Family Discipleship Minute 3: What's All This Then?

The last couple of posts aimed to convince you that you really can take responsibility for your children's spiritual development. Hopefully, you have at least become motivated to take a closer look at family discipleship. With that hope in mind, it is time to share some foundational thoughts on this topic.

If you live your life like most folks in middle America these days, you send your kids to school for professional educators to teach them reading, writing, and 'rithmetic, along with physical education, art, music, science, and history. You probably also send them to someone else to teach them to play sports, dance, play the piano, etc. Further, you probably take them to church and expect Sunday school teachers, AWANA leaders, children's ministers, youth ministers, pastors, and so forth to teach your kids about God, impart biblical knowledge to them, and instill biblical values within them. We have really become a culture where parents, in a variety of ways, "farm out" the training of their children to other people.

Families today hand over the education of their children to others for a variety of reasons. Possible explanations for this may include time constraints, a feeling that others can do a better job of teaching a specific subject than we can, a mindset that we are not successful as parents unless our children turn out a certain way, and no telling how many others. However, even if there are good reasons to allow others to educate our children, is that always the best idea? More importantly, is it the biblical idea?

 

As Christians, our desires should not be what is best from a societal perspective, but what is right from a spiritual perspective. For example, society says a person is successful if he makes a lot of money; whereas God says someone is successful if she loves Him and loves her neighbor. Further, just because someone is better at something than we are does not automatically mean we should allow them to do it for us. How can a person ever grow at something if he continuously turns that task over to another? When it comes to children, the Bible puts the responsibility (and privilege) for their spiritual development squarely on the shoulders of parents. This does not mean that parents should not seek and utilize the help of others. However, it does mean that parents must always take the lead role in discipling their children, regardless of whether or not they feel equipped to do so.

This principle, that parents should lead their children spiritually, shows up in direct and indirect ways in the Bible. The story of Adam and Eve serves as an indirect example. Genesis 4:3-4 relate that Cain and Able both brought offerings to the Lord. Why did they do that? The only plausible explanation is that Adam and Eve taught them to worship God.

Direct teaching of this principle shows up in Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6, among other places. Deuteronomy 6 is a chapter of great importance to Jews and should be to Christians as well. The chapter records Moses’s instruction to the Israelites regarding how to dwell in the promised land as God’s covenant people. They needed to love God, to internalize His commands, and to “impress them on your children.” The idea that parents should nurture their children’s relationships with God is a crucial theme in this chapter. Further, the use of masculine pronouns in the Hebrew text indicates that this responsibility falls directly to the fathers. This does not mean that mothers do not do this too or that it is wrong for mothers to shoulder this job when the father neglects it.

This principle is not one simply for the Old Testament. It is for all of God’s covenant people as Ephesians 6 demonstrates. Verse 4 of this chapter is a direct command exhorting fathers to “bring [your children] up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” This does not exclude allowing your children to sit under the authority of biblically qualified elders and teachers. However, it certainly indicates that the parent must do more than merely expose kids to other’s leadership. 

Give Deuteronomy 6 a careful reading. In my opinion, it is really difficult to walk away from this text without realizing how seriously God expects His people to take their relationship with Him and how throroughly devoted parents should be to the spiritual coaching of their offspring. I hope that after reading the chapter you will be excited to begin the process of serving God as a family. But, even if you are not, make it a matter of prayer and remember last week's admonition that you will not be doing this alone.

Some questions to ponder or comment on:

What do you feel comfortable teaching your children rather than sending them to someone else to learn?
What are your immediate goals for your child?
What kind of adult do you want him/her to be?
Are you feeling excitement or fear about family discipleship? 

Family Discipleship Minute (2)

 The theme of this series is that you, Christian parent, are responsible to be the primary spiritual trainer of your children, and you should not relinquish this responsibility to anyone else. The purpose of this specific post is to continue last week's encouragement; you CAN do this. Last week's ideas were very logistical and practical. Today, the focus is more on spiritual reality that will, hopefully, inspire you to embrace this role and begin your family discipleship journey.

Last week's article proposed that lack of time, lack of knowledge, and lack of skill are three common obstacles causing parents to shy away from bringing spiritual formation into the home. The post argued that these obstacles can be overcome with some practical ideas, and today will expand on that to say that you can count on God to empower you to accomplish this.

You may have heard people say that God will not put anything on you that you cannot handle. I think that notion stems from a bad understanding of 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." Clearly, this verse says that God will not allow you to face a temptation that you are not capable of resisting. Somehow, people have jumped from that truth to the idea that God will not give you assignments you cannot handle. The Christian life simply does not work that way. God gives us assignments we cannot handle to force us to rely on Him, and so that His power will be on display for us, and others, to see.

Think about the Israelites and their assignment to conquer the promised land. In Numbers 13 and 14 the people had to decide whether to obey God and enter the land or disobey. They chose to disobey because they did not believe they could handle the assignment. Forty years later, the next generation of Israelites faced the same decision. They entered the land and engaged the seemingly impenetrable city of Jericho. Joshua 6 describes the victory which was obviously accomplished through God's power and not that of the Israelites. This illustrates the principle above, God gives you assignments you cannot do so that He can accomplish it through you.

So it is, Mom and Dad. God is asking you to do a job that is daunting and harder than you can do by yourself. The beauty of it is that you do not have to do it by yourself. He, by the power of His Spirit, will equip you to train your children the way He wants you to. What you have to do, like the Israelites, is take that first step of obedience. Get started training your children and count on God to empower you to do what you think you cannot.

Some questions to think about. Feel free to discuss in the comments:

What obstacles do you face to discipling your kids?
What goals do you have for your children?
What accomplishments have you had in your life that were clearly due to the power of God?

View the Future Wisely

 This morning I went over to Pecan Grove to pick up some more pecans. I've been twice this fall with great results both times. Today, however, was different. The nuts have already begun to go bad. For every good one I found, there were probably four or five that were already split open or mildewed. Realizing that I had waited too long to go back started a stream of thoughts.

The end of this year's pecan crop is a signal that fall is winding down and winter is only a couple of weeks away. Of course, here in central Texas winter doesn't change things too much. It does not get extremely cold and things are not covered in a blanket of snow and ice (at least not very often.) However, winter is a reminder that everything is constantly changing and there is nothing any of us can do to slow or stop the march of time.

Thinking about the changing seasons and the march of time, I  began to ponder the future in two ways. First, I wondered what changes the coming year would bring. In my family right now, there are multiple health concerns as well as financial concerns. Further, the larger socio-political issues of our day weigh heavily on my psyche. Basically, I was falling to the temptation of anticipating the future with worry.

On the other hand, I was excited about next year's pecan crop. I realized that had I invested a little more time and not procrastinated I could have harvested a bumper stash of the little treasures, and I was gleeful about the thought of picking up pounds and pounds of pecans next fall. This reveals another danger in a hyper-focus on the future. Namely, we can be so mindful of something yet to come that we fail to experience and enjoy the present. My parents used to tell me, "don't wish your life away." We can be so intent on wishing for the next thing which excites us that we overlook the present joys.

In a few minutes of time, I was guilty of two flawed ways of facing the future. The Bible offers us a more balanced approach to dealing with things to come. First, we should not worry about the future because God is in control. Jesus teaches about this in Matthew 6. Verses 25-26 say, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" He continues the discussion for several verses, but the idea is apparent. Worrying about things does not help anything. Better to trust God, seek Him, and live life one day at a time.

Second, while we should not worry about the future, we also should not ignore it. We need to anticipate the future enough to make reasonable plans. Further, the plans we make should be guided by our best understanding of God's leadership in our lives. James 4:13-15 says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

Time marches on indeed. As Christians we should plan reasonably for the future, but we should not worry about it or focus so intently on it that we miss the good things God has for us today. We should use our time wisely to build His kingdom, finding the joy He offers in each moment.

Family Discipleship Minute (1)

 Last week I committed to begin posting ideas for Christian parents. My hope is to help you be the primary spiritual trainers of your family. I do not presume to teach you. Rather, I hope to encourage you, assist you, point you towards helpful resources, and provide a place where others in the same boat can ask questions of one another. Today I want to be an encouragement by trying to help you see past some obstacles. 

Perhaps the three biggest things that people see as barriers to leading their families spiritually are lack of knowledge, lack of skill, and lack of time. In other words, parents feel that they do not know enough about the Bible or basic Christian doctrine to teach their children about theological matters, they do not believe they know how to lead their kids spiritually, and they do not believe they have the time in their busy schedules to make this happen in the home. I do not discount these beliefs and feelings. However, I believe you can overcome them, so let me give you a few practical counterpoints.

First, let's talk about the notion that you, as a parent, do not know enough about Scripture, theology, or God to train your children. For the sake of argument, let us assume a worst-case scenario in which the parents are brand-new Christians and truly know almost nothing about God or the Bible. To those parents, and all others, I would say, "start where you are." Nobody knows everything but everybody knows something. Even if you are a brand-new Christian, you know at least what it takes to share the gospel because someone shared it with you. You know what sin is because you recognized it in your own life. You know that Jesus is Savior and Son of God because you trusted him for salvation. If that is all you know, then that is where you start with your kids.

Teachers have an old saying, "give me a book and a week's head start and I can teach anyone anything." Parents, start where you are, grab The Book, and learn something from it. Next week, you will be able to teach your children what you learned. 

Second, let's talk about the skill factor. You may have trepidation because you do not think you know how to impart spiritual truth to your family. Pause and think just a minute. How much did you know about how to be a parent when your first child was born? Probably not much. Yet, how much have you taught your children since then. Did you teach your kids to bathe themselves, get dressed, bush their teeth, tie their shoes, use proper manners, ride a bike, get along with their siblings, ask for help, throw a ball, bake cookies, or anything else? You may have failed on your first attempts at these things, but you eventually succeeded (or you are still trying). Consider it on the job training. Well, on the job training is perfectly acceptable when figuring out the practical ways to pass faith on to your kids.

You can begin to learn how to lead your family spiritually by actually doing it. Further, you can get help in this department through a multitude of resources. You can find many of these types of resources online. To get you started, may I suggest checking out Visionary Family Ministries, Faith At Home, and D6. Obviously, these are not the only ministries that can help you in this arena. If you do not like these, simply search the web or talk to your pastor and I'm sure you can find one you like.

Third and finally, let's talk about the matter of time. The first counterpoint to the lack of available time is to use what I will call multi-purpose time. Multi-purpose time is time that is already blocked off in your schedule during which you could do more than one thing. For example, do you have a bedtime routine with your kids? If so, talk to them about God while you are getting them ready for bed. Do you  eat at least one meal each week together as a family? Use this mealtime to discuss a Bible verse. Do you wake your kids up in the morning? Sit on the bed and pray with them while you are trying to get them up. Do you drive your kids to school? Instead of listening to the radio or talking on the phone, talk about Sunday's sermon on the way to school on Monday. See what I mean? Use time that is already blocked off to kill two birds with one stone.

Now I have another counterpoint to the time objection, but you may not like it. At the risk of sounding trite, let me suggest to you that we make time for what is important to us. Do you have time to play games on social media? Do you have time to work? Do you have time to see friends? Do you have time to exercise? Do you have time for little league? Do you have time for date night? Do you have time for the evening news? Do you have time to read the paper? Do you have time for PTA meetings, cub scouts, and dance classes? If you have time for things like that, but you do not have time for family discipleship, then you probably need to rethink your priorities.

That last sentence may have sounded harsh. The truth is, I want you to learn from my mistakes. When my kids came along, I had many ideas for teaching them to love Jesus, but life got busy, and I did not manage to practice everything I thought I would. Now, frankly, I regret it. Put boundaries in your life and make family discipleship a priority. I firmly believe that when your kids head off to college you will be very glad you made the time for spiritual things.

In summary, if you think you do not know enough to lead your family spiritually, then start where you are (but keep learning.) If you think you do not know how to lead your family spiritually, then simply start trying and learn as you go. If you think you do not have time for family discipleship, then use the time you do have and consider reprioritizing other times. Leading your family in spiritual matters may seem daunting. However, you can do it; just get started, and you and your kids will grow together.

Thanks for reading this, I hope you found it challenging but encouraging.

Starting Over With Aids for Christian Parents

 One year ago today, I lost my platform for instructing Christian teens and parents. I say "lost;" some would say I gave it up and others would say it was taken from me. Which of those scenarios bears the most resemblance to reality is immaterial. What matters is that it was gone, and I was left to wonder if I was delusional. Had God really given me a message for the church and today's Christian parents? I have spent much time over the past year seeking God with regard to this question, and I believe that He truly has given me some timely insights for His people.

Believing that God has given me a message, I am obligated to share it. Therefore, my current endeavor is to use this blog as a new platform for encouragement, instruction, and training to Christian parents (and grandparents.) Of course, many others are already sharing similar messages through various media, and they do so much more eloquently and effectively than I ever could. Among those I commend to you Timothy Paul Jones, Rob Reinow, Ron Hunter, Will and Meeke Addison, Mark Holmen, and Voddie Baucham Jr. to name a few.

The writings, pod casts, videos, and in person teachings of those listed above and their ministries are outstanding. Then why do I think I should add my voice to the mix? First, I will not so much be adding my voice as echoing what these (and others) have been saying. The message is important and there are still many who have not heard or heeded it. Second, my goal is to try to present you with bite sized portions. Rather than giving you a long article, a podcast, an entire book, or a two-day conference, I hope to simply provide a five to ten minute read that will give you something to chew on, and/or apply, as you go about training your children that week.

Maybe you are wondering what "the message" I keep talking about is? It's very simple. It is your responsibility to be the primary spiritual leader of your children. You should not relinquish this job to your church or anyone else. Unfortunately, most Christian parents have already done this on two levels. One, they have willingly surrendered this job to leaders at their church. Second, they have also, without realizing it, allowed secular teachers and coaches to play a huge role in "discipling" their children. Hopefully, I can convince you of these things, but also can be your personal cheer leader encouraging you and providing practical tips along the way.

I'm excited about this fresh start. Please, check back here once a week to take a peek at the content. I pray it will be helpful to you. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Observations from Church-hopping Part 3

 This makes more sense with the explanation from part 1 which is here.  Part 2 is here. 

Time to wrap up some thoughts on our church visits over the past few months. Some things were good and some were bad; at least in my opinion. What about the ugly? Well, there was nothing theologically ugly which is wonderful. But, as mentioned in earlier posts we're not venturing out to churches that don't have a solid reputation so it is really not a surprise. To be totally honest, there was nothing ugly in any of the services we've participated in, so I'll just put one more "bad" item here in order to have a part 3.

The last bad thing is pretty common. My guess would be you would see it in any church you visited other than the tiniest ones. I suppose if you look at it from a certain perspective it is good and not bad, but to me it is a depressing and negative phenomenon. Here it is. It's sad to see ladies coming to worship while their husbands stay home (or go to the lake or golf course or whatever). Come on guys, step up and get in the game. 

Seriously, if  you're in church leadership may I suggest to you to stop trying so hard to reach children. Reach their fathers and let the fathers reach their own kids. 

The church-hopping will continue this Sunday. If future visits yield new info I'll report it on this blog.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Observations from Church-hopping Part 2

 You can read part 1 of this topic here.  Basically, I'm sharing some thoughts from our experiences over the last four months visiting a different church each week. At this point, we are not looking for one to join. Rather, we are simply trying to relax and enjoy worshiping without any responsibilities. Plus, we just want to learn how different churches operate their services. We have enjoyed our time, but there have been a few negative things.

The Bad

Now before I upset anyone, let me just say that most of what I am about to relate is only "bad" in my opinion. I'm sharing based on my preferences more than biblical precepts or principles. I am very aware that there are plenty of people who absolutely love the things that I dislike. You can take my ideas and consider if others might also feel that these things are bad (in which case you might want to make application). If you don't think they would, then at least maybe you'll be entertained for a minute.

The first thing that I'm identifying as bad in our church visits is how poor churches are at nailing the friendliness factor. Obviously, as Christians we want to be warm and welcoming to anyone who enters our meetings. We want them to feel loved so that they will be attracted to Jesus. One complicating factor is that humans come in a wide variety of personality types and what one might consider as friendly behavior, another might consider as too invasive or too much too soon.

Let me clarify that I am not speaking here about the official time of welcoming guests (although that time can be hard to nail too). I'm just talking about  how friendly people were to us when we were entering the campus, finding our way around, waiting for the service to start, leaving the service, etc. Unfortunately, most churches were underwhelming in this department. In some churches we were completely ignored or spoken to only minimally and with little joy or enthusiasm. On the other end of the spectrum, a church or two was way over the top. You really can be too casual and too personal with people when you are trying to make them feel welcome. Greeters and church members have to remember that people like their personal space and do not want to feel like you are trying to sell them something. Also, it takes time to build relationships. Don't try to act like you are someone's long lost best friend when you've just met them moments ago.

Why is this important? People form an opinion about your organization in the first seven minutes they spend on your campus. If you ignore them or overwhelm them in those seven minutes they are less likely to come back. Fortunately, a couple of the churches we visited did get this right. They made us feel welcomed and seemed genuinely interested in us. But, they did not overwhelm us or try to be too familiar. 

Bad thing number two- -annoying worship leaders. First of all, don't sing the same chorus for 15 minutes. Second, don't do medlies. Just pick some good songs and sing them individually. Let them speak. Third, I really don't care to see you hopping around, jumping to and fro, swaying back and forth, looking like you're constipated, beating your chest, flailing your arms, and so forth. Just stand there and smile and sing the song. If you want to lift a hand every now and then, go ahead. But don't make a big production of it. I didn't come to see a show and hopefully neither did anyone else. Fourth, don't tell me what to do. I don't need you to tell me to "put my hands together" or "raise your hands to Jesus" or whatever else you think I should do. I'm going to sing the song to Jesus and if I feel the need to do something else, that is between Him and me.

Bad thing number three- -bad sound mixing. If your instruments are turned up so loud that I cannot hear anyone singing, that's too loud. If the guitar is so loud that I cannot hear the melody from the keyboard, that's annoying. If the band is so loud that I can feel the base in my chest, that's ridiculous. If you have multiple singers but I can only hear one of them, that's annoying and a waste of time and talent. 

Bad thing number four- -Light shows. I know they are trendy and cool. I know they add ambiance. I know that you feel like you have to compete with the entertainment industry and lots of colored lights whirling around the sanctuary make you feel like you are. The reasons to have them are many. Personally, I don't think any of them are valid. However, if light shows make you happy I can deal with them . . . as long as you keep the spotlights OUT of my eyes!

Bad thing number five- -topical preaching. Okay, I know that sometimes there is a good reason to do this (I actually did it the other day when I was filling in for somebody). But for the most part you should be preaching expositionally and systematically through God's word. Let the text speak for itself and let God speak through the text. He knows what people need.

Bad thing number six- -churches with very few children in the service. Obviously, Covid has changed every church's attendance pattern but it is incredibly frustrating to me to see a worship service with few or no children. Come on moms and dads, let's get with it.

Gotta stop for now. Part 3 coming soon.

A Very Timely Message That You Should Internalize

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i60eQZPG5XM

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Observations from Church Hopping

"And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching."  Hebrews 10:24-25

Introduction

In November of 2020, after 25 years of ministerial service in a local church, I resigned from my post. Almost every Sunday since then, my wife, younger son, and I have visited a different church. Our purpose has not been to find a new church home but just to enjoy worshiping in different settings with different people. We wanted to see how folks do church in a variety of contexts other than what we were so familiar with. Honestly, it has been a breath of fresh air.

Along the way, someone suggested that we catalog our visits in a blog. I considered doing kind of a "play by play" blog recounting what we experienced each week. However, I was afraid it might hurt feelings if I disparaged someone's church or a favored leader. [Note, I know that basically nobody reads this blog so the chances of hurting someone's feelings are pretty minuscule. Still, I thought the respectful thing would be simply to write generically about what we have experienced.] Therefore, I decided to limit the writing to some general observations from our journey. I hope that it will edify and maybe even evoke contemplation of how you do church.

Before I get into what I've noticed, allow me to make a couple of disclaimers. One, I am unapologetically a Southern Baptist so my ideas are clearly slanted in favor of Baptist practices. That does not mean I'm looking down on you if you belong to a different denomination; we can agree to disagree about non-essential doctrines and practices. Two, this journey is not over as we have several more churches we want to visit. Therefore, I may update these thoughts as we have more experiences. Three, I am very aware that my opinions are not facts (I'm aware of this because of how often my wife tells me 😉). So when I say things that may seem critical, I'm not trying to cut anyone down, just telling you what I think. I realize that we all have preferences and what works for one may not work for another.

The Good

We have seen a number of good things through this process. Just to give you a little context, we have been to nine different churches (I think), including six different denominations and one non-denominational church so far. These churches have ranged in size from about 20 congregants to several hundred. The musical components have ranged from one leader with recorded tracks to highly produced, highly talented worship bands, and everything in between. Further, and this is interesting to me, all the preachers were very educated and had ministry experience. Finally, and this too fascinates me, partly because of the holiday season we did not get to hear the senior pastor at each church, which was a disappointment. However, we found that the "fill-ins" were very knowledgeable and well spoken.

So, what have been some of the good things we have experienced? One thing is simply the presence of God. It has been uplifting to be able to meet with God in such a variety of settings. Yes, I am Baptist. But it is refreshing to know that God shows up in the gatherings of my non-Baptist brethren, and refreshing to know that I can participate in worship with them.

A second thing has been the unity in the body of Christ. Everywhere we went, I felt very at home knowing that I was surrounded by brothers and sisters. We may worship in different places and in slightly different ways, but there is truly a connection that we have in Christ. I have honestly sensed this connection in the various churches we have visited despite being surrounded by strangers most weeks.

A third thing has been the preeminence of Jesus. Granted we have not wandered in to a church we knew to be progressive. In fact, we have known something of the reputation of each church so far. Yet, it has been exciting to note the exaltation of Christ in music and message each week. Truly we are, His church.

A fourth good thing has been the dependence on the word of God. For the most part, Scripture was taught, respected, and encouraged everywhere we have been. Again, we have intentionally not visited churches that we know have a low view of Scripture. However, it has been encouraging to see how the Bible is viewed over such a diverse spectrum of congregations.

A fifth and final good thing has been prayer. Honestly, it should not be a surprise that prayer played a key role in all these services. However, you (like I) have probably heard stories of pastors and congregations that do not pray enough. You have probably heard various leaders call for more prayer in the church. I do not doubt that we need more prayer in the church. But it surely has been good to witness the place that prayer has among all these congregations as they gather on Sunday mornings.

Well, this has become rather lengthy. I'm thankful for the good things we have had the pleasure of being part of as we have visited local churches. I must confess, though, that I did not appreciate everything. What were some bad things? I'll save those for the next post- -which will hopefully be within a couple of days.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Prophets Then and Now

I'm  reading through the Old Testament right now and am up to Ezekiel. Before starting a book I like to read the introductory notes in my HCSB Study Bible. In this case, one comment that caught my attention was that both Isaiah and Ezekiel had to preach to a people who would not heed what they had to say. I believe that Jeremiah basically fits that description too. These men had a call from God to minister to people who were not going to listen. Their success was based on their obedience and faithfulness to the message . . . not the response of the people. Isn't it interesting how far we have come?

For many ministers today, thier success is based on how many followers they have, how entertained their hearers feel, how many people "accept Christ" under their ministries, how big their churches are, etc. What happens to preachers/pastors/ministers who preach and teach accurately and faithfully but never draw big crowds or never see much spiritual growth within their congregations? They typically do not last long in those churches. 

Give some thought to this concept. What would the church at large be like if preachers were judged on their messages rather than the number of responses? What would the church be like if Christians were committed to their churches regardless of how entertained they felt? What would the church be like if  preachers stayed the course like Ezekiel and Isaiah instead of playing the consumeristic games that allowed them to keep their jobs?