“Can you name five adults who like your children?” Dominic paused. “Grandparents don’t count.”

The question hung in the air, confronting everyone in the room. We were at the ‘Ultimate Parenting’ seminar. Interest had been high during the week, but a last minute rain storm had kept a few people away. Still, there were a good number in attendance, and the vibe in the room was good.

“I want to start by saying that God is the ultimate Father,” said Dominic. “If we want to understand parenting, we must look to Him first.”

He proceeded to work through the Two Ways to Live outline, applying each frame to the specific issues of parenting. He peppered the talk with lots of practical advice, and lots of amusing stories from his own experience. By the end he had provided lots of insight into parenting, but he had also skillfully presented the gospel as well.

It was a brilliantly structured talk. I’ve seen many preachers attempt to marry a talk on a practical subject (eg. marriage) with a presentation of the gospel. I’ve never seen it done as well as this " everyone was raving about it afterward. I’m sure we will run this event again when we get back home, and I think we will film and package it up as well. It was a bottler.

Mission gives you a chance to try something a bit different, and every now and again you come up with a bit of gold…