving homes and by engaging the parents in the spiritual development of their children, reaching out to lost and broken families.
My vision is to work with those churches in three main areas. I would like to help equip their ministry team with resources and strategies to move toward a family equipping model. In this area, I think Legacy offers over five years of research in the area of youth and family ministry, years of practical experience implementing ministry strategies in local churches, and a network of ministries and churches who are making the family equipping model work in various settings.
Next, I would like to help equip their lay leadership and volunteers with the ideas and tools that they can use to communicate with parents, implement the ministry elements necessary, and invest in the lives of children and youth in a way that supplements parents fulfilling their biblical role instead of encouraging them to abdicate their role.
Most important, I would like to help communicate to parents how they can have a more positive and active role in the spiritual development of their children. In this area I think it is helpful to have someone echo the voice of the pastors in communicating parents biblical role as primary spiritual influencers. Again, we bring a wealth of research on the influence of parents. We are also able to help parents better communicate with their children by helping them understand youth culture, and giving them ideas for creating spiritual conversation. Finally, we can help parents better understand what are the primary things that they need to communicate to their children in terms of fundamental biblical knowledge, Christian worldview, and personal devotional life.
I believe in these principles and concepts so passionately that I am willing to invest in the lives of these churches, leaders and parents for an entire year. Please help me be able to do that by sharing my vision with churches who may be interested in receiving our help, and by continuing to support Legacy, so that we can invest in them for only the cost of our expenses.
Together we can make a real investment in families and develop true spiritual leaders for the next generation.