Passing On A Lasting Faith

Your Role is Irreplaceable

Radical secularists want your children—and they want them now!

They believe the task of raising your children is too important to be left to parents or grandparents; these “experts” are, after all, much more enlightened and will raise them for us. Their task, which they deem as “proper instruction,” is to bypass the parents and wedge their own progressive view of morality and culture between parents and their children. These radical secularists admit parents do have a role. That role is to take care of the physical needs of the child, but some activists want to direct the child’s mind. To put it bluntly, they are shaping the very way our children think.

Am I exaggerating?

A major article in The Atlantic on January 10, 2023, “Is Defying Parents the Only Ethical Alternative?” discusses the dilemma of a preschool teacher named Ana and her student Michael, a four-year-old boy who, when he comes to school, wants to dress as a girl. His mother is opposed to this, putting the teacher in a difficult position.

The “Code of Ethical Conduct,” from the National Association for Young Children, basically says that Ana should defy the parents and encourage the child to choose his own gender expression. Although the article says that all parents have the right to make such decisions for the children, it nevertheless goes on to say that a teacher “should defer to the child” because they have an ethical responsibility to do so.

If you’re a Christian parent or grandparent, you’re likely seen as an impediment to “moral progress.” Within the current secular ideology, the responsible stance, they believe, is to affirm a child’s decision to change their identity (complete with preferred pronouns, etc.). And if the parents should object? Well then, the teachers should side with the child even without the parents’ permission, and even without the parents’ knowledge. So Bert can be a boy at home and “Bernice” at school.

But activists in education aren’t the only ones leading our children astray.

Technology is actively raising our children. Many studies have been conducted showing that children and teenagers who spend multiple hours a day looking at a screen—smartphones, tablets, computers, and television—are deeply and negatively influenced to the point of it being detrimental to their minds. Furthermore, many no longer engage in reading, but rather watch videos, text their friends, or interact with online “friends” who they probably never met in person. If truth be told, by the age of 11 most young people have been introduced to pornography. The effects on future generations are incalculable. More divorce, more single-parent families, more violence, more depression, and more suicide.

The political and legal supports, which previously contributed to raising our children with basic Judeo-Christian values, have disappeared. Today, people are obsessed with building their own identity, answerable to no one except themselves. And in an age of entitlement, everyone is a victim. We used to admire public demonstrations in Iran or Venezuela, where those living in tyranny are on a quest for freedom. But in today’s America, we have demonstrations on our university campuses calling for censorship and restrictions. Our cultural morals are turned upside down.

To my fellow parents and grandparents: The only hope for our children is Christ and the primary place to disciple our children is the home. Our churches might help us, but our children must see our faith and convictions lived out in our daily lives. As parents and grandparents, we should be their role models, living authentically for Christ in our collapsing culture.

Along with being role models, we must also teach our children biblical doctrine, even (if not especially) at an early age. That’s why we at Moody Church Media are offering a resource my wife, Rebecca, has written, Awesome Bible Verses Every Kid Should Know. It has been of help to thousands of parents, and we want you to also benefit from it.

How Can You Help Protect Your Children from the Activist Agenda?

A Powerful Resource for Teaching God’s Word to Children

Rebecca Lutzer saw a crucial gap in the way younger children are traditionally taught the Bible. She wanted to help parents and grandparents teach children the foundational truths of Scripture to better prepare them for the challenges they will face. So she wrote an insightful book to teach biblical doctrine to children in a way they can understand.

Q: Why did your wife, Rebecca, write this book?

A: For years she would say that children are taught Bible stories like David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, etc., but often they’re not taught biblical doctrine. So, she had the heart to write a book for children (6 to 12 years old), sharing doctrine at their level of understanding.

She covers topics like God, creation, justification, Satan—about 30 topics in all. Each topic has an illustration and an application.

Q: The tile of the book Awesome Bible Verses Every Kid Should Know gives the impression that it might just be a list of Bible verses for children...

A: As an author, I know how difficult it is to get the right title for a book (I’ve had some wins and losses in that department!), so though the title may give that impression, it actually is a book on biblical doctrine for children. But yes, each topic ends with one or two verses that children should know and can memorize.

Q: I understand you have eight grandchildren. How do you pray for them?

A: Thanks for asking. I pray for one grandchild every day of the week (two on Saturday). Each of the grandchildren knows what day of the week I pray for them. I try to pray prayers taken right out of the Scriptures. Our children belong to God. It is a sin for us not to pray for them!

Q: What have you noticed about the Gen-Z?

A: The surveys about Gen-Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are not encouraging. Many are leaving the church, “deconstructing” their faith, and are being drawn in by the latest progressive cause. On the other hand, I have discovered there are some who are standing up to today’s culture and representing Christ in courageous ways. Only time will tell more about how many young people have picked up the Christian baton and are carrying it to the next generation.

Q: A leadership question: You were called into the ministry when you were young. You are now in your eighties! Looking back, how confident are you that God will raise up leadership for the next generation?

A: I always say that God grows leadership in the dark. What I mean is we have no idea who the Almighty is preparing for leadership. A child who is now growing up on a farm might well become the next Billy Graham. Perhaps a child in the inner city, born into poverty and a broken family, will be the next D.L. Moody. I think God has His hand on thousands of children who will believe the Gospel and will eventually be used by God wherever they find themselves.

My point: We have no idea who God is preparing. That’s why, when parents come to me in my travels, I often take time to pray for their children because they cannot predict what that child will eventually become. God grows leadership in unlikely places.

Q: Any final words about children?

A: They are our most cherished possession. If we give them to others to help educate them, we had better remember that God will still hold us responsible for how they were raised. Jesus gave a strong warning to anyone who leads a child astray.