numbers when it comes to our mil- lennials, Gen Z, those under 40, and I saw that 166 million don’t know the Lord — that would make the eighth- largest nation in the world,” Petter- son told Newsmax Magazine. “That’s a lot of people.” Born to a 15-year-old unwed moth-
er whose boyfriends sexually abused him, Petterson suff ered through a succession of eight foster homes, caring for fi ve younger siblings until age 12, when he was adopted into a loving home. His foster parents were told that
he should be institutionalized as mentally disabled — that he’d never amount to anything. He proved them dead wrong. Petterson earned his doctorate
from Fuller Seminary and became a bestselling author. His book, TheOne Year Book of Amazing Stories: 365 Days of Seeing God’s Hand in Unlikely Places, was cho- sen by Barnes & Noble as one of its 10 top picks and is now in its third print- ing. It also was ranked by the Christian Book Asso- ciation as one of the top fi ve devotionals of 2020. Petterson consults for nonprofi t organizations in fundraising and has raised over $75 million. As a speaker, he reports he’s addressed audiences of more than 2 million people in 30 countries. “I always say Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness, so God could
Talking to Kids About Values W
questions instead of giving answers. “We do drive-by-shooting
hen talking about values with grandkids, Pastor Bob Petterson advises framing them in terms of social justice and compassion.
“And the truth is, God’s the author of social justice. He’s a compassionate God. So, I tell
people, if you can’t come up with a compassionate social justice reason for the truths you hold, you haven’t figured out the truth yet.” Petterson tells grandparents to ask
evangelism,” Petterson says. “You know, Jesus did delicate heart surgery. He probed. He got to the heart. The Samaritan woman, it starts with water and then it goes to her emotional needs. She thought she’d be satisfied with men. It gets down to real need, and that’s a thirst that only God could satisfy.” Whatever else you do, Petterson warns, “Don’t make judgmental statements about them, their ideas, their friends, what’s going on in the culture. “Bite your tongue off before you make judgmental statements that make
“Always, the end game is to introduce them to the person of Jesus Christ, who alone can change the way they think.” — Bob Petterson
you appear as if you’ve got it together and the rest of the people don’t.” The end game is never to win an argument for its own sake, Petterson says. “It’s a hollow victory to win the argument and lose the person,” he explains.
“Always, the end game is to introduce them to the person of Jesus Christ, who alone can change the way they think.”
use him for the next 40 years to take other people across the same wilder- ness he went across,”
Petterson said of his recovery from trauma. “And so all of our pains and sor-
rows and struggles are valuable. You don’t want to lose the memory . . . you learn to manage the stuff . But you never totally get over the stuff . The stuff is there.”
Petterson says sometimes the
parents want to block grandparents from discussing religion with their children because they felt their par- ents’ parents (e.g., the grandparents of Gen Z) were too strict or zealous with religious training. “A gal asked me, ‘What do I do? I
can’t talk to my grandchildren about Jesus,’” Petterson said. “I said, ‘Then what you need to do is talk to Jesus about your grandchildren.’”
women, but the coach also has his reputation tied into the wins that his team gets.” Petterson says since grandparents are in the “fourth quarter”
of life, they’ve gained much during the first three quarters of living. “They’ve gained experience, wisdom, resources, and so
they have everything they need,” Petterson said. “I always tell grandparents wherever I go: 80% of football games are won in the fourth quarter or lost in the fourth quarter. “So, if God were going to hold us accountable for what
He’s given us, which quarter of our life would he hold us most accountable to be? It’d be our fourth quarter.”
DECEMBER 2023 | NEWSMAX 59
BOOK/AMAZON / FOOTBALL/LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS/SHUTTERSTOCK
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