Almost Christian # 4

It has been a couple months since I have discussed the book Almost Christan: What the faith of our teenagers is telling the American church. A section I read this past week has convicted me in a strong way. I hope it does the same for you. "Research is nearly unanimous on this point: parents matter most in shaping the religious lives of  their children. This is not to say that parents determine their children's spiritual destinies...Yet there is no doubt that teenagers' appreciation of a life-orienting/altering God story, and their ability to discern God's ongoing movement in their lives and their communities are heavily influenced by adults' appreciation of such a story, and adults' ways of discerning and responding to the Holy Spirit's presence in their lives...Teenagers ability to imitate Christ depends, to a daunting degree, on whether we do" (112). May each one of us have the desire/will and commitment to live our lives in a way that our children. grandchildren, nieces, nephews, whoever we might have the opportunity to influence, will want to follow us, as we follow the Savior. Not some religious tradition, simply Jesus.