Tonight Gabriel decided he wanted to become a massage therapist (at least for the night). Far be it from his parents to discourage his dreams. So, he took over an hour to rub our backs. What a great kid.

The great part was that as he rubbed my back, we talked about ministry, church (yes, they are two different things), stress, family, scripture, business, probability, the beach, CS Lewis and chaos theory. You read that right, chaos theory. The cool thing is that we talked about all of these things and he is only 10! Gabriel, you ROCK!

It was enlightening to hear his observations of church, ministry, stress and family. He has much better insight to what is important than many adults. His insights of the scripture, the importance of church and the stress of ministry reminded me of the glass house we live in as a pastor’s family.

As we talked about our family, all three boys seperately said, “I’m glad I am a pastor’s kid.” That was good to hear since I did not always feel that way personally. To always on display for a whole church to watch, critique and use as a standard is a bit much for a kid. Especially since they did not ask for the job.

With all of the stress of living in a glass house, would I choose a different path growing up? I would not change my ministry home. But, I would have ignored all the eyes watching my every move even though the stares were invited.

I have decided to not invite everyone to watch my family. Our children are a gift from God to Jennifer and me to nurture, protect, guide, discipline and love as they fulfill their destiny. Instead, I invite you to watch my life. Follow me as I follow Christ. Watch as I love my wife and children. Watch as I live a life that honors God. When I mess up (you won’t have to wait long to see it), look for a heart that repents and gets it right. Look to see if what I do bears fruit. Watch me and how I care for, protect, nurture and lead my family. But don’t use our boys as a guide for how your children should act.

Please don’t use our boys names as examples when teaching or (heaven forbid) disciplining your kids. Why? It will affect their relationship with our boys. It breeds contempt among children that hurts relationships because they don’t measure up. This is so important for kids, especially if their parents are pastors. I ask this because my desire is that our boys will always be able to say, “I’m glad I am a pastor’s kid.”