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A Children’s Song = the Plight of the Western Church

If you’ve spent any time in my house over the past 3 months you’ve noticed one thing above all others. We watch the Disney movie “Moana” at least once a day!

That’s because (for some reason) my 2-year-old LOVES the music and something about the water, beach, little girl, a big adventure – captures her heart. I love to watch her watch it… but the movie is wearing me out!

However, there is a 3 min song near the beginning of the movie that has been speaking to me for the past month as I’ve thought about the words over and over again.

It’s the song that Moana’s dad sings to her about the village. Here are some of the first few lyrics.

“The dancers are practicing. They dance to an ancient song
(Who needs a new song? This old one’s all we need)
This tradition is our mission…”

I know I’m a pastor, but these lyrics hit me right between the eyes as the state of the western church for the past 50-100 years.

[Tweet “Our traditions have become our mission!”]

We (the Church) are the people on an island to ourselves and are SO SATISFIED with keeping things as they are. Our traditions have become our mission! We’ve lost sight of who we are and who we were meant to be as followers of God. Here’s some additional lyrics.

“We’re safe and we’re well provided. And when we look to the future
There you are, you’ll be okay. In time you’ll learn just as I did
You must find happiness right where you are”

There is something to be said for contentment. I believe that is a peace that comes from God. However, there is also a danger in becoming so stuck in a rut that, simply because our needs are provided for… we have been CALLED FOR MORE!

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A Family Belief… OR… A Personal Conviction

I’m not necessarily in this place personally, but I’m just around the corner with my 12 /2 year old and my 10 year old following right behind.

I’m speaking to the tension that exists between our families’ beliefs and our own personal convictions.  

The longer we wait to allow our kids to substantiate their own personal beliefs and require them to hold to a family belief, the less of a foundation that they will trust in when they leave your home.

Example.
My kids are starting to watch movies where they can hear some choice words that “we don’t say.”  They understand through school, friends, and environments that they are in that they cannot control what other people say.  I want my kids to understand the value of choosing better words to describe or identify something rather than slang, cussing, or cursing. 
The FAMILY BELIEF brings rules that have consequences for using that kind of language in my home. However, that’s not enough to cause my kids to hold these beliefs as a personal choice, especially when they are not in our home!

This applies to all areas of life & faith – our kids HAVE to take steps to make their faith and beliefs their own! It might look different for every family in what areas and ages you want to take these steps, but here are 3 steps I believe can help the next generation go from Family Belief to Personal Belief. 

1. Explain WHY.

Our youth need to know WHY we believe what we believe (I certainly hope YOU know why you believe what you believe). It’s simply not enough to say “because the Bible says so.”  They have to know WHY the Bible is an absolute truth they can trust as a foundation of their lives.  They have to know WHY agreeing with Jesus is not only the BEST option, but often times the one that will cause the most tension in their lives.  When they get to a certain age, WHY becomes more important than the behavior or rule itself.

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Is There a “Right Way” to Correct Children?

If you were born during a time when you were physically beaten as a child…you’re my people! 

I wasn’t raised in a culture of time-outs, taking electronics away, or writing essays on why I could make better choices.

When I screwed up…I was lovingly (most of the time) physically corrected in a manner that I wouldn’t soon forget.

The boomers didn’t always get everything right, but I appreciated the love my parents put into make sure that I WAS actually disciplined in a way that I was able to connect the dots between my bad choices (behavior/attitude) and the consequences of those choices – discipline.

Now, I don’t disagree that we are living in a different time. Taking a kid’s tablet/ipod/phone away has POWERFUL emotional ties to their behavior and produces a much better result than if you were to take my etch-a-scetch away (or my Rubix cube).

No matter how you choose to discipline, there are a few things that have to happen for it to be REAL discipline.

1. Clear Understanding.

When a child doesn’t know why they are being disciplined, there’s already a problem.  They have to have a clear understanding of what behavior/attitude/choice they are being disciplined for and why.  Even when I had to wait ALL DAY LONG for my dad to come home and reign the fire of discipline over me (just kidding, my Dad was awesome), I knew what I had done, and why I was going to be disciplined. Even when I entered my tweenager years and my biggest issue was my sarcastic smart mouth, my mother was extraordinarily quick to administer a sharp correction (usually a hand to the back of my head) so that I understood IN THAT MOMENT why I was in trouble.  When kids don’t have a clear understanding, your discipline is not doing what you hope it’s doing.

[Tweet “When kids don’t have a clear understanding, your discipline is not doing what you hope it’s doing. “]

[Tweet “Kids need to know what behavior/attitude/choice they are being disciplined for and why.”]

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Comfort Zones and FEAR

Art by @sylviaduckworth, thought by @OscarNowick
Art by @sylviaduckworth, thought by @OscarNowick

A couple of weeks ago – this cartoon infographic showed up in my news feed. I read it several times and decided that this was the PERFECT lead-in to my FIRST blog post of the NEW YEAR!

Why is there so much TENSION when we step outside of our “comfort zone?”

Simple. FEAR!

As a matter of fact, the TWO most important steps in the above graphic are #3 and #6.

Continue reading “Comfort Zones and FEAR”

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Merry Christmas from MattDawson.tv

wishing you all a

We wish you a very Merry Christmas from all of us at MattDawson.tv.  We pray that you focus on the true Reason for this incredible season and are spending time with friends and loved ones this year!

We will take a short break over the Christmas holidays and be back with fresh content, podcasts, and another new blog in the New Year!

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The Tension is Real Podcast – Episode 12: Christmas Tension

Welcome to The Tension is Real Podcast. A podcast dedicated to real discussion about the TENSION that exists between Life and Faith and how to embrace it so we can live with purpose and freedom.

Today’s Topic – Christmas Tension
1. Subscribe in iTunes (Search “The Tension is Real” or plug in this URL –http://mattdawsontv.libsyn.com/rss).
2. RATE and REVIEW the Podcast in iTunes to help us promote MattDawson.TV
3. Listen to Podcast on this page.
4. Download MP3

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Goals vs Contentment

content

As we approach Thanksgiving this week, I had one thought that I wanted to share. One tension that I often experience and realize that living in one extreme or the other is not a healthy way to resolve the tension we feel.

Goals vs Contentment.

If you really break down the true essence of a “goal” – you could just say “more”. Goals are our way of saying we want more. We believe more is available. We think if we can achieve more, that it will result in a future outcome that we think is better than our current reality.

The positive side of GOALS is a driven person who accomplishes great things.

The negative side of GOALS is that is can mask our insatiable envy and greed for more.

If you really break down the true essence of “containment” – you could just say “enough”. Contentment at its root is an attitude of having enough. I have enough money. I have enough joy in my family. I have enough success in my job. Enough is often associated with having peace.

The positive side of CONTENTMENT is a true peace no matter where we happen to be in life.

The negative side of CONTENTMENT is that people use it as an excuse to settle and give up on what God might have for their future.

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“NO… We Don’t Say Those Words!” – (Slang, Cussing, Cursing)

I can’t remember who said this – but I love this quote!

“Profanity is the effort of a feeble mind to express itself.”

If you’re a parent of older elementary, middle, or high-schooler- you understand the tension of watching your kids try to express themselves through the use of profanity. Many times it starts out with just pushing the envelope to see what’s acceptable – repeating what they heard on the bus or their favorite Disney show.

Parents have one simple phrase that is repeated over and over again, “no… we don’t say those words.” What? Are you kidding me – you’re pants on fire! (because you’re a liar!) The truth is, you’ve said and probably still say (in the right circumstances) worse things than your kid has ever said.

Eventually, every kid learns what they can and cannot say in front of mom & dad and they move to what is acceptable and preferred language in their group of friends. This is natural.

Is there a better way to ensure our kids don’t have a “potty mouth?” I think so.

Continue reading ““NO… We Don’t Say Those Words!” – (Slang, Cussing, Cursing)”

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Why “Inside Out” is Changing the World!

107279-fullEmotions are real.  Emotions are powerful.  Emotions are essential.  Emotions are mysterious! 
As a culture, we’ve crafted marketing and media to manipulate our emotions, we’ve even come up with new ways to label different emotional states during the day (a case of the Muuuundays), but we still really don’t understand how they work and how powerful the work in our lives.
The Pixar movie “Inside Out” does an incredible job helping us better understand the basics of our emotional state.  This movie is going to change the world!
The best part about the movie is the uncovering of a basic truth – healthy emotions LIVE IN TENSION with other emotions! 
[Tweet “Healthy emotions LIVE IN TENSION with other emotions.”]
JOY wanted Riley to happy all the time. She didn’t see the power of the tension that exists between her and the other emotions on the team.  Especially SADNESS.   She was really seen as the “unneeded” one of the group.  They often play into the “Sadness ruined it” over and over again to help us move to a place of understanding her role in the group.
This movie gives us beautiful insight into the POWER THAT EXIST IN TENSION.  When Joy finally understands the amazing role that Sadness plays in the life of Riley – it’s almost too late.  (to understand why, you’ll need to watch the movie).
My favorite part of the movie was in the last 5 minutes.  The “memories” that were being created were no longer just 1 color to represent 1 emotion.  They were a beautiful hybrid of colors to represent the power that tension can bring to our lives if we really understand the role it plays!
So… go rent/buy the movie.  You won’t be disappointed.  Leave a comment if you saw this picture of tension play out in the movie and what other messages this story brought to your mind! 
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The Tension is Real Podcast Episode 8 – Tension in Parenting Styles

Welcome to The Tension is Real Podcast. A podcast dedicated to real discussion about the TENSION that exists between Life and Faith and how to embrace it so we can live with purpose and freedom.

Today’s Topic – The Tension in Parenting Styles
1. Subscribe in iTunes (Search “The Tension is Real” or plug in this URL –http://mattdawsontv.libsyn.com/rss).
2. RATE and REVIEW the Podcast in iTunes to help us promote MattDawson.TV.
3. Listen to Podcast on this page.
4. Download MP3