Fight, Flight, Or Camouflage with Sarah Cowan Johnson

Adam Griffin, Cassie Bryant, and Chelsea Griffin are joined by Sarah Cowan Johnson to talk about her new book “Teach Your Children Well: A Step-by-Step Guide for Family Discipleship,” and how we can live as the creative minority in today’s culture.

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• For those who don’t know you, would you introduce yourself and tell us about you, your family, and your ministry? 
• Your new book is called, “Teach Your Children Well: A Step-by-Step Guide for Family Discipleship.” Tell us the story about writing this book where did the idea come from and why did you want to write it?
• You kick off the book talking about the research that shows how many kids are walking away from the church after high school. What do we take away from that?
• Can you describe what you mean by a “high grace and high challenge” and why that is important?
• Why is it so hard for parents to believe they have this grace and freedom and this weighty calling simultaneously?
• Why is living in a post-Christian culture changing or clarifying the role of families to disciple their kids in today’s culture?
• Will you help us understand what the common responses of fight, flight, or camouflage look like for a church or a family?
• Why do you think that camouflage temptation is so strong for us as parents and how do we get past it? What do you think we should be doing instead?
• You talk about our churches and families forming a “creative minority” similar to Daniel and his friends in Babylon. What would that actually look like for families?
• Can you talk about what capturing a God moment is and how you encourage parents to go about doing this?
• You talk about our temptation for fear, control, and disbelief. How do you want parents to address and face those temptations when they do come?
• Your book has a lot of questions for readers to answer as well as ideas to try out. Would you share with our listeners some of your favorites that you’ve used at home?
• If our listeners want to pray for you and your family, what can they ask God for on your behalf?

Guest Bio:

Sarah Cowan Johnson is a ministry trainer, consultant, and coach based in Providence, RI. With nearly 20 years of ministry experience in the church and parachurch, Sarah is passionate about equipping ministry leaders to flourish in their unique callings and contexts. Before starting her own business, Sarah served as a Campus Staff Member and Area Director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. After more than a decade on staff with InterVarsity, Sarah was assessed and approved by the Covenant Church as a church planter and served as the Executive Pastor for Sanctuary Church, a family of neighborhood congregations in Providence. 

Helpful Definitions:

• Post-Christian: The culture is familiar with Christianity but chooses to reject it.
• Fight: Our response is a culture war, we want to take back the ground we are losing.
• Flight: Our response is to disengage from the world into an only Christian community.
• Camouflage: Our response is to blend in and compromise, adopting some of the values of the post-Christian worldview.
• Creative Minority: Our response is that this is not our culture, we are not going to be disruptive or give in. We will follow Jesus faithfully in a culture that doesn’t. It is not just about what we believe, it is about how we live.
• Proactive Discipleship: Planning and thinking about spiritual practices for discipleship.
• God Moments: Responding to discipleship moments we can’t plan for.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• “Teach Your Children Well” by Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Deuteronomy 6:4-9

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