Introduction
Reading Report Assignment
“Raising Adults, Getting Kids Ready for the Real-World”
CHMN 301
Foundations of NextGen Ministry
Matthew Ethridge
As ministers and leaders in the church we are lucky to get the time we
have with our students. Using the two hour per week model that many
churches follow, one and half being weekly programming and half an hour
spent in passing times ie. Pre and post church chats, we are lucky to see a
student for 104 hours a year. This doesn’t allow for a student or leader to
miss a single day and it is still not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things
considering that there are other students as well. That being said we as
ministers, pastors, and leaders cannot be the main discipler in all of our
students lives. Jim Hancock, author of “Raising Adults, Getting Kids Ready for
the Real world”, knew this well. He educated parents on how to raise their
children into independent adults.
Summary
Within the book, Hancock, works to help teach parents how to nurture,
nourish and raise the next generation. This mission to teach parents goes
along with the call given to all believers in Matthew 28, that being the great
commission. This act of teaching and discipling starts at home.
Jim Hancock starts off by bringing to light the secrets of the baby
boomers. He does so by describing what childhood was like in the 50s and
the massive contrast between the baby boomers and their parents. He
remarks a pendulum effect saying “what was unspeakable for our parents,
we spoke right out loud. What they kept hidden, we did in broad daylight.”
We still see this pendulum today as parents stive not to be like their parents.
Another point Hancock made that is pertinent in today’s society is the
disposition of the parent versus what the child actually needs. Every child
needs and deserves to have a parent that listens to them and doesn’t hijack
situations. This can be done at all ages, parents can inadvertently hijack
their children’s situations starting at birth, but they can also hijack older kids
by not listening to them. Hancock goes on and describes the mindset parents
should have with their children. He says that there should a partnership
mentality versus a boss mentality. He states that “When I partner, my kid
becomes a participant, not just an observer”. When children take an active
role they are more likely to be more responsive in the relationship rather
than being just a child who needs to listen to instruction.
Personal Response
I have always known that the backbone of any next generation
ministry needed to start with parents. If parents aren’t bought in to the
mission of the ministry you will have a hard time keeping the student,
especially before they can drive. Also as I mentioned in the intro it is
impossible to be the only discipler in multiple students’ lives, a duty that
should fall to the parents. As nextgen pastors and leaders we need to
shepherd and send out, this includes our students parents. Throughout the
book I felt that Hancock did a great job of displaying his ideas is a way that
was interactive and interesting enough to keep even those who aren’t
parents or leaders of the next gen interested. The author did a great job
Bibliography
Hancock, Jim. Raising Adults: A Humane Guide for Parenting in the New
World. (2018)
explaining how keeping relevant in our knowledge of the world and its issues
and prevalent beliefs is essential to understanding the next generation.
Conclusion
Jim Hancock categorizes multiple parenting styles pushing parents to
learn that their children are often wired differently. As ministers to the
nextgen, a parenting book may not be what is thought of as a inspiring read
but this one does a good job of teaching how to parent when you’re not the
parent. It also opens a portal to the mind of the parent and is a great
resource for learning about and teaching parents how to partner with their
children.
