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I have had mixed results when it comes to leading family devotions. There have been times when I started strong, but then quickly fizzled or seasons when I followed through with a plan. Overall, I have been guilty of a “start and stop” pattern in leading family devotions.
Let’s be honest. Leading devotions is hard. It is not that there aren’t great Bible study materials and devotionals available. Christian bookstores and websites are saturated with thousands of tools. As a dad of two boys, ages 11 and 14, I have spent many hours researching (both online and in Christian bookstores) and trying to find what will work well with my boys.
What I have experienced is that my boys don’t seem to enjoy most devotionals; they have difficulty listening and engaging.
There are probably many reasons for this dynamic. Today’s youth tend to have shorter attention spans with an increased exposure to technology. Also, many devotionals are boring. It’s not that the material is not biblically solid or relevant…it is often that the devotions are not conducive to interaction or are formatted in a “listen” type of format. Finally, in general boys are more distractible than girls and seem to need more hands-on or object-based learning.
Recently, someone brought the devotional The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinds Dangerous Family Devotions by Tim Shoemaker to my attention. Wow! It is really good! It is one of the best (if not the best) devotional books I have encountered. Here are several things that I like about the book:
It is laid out as 52 Object Lessons and Activities
Each lesson is formatted with the following sections: “things you’ll need” for the devotion’s activity, “advance prep,” “running the activity,” “teaching the lesson” and “summing it up.” Shoemaker does a phenomenal job of informing the reader on exactly how to do each devotion’s activity, as well as coaching the reader on how to teach the object lesson. Each activity is really fun; I have actually enjoyed the activities as much as my kids have enjoyed them.
Parent tip section
At the beginning of the book, Shoemaker has a section entitled “Ending the Stop and Start Syndrome.” This section is less than five pages in length, but it has some invaluable tips for parents on how to be consistent in leading family devotions. For instance, he tells parents to have a devotional once a week, but make sure that it is good (p. 22). The point that he makes here is that parents often burn out on leading devotionals when they try to do too much or when they skimp on the prep required for object based-lessons. So, instead of pressuring yourself to do too much, do a devotional once a week and make sure that is done with excellence.
Another tip: remember, these are devotionals—not Bible studies(p. 21). I so appreciated his candor on this tip.
Warning symbols
Shoemaker provides two symbols on several of the devotionals, which I greatly appreciated. The first symbol is a danger sign. Lessons with this symbol require more caution because the activity could be dangerous if not done properly. The second symbol is a “12+” symbol, meaning that the lesson may not be appropriate for younger kids.
Kid tested and approved
Although I really like Shoemaker’s book, the true test was (and is) “did my kids engage with the activities/lessons, and did my kids understand the biblical principle behind the activities/lessons?” So far, my kids have really liked this devotional book! They love the activity piece, and the biblical principles they have learned seem to have more “stick” and remembrance to them than other devotionals I have used.
One caution
One caution I do have about Shoemaker’s book (if you have not already picked up on it) is that this type of devotional book is not a “pick-up-and-read” type booklet, like so many devotionals are apt to be. This devotional does require prep work, both in the study of presenting the lesson, as well as in putting together each activity. At times, you might have to go to the store to get what you need in order to complete an activity. That is not a bad thing or a criticism per se, but it is a caution that this devotional does require upfront time in the preparation process.
 | Kris Eldridge lives in Louisville, Kentucky and is the Local Outreach Pastor at Northeast Christian Church. He is also the founder of Outreach Ministry Solutions, where his focus is consulting with churches to help them reach their communities. Learn More » |
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