My Teen Won't Go to Church

This week on the Straight Truth podcast Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot talk about the role of a parent in relating to a rebellious teenager who lives at home. Dr. Philpot tells us that a parent has written sharing that their teenage daughter refuses to come to church on Sundays. The teenager tells her parents her relationship with God is personal and that she doesn't need to go to church to be a Christian. The parent asks how do you bring children in rebellion under your authority, and how old is too old for a parent to force their children to go to church?

Dr. Caldwell says that there are two things come to mind when he hears these questions. First, the daughter is using language that reveals a lack of understanding of the gospel. He would really aim at explaining the gospel to this young person. The statement that she makes, "my relationship with God is personal", is not true. It is true that we each individually come to faith in Christ, and in that sense, we do have a personal relationship with God. But nowhere in the New Testament do you see people living a private, individualistic, secretive kind of relationship with God, that's just not found in the New Testament. The second issue, additionally, is related to the statement she makes saying, "I don't have to go to church to be a Christian.". Dr. Caldwell says it is true to say that going to church does not make you a Christian. But also, nowhere in the New Testament do you find Christians who have no relationship to the Lord's Church. He goes on to share an example from Scripture in the book of Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost. He explains how those who are saved after hearing Peter's sermon are a