A couple of years ago, while I was the Youth Pastor, I had a mom come to me and plead with me to fix her daughters. She had two daughters who were both… let’s just say… their moral compass was not pointing north. As she sat in my office complaining to me about her daughters, how they never listen, how they were into this and that… She had a tone that led me to think it was somehow my responsibility to make them Holy. (As a side note her daughters came to youth/church once or twice a month.)
I could tell in her voice that she was desperate, and after 10 minutes of listening to her spew, I finally had to ask her to stop so I could ask a question, to which I already knew the answer. “Do you go to church?”… I could tell that my question put her on her heels. “No..” she replied, “but I watch Christian TV.”
I calmly told her that her daughters meant a great deal to me, however, there was very little I could do for them. She looked at me like a deer in headlights. I continued to tell her that if she wanted to “fix” her daughters she needed to set the example and be submitted to a pastor. I told her that she should not expect me to fix her daughter if she was not committed to it. I went on to say that I could preach holiness and purity all day long but, as long as she permitted her daughters to dress the way they did she was voiding the very thing she wanted fixed. You can imagine that this was not the response she wanted. I prayed for her and told her that I would continue to do what I could, however she needed to consider making some changes.
As she left, my heart was saddened, I knew that she was not willing to make the changes. As the parent she was not willing to take responsibility for herself or her children. When God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply He gave humans the ability to reproduce, the responsibility as parents to raise a child in the way that they should go, and the authority to be the leaders of their house.
When I was a child, the rule was, “As long as you live under my roof you will be in church!” I didn’t have an option. When the doors of the church were open we were there. Think about it for a second.. out of 168 hrs in a week, 56 hrs will be spent sleeping, 21+hrs in front of the tv, 30hrs in school, 5hrs on homework, 2hrs in church (one service a week) and the rest (54hrs) with friends, on the internet etc.. being influenced by the world. Spending 2hrs in church a week is just over 1%.
As a parent, I encourage you to walk in the authority that God has given you. Make time at home to read the bible and pray together. Get your children to church when the doors are open and get them around youth pastors and leaders. By doing so, we decrease the amount of time the world influences our children and increase the time God influences them.
Edmund Hillary attempted to climb Mount Everest in 1952. A few weeks later after his failed attempt, he was asked to address a group in England. Hillary walked to the edge of the stage, made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. He said in a loud voice, “Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I’ll beat you the next time because you’ve grown all you are going to grow. . . but I’m still growing!” On May 29, 1953, only one year later, Edmund Hillary succeeded in climbing Mount Everest.
A friend told me, “I’m leaving the church.” As I listened to his excuses I was reminded of a story about a grandfather who fell asleep in his favorite chair. While sleeping, his grandchildren snuck in and put some Limburger cheese in his mustache. When the grandfather woke from his nap he exclaimed, “This room stinks!” He promptly got up and went into the kitchen. As he walked into the kitchen he proclaimed, “This room stinks too!” He then walked into the dining room and to his surprise “This room stinks also!” Disgusted with his house he walked outside. As he stood on his porch taking in a deep breath he shouted “My goodness! The whole world stinks!” 
“At the end of the day the most important person to come home is you.” In our desire to serve God we often neglect our own spiritual growth at the excuse of serving. The time we serve can often take the place of personal bible reading, prayer time and worship. We need to remember that we are called to reach people but not at the neglect of our own salvation and growth. We are responsible for both.
It originated centuries ago. When a man would go to war, his family would say to him as he left, “Come home with your shield or on it!”