Four Kinds of Christian Grandparents – Part One

The first ever national Grandparenting Summit (conference) in Frisco, Texas is history. What an amazing experience being part of a movement of God to call an army of godly grandparents to a life of intentionality that matters for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Larry Fowler, CEO of the Legacy Coalition, and the man behind the vision for the movement, gave a stirring challenge to all of us from the very first session to stand up and declare our commitment to this cause. At the end of this blog I will share that Declaration written by Larry, but embraced by hundreds of attendees at this conference.

Before we look at that declaration, I thought it would be valuable to share some of Larry’s thoughts about four different kinds of Christian grandparents. I would urge you to consider them and ask yourself which one best describes you. Here we go…

1. Biblical grandparents: Biblical grandparents “get it”, but they are not perfect – often, far from it. They understand their role and have a clear mission concerning the biblical mandate to teach and tell the next generations the truth about God and His redemption plan. They are living to make much of Christ in their lives so their grandchildren will know what it means to know, love and serve Christ wholeheartedly. Biblical grandparents put into practice the instructions of Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:1-8, and Ephesians 5:15 to make the most of every opportunity to impress the things that truly matter upon the hearts and minds of their grandchildren. They are committed to the authority of God’s Word, not to be used as a club, but as a testament to God’s greatness, goodness and grace.

2. Cultural grandparents: Cultural grandparents are often highly engaged, and wonderfully devoted. Possibly, they just have never thought about spiritual intentionality, and are not aware of the Scriptural patterns, principles, and commands. Without that understanding they tend to focus their energy on doting over their grandchildren, or giving support to their grandchildren, but with little attention to building that legacy of faith and truth. There’s nothing wrong with some amount of ‘doting’ or ‘spoiling, but cultural grandparents see their roles primarily from the perspective of enjoying and winning their grandchildren’s approval.

3. Blocked grandparents: These grandparents may desire to fulfill their biblical role, but they are “blocked” — in other words, there is some kind of barrier that gets in the way of fulfilling their biblical roles. The barrier is usually an issue of distance; sometimes, it is geographical distance, and the grandparents wonder, “How can I influence my grandchildren when they live so far away and I see them so little?”  But often, the distance is relational, with the barrier due to a broken or tense relationship.  Parents may be disinterested in the idea of spiritual impact by the grandparents, or even worse, they may completely forbid all spiritual influence.

4. Unequipped grandparents: This type of grandparent wants to make a difference but feels inadequate to do so. Perhaps because of fear, guilt, or ignorance, unequipped grandparents may be unaware of the tools that God has provided, or they may be unsure how to use them. Their desire to make a difference is often stifled by feelings of inadequacy.

Which of these four, or combinations of these, describe you? The Christian Grandparenting Network and the Legacy Coalition are here to help grandparents anywhere move toward being effective and intention Biblical grandparents. Part Two of this article will focus on some practical ways to become more biblical grandparents in whatever situation you find yourself.

This blog and numerous other resources are at your disposal to help you overcome the obstacles to being significance spiritual influencers with your grandchildren. Contact us if we help in any way (info@christiangrandparenting.net or charper@legacycoalition.com)

Click Here to download the Intentional Christian Grandparent Declaration I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Written and presented by Larry Fowler, CEO of the Legacy Coalition for the first National Legacy Grandparenting Summit, I invite you to join the ranks of thousands of grandparents who have made this their declaration.