From the Editor’s Desk, August 20, 2015:

This week, Energion Publications is releasing Parent-Driven Discipleship by Michael Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy is a father of two children and a pastor. He wrote this book from a heart that is concerned and passionate about the young adults, youth & children of this world. He believes it is the parents who are the frontline teachers.

While we would like to throw stones from a safe distance at the culture’s attempt to distort the traditional family, the Church has become guilty of the same crime but with different weapons. Instead of murdering the sacred institution of marriage, we have, in many ways, abdicated our responsibilities as parents by spiritually abandoning our children. We have in essence converted the church into a spiritual orphanage where we enlist other people to spiritually raise our children. – Michael Kennedy

Whatever we, as a Judeo-Christian community, have been doing, it isn’t working. The usual pizza/lock-in youth ministries can easily be quantified in attendance as it is more about food and fun than answering questions and building a young adult’s spiritual health. What if we instead began to look at a ministry in which we count how many former “youths” are still in church and ministering in the church through college and their 20’s?

Parent-Driven Discipleship is an $11.99 (or buy 2 and get 1 free in Energion’s current curriculum sale) investment. If you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, pastor or someone concerned about the Church and how we impact (or don’t!) children, take a few minutes and look at Michael Kennedy’s new book.