One of the great crises of parenting today is a crisis of authority. Authority is something to be resisted and to strive against. Authorities are distrusted and protested against, and generally maligned until one is needed. The cartoonish characters in sitcoms as well as literal cartoons make fathers out to be buffoons and mothers to be vacuous airheads. Respect, which is the fruit of an understanding of authority, is dramatically missing in the youth of today. While this is certainly painting with a broad brush, when you look around it is also undeniable. The question is are kids reflecting popular culture or is popular culture reflecting what is happening in families.

The self esteem movement and all its related expressions are supposedly geared toward producing confident and secure children. While this is a noble pursuit, as in most pendulum swings, they have taken it too far. Children are being raised in a fantasyland thinking they are in control coupled with the mistaken understanding that they are their own authority. It is reflected in their speech when a child tells his or her parent NO and no correction is given. Obedience is often obtained with the right bribe further teaching the child that they are in control. They are raised having no clue about authority. The results are far from producing confidence but rather kids are flying apart longing for the security of someone to be in charge other than their own self.

 Admittedly some of these approaches come from an overreaction to authoritarian parenting where kids are to be seen not heard, and no explanation is needed for anything, and you do it because I said so! Authoritarian parenting certainly builds respect, but at the cost of relationship, love, and closeness.

 There is an alternate way; we must create a culture of authority in our homes. Just like the culture of blessing it is not just a technique it is an ethos. It influences and impacts everything from rules to our communication. Rather than based in the latest and greatest cultural engineering experiment, it is based in understanding the authority of God.

 Come discover how you can create a culture of authority in your home.

 See you at church

 Pastor Chris