Parenting

We took a two week toddler parenting class at church during October with three other couples. Most of what we learned was fairly standard but the discussion was useful and I'm sure we would have wondered what we had missed had we not attended.

There was one list, however, that shocked all couples in attendance.

The pastor authored the material and included a list of "Top Four Things You MUST Teach Your Children."

The first three were very standard, something like: Teach them about God. Teach them to love God's Word. Teach them what God says about parents and children. OK, very standard.

The fourth caught *ALL* of us off guard. "Teach them that racial predjudice is unacceptable." HUH??? I won't disagree with the statement, but it didn't seem to belong in the Top 4 of what you need to teach your children.

A mexican woman raised her hand and asked, "Where did that come from???"

Dan and I discussed it on our way home. This is the most racially diverse evangelical church we've been to. (OK, maybe Foursquare was close, but...) Black families, hispanic families, Asians, Pacific Islanders, people from the Caribbean, etc. It is a small church, too, so it is quite striking. The pastor's oldest daughter is married to a man who is half Puerto-Rican and his middle daughter is married to a Pacific Islander. His son is dating a Mexican woman.

As strange as the fourth "commandment" was, it seems to have impacted the church quite positively. I'm not sure it belongs on the "Top 4" list, though.

A final note, in our 3+ years at the church, that was the ONLY mention of race. Maybe that's why I forget that our church is racially diverse until someone visits for the first time and points it out to me.