The Plan (Phase 2 Family)

I was reviewing and making some changes to "The Plan", and figured I would repost it for everyone to see. That way once again you can check it out and keep up with me as I talk through and explain what my thoughts are. Please check it out and feel free to post thoughts and ideas.

Phase 1 (Spiritual)

1. Essays
a. Explain your salvation and how it is justified in scripture.
b. Explain what a Godly man is and why you should be considered as such.
c. Explain how your life plan and world vision will impact the world for Christ.

2. Memorization
a. 23 Psalm
b. John 3:16-18
c. 1 Cor 10:31
d. Matt 6:33
e. 10 Commandments

3. Biblical Manhood (Dr. Voddie Baucham)
a. View all 8 episodes.
b. Define “Biblical Manhood”
c. According to Dr Baucham, what are the 3 requirements for “Biblical Manhood”?

4. Biblical Womanhood (Dr. Voddie Baucham)
a. View all episodes.
b. Define “Biblical Womanhood”
c. According to Dr Baucham, what are the requirements for “Biblical Womanhood”?

5. 200 Year Plan
a. View the 200 year plan

6. Complete a service project. (Bring me 3 ideas, then we’ll implement one of them.)
a. Integrity first.
b. Service before self.
c. Excellence in all we do.

7. Devise a plan and schedule to read the Bible all the way through, and implement it!

8. Name the 7 abominations to God and explain them.


Phase 2 (Family)

1. What is the Stapp Family Mission Statement?

2. What are the Stapp Family Catechisms?

3. What is the Stapp family basic financial strategy.
a. No Debt
b. What is the exception

4. What is the Stapp Family view regarding relationships with females?
a. Protector
b. Dating
c. Sexual Purity

5. Marriage (What do we seek in a spouse) & Family
a. Spiritual Beliefs
b. Domestic Role
c. Progeny
d. Educational Preference
1. Home School
.

Phase 3 (Country/Community)

1. Read the Constitution

2. Memorize the Bill of Rights

3. Essay
a. Explain the First Amendment with regards to Religion.
b. Explain our purpose as Christians within the political process.

4. What is God’s purpose for your life within your community?



Phase 4 (Orsus of Vir)

1. Darkness

2. Base Camp

3. Mobilization

4. Celebration


Phase 5 (Written Contract of Manhood)

1. Recognition

2. Chores

3. Privileges

4. Job

5. Discipline

My next blog post will be regarding my boys and the relationships that they develope with members of the opposite sex.

Catch You Later,

Joe

The Plan (Phase 2 Family)

The picture that you see posted is of my two oldest sons, Wil who just turned 14, and Alec who's 11. They are soaking wet after getting caught in the rain during one of their morning runs. We home school, so we have the flexibility to do things our way, one of which is PE, (I prefer PT, being military) this is done first thing in the morning. The boys at this point have built up to a 3 mile run, this particular morning they got to the half way mark when the bottom dropped out, with a fair share of thunder and lightening I might add. I had taken the day off and got out of bed and figured I'd drive down and get them, they were already coming up the driveway so I ran and got the camera. It reminded me of my younger days in the military when every once in a while you'd have a nasty day doing PT, good times HOOAH!

You might be asking yourself how does this fit into the "The Plan"? Well, let me tell you, how it fits in, and what the segway is. For me the element of PT will play a pivotal role in my boys final phase where they will be challenged physically. Physical fitness plays a major role, in teaching the boys how to take care of their "Temple", an idea engrained in me by the military. Physical preparation for battle! My boys need to learn how to take care of and condition their bodies. They do this by running, push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, air squats and so on.

How does all this fit into the plan? Here we go, just as the boys PT for physical strength so do we also need to train them spiritually, using drills. Just as I've discussed before with the utilization of scripture memorization, reading of the bible, and now I think catechising. CATEWHAT? You might be saying, catechizing. Catechism is defined as oral instruction. You already do this to some degree and don't realize it. When I brought this idea to my boys they nailed it the first time, I asked them for an example of a family catechism that we already use. They blurted out "SUCK IT UP, AND DRIVE ON!!". Not quite what I had in mind, never the less a good start. Now we need to work on spiritual oral instruction, or as our buddy Webster puts it; a manual for catechizing; specifically: a summary of religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers. What better way to drill our children spiritually.

This realization came to me from Doug Phillips from the 200 Year Plan. Disk 4 covers "Family Catechism". He does a combination of both spiritual and family catechism, and boy does he have it nailed down. Here is an example, don't tell him that I borrowed it for my use...LOL This catechism is references to money and debt, and it states;

What is Debt? Debt is servitude; and it is better to be Christ's free man with little, than another's slave with much. Doug Phillips

That is a Phillips family catechism that expresses their family view on debt, how profound. It's now a Stapp family catechism, each of my children will be indoctrinated with this truth, thanks Doug! How about you and your family? What family catechisms might you come up with to train your children and the generations to come? Let's move on to something much more important, a spiritual catechism. These are based off the Westminster Catechism. It would do us well to study these. Here are a just few.

1. What is the chief and highest end of man?

A. Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him for ever.

2. How doth it appear that there is a God?

A. The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God; but his Word and Spirit only, do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation.

3. What is the Word of God?

A. The holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.

The more I research the more I find, and it is amazing. Once again I encourage you to check this out and Google Christian Catechism. You might be amazed at what you find. Remember that Catechism both Spiritual and Family can be instrumental in training your boys for biblical manhood and in giving them a christian worldview.

Until next time, God Bless

Joe

The Plan (Phase 2 Family cont.)

Proverbs 22:7 NIV
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

What are your thoughts with regards to money and debt? What is your family's approach to money? Money is the number one cause of discontent and divorce in our nation. In addition to this the bible says; 1 Timothy 6:10 NIV
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Notice it says the LOVE of money, I don't wanna be taken out of context. So having said that, what do you teach your son or children about money. My sons are taught and will be required to explain the aforementioned verses. Why? Because there is so much that money can effect when it's not properly prioritized in our lives, and in relation to our values. Money is a tool to further God's kingdom, and besides it's not ours anyway, it all belongs to him.

My wife and I are fortunate that we are debt free, we have no other debts other than our house. We started that quest back in December of either '97 or '98 when me and Mary decided that we would no longer charge Christmas. It was soon after that, that the slow road towards becoming debt free began, and what a tedious road it was. I would encourage you to take that road if you haven't already.

Here are the rules that we wish to impart to our sons regarding their finances.

1. Be debt free (there may be some exceptions with regards to home ownership, I'm not quite sure as to where that line may be, and it may differ with you)
2. 10% Goes to tithe
3. 10% Goes to savings
4. Pray for God to guide you in offering
5. Live beneath your means

If I can instill these values in my sons now they will be far ahead of the power curve. I didn't learn some of these truths or implement some of them till I was in my late 20's. I can only imagine where I might be now financially if I had followed these guidelines. But we can empower our kids now and give them that edge, don't they deserve it?

The Plan (Phase 2)

Phase 2 is based on the family. I'm gonna mention several things, with regards to the family, that I'm in the process of doing. I say that to demonstrate that I don't have this thing bagged, although I'm trying. What is your family about, do you have a mission statement? What does your family believe about education, do you discipline, how and why do you discipline? What is your family's view and attitude on sexual purity, how about dating vs courting? Does your family subscribe to the current culture, if not how do you fight against the influences of this culture? What is your family's take on finances, debt, and tithe? Does your family have a Christian Worldview, and if so how is it being taught to your children?

Whew! Let me take a breath, that's allot of questions. Having said that can your son answer these questions? If he can, GREAT!! If not, why not? As fathers our job is to train our boys to be men, does anybody disagree with this? Than why is it that we don't address these items. Take this time to reflect on the direction of your family, the direction of your sons. Make no mistake about it, you screw up with your sons you screw up future generations, you cripple your legacy. Is that how you wanna be remembered by your grandsons? There is that saying that "As the father goes, so goes the son". We've all heard that in one shape or form, and it's so true. Here is the cool thing though, God is merciful and abounding in grace. We can break the generational curse, we can bust the paradigm, and break the mold.

My father loves me, I have no doubt of that at all. But he didn't have a good fatherly example to show him what a good Godly father was. So when the time came to train me up he didn't know how to be the spiritual leader of his home. He knew to give me a good ethic, but to be a Godly man? He didn't know how. I'm blessed in that through my church and other Christian men, and my personal time with God I've somehow gotten a clue on this, in fact I think it's a calling on my life. Think about these things, as I elaborate on these issues in future posts. Remember the cool things is that everything here reverts back to phase 1. Phase 1 is our base to build from, and that base is God. How awesome is that?

God Bless

Joe

The Plan

Good evening everybody, I hope everyone had a good Labor Day Weekend. The Stapp family had a blast. Friends and Family make all the difference.

I don't have have alott of time tonight to dive into phase 2 of, "The Plan" so I'll just make a couple of comments regarding phase 1. In light of everything that we have covered in the spiritual aspect of a boys rite of passage we also need to address the power of prayer and fasting. I got so caught up in the different aspects of my son's spiritual walk and the things that he needs to lock away in his heart that prayer needs to addressed along with the importance of fasting. So expect in the coming weeks and months for me to readdress these critical tools and give them their riteful place in my outline.

Until then remember that your most important mission field is under your own roof.

Later,

Joe

The Plan (Phase 1 conclusion)

Woohoo! I hope everybody is having a great Labor Day weekend.
Mine is going pretty good. I went out and did some fishing with some guys from our life group and men's group from church. I nailed a Spanish Mackeral, first one I ever caught and they taste pretty good too.

Any way on to the blog, bounce this around and let me know what you think. I have a community service requirement built into the rite of passage. I'm unsure as to where this best fits into the outline, I initially put it into Phase 1 (Spiritual) and then thought maybe it goes into Phase 3 (Country/Community). I'm gonna pull it back into Phase 1. The requirement is for Wil to come up with some sort of community service project, and the only guidance that I've given him on that is to present me three different ideas for us to discuss and that we'll choose one for him to pursue. That's all that I state for that requirement. I don't elaborate or volunteer any information on this task for one specific reason, I want to see how innovative he chooses to be. If I start giving him unsolicited examples he'll focus on those things instead of praying and giving deliberate thoughtful intent to this project. I'll keep this project under Phase 1 because it instills in him that service to our community is a Biblical obligation (with regards to charity and alms) and displays an example of servitude that can serve as a testimony to what Christ has done in our lives. I'll let you know how this one turns out and what choices he brings me and what we choose to do.

Well that concludes Phase 1, my next post that i'll jump into later on is that of Family or Phase 2. The more I think about it the more I see how it will overlap with Phase1, and I think you'll find it to be true with Phase 3 (Country/Community). Do you know what the ultimate result is? IT'S ALL INTERTWINED, WE CAN'T SEPERATE, SEGREGATE, ISOLATE, DISASSOCIATE, DISJOINT, DETACH Etc.... Our Christian life is to be woven through out all aspects of our life, entertainment, politics, work, every aspect is to proclaim that we are Christians!

God Bless,

Joe

The Plan (Phase 1 cont.)

What a week, TGIF! Well we just started our family game night back up tonight, the kids are excited. So between that and my pathetically slow typing it'll take a while to get this post done.

Anyway we left off last time on Phase 1 of my plan and I had mentioned Voddie. So I guess we pick up with that. Actually after looking back I see that we started a little on the "Multi Generational Plan". I wanna give my boys a vision beyond themselves, I want them to get the bigger picture of how a family can impact the world for Christ. Imagine this, imagine 5, 10, or 15 generations after you in the Lord's service. What a legacy! So to try and impart that ideology or paradigm to my children more specifically my oldest son at this time, we both watch "The 200 Year Multi Generational Plan" by Doug Phillips at Vision Forum Ministries. If you've got something else that the Lord had personally laid on your heart make it happen. I'm just giving you the logic behind why I'm structuring my plan for Wil, pray and do what you need to for your son, but remember we should all have a heart for our future generations.

Another thing that I urge you to do, that is required of Wil is a plan to read through the Bible all the way through. Now I'm gonna step on some toes here, and I won't apologise for it. I'm guilty of this as well, and I need to remedy it. We as Christian men need to read the Bible all the way through, does anybody want to refute that? If so shame on you, there is no excuse for not reading the word. I understand that not everybody is inherently a reader or a writer, OH WELL, as I tell my boys "Suck it up, and drive on". Make it happen. I'm not much of a reader but I'm making myself do it, and God understands that. To say that you're not gonna do it, or I'm just not wired that way, cause I'm not a reader is shirking your duty as a Christian man. We have enough wimpy "Christian" men, be the exception. Anyway, Wil is required to read through the Bible, and to provide a written plan on how he is gonna do this. Since I'm behind the power curve on this in relation to the time that I want to perform his rite of passage I've required the written plan for this. However, his younger brothers will have enough lead time on this that they'll be able to accomplish this feat before their initiations. You may wonder why I've added this, my preceding statements which no doubt will offend someone, state this clearly. Yet I must admit there is another reason, why should we not expect this of our boys, the future leaders of our churches, families, and our nation. The Muslims require that their children read through and know the Koran, this is the fastest growing religion in the world, and they know how to equip their boys for spiritual warfare, why are we not pressing with the same fervor? Oh I forgot American Christianity for most is just a Sunday ritual, silly me.

Lastly for Phase 1 I want them to list the 7 abominations to the Lord that are listed in the Bible. They need to know those things that our Lord is adamantly against, just as much as they need to know and recite the 10 Commandments. How many of you can recite the 10 Commandments off the top of your head without blinking an eye? How many of you can rattle off the 7 abominations? It all comes down to how well do you know your scripture. Do you want your boys to be at the same spiritual level you are now when they reach your present age, whatever it might be? I don't, just want my boys to be spiritual power houses ready for any Biblical challenge, and I can't wish that for them and not give them the tools to accomplish it. When it's all said and I don't want my boys to stand before me and ask me, "Dad, why didn't you tell me, why didn't you equip me for battle?"

Well guys and gals, I hope you have a great weekend, and I hope that you are considering a rite of passage for your boys. I'm certain that they'll love you for it and cherish the time you took to make it happen.

Luke 2:51-52 (New International Version)
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.


God Bless,

Joe

The Plan (Phase 1 cont.)

Long day today so this post will be short. We only get one shot at this, parenting that is, we need to maximize our time and make it count. Our responsibility goes beyond just our children. Are you preparing your sons, and your daughters to win the next generation for Christ. Are you working with a purpose towards a multi generational plan? Until about a year ago all I thought about was the here and now, the thought of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren were just a passing "Ahhhhhh, won't it be nice", kinda thought. Their spiritual status wasn't a very pressing issue. If you've thought about them in that manner, spiritually that is, good on you. You're ahead of the power curve. Part of Phase 1 is going to include a multi generational aspect that I want to instill in my sons. Oh, if only what I had known at their age what I know now, imagine the possibilities. I would strongly encourage you to check out Doug Phillips DVD series entitled "How to Disciple Your Family, A Plan for Generational Victory". Other resources along this line can be found at www.visionforum.org.

Well Goodnight and God Bless,

Joe