Lifeway has new research regarding the parenting and the role of faith. It is not encouraging.
Just wow.
The vast majority of parents hope their children grow up to live good lives, but for many, parental success does not include faith in God – even among parents who are evangelical Christians, according to a new study from LifeWay Research.
…..
Parents who attend religious services weekly are particularly likely to emphasize faith in God, but only 24 percent of them identify that as a mark of parenting success, the research found.“We are seeing an ever-widening gulf in American believers between the private faith and a faith that is passed on,” said McConnell, who serves as associate director of LifeWay Research. “Instead, we too often see an emphasis on guiding children to a social morality and toward an as-yet undefined ‘happy’ life.”
…..
“One of parents’ ultimate responsibilities is to prepare their children for adulthood,” McConnell said. “This study may hint at why many young adults are spiritually underdeveloped – their parents have given little focus to matters of faith.”
I have to admit that this research is shocking to me. How in the world can nominally christian parents abdicate their most basic responsibilities in this manner? What in the world is being taught in pulpits across this country? Is it simply that people only spend an hour on Sunday thinking about God at all and the rest of the week have their lives shaped by the world’s values?
Wow. wow. wow. I knew it was bad, but this research indicates that 20 years from now it will be much worse.
Hat tip to Voddie Baucham
The good news is that there is a generation of young adults who are open to what parenting should look like. They don’t have the answers, but they know that it shouldn’t look like how they were raised! That’s where we get to preach a redeeming gospel to them and not a watered down story about Jesus they’ve known since childhood!
Yep. I agree with Bryan’s comment. God is faithful to do His work and He will accomplish it in spite of our generation’s bad parenting. Todd and I have recently realized that our definition of parenting “success” needed to be changed. Our kids know that God is showing us that their heart (knowing God in a REAL way) is the only thing that matters. The only thing. (it’s not just one of a list of things)