Healthy Family

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

What constitutes a healthy family?  According to one family specialist, a healthy family is...      

1. Caring. Do you build bridges 

    instead of walls?

2. Respectful. Are people free to express their own opinions?

3. Convictional.  Is your family committed to a central value system?

4. Flexible. Are you willing to change the rules?

5. Expressive. Do you respond warmly to those in your family?

6. Responsible. Does each family member have some responsibility?

7. Initiating. Is your family involved in outside activities, 

    both apart and as a family?

8. Realistic. Do you see your family as others do?

[-- Howard Hendricks, Better Families Bulletin, March 1994, Volume 18:3

The characteristics above described a healthy biological family.  But these same qualities and characteristics can be applied to a spiritual family (a “church”), as well! How well do you think we here at East Cobb UMC do?  Are we caring, respectful, committed to a “central value system” (i.e., our Mission, Vision, and Values)?  Are we flexible, expressive, and responsible?  Do we initiate ministry outside ourselves, and are we realistic about the way others view us?

As we continue our “REACH” journey, I invite you to join me in giving thanks that we have a healthy spiritual family here at East Cobb UMC -- not a “perfect” one (no church is), but definitely a “healthy” one!  And just as each of us have found East Cobb UMC to be “family,” I invite us to support the work of “REACH” so that new persons today and long into the future will find a “family” home here, as well! Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

[FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR "REACH" JOURNEY HERE]