Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions (Updated)
Posted by Doug Mon, 28 Feb 2005 16:51:00 GMT
I’ve recently finished reading Turning Children into Spiritual Champions by George Barna. This book was recommended to me by Mike Williams, a good friend from college. The book is both frightening and inspiring. First, Barna is a research sociologist. For this book, he did about two years of statistical research on children through surveys and personal observation. That’s not to say he’s only got two years experience with children. It’s just that he did two years research specifically for this book. His finding is basically this: if you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior by the time you’re 13, the chances of you ever doing so are very slim. Similarly, he says your spiritual foundation is in place by age nine and is unlikely to change after that. You can look at this one of two ways. I know there are people who read my blog who aren’t Christian, are at least agnostic, and some atheist. Those of you who fit that bill can look at this as “just a few years and then they’re ‘safe’ from superstitious brainwashing”. Frankly, I think that’s exactly how Satan looks at this. As a Christian and a parent, I look on Barna’s results and think that the next ten years of my life are likely to be the most important. Barna’s message is definitely to parents; but, he makes a broader observation. The most effective evangelism you can do is to children. Churches who want to have the highest success rate of winning people to Christ should focus on children. The book is really divided into three parts. The first is a fairly raw presentation of the data he found in his research. He follows that up with his observations and gives the research some meaning. Finally, the last half of the book is suggestions on what to do about it. He reviews several churches that have successful children’s ministries and how they are organized in light of his research. UPDATE: I’ve gotten some feedback on this post from some friends who’ve read this. There is some general uneasiness with the idea of forcing children to make life decisions (with or without “hellfire and brimstone” threats) is “too much to ask” or just plain “stupid”. Keep in mind neither I nor Barna is advocating propping our kid’s eyes open with toothpicks and forcing them to watch brainwashing videos. Barna suggests seven specific questions that we should help our kids answer. I don’t have my book with me and I can’t remember all seven questions. But they are real philosophical questions that everyone has to answer sooner or later. Is there a God? What is His character and nature? By guiding our kids through these issues we can help them successfully answer them. As I write this now and earlier, I feel like I am talking about brainwashing. I like to think of it as “rigging the deck”. I don’t want my kids to accept the default answer to these important questions based on mass media outlets. I honestly believe there is a God. I believe Jesus is God’s Son and fully God Himself (aka the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit trinity). I believe Jesus was crucified, died, and was resurrected by the power of God. Further, I believe Jesus is the Life, the Truth, and the Way. No one can come to the Father except through Jesus. The ramifications of that belief is that I desperately want my kids to accept and believe that as well. Is 13 too early to grapple with these issues? Prior to reading this book I didn’t have an opinion either way. I was baptized before 13 and often feel it was too early. I know lots of people that were baptized before 13. But Barna’s research indicates that kids are making these decisions (consciously or not) by that age. If we really care about these kids (my kids, our kids), then we have to do a good job of helping them form these beliefs. If we don’t, Barna’s research suggests it’ll be an uphill battle to overcome what beliefs they will form instead. If you’re reading this as a non-Christian, I’m not really concerned with what you think about this. That’s harsh, I know. If you’re not a Christian, we’re not really on the same team. We don’t have the same goals. My goal isn’t to raise “moral” children. My goal is to to raise children who believe in Jesus, accept Him as their Savior, and live faithful lives of service to God. If you are a Christian reading this, I don’t see how you can ignore the call to action. Children in our church represent the greatest opportunity to win souls for Christ. Ignoring that opportunity or not capitalizing on it is a shame and a dereliction of duty to God. Convinced or not, I hope you order this book. Take a look at the research Barna has done and listen to his presentation.
I’m not a christian (in fact atheist) but I wonder about all the adults who are “born again” christians. Seemingly these folks are numerous, sincere and spiritual – seems to run against the thrust of this work.
That’s certainly not the case at my own church and other churches I’ve attended. There may be certain denominations that have more “born again” Christians that are converted as an adult, but I’m not sure.
There are people who were converted as adults to be sure. However, I don’t think their number is very large. For instance, I’m part of a small Bible study that meets in our home once a week. In our group of 11, three were converted as adults. Two of those three had other church experiences and were “converted” to our denomination (although I really don’t like that term).
I don’t have any hard evidence of the numbers across all of Christendom, but my personal experience seems to go along with what Barna is saying.
I certainly don’t mean to imply that as Christians we should write off all the unbelieving adults. To me, this book is a wake-up call to believing adults how important it is to teach and train their kids.