It sends terror through all parents: How do we talk with the kids about sexuality?

Yikes. How do we?

We bring our first returning guest, Dr. Branson Parler, Professor of Theological Studies at Kuyper College, and Director of Faith Formation at Fourth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI, to talk with us. In addition to his theological cred, he brings real-life walking with his five kids, ages 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1.

​What we share here is important ground work, and (I hope) specific next steps.

We also talk about how to talk about Jesus with kids in general, and our favorite childhood snacks. (Oh yeah, there was that one time I thought I invented the quesadilla. Like, for real I thought that.) Also, we talk Kool Aid Man. Oh, yeah.

Highlights:
“[We need] to have the theological basis as God as the source of love and God as the source of life. From those, that’s going to provide the backdrop for thinking about God’s intention for marriage, God’s intentions for sex, and children (where do babies come from?). To be able to couch this in a rich theological setting is going to help us engage our kids to move from that to say, ‘This is who God is, and this is one way that we image God.'”

“I want my child to be a follower of Jesus, not cisgender or heterosexual as an ultimate identity.”

Question of the Week: When did you first learn you were a missionary . . . as a Christian?

Helpful Links:

Protecting Your Young Kid’s Bodies:
God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
An audio interview with them

Great Kid’s Bible:
Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

Gracious LGBT+ Conversations and Families:
​Guiding Families by Lead Them Home Team (the primary author will be on the podcast next week!)
​Talking with Your Kids About Same-Sex Marriage article by Russell Moore

Talking to Kids about Porn on Authentic Intimacy podcast
Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung