One of the founding principles of the Reformation was the idea of the Priesthood of all Believers. This was not some thought that was promoted arbitrarily by men like Martin Luther and John Calvin. This was their exposition of texts such as Hebrews 7-8. Jesus was the better mediator, the ultimate high priest. Hebrews 7:26-27 says: "For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need… the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever." The Reformers fought and gave their lives so that the ordinary person would come to realize that we do not need a priesthood or Mary or saints to have a relationship with the Father. Jesus gave His life to be the eternal and final priest so that He would be the sole means of our relationship with the Father. He would be our forever Mediator.
This type of thinking in the 16th century was dangerous as it called for the removal of the clergy-laity distinction. They proclaimed that regular folk should be able to learn about God and read the Bible. They called for Bible translation into the vernacular so that anyone could study the Bible and interpret it for themselves, apart from Roman central authority. This would shake the very foundations of the church in Rome. But as we now know, the Bible was translated. Men like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale would give their lives for an English version of the Bible.
So let's go back to our question. What does this have to do with knowing enough to teach our kids about Jesus? Why might some fathers and mothers feel inadequate to lead their own children in family worship, in understanding the gospel, in maturity in Christ? Dare I say that it has nothing to do with inability or ineptitude? There are very few people I encounter who are incapable of teaching their children about the gospel. Most men and women I meet who feel they are unable to teach their kids about Jesus have at least a college education or advanced degrees. They are certainly intelligent enough to learn enough about who Jesus is and how to process Scripture, to teach it to their own kids.
No, I believe the number one hindrance to people's inability to lead their own children in discipleship to Jesus is that practically speaking in the area of the priesthood of all believers, they are Roman Catholics. They believe in a clergy-laity distinction. They believe in a professional clergy. They believe in mediation through a priest/pastor. Think of a car problem. You bring your car to a mechanic because you who are absolutely terrified by anything under the hood and you could never imagine fixing your own car. So you bring it to the professional. Similarly, we can be so terrified that we do not have the answers (not the ability), that we bring our kids to the professionals at church, where we drop off our kids the pastor, the children's pastor, the youth pastor to be "fixed." For all intents and purposes, such a person is a practicing Roman Catholic in evangelical dress.
Men and women died so that the ordinary person can become extraordinary as they read God's Word. It's not theological training, but it is simply wanting God enough to read God's Word, to believe in it, to grow in it. Men such as John Bunyan and A. W. Tozer, without any formal education at all, have written books about God that we still read today, centuries later. How can this be? They simply wanted to grow in their delight in Jesus. They WANTED relationship with Him.
So dear friends, I think this is the fundamental problem. It is NOT inability that keeps us from teaching our children about Jesus. If we are honest with ourselves, we might find lack of desire, or laziness, or lack of perspective, or a combination of all of these. I'd rather have someone come up to me and honestly say, "Can you disciple my kids, I am just too lazy to do so," then to say, "Can you disciple my kids, I don't know how to do it." But I would I would LOVE to hear someone ask, "Can you TEACH ME and provide me resources so that I can disciple my children to love Jesus more?" Now that would make Martin Luther sing!