Book Review: How to Talk to Your Kids about Pop Culture

Free eBook available of How to Talk to Your Kids about Pop Culture at: https://sites.google.com/a/axis.org/axisresources/free-axis-ebook

To Disciple or Not to Disciple My Kids…

It’s no secret that today more than any other era in history parents are facing steep competition for being the primary teachers and disciplers in their children’s lives.  Things like movies, video games, friends, TV, school and advertisements are competing with parents to be their teachers. This SHORT (30 page) eBook is a great overview resource reiterating the importance of parents being diligent to disciple their kids.

Maybe as a parent you’re waiting or wondering what questions your kids have? The problem with waiting as explained in the book is, “the issue is not unanswered questions, the issue is unquestioned answers.”  The point is if parents “are not answering…questions, popular culture is more than happy to take your place.”

In chapter 4 of the book a breakdown of how much time per day a teenager spends on TV/Movies, music, video games, computer, print (books/newspapers/magazines) per day.  The statistics are shocking and if multi-tasking wasn’t taken into account, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that teens spend an average of 14 hours a day with pop culture. With multi-tasking taken into account teens spend about 8 hours a day engaging with technology and mobile devices.

The cry to parents and churches to make disciples is imperative to win the next generation for Christ!

Target Audience of the Book:

Parents of teenagers.  However, I think that this book is very important for parents who will soon have teens, couples who are wanting to have children, and anyone who engages in discipleship of children.

Book Outline:

  • Chapter 1 – The Epidemic
    • Pop culture is highly present in your kid’s lives, and pop culture is more than willing to answer your kid’s questions…even the ones that your kid’s aren’t asking out loud.
  • Chapter 2 – Teenagers Have Questions
    • The world is full of questions. Kids are no different.  They “are asking deep meaning-of-life questions – maybe not consciously, but those issues are on their minds”
    • Six questions your kid’s are asking:

I. Where did I come from?

II. What is real?

III. Who am I?

IV. How do I know what is right or wrong?

V. What is my purpose in life?

VI. What happens when I die?

      • This chapter gives examples of how pop culture is answering each one of those questions.
  • Chapter 3 – What About Discipleship?
    • What is discipleship and making disciples?
    • 4 Characteristics of Discipleship
      • Time, Leaders, Values and Life
      • 4 Questions to help you and your kids figure out what/who is discipling you.
        • What do I spend the majority of my time doing and thinking about?
        • What leaders do I follow?
        • Where do I get my values?
        • How do I live my life?
  • Chapter 4 – Why Parents Lose
    • Parents are losing because of the way they are discipling their kids.
    • 4 Reasons Why Parents Lose:
      • Why Parents Lose #1: Time
      • Why Parents Lose #2: Leaders
      • Why Parents Lose #3: Values
      • Why Parents Lose #4: Life
  • Chapter 5 – How Parents Win
    • This chapter begins with a story to illustrate solid discipleship from infants in the house till married kids out of the house.
    • This chapter explains the goal of the discipleship is to “teach your kids how to think, not what to think.”
      • This happens by building “a strong relationship with your kids based on communication…”

Greg Wetterlin
Pastor of Men's Ministries at Faith Church. Blessed to be married to the woman of my dreams in order to serve the Savior we both are unworthy to have.