Getting worked at home...spiritually

Barna released a new report last week, just in time for Mother's Day, stating that the spirituality of moms is OUTPACING the spirituality of dads in the home. Or in Dan English, dads are getting worked at home...spiritually. Here's a brief section,

"According to a new Barna study, women who are raising children are among the most faith-minded and spiritually active segments of the American population. The study explored faith-related activities, commitments and perspectives, relying upon nationally representative interviews among more than 10,000 adults and nearly 2000 women who are currently parenting children under the age of 18. The study shows that more than three-quarters of moms identify "family" to be their highest priority. At the same time, a majority of mothers strongly agree that their faith is very important in their life. In contrast, fathers also tend to list family as their top priority in life, yet they are much less likely to equally attribute importance to faith."

Thoughts about this study:

- Discipleship begins in the home with mom and dad. We must never forget that our student ministries exist to support this God-given structure.

- The mom in my home is amazing!

- After having my ministry assessed by Kara Powell (more on this in later posts) she found the the spirituality of our girls is OUTPACING that of our boys.

- Moms see their legacy (children) more than the dads. Every day they get the privilege to wake up and remind their kids that God's faithfulness is new again. They get to explore God's revelation of Himself every time they get in the car and drive around during the day - general revelation. They are always talking about their kids.

- Moms, who've been blessed to carry a child, have spent nine months more with the kids than the dad. I can't even get my mind around having one of my kids inside me. What an unbelievable connection. They've felt the omnipotence of God inside of them (see Psalm 139:13-18). As a side note, we adopted our first child and I think Julie bonded with Noah quicker than I did.

- How does this research sit with those who believe that the man in the home is supposed to be the spiritual leader?

- It's belated on my blog, but Happy Mother's Day Julie! You're wonderful! I can't wait to see Adah turn out to be like you!