*Equipping parents who have teens influenced by the relativism of a postmodern culture

The number and variety of people who speak to teens daily are vast. They influence many to live, not by the absolute truths taught by Jesus Christ, but by the relativistic beliefs that are the direct antithesis of Christ and His teachings. Is there anything that can be done about this? Where has been the voice of the parent?;In this study, the researcher addressed a two-fold problem. The first part of the problem was that Christian parents feel ill-equipped to speak into the lives of their teens, because they feel that they lack the knowledge---biblical and cultural---of the relativistic postmodern culture to do so. The second part, as an addendum of the first, was that as a result of lack of this knowledge, Christian parents have lacked the confidence to spiritually be a voice of influence in the lives of their teens.;The purpose of this project was to test the efficacy of a one-day Saturday seminar where parents of teens might be equipped in knowledge (of culture and of the Bible) and confidence, so they might be able to verbally influence their teens.;The population used in the study of the seminar setting was that of parents of teens (ages 13-19) and pre-teens (ages 10-12). The parents in the seminar project were referred to as "parents of teens," whether they had pre-teens or teens in the home. The researcher defined each parent as either from natural birth or from adoption or legal guardianship in the home.;The first seminar was held on Saturday, October 16, 2004 at Deeper Life Foursquare Church (hereafter referred to as Deeper Life). The second seminar was held on October 30, 2004 at The Master's Touch International Church (hereafter referred to as The Master's Touch).;The method of selecting attendees was by open invitation to all parents of teens, through an announcement from the pulpit, an announcement in the church bulletin, and from posters and flyers distributed to church members. Attendees had to be parents, either by natural birth, adoption, or legal guardianship.;An evaluation of the pre/post seminar was sent by e-mail to four key people who evaluated it and offered recommendations. They were chosen because of their integrity and leadership background and skills.;On the day of each seminar (held on-site in each church), pre-seminar and post-seminar surveys were administered, testing for confidence and knowledge (of culture and Bible). In the evaluation of the seminar, 82 percent (of parents from both churches tabulated together) claimed that they had gained "information equipping me to speak Christ-centered truths into the life of my teen.".