the disappointed, sighing, praying parents of church history

As part of my job over the past four years, I have read upwards of 100-150 church history biographies, books and articles about missionaries, pastors and various Christians who served the Lord in what we would call Big Ways.

What started standing out to me was the parents of these church history figures.

I'm a mom of three young adults and - leaving them out of this for privacy's sake - boy howdy, has being a parent been the biggest part of my sanctification. It's been a blessing, yes, but -just like any family- also times of pain and tears. After all, hearing a testimony and living one out are not one and the same. (selah)

Who ever knows if you're being a good or bad parent? (I've honestly been called both.)

And is that even the goal? (My short answer: Not really. Define the terms.)

So, yes, as I read these biographies of church history heroes, I always note the parents. I mean, these are the big names of Christianity! The headline speakers at the conference! The parents must have done something right?

After all, what could be more gold star winning than being the dad of the first missionary sent from America? Sign me up to write that book on "Ten Ways to Raise a Brave Christian Man."

What mom wouldn't want to receive a long awaited letter in the mail from their precious daughter who has given up material possessions serving the Lord to save little children in a faraway land? Me back home doing reels on my minimalist capsule wardrobe as a Mother of a Saint. (Pretty sure it's just flowing maxi skirts.)

Oh, and imagine being able to share during prayer time at Women's Bible Study:"Yes, please pray for my son, John, who is writing, like, this super deep theological treatise on the doctrine of...oh, what was it... he was just mentioning it to me - his beloved MOTHER - oh yes, the doctrine of predestination."

There were varying degrees of reactions from the parents, as you'd expect. In fact, their reactions stood out to me so much I started keeping notes. (I can find the original sources for you if you'd like.)

Why it surprised me that there were negative responses, I have no idea. But here's a couple:

• It seems John Calvin's dad -Gerard Cauvin - was a tough guy, and had disagreements with the Catholic church, from which he was eventually excommunicated and after that, pushed John to enter the legal profession, mainly because that job would earn him more money than a theologian's income. John chose to pursue theological education instead. And - in God's predestined plan for him* (sorry, was that snarky)- became a well-known theologian in Christianity.

But alas! After John's decision, good ol' Gerard would loudly sigh each time John would walk past his study. Can you hear that sigh of disapproval from here 500ish years later?

• Adoniram Judson was the first missionary sent from America. His dad was a Congregationalist pastor and expected his son to follow his lead. Adoniram was offered a pastorhood at Park St Church - a prestigious position - but declined it. His dad was upset by this, having dreamed his son would be a total celebrity pastor with his own podcast*. He was unhappy Judson decided to leave the country and pursue mission work.

  
  

  Arguably, Judson - in part - chose this path because of the fact that his dad's vision was so narrow for him, and he wanted to take a more adventurous"try me" approach, rather than accepting a cushy job.

While Judson's parents understood the importance of his salvation, they also were unwilling to let go their control and path for their son. (Okay, this one hit closer to home. Am I doing this in my parenting?)

Then, of course, there were families who prayed persistently for their family members:

• Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China who is well-known for his ministry and held up as a true example of a faithful character in church history, did not come to salvation until he was seventeen. His sister pledged to pray for him three times a day until he became a Christian (and did!), and his mother prayed for his salvation. He randomly picked up a tract in his dad's study and was overcome with the reality of the gospel. Off he started on his amazing life of faith.

• Augustine's mother, Monica, is another mom who prayed for her son - and refused to eat with him at the same table when he was not following God (!!) - here's what Augustine says about her:

  "For nearly nine years were yet to come during which I wallowed deep in the mire and the darkness of delusion. Often I tried to lift myself, only to plunge the deeper. Yet all the time this chaste, devout, and prudent woman, a widow such as is close to your heart, never ceased to pray at all hours and to offer you the tears she shed for me...Her prayers reached your presence, and yet you still left me to twist and turn in the dark."

  
  

Note both families and mothers prayed, but with two different results. The rain falls on the just and unjust and ultimately, all we can do is pray His will.

There were two responses more subtly stated, but that stood out to me:

• Mary Slessor was a Scottish missionary to Nigeria who, most notably, saved many twin children from death as she served. I liked the simple line about how Mary's mom had read a lot about mission work and this helped influence Mary's decision to be a missionary.

• And - not to call out favorites - but Charles Spurgeon, the famous minister from the 1800's, had a documented conversation with his mother, a devout Congregationalist (okay, yes, I'm calling them out as my favorite church history mother-son pair):

Eliza Spurgeon: Ah, Charles! I often prayed the Lord to make you a Christian, but I never asked that you might become a Baptist.

Charles: Ah, mother! The Lord has answered your prayer with His usual bounty, and given you exceeding abundantly above what you asked or thought.

There's families where others stepped in to help guide the children - D.L. Moody's uncle was a contributing factor in supporting him and bringing him to the Lord. Amy Carmichael had a family friend who took her in and helped support her in her ministry.

And that's my story of how the parents of church history figures stood out to me. After reading so many books of people, people who had a mission and felt they were called by God, guess what stood out? They were people. People with pasts. People with families. People with shortcomings. People with mothers who were praying.

What surprises you? Did you ever think about the parents of these characters? Which one do you most align with? How are you sighing at...sorry, I mean, encouraging the next generation of believers?

Draw your own conclusions. I have my own. I do not give parenting advice.

I will leave you with two verses that I think give good guidance as parents, as friends, as humans:

 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Ephesians 1:9-11

asterisk from above here -->*Guys, this is a joke.

Read last week's post here: here i put my ebenezer in two bins

Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash

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here i put my ebenezer in two bins

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