St. Paul Pastor On AP: Parents Need To Be With Their Kids, Not 'Whoop' Them
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- People who follow Minnesota Vikings player Adrian Peterson on Twitter have questioned why he's responded to the child abuse allegations with religious quotes.
When news of the child abuse investigation broke, Peterson posted writings about judging others, and being on God's course.
Recently, he tweeted a reading with this line: "If you could only see how God views you."
Rev. Earl Miller is the pastor of Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in St. Paul. WCCO's Angela Davis showed him some Peterson's messages.
"I think he is in crisis and he is trying to give himself some type of encouragement," Miller said.
He says the rapid pace of all the developments stemming from the child abuse investigation, would unravel anyone.
"He's a superstar. For all of that to change in a moment, it has to be devastating," Miller said.
Miller thinks Peterson sees himself as a good father who believes discipline will keep his kids out of trouble, but what children really need is time with their parents.
"If you don't live with a child and raise that child every day, I don't think you can do too much disciplining, because you are not there. You gotta be there to not just whoop him. You gotta be there to talk to them. Be a role model in his presence," Miller said.
Miller's church offers parenting classes and programs to help children do well in school, academically and in behavior.
"It all goes back to parenting," Miller said.
Progressive Missionary Baptist Church partnered with Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools to help narrow the achievement gap.
The church also declared this year the Year of the Child. They're working to give parents the support they need so their children don't show up at school behind academically and with behavioral problems.
Miller thinks the Peterson controversy is creating an opportunity for parents to evaluate what is going on in their own homes and to look at what they are doing to influence their children both emotionally and academically.
