Parenting Backwards: Lessons from Addicts

Location: Faith Church East (5526 State Rd. 26 East, Lafayette)

Class time: 6:30-8:00pm (dates listed below)

Course description: What can working with addicts teach us about parenting? More than you might think. Parents and addicts often struggle with some of the same heart-level tendencies: overcomplicating problems, neglecting the basics, seeking quick fixes, choosing what is easiest, lacking perseverance, and pursuing the wrong goal. In this six-week Bible class, we will explore these lessons and discover how biblical wisdom and the gospel can help us become more faithful, patient, and purposeful parents.

Six-Week Overview:

Week 1 — “My Situation Is Unique and Complicated”
Why we are tempted to believe our parenting challenges are different from everyone else's—and how biblical wisdom helps us see what is really happening.

Week 2 — “The Basics Don't Apply to Me”
Why we neglect simple, foundational principles and then wonder why our problems persist.

Week 3 — “I Need Help, But I Want Help on My Terms”
Why we can desperately want help while rejecting the wise, loving, and sometimes difficult help that would actually bring lasting change.

Week 4 — “I Want the Easiest Solution”
How our desire for short-term comfort can lead us to make parenting decisions that create greater problems in the long run.

Week 5 — “I Struggle to Stay the Course”
Why consistency and perseverance are essential to meaningful change—and how parents can remain faithful when results don't come quickly.

Week 6 — “What Am I Really Trying to Accomplish?”
How having the wrong goal can undermine everything else we do as parents—and how the gospel reshapes our vision for what we are ultimately trying to accomplish in our children.

Please note that this class will not meet on October 21 due to fall break.