4 Ways to Help our Kids Own Their Faith

It was an intense conversation.

I’m not sure exactly how it started, but I do remember the “not-so-subtle” feeling of being placed on the defensive before I knew a verbal fight had even begun.

I think the initial volley was something like, “Why do you believe so-and-so are going to hell?” At which point I responded, “I didn’t know I believed that.” After about 5 minutes of interaction, or mostly accusation, I finally asked the question, “Do you want to know what I actually believe?”, to which I received the quick response: “No.”  

My son and I were working through the deep waters of adolescent formation known as “differentiation.”  Yes, he was trying to figure out what he actually believed when it came to his faith, but part of that process was pushing away from my faith to create space for his own beliefs.