September 19, 2023

Women’s Midweek
Tomorrow night – Wednesday, September 20 @ 7:00 PM

Athens Church of Christ HOST WEEK – THIS WEEK!
(at Milledge Avenue Baptist Church)
Our church family has the opportunity to help two local families in need. There are two host slots still open on Saturday 9/23. Please click here to sign up. Please call, text, (706-351-3092) or email Steve Gibson (stevenrachele@gmail.com) with any questions. Thank you so much!

20 – Women’s Midweek
24 – Meet in House Churches

27 – Men’s Midweek

October through December

Midweeks @ 7:00 PM
First Wednesday – Women
Second Wednesday – Men
Third & Fourth Wednesdays – Congregational
Fifth Wednesday (November) – Hospitality

Sundays @ 10:30 AM
Congregational Services except for the last Sunday
Last Sunday of the month – House Churches

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)

Having grown up in the Church of Christ with my father as an elder, this week’s “Parents Corner” is a bit more personal for me. There is no article linked or research statistics…just my own observations and personal struggles through the years. I hope this is helpful to all parents, but especially to parents of preteens and teens…

Many of my peers became Christians “out of the world” and experienced a sense of being rescued – rescued from abusive relationships, from chaotic family situations, and from their own destructive behaviors. In Jesus and in the church, there was community and family. There was structure and stability. The structure was welcomed because it brought safety and security.

But for those of us raised within the church setting, it was different. We had structure our whole lives. Family and friend relationships were strong and healthy. Life was busy, but not chaotic. Parents weren’t perfect, of course, but there wasn’t abuse. Even though we were taught to love God and the church, for some, it can sometimes feel like a burden to think that we always have to make the “right” choice or God won’t be pleased with us. For many of us, we love God and want to please Him, but struggle because we feel like we never measure up, and so we live in a constant state of feeling like we are a disappointment to God. This is a lot of pressure for preteens and teens especially. Instead of feeling rescued, it can sometimes feel like a burden to follow Jesus. When we read that God’s laws are not burdensome then, it’s easy to feel like something must be wrong with me – with my love for God or with my commitment to Him. I “shouldn’t” feel that God’s laws are burdensome. I “should” feel FREE in Christ. Not wanting to live in guilt and shame, some choose to leave God and church altogether. Some choose to be part of a different church fellowship where they feel they can better worship God. Some stay in our fellowship with varying degrees of “success” in overcoming these feelings.

There can be an unhealthy attitude among some teens that they always have to live up to the standard or they can’t be a Christian. With that mindset, as soon as they “mess up,” they feel like they can’t continue to be a Christian. They believe they are not worthy so why bother even trying. They give up.

Teaching our children, through relationship, about God’s love AND grace is so very important. Understanding and accepting God’s grace has been a difficult concept for me to grasp because I didn’t want to abuse God’s grace as it talks about in the book of Romans. I don’t think I was alone in feeling like I couldn’t mess up because I “knew better.” I felt like I should be “ashamed of myself” for making bad decisions. My parents NEVER said those words to me, but that is what my young, immature mind believed. Unfortunately, I have carried that mindset into adulthood and have had to fight against it. It is a difficult balance to find…doing my best for God because I love and trust Him, but accepting His grace when I don’t live up to the standard.

Not everyone who has grown up in the church will have this struggle, but in talking to a few teens and their parents recently and in talking to my own grown children, I believe a conversation about this topic is worth having with your own kids.

The 2023 Southeast Singles Retreat, entitled “Limitless – No Boundaries” will be in beautiful Chattanooga October 27-29! Our goal is to create a space for people to spend time with God and to fellowship together in all walks of life. We’re praying that everyone leaves inspired by our limitless God! Register now to get our early bird pricing of $30! Cost rises to $50 on October 1. Click on the picture below for details. Also, check out the flyer about the dance party on Saturday of the retreat!