Heritage is powerful. God saved Lot because of his family heritage through Abraham. If it wasn’t for Abraham’s intercession, Lot would have been destroyed along with Sodom.
Everyone who knows the story of Lot remembers that his family became enemies to Israel. God pronounced judgement on them. The godly heritage of his uncle, which could have been passed on, was destroyed.
Why? Because of Lot’s choices. He chose the better fields, subsequently, “pitching his tent toward Sodom.” (Gen. 13:8-13) He later lived in the city of Sodom and would have gone up in flames with it if it wasn’t for Abraham. (Gen. 18:22-33)
Lot’s daughters commit incest with him because he set an example of low morality. Though his family heritage saved him from destruction, his choices ruined that heritage and failed to save his own family.
If You’re Tempted to Toss Out Your Heritage, You’re Not Alone
There are times I am tempted to discard everything from my Anabaptist heritage. When I see how ineffective we are at truly making faithful disciples of Christ, or when I hear about another sexual molestation that was swept under the rug, or a pastor playing politics and failing to authentically lead his congregation to a deeper walk with Jesus—all of this makes me wonder if there’s much worth clinging to in my Anabaptist heritage.
The fact is, though, that there are values I deeply appreciate in my Anabaptist heritage. I’m sure no matter what your background is, you also appreciate parts of your heritage. While every “home” has junk, any Christian legacy has valuable assets worth embracing.
Certain aspects of the Anabaptist church do concern me, and I have discussed them in other articles. But I want to make clear that the reason they concern me is because I care about my heritage.
Some might assume that because I speak honestly about issues in the Anabaptist church I am reacting and negative. Pastors may feel as though I’m picking apart their work, and I can see why they’d feel that way. But my intention is not to create a renegade movement against the Anabaptist church, but a movement of healthy, biblical pursuit of Jesus.
There’s confusion in the church and we’ve got to talk about it. I’ve seen it closely because my Dad is an Anabaptist pastor—has been all my life. Mentors of mine are Anabaptist pastors and teachers.
Even my close friends are Anabaptists, yet most of them are honestly wrestling with serious issues. When we refuse to be authentic about the problems, it alienates people from our heritage. Because of that, many young adults are throwing it all away.
But here’s the deal: just as Lot experienced, our choices may not affect us during our lifetime—we could be saved because of our heritage. But what will happen to our children? Will we pass on a godly heritage?
11 Values in My Anabaptist Heritage I Want to Pass on to My Children
There are eleven values I genuinely appreciate in my Anabaptist heritage because I believe they are biblically true. Or because they benefit my journey with Christ. For me to throw them away would not make me any more biblical. It would hurt my future family if I chose to drop these values from my legacy.
1. I appreciate that my Anabaptist heritage values community.
When Mom died, Dad faced many expenses dealing with the accident. But within a few days, people had donated more than enough to cover them. I couldn’t believe it! Tons of people came for the funeral—all the way to Colorado. Yes, it shows how much she was loved, but it primarily shows that our friends value community. They weren’t going to let us bury her alone.
Unlike many other subcultures in our nation. Which is why it’s the number one reason people say they are attracted to our house church in Los Angeles.
Because we value community, it hurts so much more when there are fractions within our communities. We all have experienced church conflicts (and I’m sure everyone is keenly aware how painful that is). That only goes to show how we value community. I want to pass that value on to my children.
2. I appreciate the two-kingdom theology my heritage taught me.
Many Christians are caught up in this earth (government politics, economy, career, money, fame, and accomplishments). Not that we never are, but in my heritage it’s actively taught that we are not of this world. We serve a different Kingdom. The Kingdom of God.
I appreciate that my heritage values serving God’s Kingdom over earthly kingdoms. It’s biblical and a key part of following Christ. I want to pass it on to my children.
3. I appreciate our four-part harmony music.
Do you realize how many people don’t know how to sing? Which is a good reason not to force it in church-plants, but I’m glad I was taught how to sing—and sing parts. I want to pass that on to my children and others who want to learn.
4. I appreciate our willingness to take cultural stands.
Too often, Christians float along with society and not being a part of transforming it. The fact that our heritage teaches us to live counter-culturally is a tremendous blessing when it comes to making disciples. If it’s not idolized, it allows us to befriend cultural people and lead them to the counter-cultural person, Jesus.
The only problem with this is when our cultural stands that are not necessarily biblical become a culture in and of themselves.
It’s easier for me to take a stand against culture because I was taught it. I want to pass it on to my children.
5. I appreciate how we value lifestyle application.
In other words, we live what we believe. Maybe we believe wrongly, sometimes. And maybe what we teach isn’t always complete, but the value is to apply scripture to how we live life.
Following Christ does radically transform our lifestyles. That’s a value I was given from my heritage and I want to pass it on to my children.
6. I appreciate the theology of salvation that I was taught.
It is a complex subject and one that will always have a level of mystery to it, but I’m glad that I was taught a balanced perspective of man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty. Faith without works is dead. Yet, we are saved by grace. Praise God! I want to pass that on to my children.
7. I appreciate that character is valued more than fashion.
When plainness becomes our hallowed fashion, we no longer value character more. But I’m grateful that my heritage has given me a proper priority of depth over style.
Many cool people go to hell. And not all Christ-followers are cool. Which seems to be the most important? I want to pass on to my children a value for character.
8. I appreciate that my heritage taught me to submit myself to the Bible
The Bible is often abused. It’s not a rulebook. It’s not a list of expectations or a how-to manual. And certainly not a hammer for peoples’ heads. The Bible is God’s love letter to His creation. It has “rules” in it—that are based out of love. It has expectations and how-to’s, but the point of God’s Word is to communicate His love.
When we no longer submit ourselves to the authority of God’s Word, we not only rid ourselves of the feeling of “legalism,” we also distance ourselves from experiencing the Father’s love. His warnings against homosexuality, for example, are not because He hates people, but because He knows that lifestyle will hurt them deeply and eternally ruin their family.
God loves you! And I want to pass that love and reverence for His Word on to my children.
9. I appreciate the value of wives being keepers at home.
To be honest, it seems like we’re even losing this. Being a wife and mother and keeping a home doesn’t seem to be considered quite as worthwhile as a pursuing a career or accomplishing something great right now. I believe mothers are foundational to passing on godly heritage. The most radical work anyone could do is teach their children about Father God’s love for them and how we love Him in return.
I’m not opposed to ladies getting college educations or having careers. That can actually add to their “keeping at home.” But the life pursuit of raising a family (which I think many women want in one form or another) is a value my heritage taught me and my wife. And I want to pass it on to our children.
10. I appreciate that my heritage values marriage between one man and one woman for life.
When marriage is compromised it leads to all kinds of confusion. My heritage has done a good job of passing on the value of marriage as God intended.
Will it always be that way? We seem to be weak in true marital oneness, but the fact that my wife and I come from families who learned commitment even during hard times instead of defaulting to divorce makes it easier for my wife and I to work through tough times than those whose heritage has allowed for divorce even over differences. I want to pass that on (and so much more) to my children.
11. Lastly, I appreciate that my heritage values family.
That’s what heritage is all about—family. If it isn’t for family (whether physical or spiritual), we don’t have heritage. Family is the key to transforming society. When we follow Christ as a family and take Him into other families, God’s Kingdom grows exponentially.
Along with marriage, family is a picture of God and His people. When a Christian family is broken, it’s an awful misrepresentation of Him. When a Christian family is healthy, it’s a powerful attraction to even the most hardened unbeliever.
I want to pass on the value of family to my children.
Heritage Compounds Everything
The fact that my parents had parents who taught them to sing and that my parents taught me to sing makes it so much easier to teach my children to sing. People who weren’t taught to sing will find it difficult to teach their children to sing. On the flip side, we need to sort through the junk and get rid of it because if we don’t, it multiplies in the same way and our children could be destroyed. Heritage compounds.
So here’s the question, what am I about to throw out (which I learned easily because it’s a part of my heritage) that my great-grandchildren might wish they knew?
If I discard it, they may never regain it. They may be spiritually destroyed.
Here’s What I Want You to Do
Evaluate your upbringing—your family, church, things you were taught at Bible school—and filter it all through scripture. Consider what might be valuable even if it’s not expressly addressed in the Bible.
Think through issues you are facing and what you wish your parents and pastors would empower you with, right now. Then think about how your grandchildren will feel the same thing over different issues.
You’ll need to be honest about whether there’s bitterness in your evaluation. People usually leave what they are hurt by. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be hurt. I’m saying if you don’t resolve that, it could be dangerous for your future family. You probably won’t be that affected by your decisions. But your family will be.
Don’t risk destroying a godly heritage, as Lot did. Embrace the struggle in sorting through the good and the bad. Then pass on what’s good. It’s there.
When you find what you appreciate about your heritage, let me know in the comments.
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