The Journey Parent Podcast

Guest: Chris Harper, Chief Storyteller and CEO, BetterMan Ministries If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page. What is a man? The world is increasingly unclear about…and uncomfortable with…masculinity. But what does it really mean to be a man and how can you grow and mature into God’s design for manhood? That question was at the core of the conversation that I had with my friends and ministry partners Chris Harper at BetterMan Ministry and Gabe Boyd at The Trails Church. The three of us have been wrestling with this concept and training on this issue for decades, so it was really fun to sit down and record this conversation that starts with the development of manhood at the earliest ages and goes all the way to finishing your race strong as a man and leaving a legacy for generations to come! In this first of five episodes, I was able to chat with Chris Harper about the early years. The information we covered is tremendously valuable for parents looking to train up their children…or even for young guys wanting to know how to take strides toward God’s design and away from the confusion of the world’s message about manhood.

Guest: Erin Williams, LPC, PCA Upper School Counselor If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page. Marriage is both wonderful and work. God’s design to express His love and mercy to the world is on full display in the Christian marriage and when two people make a covenant to love each other, it takes the love of Christ in each to truly make the marriage relationship work! Marriage is a tremendous blessing, not only for the married couple, but also for children and grandchildren - the stability and picture of grace and forgiveness speaks louder than a culture that says that marriage is outdated and worthless today. Enjoy this powerful conversation with Erin Williams on the value of marriage and how to make yours even better!

Guest: Dr. Steven Lytle, Founder of Sparrow House Counseling If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page. Dr. Lytle and I will spend two weeks taking a deep dive into how divorce impacts children by examining the research and evidence presented in Elizabeth Marquardt’s power book Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce. While this book examines the kid’s perspective of how divorce affects their world, as parents we need to understand this - there are conversations that we need to have and decisions we need to make as parents to better equip our children to better wrestle with the realities that they are facing. Divorce literally changes the structure of childhood - regardless of whether it was a “good” divorce, or “bad” divorce, from the child’s perspective, divorce creates two new and different realities that they must now cope with and, in many regards, learn to manage at a very young age. Dr. Lytle says that as children learn to manage the two new realities, many of them become “cameleons” - meaning that they learn to change to fit into the two different realities. Many times children learn to lie to their parents in an effort to protect one or both from the harmful effects of the other parent. Interesting note from the book, the #1 stress of children of divorce is trying to protect the feelings of their mom. Dr. Lytle points out that while there is no agenda in this book, the evidence does point to the devastating effects of divorce on children, which should be something that parents consider before ending their marriage. Dr. Lytle points out that many parents take themselves out of community because of their divorce. When things are difficult, that is the time for parents to lean into a loving and caring community. Children of divorce often struggle with trust issues. Parents should make sure that their children are surrounded by other loving and trustworthy adults - the church is so important for children…and adults…during this difficult time. The book that I studied in a college class that is still powerful, just not written from a Christian perspective is The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: The 25 Year Landmark Study by Judith Wallerstein.

Guest: Eric Leininger, teacher in the classroom for 14 years If you’d like to watch this podcast, check out the PCA YouTube page. Parents, one of the primary “shifts” we’ve seen in education deals with the issue of where the responsibility lies. In the old days, students were primarily responsible for their actions; today if students have a problem, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the teachers. Parents, when your son or daughter has an issue in the classroom, Eric’s wisdom on how to best handle these situations is to address the problem at home and help your child learn how this situation can best shape their character. Eric does not recommend contacting the teacher unless the situation/problem is egregious. Disciplinary issues at a school or on the court/field are opportunities to train your children about how to better handle situations or how to work through a seeming (or real) injustice. Before contacting a teacher, Eric recommends that you examine Scripture and pray for God’s wisdom in how to best proceed. As a parent, Eric also recommends that you should look to trust those who are partnering with you in the discipleship process. Modeling for your students that we respect the authority of our teachers is a valuable life lesson. Here is the link to a video/article of Hannah, a young former high school English teacher who quit after 3 years because of technology and general apathy/laziness of students in the classroom.