You probably know your child pretty well, but do you know the culture they are submerged in every day?  In the book, Children’s Ministry in the 21st Century, Rick Chromey does a good job of explaining the culture that surrounds us all.  While parents are the primary influence in a child’s life, they have to be intentional about leveraging that influence to counteract the culture when necessary.  Look at this list of postmodern culture traits excerpted from the book and think about how the culture is influencing you and your family.  How can you use these cultural norms to your advantage or how might you pass on your faith and values that go against the norm of our culture.
 

• Sensory.  Postmodern culture welcomes experiences and defines truth through life.  Moderns tapped into eyes and ears, but postmoderns have rediscovered smell, taste and touch.  If you don’t experience it, it isn’t real.
• Pluralistic.  Postmodern culture is tolerant.  It's a "whatever" world. Truth is relative to personal experience.  Where moderns live in a black and white or gray culture, postmoderns see "blight" or "whack" instead.  Everyone can have their own truth.  As parents, it is important to know where we stand on critical issues before we are presented with the questions.  While you must honor faith's journey, including its doubts and discouragements, if you don’t share the truth of your faith with your children, they may find their own “truth” somewhere else.
• Image-Driven.  Our culture thinks with its eyes.  Nike?  A swoosh symbol.  McDonald's? Golden arches.  Television single-handedly morphed a word world into an image culture.  Parents must use the images of our faith as symbols to remind ourselves of where we have been and where we are going.  Again, brand those symbols with the true meaning of our faith before the culture hijacks them for their own truth.  
• Reality.  To a modern, reality is scientific and logical.  But postmoderns feel otherwise.  Technology creates alternative, virtual realities.  What's "real"?  What's "true"?  Who knows?  Consequently, postmodern culture thrives on authentic "get real" moments.  Do your children know your insecurities, pain or troubles?  Do they see you falter, mess up and ask for God’s help?  Do you tell them how you have experienced God’s presence in both difficult and joyful times?  They need to see God at work in your life. You must also help them see God at work in their lives.  Pray with them for their own struggles, small or big, and then point out how God worked through the situation.  You have to teach them what God looks like in their daily life.
• International.  We live in a global community.  A tsunami sparks worldwide philanthropy.  A terror plot has international implications.  But the positive implications are endless.  In a global culture, every person is a missionary.  Download Google Earth and see the world.  As a family, plan ways to reach out to your neighbors around the corner and around the globe.
• Tech-Reliant.  Today's children have grown within a tech-friendly climate and find comfort in technology, not fear.  Human engineering, bio-terror and identity theft will continue to flourish.  The two most accessed internet categories are porn and dating.  In this polluted cultural swamp, children continue to grow.  You can’t fear technology as a parent.  You have to be diligent in learning all you can about the technology your children use and even embracing it when possible.  Have them teach you what you don’t know about technology.  This will show you just how much they do know and also demonstrate that you are interested in their world.  Use texting, social websites and computer games as a way to connect with your children rather than treating them as an annoyance.  You can choose to ignore technology, but it’s not going away!

Remember, we can’t hide from the culture altogether, but we can learn to work with what we have and look for teachable moments to inoculate children with a dose of our faith and values.