McKee - More than just the talk: becoming your kids go-to person about sex

2015 by Jonathan McKee

Published by Bethany House Publishers

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www . bakerpublishinggroup . com

Ebook edition created 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-6511-1

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Some names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of those whose stories appear in this book.

Cover design by Greg Jackson, Thinkpen Design, Inc.

Author is represented by WordServe Literary Group.

In a world full of explicit lies, todays kids need parents who arent afraid to tell them the explicit truth. This book provides parents with the tools they need to have these candid and continual conversations.

Dr. Kevin Leman, New York Times bestselling author of Have a Happy Family by Friday and The Birth Order Book

Jonathan McKee is one of Americas premier youth specialists, and this book will help you navigate the rough waters of teaching your kids healthy sexuality. There are some shocking but true statistics in this book to help you do your job. Its a very good read and can help your kids make good decisions about their sexuality for their lives now and their future.

Jim Burns, PhD, president, HomeWord and author of The Purity Code and How God Makes Babies

Parents, take a deep breath. This book pulls no punches. But it will give you exactly what you need to walk alongside your kids at this time when they most need it. Lets become a generation of parents that our children can safely come to for truth!

Shaunti Feldhahn, social researcher, speaker, and bestselling author of For Women Only and For Parents Only

If youre a parent of a teen or several teens like I am, then talking authentically and intentionally about sexuality is a mandatory responsibility in todays world. Failure to do so would be either sheer ignorance or negligence. To this end, Jonathan has written a thorough, straightforward, and engaging resource that will both equip and inform a parent for effective, culturally relevant, and God-honoring conversations about sexuality and all its implications. It is a critical read in critical times.

Brian Berry, generation ministries pastor, Journey Community Church, La Mesa, California; author, As For Me and My Crazy House

SO many parents I know dont feel equipped to talk to their kids about sex. This book helps you overcome the (guaranteed) awkwardness of conversations like that, and provides both tools AND motivation. I wish every parent would read it... their kids would be the ones whod benefit!

Scott Rubin, director of middle school ministry, Willow Creek Community Church

We shouldnt just wait for someone or something else to help our children navigate the confusion and deception that they experience regarding sex. Jonathan McKee is both a parent and a trusted expert on adolescence and youth-related issues. In this book, he provides clarity and practical knowledge so that you and I can do more than just give a nervous talk to our kids; we can be loving and consistent parents for them as well.

Terry Linhart, PhD, educator, author, Bethel CollegeIndiana

Kids need parents who are educated, aware, and relevant when it comes to sex. Thankfully, Jonathan McKee gives us powerful, poignant, and practical tools to help us win in this delicate and scary parenting arena. Read this and gain hope and confidence.

Doug Fields, co-founder of DownloadYouthMinistry.com, youth pastor for thirty years at Saddleback & Mariners Church, speaker, and author of 50+ books including Ways to Be Her Hero

So many books on this topic are written by people who dont actually interact with real teenagers. But McKee is a practitioner first, a frontline youth worker with current and regular interactions with Christian teenagers wrestling with the intersection of their faith and their sexuality. Never condescending to teenagers or parents, Jon brings his blunt and honest writing style to a subject I wish more parents were talking about with their teens.

Mark Oestreicher, partner, The Youth Cartel and author, A Parent s Guide to Understanding Teenage Brains and several other books for parents

Jonathan McKees book helps us to remember that the talk is a myth at best, and a terrible strategy at worst. A lifestyle of preparation, a strategic series of discussions, and a proactive commitment to conversation is what our kids need, and this book will help any parent to walk with their kids in confidence.

Chap Clark, professor of youth, family and culture, Fuller Theological Seminary

Jonathan McKee empowers parents with extreme hope and practical help to connect with their teens about this important subject. The valuable tools found in More Than Just The Talk are both profound and engaging, helping us keep current in our conversations with our kids! This is a powerful resource for parents, mentors, and pastors who value authentic family life and refuse to settle for surface relationships.

Bob and Audrey Meisner, bestselling authors, Marriage Under Cover and TV hosts, My New Day

Our kids have questions about sexlots of them. But who can they go to for truth? Answer: YOU! Parents have the greatest influence on their childrens lives, and next to leading them to faith in Christ, its your job to help them set godly standards for sex and relationships. This book delivers. It takes the stress out of otherwise awkward conversations and shows you how to make the talk an ongoing, healthy dialogue.

Michael Ross, bestselling author and a former youth editor at Focus on the Family

Parents must help their teenagers navigate a sexually charged, often misinformed world by establishing regular open dialogue. In More Than Just The Talk Jonathan McKee provides excellent discussion starters and a framework for rooting these conversations of faith and sexuality between parents and their teenagers in their shared faith in Jesus.

Adam McLane, partner, The Youth Cartel and coauthor, A Parent s Guide to Understanding Social Media

Jonathan Mckee is spot on in his new book encouraging parents to become their kids go-to for information surrounding the topics of sex.

Craig Gross, founder of XXXchurch.com and iParent.tv, author of Touchy Subjects