D6 Conference 2018: Connecting Church and Home

By Eric K. Thomsen

The third week of September 2018 was a memorable one in North Carolina. Hurricane Florence slammed into the coast with tropical storm-force winds extending 335 miles, covering more than 15,000 square miles. The super-storm dumped record rainfall across the Carolinas, drowning the region in floodwaters and changing the landscape forever. Volunteers quickly arrived from across the nation bringing relief and aid. Friends, neighbors, and complete strangers worked hand-in-hand to help the region recover.

While Hurricane Florence was catastrophic, in time, another—and much different—kind of spiritual storm will also be remembered. This “storm” started September 19-21 at the D6 Conference in Greensboro, flooding the church with waves of generational discipleship and changing the landscape of ministry forever. “Years from today starts today!” exclaimed conference emcee Tommy Swindol, as he encouraged 1,214 attendees from 38 states and four countries to make D6 2018 the moment they became intentional about discipling the next generation. Friends, neighbors, and complete strangers came together to help the church recover the hearts of the next generation by connecting church and home.

Connecting on the Main Stage…

Using nostalgic “tiny green army men” as an analogy, Dr. Ron Hunter, executive director of Randall House and director of the D6 Conference, challenged listeners to keep the “end game” of discipleship in focus, living with the awareness that life will eventually come to an end. “If you knew that spot—when and where it was—would you live differently? Disciple differently?” With this sobering reality in mind, Hunter redefined discipleship as a way of life, not an event. He offered simple lessons from the little green army men: recognize children and grandchildren are unique, with differing gifts and personalities. Training (discipleship) never stops, and commanding officers (church leaders) cannot do all the training. Leaders are most effective when they train others to train others. Hunter challenged listeners to prepare the next generation for battle, understanding that if they go untrained, they may lose the battle against a skeptical generation.

“Are we preparing our kids?” he asked in conclusion. “When their faith is attacked, do they have the ability to defend their faith confidently? Or have we left them vulnerable?”

Rob Rienow, author and co-founder of Visionary Family Ministries, confessed that in his early days of ministry, his primary focus was discipling other people’s children. Today, he is focused on discipling his own children and helping other parents disciple their own children. Using Deuteronomy 6, Rienow defined a simple strategy for generational discipleship: teach the next generation to love God and Scripture by making your faith an everyday part of life. “Family worship is the engine that powers the Christian family,” he told listeners. He admonished attendees to embrace their part in the generational discipleship movement, advancing the gospel to the ends of the earth through effective partnership between church and home.

Best-selling author Lee Strobel, a former atheist turned Christian apologist, addressed the “virus of doubt” infecting today’s generation. He noted the epidemic of young people leaving the church as they fall prey to predatory skeptics and atheists who target young Christians. Strobel offered simple advice for ministering to young Christians struggling with the faith: give them the okay to ask questions or have doubts as long as they are seeking honest answers and teach them that science and Scripture are not at odds but complement one another.

Strobel encouraged listeners, “We have an unfair advantage in the marketplace of ideas; we have truth on our side.” He challenged parents to give children a safe space to ask tough questions, thus stripping away the power of doubt like daylight strips fear from a nightmare, and teaching young people we have a “defensible faith.”

Author, pastor, and educator, Dr. Eddie Moody, shared the story of Jeng Yoong Tan, who nearly died after experiencing cardiac arrest while eating out with his family. Thankfully, a bystander was prepared and equipped to offer first aid, and her intervention saved Jeng’s life. Moody reminded listeners that just as it is important to be prepared to offer physical aid, it is also crucial to be prepared to help those struggling mentally and emotionally. He offered familiar yet important tools to assist Christians in helping those in crisis: prayer, the Word of God, the church, and relationships. He warned listeners to fight the “bystander effect,” understanding if one person stops and responds, others will respond as well.

Comparing church leaders to a house painter whose own home needs a paint job, Kyle Idleman, best-selling author and teaching pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, admonished listeners not to get so caught up in ministry they neglect their own families. Instead, he urged all parents to be intentional in discipleship and to make those intentions reality. Citing Galatians 6:7, he advised planting faith at home to reap the benefits of spiritual growth. This natural and spiritual law of sowing and reaping will produce harvest from seeds planted in the family, whether anger, bitterness, and lust or joy, faith, and love. With this in mind, parents must be careful to plant the right seeds in their children.

Businessman Mike Lejeune and daughter Nikki shared memories from life in the Lejeune home—that is, before a painful divorce Nikki blamed on her father. Mike warned listeners that busyness is a choice, and his choice eventually cost his marriage. Nikki recounted the long and difficult path to forgiveness and the restoration of her relationship with her father, acknowledging, “Forgiveness is a decision, not an emotion.” Today, the two have a strong relationship fueled by little things and little moments. Together, they offered a simple formula for building a strong relationship: clear purpose, right priorities, letting go of the past…and occasional sticky notes to say I love you.

Sadie Robertson, the energetic 21-year-old author and star of A&E's hit reality series Duck Dynasty, offered a unique perspective on youth today. While her generation is widely acknowledged as the most connected generation, Sadie emphasizes that being connected does not make it the most unified generation. She encouraged leaders to help young people identify their desire for change, the things they want to change, steps toward that change, and the power of God to fuel the change. Sadie concluded that working together in sacrificial unity results in great things for God.

During the Friday evening main stage session, Robbie Gallaty, senior pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church, Goodlettsville, Tennessee, offered advice for living a “normal” (or what should be normal) Christian life of disciple making. Based on 2 Timothy 2, Gallaty encouraged listeners to abide in Christ, invest in other believers, share the faith, and, ultimately, make disciples. He warned church leaders against reducing the gospel to a list of questions answered correctly. He challenged listeners to stop telling converts what they are saved from, instead emphasizing what they are saved to. Otherwise, they will remain stuck in Christian infancy, with spiritual growth stunted. “The Christian life is either easy or impossible,” Gallaty concluded. “It’s impossible if you try to do it in you own strength, but becomes easier as you allow Christ to work in and through your life.”

Using the backdrop of Exodus 33 and Israel’s great golden failure at Mount Sinai, Dannah Gresh, best-selling author, speaker, and creator of Secret Keeper Girl, exposed two lies capturing the hearts of today’s families. The first: we need to be normal. In contrast, Gresh reminded listeners God wants Christians to stick out, to be distinct in our godless culture. “We should be so different that we shine like stars on a dark night,” she urged, noting that this seeking generation should find what they are seeking reflected in our lives. The second lie: we can go without God. In reality, Gresh noted, God’s presence is what we are missing in our lives and ministry. She warned against the busyness trap and encouraged listeners to be deliberate about abiding in Christ.

Connecting Through Minis…

For the sixth year, four rapid-fire main stage sessions appropriately called D6 Minis gave speakers an opportunity to deliver short, powerful messages with a single point. David Prince, assistant professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, challenged listeners to take every thought captive—from big moments to breakfast table conversations. Drawing upon the athletic analogies used by the Apostle Paul, Prince explained this requires discipline and deliberate, careful attention to discipleship.

Dale Hudson, author and founder of Building Children’s Ministry, compared generational discipleship to a baseball season, with countless daily discipleship victories as singles and doubles—small, steady advances in the faith of kids. However, Hudson also advised church leaders to make the most of four crucial moments to help parents “hit a home run” in their discipleship at home: 1) when a child is dedicated to the Lord; 2) when a child goes to school; 3) when a child accepts Christ; and 4) when a child starts middle school or high school. These crucial moments can have a profound impact on a child’s faith.

Conference worship leader Meredith Andrews reminded listeners, “Worship is not necessarily music but a posture of the heart.” After reading the description of worship around the heavenly throne in Revelation 4-5, she told the audience that everything in this life is a grand rehearsal for worship in the next. So, we should align our priorities with preparing for that moment and teaching children and grandchildren to worship in ways that are costly, heavy, liberating, and even undignified. Andrews concluded, “Our children not only need to know about God but to know God…It is my greatest desire that my children become worshipers who not only know how to worship but know who they worship.”

Tim Goodyear, chief operating officer of HomePointe, explored the challenge of getting families to engage in discipleship at home. Part of “equipping the saints” (Ephesians 4:12) is providing tools parents and grandparents need for successful discipleship. What are these tools? Share a clear vision (and repeat it often); create a new culture of discipleship through training and tools; and coach parents along the way.

John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, warned that Christian parents today are not “parenting in a vacuum” but raising children during enormous cultural shift, when influences align openly against Christian discipleship. When discipling the next generation, we must remember two things: 1) we are not saved to escape, and 2) we are not saved to accommodate. While we cannot escape culture, we must not be assimilated by culture but influence culture for Christ as “hopeful restorers.”

Also Connected Here…

D6 offers far more than main-stage speakers. Attendees participated in 80 intense breakout sessions covering topics ranging from marriage to manhood, effective grandparenting, technology, and everything between. Attendees wandered through a wide variety of exhibits exploring the latest Christian resources and ministries. They renewed friendships over coffee, discussing common challenges, sharing ideas, and praying over ministry burdens.

Conference emcees Tommy Swindol, lead pastor at The Donelson Fellowship, Nashville, Tennessee, and Jeff Wallace, executive director of the Youth Pastor’s Summit for Student Leadership University joined Jon Forrest, youth pastor at Bethel FWB Church in Ashland City, Tennessee, in keeping the crowd guessing with videos, icebreakers, crazy games, and candid interviews with speakers. Comedian Jonnie W. brought razor-sharp wit and offbeat comedy for a truly unique humor experience. Between main stage speakers, attendees worshiped enthusiastically with Meredith Andrews, Christian music artist, songwriter, and worship leader at Harvest Bible Church in Chicago, Illinois.

As the conference came to a close, attendees were challenged to consider the incredible amount of information received during the intense, three-day meeting and narrow it down to simple, achievable steps and then deliberately pursue those steps in their homes and churches.
Hunter introduced the 2019 theme reCalibrate, to be explored when D6 meets in Florida, September 26-28. For more information, visit www.D6Conference.com.

About the Writer: Eric K. Thomsen is managing editor of ONE Magazine and president of the Evangelical Press Association. Email: eric@nafwb.org.