November 2009 Real Life
Ken and Amy Paraday, along with their children, Brittany and Casey, moved to Northwest Arkansas from a Chicago suburb in 2001. That same year, they joined First Baptist Church of Springdale as members and settled into their new life. Both Brittany and Casey were active in sports, and over the years, Ken volunteered to coach his children’s teams from time to time. But as far as volunteering in the church, the Paraday family steered clear of such commitments.
In Ken Paraday’s words, “…aside from participating in Blessing Baskets one year, we had never been consistent in serving the Lord. Numerous times I had talked about joining the choir and always talked myself out of it. My wife and I always talked about attending a Connection Group, but again, made excuses not to go. So many times we were invited but continued to consistently back out. My daughter talked about joining MOTION last year, but never did.” According to Ken, his family’s reliance on excuses not to serve in the church was “not a good trend.”
After eight years as a member, Ken recalls the countless times he listened from the audience as Pastor Floyd spoke on the great significance of serving. But instead of answering the call to serve, Ken and his family “continued to let it go in one ear and out the other.” He describes that they had “no sense of belonging” and that their lives were marked with a heavy sense of emptiness.
Even still, God continued to pursue the Paraday Family.
In the summer of 2009, the Paradays met the Bowlins, a family who enthusiastically gave of their time to the church. Ken Paraday recalls that his family immediately “saw a difference between their lives and the lives of the Bowlins.” It didn’t take long before Darrell Bowlin asked Ken if he and his family were involved in FBC. “I said ‘no,’” Ken remembers. “And Darrell responded with ‘Why not?’. It was a great question.” Ken attempted to answer his new friend with the many excuses he had employed over the years, but none seemed to suffice.
Before the conversation’s end, Darrell Bowlin invited Ken to consider teaching a Connection Group class. Ken was shocked at the suggestion. “What? Me teach? As usual, I started making excuses…. Then Darrell threw out two words that stuck with me. They were obedience and disobedience. Were we being obedient to the Lord or disobedient?”
Ken went home and began to pray. He took out his Bible, and soon, a verse got his attention. Romans 5:19. It reads,“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Ken recalls,“I started to see that it’s not about what I want. It’s about being obedient to God. Period. It was time to put aside what I felt and live up to God’s word.” And with his decision, a new trend was born in the Paraday home.
Today, the Paradays no longer have time to make excuses why they can’t serve the church—they’re much too busy. Some of the family’s activities include co-leading a Connection Group for 7th grade boys and volunteering behind the scenes for the MOTION ministry (Ken Paraday), assisting with a Connection Group for 7th grade girls (Amy Paraday), dancing in the MOTION ministry (Brittany Paraday), and playing guitar for MOTION and serving as co-leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at a local junior high school (Casey Paraday). Ken Paraday makes it clear, “Now it is about letting God direct us.”
When asked how the change in their commitment to serving has affected his family, Ken answered,“We are growing in Christ. We’ve always been a tight family, but now we strive to be a tight family spiritually. We now look at each other in a different light. We see each other’s accomplishments and encourage each other daily to keep giving to the Lord. It’s only the beginning for us all, but I know we’re heading in the right direction. And we hope to bring others to Christ by serving Him. We simply cannot get enough.”