"Churches centered on the gospel aggressively go for the heart, not for behavior.
...A church that goes after a child’s behavior and not the child’s heart is shepherding that child in opposition to the gospel.
...Children must be impressed with the awesomeness of Christ, with His nature and character. They must see in their leaders a sense of awe for the beauty and attractiveness of Christ. They must see what it means to treasure Christ more than anything else. Children are perceptive, and if they see leaders and parents talk with boredom and apathy about faith yet become overtly passionate about sports teams or shopping malls, they will think the sport or the mall is more attractive than Jesus.
...give children incarnational leaders who stoop down to invest in them as Christ stooped down to us, leaders who have discovered that nothing is as attractive as Christ, leaders whose hearts have been melted by the goodness of God."
Creature of the Word: Matt Chandler, Josh Patterson, Eric Geiger