As much as we hate to admit it, we no longer live in a Christian society. Obviously, the culture has never been completely Christian, but America's culture has certainly been pro-God, pro-Bible, and pro-Christian for much of its history. Also, until recently American culture was sympathetic to cultural differences, yet people of other ethnic and political backgrounds were urged to become part of a uniquely American culture. America was a "melting pot" in the sense that people, without surrendering ties to their homeland, adopted America and its culture as their own. They were not losing their heritage; rather, they were adding to it. They loved their native land but also wanted baseball, Chevrolets, apple pie, and the red, white, and blue. They wanted to be Americans.

Today, American culture has lost some of its shine in the eyes of the world. People still want the economic and political advantages of living in America, but now they are more focused on their own ethnicity. Even fourth and fifth generation Americans with no accent or other hint of their ethnicity are looking for their "roots."  It is not enough that you were born in America and that your name is American, such as Smith or Jones. Instead, you must look backward to see whence you came. That is not an evil in itself, but it is symptomatic of an ever increasing weakness in the allure of American culture.

As a result of this quest for roots, there is a new sensitivity and awareness of the cultural background of others. We have learned to be "politically correct" in observing that others have differences, and in considering those differences, but in avoiding any reference thereto. You must know that a person is, but you cannot say that he is. Even to say "your people" is considered a prejudicial slur.

The education system and media are not making it any easier. They have put into place this artificial "tolerance" and tried to model it for us. But they are making fools of themselves in the attempt. What they are doing is unnatural, and they are failing to do it. Watching them do it confuses our young people. They try to do it, but they also fail and they are confused.

So how are we supposed to behave in this environment? How can we continue to witness for Christ in an era when witnessing to people of a different religion will be (and even now is) considered a hate crime? How can we be salt and light in this culture? In other words, how can we live in this culture and actually make a difference?

We are going to have to train our children to deal with these issues. We cannot just ignore the issues and hope to stick with the status quo. If we do, we run the risk of derailing our influence completely. We can help point the way for our children, but they will be the ones providing leadership in the church in this new post-Christian world. We must equip them for it.

1. Teach them to obey the truth.
One of the marks of our changing (deteriorating) society is the frequent re-defining of words. At one time, "tolerance" meant that you had a difference in beliefs, ideals, or opinions with others, but that you could still get along with them. You did not cast them out of society just because they were different. You were expected to co-exist, even if you disagreed. But today the word tolerant means that you must change or discard your beliefs, ideals, and opinions for the sake of getting along with others. To say that you do not agree somehow means that you believe the other person's opinions are inferior. The goal of tolerance today is not peace, but conformity. To be different is to be wrong.

If you say that you have the truth, you are being belligerent and insensitive. But as Christians, we do have the truth. And no one else does. The truth comes from Scripture: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17).
We must teach our children that the Scripture is God's Holy Word and that it is the source and sum of truth. We must also teach them that to give up any part of that truth for the sake of appeasement is compromise. If God's Word says that homosexuality is sin, then it is sin. If unfaithfulness to one's spouse is adultery, then it is adultery. Right is right and wrong is wrong, based upon the principles and teachings of God's Word.

Further, we must guide our children into seeing that they must be committed to God's Word as the source of truth. Also, they must learn to submit themselves to that truth.

This is not a popular teaching - not in the world, and not even in most churches. We teach and preach the truth, then people say, "But you've got to use your head, too." Well, of course you've got to use your head. But if what's in your head does not line up with Scripture, you've still got to go with the Scripture. Our heads and hearts are full of falsehood. We are genetically foolish; that is, we are human. We must learn to think God's thoughts, which means that we must saturate our minds with the Word of God and submit our lives to it.

2. Build strong moral character.
If the young people are to stand for truth, the strength of their stand will be determined by the strength of their
character. That character will need to be molded early and must be energized by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The coming days are fraught with disagreement, scorn, and peril from the world. Christians will face an ever-increasing hostility from our society. This hostility will be felt most keenly among the best educated classes, such as university faculty, attorneys, physicians, scientists, and business professionals. This hostility arises from the constant harping on tolerance in today's university. The longer people are exposed to this pervasive poison, the more saturated they will become with it. The modem intellectual renaissance is not truly tolerant, as they would like for us to believe, but specifically anti-Christian. If our children are going to survive without throwing off their faith, we must cultivate in them the character of Christ. They will have to be made of stern stuff.

They will have to remain calm in the face of ridicule, kind in the face of antagonism, and patient under continuing persecution. They cannot become discouraged to the point of quitting.

3. Train their minds for logic, reason, and communication.
 Someday, it will be illegal to preach and teach the Word of God. But for the near future, we have the opportunity to share the truth with those around us. We have freedom of speech, at least to some degree. We can still speak with people about Christ.

Some of these people will believe the Gospel and be saved. Some of them will need to be convinced. The clearer our logic, and the better our presentation, the better will be our results.  Even preaching isn't all just reading a verse and hollering. It is supposed to edify and to educate. To be effective, preaching must spring from clear thinking. II Timothy 2:15 urges those who would minister the Word of God to study in order to please God and not be ashamed.

Preaching and teaching also require the ability to communicate. I must get what's in my head into your head. If I am going to do that, then I have to keep your interest. The techniques that make that possible can be learned, so we must teach them to our children.

We must challenge our students not to be lazy about their studies, but to be energetic in their study and ferocious in attacking and solving problems. They need to become skillful in handling the Word of God, in applying the principles to everyday life, and in communicating these thoughts and truths to others.

4. Teach tact and kindness.

Jesus told us to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Too many Christian leaders have that reversed. They are wise as doves and harmless as serpents! Truth is important, and must never be compromised, and sometimes the truth is offensive.

However, we do not have to offend people unnecessarily. If we do, we will have lost our opportunity to tell them the truth.
We must teach our children to understand the difference between graciousness and compromise. We do not have to give up the truth in order to be kind and gracious. The Scripture tells us that our speech ought to be "alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Col. 4:6).

Our answer is not just to be correct, but effective. This verse is not just referring to the truth of our answer, but to the technique used in delivering the answer, as well.

5. Teach them a high regard for the "old paths. "

The new society has an undeniable appeal. As younger leaders take over our churches, they are being drawn away from their roots. The result is changing music, changing worship styles, changing Bible versions. The effect of these changes is more and more conformity to the world. If we are to stop this slide, we must teach our children to "have respect for the "old paths."

It will be a sad time when our children don't know the words to "Rock of Ages" and "Amazing Grace." They will suffer from memorizing verses that are not from the King James. They will be hurt by substituting drama for preaching. The church will dry up if socialization replaces preaching. We must help our children to see the importance of not throwing out all that is good and right about the past. They must understand that what great men and women of God did in the past is still valid for them today.

6. Teach them the importance of a strong family.

The home is supposed to be, and is designed to be, a place of respite and rest from the battle. If the soldier comes away from the battle tired and wounded, he needs to find rest, peace, and help at home. But in too many cases, homes have become an extension of the battlefield. Help your children to understand, by your example, that home is away from the enemy lines. Your home is not part of the battlefield. It is a place of rest and refreshment.

7. Some need special training - find the special talent and cultivate it.

This point is probably worthy of a separate study, but it should be mentioned in this context. The troops need leadership. Sometimes that means a young person will become a general. In that case, special attention should be given to developing that young person's God-given leadership potential.

Sometimes, however, a young person may have a special talent that will make him particularly valuable to the cause. Every army has specialists. There are computer analysts, communications experts, tactical and strategic planners, and so on. Each of these experts requires specialized training. Before they can be trained, these people must be identified. So it is with Christ's army.

The Holy Spirit gives ministry gifts to every Christian. Some Christians receive multiple gifts. As Christian leaders, we must identify these special gifts and be sure that the young people who possess them receive the training they need. It is a failure on our part if each young person is not given an opportunity to be trained to do the job our Commander has given them to do.

That means that we will all have to help in the task of training. Sometimes that means encouragement toward specialized training. Sometimes it means financial assistance. In every case, we must do what it takes to enable every child to reach his or her potential.

Is this last point really that important? Yes, it is. Just think about examples from Scripture. Barnabas was the means by which a young man named Saul was allowed to come to leadership in the church at Antioch. Barnabas also worked with John Mark to make him a valuable asset in Christ's kingdom. Where would Apollos have been without the efforts of Aquila and Priscilla?

Part of our responsibility as Christian leaders in this generation is to prepare Christian leaders for tomorrow. Paul trained Timothy, Titus, and others to do the work of the ministry after his departure. We must do the same. And with American society's changing face, we must prepare Christians who can provide effective leadership in this new culture.