The kneejerk reaction to the phrase, Harry Potter, is this: witchcraft, wizards and evil, oh my! This perspective can lead us to believe that all roads traveled on a broomstick with Harry Potter are leading straight to hell. Although I will not personally condone some of the concepts used in these stories I have to throw out that perhaps these books can be viewed as an allegory. I want to venture to ask: Are parents really digging deep enough into the content to extrapolate what could be perceived as Christ-like material?

You might be thinking: How are Christ-like and Harry Potter used in the same sentence? Think about this: C.S. Lewis is one of the most renowned Christian authors of the 20th century and his content pertained to the magical realm including witches, talking animals, ghouls, centaurs and the like, yet these books are coveted in most church atmospheres versus shunned. With that being said, maybe we need to change our mindset.

Harry Potter is a teenage wizard who happens to be the only person capable of saving the world and is even willing to sacrifice his own life for the greater good of all. Voldermort, the evil wizard who is trying to murder Harry Potter and take over the world, has strong correlations with that of Satan where Harry Potter can be viewed as a savior-like figure with his willingness to sacrifice.

Controversies breed conversation and instead of forbidding it and therefore contributing to this outlawed temptation, start talking about it. Maybe Harry Potter isn’t the ideal role model in your eyes but ready or not he is here to stay for the time being along with vampire love stories and The Hunger Games. It is my belief that open yet biblical communication with your child should always be emphasized. Try thinking about these things to put yourself into that mindset:

1. Start looking for the good in what can be a seemingly negative situation. We all know it’s there; it’s simply a matter of finding it.
2. Remain open-minded. It can be all too easy to just hear the word magic or wizardry and completely shut down any type of further thought process. But think of it this way: If your child can’t come to you about Harry Potter, are they going to feel comfortable approaching you with larger issues?

Now, should all children and young teens read these books particularly as the content grows darker with each book? Absolutely not. What I am saying is that it is not always safe to have preconceived notions about something until we take the time to educate ourselves on the content and look deeper than what meets the eye.

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Every Sunday students around the country are placed into youth programs that are separate from the main service in their local church setting. Recent perspectives have compared this to the traditional Thanksgiving meal where children are placed at the infamous kids’ table.

Let’s look at the pros of the “kids’ table:”

1. Experience peer-to-peer fellowship
2. Further socialization skills
3. Tailor specific learning styles and needs

Although these can all be great things, are we purposely ostracizing our students from the very core of what makes the church, a church? In other words, are we creating a division that should not exist? Furthermore, although the peer-to-peer interaction is healthy and arguably necessary, is it not also necessary to demonstrate the structure of the main service where other traditions, specific messages and formalities are taught and implemented?

Mark 4:2 says: “He began to teach them things in parables.” Jesus did not limit himself to age, gender, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs or ethnicity. Instead, he taught to everyone using parables that were relatable to all audiences.

Let’s look at the cons of the “kids’ table:”

1. Separation from family worship and sermon experience
2. Lack of church identity after graduation from youth program
3. Lack of understanding and appreciation for church service/traditions

Recent trends have indicated that the 18-22 year olds have started to flock away from the church. “Seventy percent of 23-30 year olds stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18-22,” (Lifeway Research, 2007). The question remains: why are they leaving and more importantly, are we inadvertently contributing to this loss?

I think we can all agree that some type of children and youth ministry programming is beneficial. That being said, what would it look like if we were to integrate children into service with their families once a month or so? This could foster an understanding in regard to the ins and outs of main service, create an emotional and spiritual connection to the core of the congregation and build a unique identity for the child as an integral part of the church instead of a separate entity. Parents pack away the kids’ table and include them into the larger church family from time to time. Who’s hungry?

Have you ever seen the show The Family Guy?  If not that’s okay as I would not recommend it with young children at home.

The show revolves around the adventures of the family of Peter Griffin, a bumbling blue-collar worker. Peter is an Irish-American Catholic with a prominent Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts accent. He is married to Lois, a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher, who as member of the Pewterschmidt family of wealthy socialites, has a distinct New England accent. Peter and Lois have three children: Meg, their teenage daughter, who is awkward and does not fit in at school, is constantly ridiculed and ignored by the family; Chris, their teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent and a younger version of his father in many respects; and Stewie, their diabolical infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who has adult mannerisms, and speaks fluently in a London accent, using stereotypical archvillain phrases. Living with the family is Brian, the family dog, who is highly anthropomorphized, drinks martinis and engages in human conversation, though he is still considered a pet in many respects.

Lately I have been wondering if this show helps or hurts our understanding in regard to how we minister to our families.  Yes the show is rude, crude, fictional and represents our culture but can we learn from this?  In a day and age where many teens don’t fit in, are ridiculed, awkward, overweight and lack the skills to survive school, we need to ask: How can we as parents come alongside of them and build their self-esteem?  I have found that many parents are simply powerless to the culture around us and we need to stand up and fight for our kids because we are their greatest advocates.  

Ephesians 6: 4 says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Unlike the show, The Family Guy, where constant humor and tearing down of one another happens we are called not to harm our children but instead bring our children up in the ways of the Lord.  

How have you done this past week in training your children in the ways of the Lord?  Which “Family Guy” are you?