Of all the biblical promises on Parenting, the most familiar is found in Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV), “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” What surprises me, however, is how many parents sincerely believe they understand this oft-quoted verse—but don’t.

Imagine your first job out of college. The good news is that you’re hired! The difficult news is that you’ll be directing the junior high division of 600 in a mega-church, dealing with the quandaries and questions from teens . . . and their parents. (Oh, and you don’t have any formal training.) The predicament is easy for me to imagine because, at age 22, that job was . . . mine!