Natasha Crain's Blog, page 9

Answering Your Kids’ Tough Faith Questions: My Focus on the Family Interview Airs Today!

Today on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast, president Jim Daly and co-host/VP John Fuller interview me on answering your kids' tough faith questions! The interview is based on my first book, Keeping Your Kids on God's Side. You can hear it on local radio stations, watch it on YouTube (embedded at the end of this post), or listen on a podcast app. If you don't already have a copy of Keeping Your Kids on God's Side, you can get one from Focus on the Family for a gift of any amount! ...

Join the Book Launch Team for Talking with Your Kids about Jesus!

I’m excited to announce that now through the end of THIS WEEK (January 12th) I'm accepting applications for the launch team for Talking with Your Kids about Jesus: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have (releasing March 31)! In my last post, I explained what the book’s about, described how it complements my first two books, introduced the table of contents, and shared some endorsements. I’m not going to repeat all that here, so if you missed the post, go check it out now!

So...

Talking with Your Kids about Jesus is Now Available for Preorder!

I’m thrilled to share the details today (for the first time) about my upcoming book, Talking with Your Kids about Jesus: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have! It comes out on March 31 and is now available for preorder!

From the Back Cover

You
already know the world will challenge your child’s faith in Jesus. But do you
know specifically what those faith challenges are, how to effectively talk with
your child about them, and what that means for you as a Christian parent on...

7 Legit Reasons Why So Many Kids are Bored by Church

Last Sunday, our church did
its annual multilingual service, with three congregations—Mandarin-speaking,
Spanish-speaking, and English-speaking—all coming together for worship. We had
readings in multiple languages, and a sermon was given in Spanish with an English
translator. There was no Sunday school this week, so kids joined their parents
in adult church.

When we informed our kids Sunday
morning of what would be happening, there was a collective and passionate, “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
...

Reactions to John Crist’s Moral Failings Demonstrate Our Culture’s Confusion about Christianity

News broke yesterday that popular
Christian comedian and YouTuber John Crist has come forth with an admission of
ongoing “sexual sin and addiction struggles” after multiple women exposed years
of his sexually immoral behavior.

Honestly, my heart sank when I saw this. I love Crist’s videos. We watch them with our kids. In fact, our family had just watched one of his most popular ones, “Church Hunters,” this week! If you’re not familiar with Crist, he pokes fun at evang...

The Idea That Faith is Caught and Not Taught is False…and It’s Hurting the Next Generation

As Christians, we have all
kinds of pithy sayings that make their way through churches and establish
themselves as generally accepted truths. Some end up on bumper stickers, some
on wall decals, and some just get repeated so many times that people think
they’re actually in the Bible.

There’s a popular one among parents that I keep hearing lately, and each time I hear it I cringe. Not only is it false, but it’s particularly damaging to the discipleship of the next generation.

It’s the...

4 Ways Parents Bore Their Kids Out of Christianity

The highlight of my summer
was a family RV vacation to Kings Canyon National Park. Behind our campground
flowed a gorgeous river that I returned to multiple times over the course of
our trip. Each time I went, I sat and pondered the “big questions” of life. There’s
something about the majesty of creation that bubbles up a deep sense of awe
about who God is, what he has done, who we are, and the meaning of life. 

But this sense of awe also
led me to reflect on how so many kids are apath...

What Christian Parents Should Learn from Marty Sampson Losing Faith

My blog has been quiet since earlier this year because I
was finishing my next book (Talking with Your Kids about Jesus; March
2020). Now that I’ve turned it in to the publisher and my kids are heading back
to school, it’s time to resume blogging!

I debated what my first post should be as I start back up,
but decided there were some especially important things to address with the
headlines this week about Marty Sampson of Hillsong United saying he’s losing
his faith. Hillsong is one of...

If Christianity is True, Why Do So Many Kids Have Doubts Today?

Christianity Today recently featured an article titled, “The Biggest Hindrance to Your Kids’ Faith Isn’t Doubt. It’s Silence.”

The article summarized the
findings of researchers Kara Powell and Steven Argue on the faith of youth
group graduates. They found that:

70 percent of churchgoing
high schoolers report having serious doubts about faith. Less than half of
those with doubt shared their struggle with an adult or friend. Opportunities to
express and explore doubts were correlated...

Catch My Focus on the Family Interview Today

I recently had the amazing opportunity to travel to the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs to record an episode for their radio broadcast on "How to Raise Strong Believers." It airs TODAY on hundreds of radio stations across the country. There are several ways you can hear it:

If you'd like to catch it on live radio, there is a station finder here. If you'd like to listen online, you can do so here. If you have a podcast player, you can play the most recent episode of...