Latest / The HighDive / Ep. 12 | How to Disciple Your Kids: Practical Tips for Parents

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Ep. 12 | How to Disciple Your Kids: Practical Tips for Parents · The HighDive

0:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, hello, Calvary Baptist Church, and welcome back to the High Dive podcast.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: We are so excited for today.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: You can probably immediately tell that today looks a little bit different because we're not in our studio.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: I'm actually sitting at my desk, and we've got a good friend of mine who will soon to be a good friend of yours joining us from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: I'll introduce him in a minute.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: But if this is your first time finding us, uh welcome.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: We're glad that you did.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: Know that the High Dive Podcast is a weekly podcast of Calvary Baptist Church, and we're just looking for ways to have conversations to go further on what we're studying it together on Sunday morning.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: So we're glad you're here.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Just do us a favor, go ahead and click like, subscribe, share all the things so that others can find us.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: You may have found us today, and you're not part of our church because this is on the interweb.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: You may be in some other part of the world, and that's great.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: We hope you're blessed and encouraged and even challenged today.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: If that's you, reach out to us.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: We would love to help you find a church near you where you could plug into biblical community.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this past Sunday, we looked through Psalm 78, and it was really a lot about um responding and looking at the example of the people of Israel, specifically the expectation in the first eight verses of Psalm 78 to be intentional about teaching the next generation, even the generation yet unborn.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: And so I have a very special friend, a longtime friend with us today, Chris Trent Kritz.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being here, man.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, man, I'm excited.
1:46
SPEAKER_01: I kind of feel like I'm a little bit a part of the Calvary family already, but I've been there a couple times, and Wendy and I did a parenting thing there one time.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: And uh just have stopped in uh in our many journeys out here in Georgia Baptist and Exigen Ministry World.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: So uh so yeah, I love your church and love your people.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: Good stuff.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh and we love you, and thank seriously, some folks may be watching this today and they may see your face and immediately recall you and Wendy leading a workshop.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: So we've got to have Wendy in here.
2:14
SPEAKER_00: She's the smart one, by the way.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a fair that's a fair point.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: You married up, bro.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: You really did.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: Uh and I just tell us.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh, for some people don't really understand maybe what Georgia Baptist Admission Board is.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh, tell us what you do and how that impacts even uh our church or our state.
2:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:34
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, so I'm a youth pastor by trade.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I was saved as a high school student back between my 11th and 12th grade year of high school.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: A youth pastor invited me to youth camp, didn't even know what youth camp was, uh, didn't know what church camp was, was completely unchurched at the time, uh, went to camp, understood that even though I had heard of Jesus, I didn't really know Jesus, so made the decision to follow Christ and accepted a call into ministry, even though I didn't really fully understand it pretty quick.
3:00
SPEAKER_01: After that, it had been a part of youth ministry ever since that time, the late 80s, you know, way back in the 1900s, you know, like it's been a minute.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: And uh, but five years ago, five and a half years ago or so, uh, Georgia Baptist reached out to me.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: I'd been serving at Johnson Ferry Baptist in Marietta for about 17 years, doing youth ministry and middle school ministry there, and had the opportunity to come on board here.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: And what I love about what we do at Georgia Baptist is we exist to help bring churches together in Georgia.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: So we are uh we're we're passionate about networking, we're passionate about equipping and helping churches of all sizes, of all different demographics and you know, all the stuff.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: We just want to come alongside churches and help them be great at spreading the gospel throughout Georgia.
3:49
SPEAKER_01: And so uh it's a fun, it's a fun job.
3:51
SPEAKER_01: And I get to lean in specifically to next gym ministry, which is both children uh and youth ministry.
3:58
SPEAKER_01: But to be fair, I stay out of the kids' ministry folks' way.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: I try to find the money when they need it, and uh and I focus on youth ministry for the most part.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's good.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: Well, I want to I would just want you to know, I can say this as public, how grateful I am for you and your ministry and all the Georgia Baptist world and the investment that you've made in our church or even the work that you do.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh several of our students were just at Impact Camp and they were able to experience the work from your ministry.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: So thank you, thank you, thank you.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh maybe let's jump into this conversation though, because I do really want to I want to the sermon, by the way.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: So I like I know what's coming.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: Man, can you just send your ties money this way then?
4:37
SPEAKER_00: That'd be I'm just kidding.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: Let's do it.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh I I do want to kind of learn and lean into your expertise, but I I kind of want to ask a fun question first.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Like yesterday in the sermon, then you probably heard it.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: We really started with this.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: Every every family has their own stories, and you know, maybe you're getting together for the holidays.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Hey, let's tell about this time, or you know, maybe what's something unique about your family, or some like something that people may overhear your family saying, or words that they're using, and they're like, What are you talking about?
5:10
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, what tell us about your family a little bit?
5:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we're empty nesters now.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: You know, Wendy and I our second just uh uh our our son got married several years ago and to an awesome young lady, and my daughter got married just about a month ago now.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: And uh, and so we're empty nesters now, but we we're having to navigate what you're talking about because when you have all of a sudden a new son-in-law or a new daughter-in-law and you start terrelling stories from the past, those kind of things come out as pretty funny.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: For us, it's the uh, and both of these kids knew this coming into this, you know.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but we're we're Disney freaks.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: Like we uh that was sort of our we jokingly say that was our beach, uh, you know, our beach house.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: We instead of going to the beach on vacation, we went to Disney a lot all throughout there growing up.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: And my son now works at Disney, so it's in our blood, you know, and depending on who's listening, you may love that or be scared of that.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: But he's uh he's walking with Jesus and he's a great light down there.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: But we talk a lot about things that happened on different Disney trips and our favorite Disney things and all of the stuff.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: And uh we love eating out at Disney, you know, just different stories there.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: So those things come up a lot.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have in a uh Sarah, my son's daughter, or my son's wife, she kind of was a Disney person as well.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: My son-in-law, not so much, so he's having to kind of ease into it.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: So there are moments where he's kind of like, you guys are crazy, but uh but that happens for sure, yeah.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: We're busy, we are Disney people too.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: But I will also say, like, I totally get like when you're because our oldest got married a couple years ago, and so now you gotta explain you got more context, you gotta give more history to these stories, you know.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: It's pretty awesome.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: It also plays out.
7:01
SPEAKER_01: I thought about this when I was watching the sermon again.
7:03
SPEAKER_01: I I don't know how much time we have here, but uh I also thought about like a lot of good a lot of this comes out in whatever your family text group is, like the name of your text group.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: Like, and so we recently had to navigate like ours is Trent Family Fun, and like we were like, Abby was like, Are y'all gonna change the name when I'm changing my last name?
7:23
SPEAKER_01: Molly, we're not making you change your last name.
7:24
SPEAKER_01: No, we're not changing, we're not changing the name.
7:28
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like you and I had that conversation.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: Don't you have like a crazy name for yours or something?
7:32
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that you say it on the podcast?
7:34
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I can, yeah.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: We have we have two, I gotta be clear, we have two separate family groups.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: We have one family chat that's just the four of us, yes, and then a separate family chat that is our son-in-law involved.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Son-in-laws, yeah, yeah, yeah.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Because because most of the family chat is just pictures of our dogs.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: And he doesn't care anything about them.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: It's like, please care.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: So, but we have another, and it's called Gasolina.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh, that that includes him.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: So, and it, but even that is rooted to a vacation that we had together.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: So this is what I'm saying.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: It's those type of stories, yeah.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so good top.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: So I I want to kind of lean in, and and I'm and I really am grateful for you taking the time to kind of catch up with us in our sermon, but uh Psalm 78, 1 through 8, it's all about um the importance uh we will not hide from our children the truth.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: And we even made the point like if we look at the analogy of like a relay race and passing the baton, like the baton is the truth of the word so that um they this is verse 7, so that they should set their hope in God, like that is the objective and the aim.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: But I'll be honest, like, okay, no one would argue with that.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: That sounds great, right?
9:01
SPEAKER_00: But when you actually try to do that, it's really hard.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: And my observation, you and I have both been in youth ministry a long time, a lot of families want that for their kids, but it's a lot easier to just pass that off to the church.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, you I'm just gonna send them to you and you teach them about Jesus.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I I'm not I'm in no way suggesting that you and Wendy are experts, okay, or that you've done it perfectly, but I do know your children, and you have, by God's grace, rear two lovely children.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: So like just from a family advice, if I am a mom or a dad and I'm wanting to disciple my kids and help them, like, how do you do it?
9:46
SPEAKER_00: What are you what suggestions would you have for that mom and dad to practically live this out?
9:51
SPEAKER_01: You know, one of the stories I think about a lot scripturally, and I've used this at times to talk about discipleship, Ricky, with um with families is the story of the paralytic and four friends.
10:03
SPEAKER_01: Um I think there are some interesting parallels there.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, they they knew of all the things they could do for their friend, they wanted uh they knew they needed to take their friend to Jesus.
10:15
SPEAKER_01: But here's what happens they're turning the corner and they look down the street and they realize they've waited too late.
10:20
SPEAKER_01: And oh my goodness, the room is overflowing, there's nobody going to be able to get inside, etc., etc.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: Right.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: Um and then they've got to go through all of these really complicated tasks.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: Complicated, especially if you think about contextually what it would have been like for them to get on top of a roof and lure a guy that's paralyzed through a roof and all the things, you know, that would have been tied with that.
10:41
SPEAKER_01: And one of the things I think about when I think about that was it was hard for them to get their friend to Jesus.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: I think that it's hard today to get people to Jesus.
10:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah and I don't want to say that it's impossible, but there are more challenges, I think, in 2026 because of all of the noise.
11:00
SPEAKER_01: And that's the other thing I noticed in that story that I talk to parents about a lot, is the fact that they had to deal with a bunch of noise.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: Those streets would have been bustling and there would have been it was overflowing and all the crowd.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: And somehow they had to work through all of that.
11:17
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's one of the challenges with parenting today is that we're having to parent through what I would argue is probably a noisy no, look, there's always been noise, there's always been temptation for sin.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: The world has been fallen for a long time.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's been a need for Jesus for a long time.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: But we haven't always carried around devices in our pocket that can be a complete distraction.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: And and and are pumping in all kinds of different opinions, and arguably are essentially discipling our children, depending on what device they're using and what uh social media account they might be on, and what influencer they're following, right?
12:02
SPEAKER_01: So so I think one of the challenges is tied to the fact that, man, we we're trying to we're trying to raise our children uh, you know, in a very, very challenging time.
12:13
SPEAKER_01: But here's what's great, man.
12:14
SPEAKER_01: I here's what I loved about your sermon.
12:16
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm pulling up the verse right now because when you keep when you leaned into verse four, we will not hide from them, from their children.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: We will not hide them from their children.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: Meaning, we won't hide the truth from our children, but we will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I what I was watching, I watched it this morning, and when I heard that, it welled up in me to say, you know what?
12:43
SPEAKER_01: I will not let the noise of the world hide the truth from my children.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: That's kind of what I heard, right?
12:51
SPEAKER_01: But I think the so how do we do that?
12:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, I think our knee-jerk is we always want to create rules and expectations, and those things matter.
13:01
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to pretend like they don't matter.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: But staying connected in this overly connected world is more challenging than ever.
13:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think part of well, I think the starting point, hands down, for any parent listening, including everything you talked about in this particular sermon, is simply it starts with you, the parent, the mom, the dad, having a key word here, auth an authentic relationship with Christ.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
13:31
SPEAKER_01: Without because here's the thing, I think because of the world our kids are growing up in, their ability to see through fake or see through just like things that we're doing because we do them, but they don't have authentic meaning in our life.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: I think teenagers today and uh even older children are able to see through that.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: So I think the key to discipling our kids starts with our own personal walks with the Lord.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh I I I just don't think you can get past that.
14:01
SPEAKER_01: It's not about you can't come up with enough devotional books, you can't uh drop them off at church enough.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna start with with our own.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: And then that cut what plays out then is therefore I'm not gonna hide the truth from them.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to live my life in a way that helps them to see that.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: I I really appreciate you saying that.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: I I have heard it, I don't know where I heard this originally, but I've repeated it often.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, I can't give what I don't possess.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, that's good.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh the mom and dad have an authentic relationship with Jesus that's lived out in front of the kid.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: It's in fact, I I even made this comment on Sunday.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: Like, your uh your home is the first pulpit a kid will ever hear.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: And so I think that is really important.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: I I'm I'm even internalizing as you say this, cause obviously there's a lot of noise.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: But I think if I have a if I have an authentic relationship with Jesus that I'm authentically living out in front of my kids, it's not just gonna be about behavior management or modification.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: It's not just gonna be about, okay, did we check the box off and show up at church?
15:09
SPEAKER_00: If I'm living that authentically, I'm gonna be more open and vulnerable with my kids about, hey, this is what we're praying through, or this is what I'm seeking the Lord for, this is what the Lord is teaching me, and that sense of honesty that I'm living that out in front of them is huge.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: That's one of the things we talk about, uh, Wendy and I, when we get the opportunity to stand before parents, one of the points we make is just start talking about your faith out loud.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: And I want to say this respectfully, like for some people listening, that might be a little scary because they may have even, you know, older children or younger teenagers or maybe even older teenagers, and the dad may be going, Yeah, but kind of up to this point I've not really done that a lot.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: And is it gonna be weird if all of a sudden I start talking about Jesus at the dinner table?
16:01
SPEAKER_01: Is it gonna be weird if I start talking about my faith or things I'm praying about?
16:06
SPEAKER_01: And the fact is, is it might be a tad weird.
16:09
SPEAKER_01: It might be a little bit of a but it's not a reason to not jump into it and and make that authentic.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: And what is the Lord teaching you?
16:17
SPEAKER_01: Here's something God, you know, is teaching me.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: Um and listen, dads, you know, especially, man, like make it authentic, like chase after Jesus in a way that your kids see that.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: Let them catch you.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, you don't you're not doing it so they catch you, but let them catch you spending time praying and spending time in the Word.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: Let them see you on a Sunday morning carrying a notebook and an actual physical Bible because you write things down that are important.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's those type of things I think that over time can make a real difference, you know, in the life of a kid.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: 100% agree.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: And I uh I'm reflecting on that uh another thing I heard somebody say a long time ago.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: I don't know who originally said it was uh they'll only go as far as they see you go.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: And when you talk about being engaged in worship, writing things down, I mean, that's huge.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Or I even and I'm sure you and Wendy did the same thing, but I reflect back uh through our marriage and parenting in no way trying to project that we did everything right.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm saying this with all humility, but we were trying we tried to be.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: You and our friends and we know each other like on a deeper level and we know our stuff.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Like me and people that are watching this may not know us well.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: But uh I can reflect back on many times.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: Like if we're if we're considering any major decision, uh a major purchase, uh a career change, a job opportunity, whatever, we would we would bring the kids in that because we we would even tell them, we want to show you what it looks like.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: Yes, to trust the Lord in big things.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: Well, I loved how you said, like also in that in your sermon, you talked about giving God credit for because that you I forget how you exactly worded it.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but it's essentially like, hey, you know, we're on this awesome vacation, but you know why we're on this awesome vacation?
18:12
SPEAKER_01: Because God's blessed dad with a job or mom and dad with a job that allows us one to take vacation and be able to afford this.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Like we're giving credit where credit is due.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: It it's those little things that I think uh end up, you know, adding up over time.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'll say this, Ricky, too, man.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: Like um a lot of this goes back to circle back for just a moment.
18:32
SPEAKER_01: I think the question that has to drive us with discipling our kids is what is our ultimate goal for our children?
18:42
SPEAKER_01: Like we have to really what do I want most for my kid?
18:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh I've got a great quote here.
18:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh Richard Ross is a professor from Southwestern uh Baptist Theological Seminary.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: That's where I graduated from.
18:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a lot of words.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh but uh he's a youth ministry guru.
19:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh he's been doing youth ministry for a really long time, and he's into his 70s now and still involved in youth ministry.
19:07
SPEAKER_01: But he he wrote this in a tweet one time.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: He said, I tell FBC parents, because he's actually still a member and and works in youth ministry in his church, uh, what is your highest goal for your teenager?
19:19
SPEAKER_01: Succeeding in a vocation, finding happiness, living morally.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: If one of those is more important than seeing your child live for the glory of God, that is an idol.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: And God often removes idols.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: Right?
19:39
SPEAKER_01: That's huge.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: So it goes back to like I think one of the things we have to ask honestly when we're looking at uh, you know, Psalm 78 is what is my ultimate goal for my child?
19:52
SPEAKER_01: Is it to help them not get in a wreck in a car?
19:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, that matters.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, they need to learn how to drive, help them to get in a good college or good school or find a good career.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: That matters.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: Find the right person.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: But the foundational question is but if you is number one goal helping them to live for the glory of God.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: Woo.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: That's that that's stuff.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: That's some good stuff right there.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh absolutely that I love Dr.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Ross.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing that.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: And I think that that reiterates even uh you're reinforcing a point I was trying to make yesterday.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: It's like, it's not like behavior management doesn't matter.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: It's not I want to be a good idea.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: Like I don't want my kids to be knuckleheads.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: I I want them to stay out of trouble.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: I want them to know how to behave, I want them to appreciate tradition, but that's not the sole goal.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: Verse 7 of 78 is so that they should set their hope in God.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: And I tell you, if if I'm being completely vulnerable and honest with you, Hillary and I have really had to work through, especially as our kids moved uh through adolescence into adulthood, we have to remind ourselves often like our objective is not to create clones of ourself.
20:59
SPEAKER_01: Right.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, if they have a different opinion about a social issue or a political issue or whatever, it's okay as long as they can root that in scripture.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, like have you sought the Lord about it?
21:13
SPEAKER_00: Have you prayed about it?
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Have you studied scripture about it?
21:16
SPEAKER_00: If you come up with a different answer than I do on some of those things, that's okay as long as you have you're hoping in the Lord first.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: So uh let me let me kind of segue to the second big question then, and I really want to leverage this opportunity we have with you.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: You mentioned authenticity a moment ago and how important that is for us, but that also begins to kind of pull back the curtain on understanding this generation of kids more.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: And you know, we also we're all familiar with you know, baby boomers or Gen Xers or millennials or Gen Zers, but yeah, these kids now are in a totally different group, Gen Alpha, and we're learning.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: A little bit about them.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: So kind of start to educate us on what we need to be aware of, what really speaks to these kids that we're trying to rear up.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a great question.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: There's a book that came out recently by uh Shane Pruitt and uh Dr.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: Shelly Malia.
22:20
SPEAKER_01: Uh she she serves or or is on the teaching staff at Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: And Go Cowboys.
22:31
SPEAKER_01: And uh they just have come out with a book called uh Connecting or Getting to Know Gen Alpha or Reaching Gen Alpha, I think is what it's called.
22:38
SPEAKER_01: And it's got some really interesting stuff.
22:40
SPEAKER_01: So if you're listening, just to give you a heads up, currently in uh what month are we in?
22:46
SPEAKER_01: June of 2026, the only Gen Z students left, according to what tends to be the accepted demographic or the years there would be our current who the kids that are about to be seniors in high school.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: Those would be still considered uh Gen Z.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: However, our children and our most of our high school, middle school, and high school students, so really like K through 11th grade starting in the fall of 2026, those would all fall into what we're calling the Gen Alpha generation, right?
23:22
SPEAKER_01: So now here's the thing, man.
23:25
SPEAKER_01: There are always outliers here, you know, with any type of Gen Alpha type or generational studies.
23:33
SPEAKER_01: But what I like about this book and one of some of the things I pulled was it's not so much making strong opinions about what they're definitely going to be like, but rather it's talking a lot about the things that they're facing so that we can consider the implications of that.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: So an example would be uh here if you look at like they give like the top uh three influences uh for this generation.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: And again, these are not going to be surprising to most people listening, but social media and technology would be number one.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: Number two would be cultural agendas.
24:08
SPEAKER_01: So the things that are uh we definitely live uh this is not new.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh oh, let me uh let me let me pull back for one second.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: Here's one thing to keep in mind when you're thinking about disgeneration.
24:22
SPEAKER_01: Uh social media and technology is not new to anybody listening.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: Cultural agendas is not new.
24:27
SPEAKER_01: Number three, uh elevation of feelings over facts.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: Not new.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: We all know this, right?
24:33
SPEAKER_01: But here's what's different.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: Those three things have been true for Gen Alpha since they were born.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: So for some of us, like so as a Gen Xer, like I yeah, you know, I didn't deal with social media.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: I had to learn.
24:46
SPEAKER_01: Even for your uh, you know, your millennials and your uh your Gen Zers, like they didn't necessarily but for a Gen Alpha kid, a kid that's the 11th kid, it has these things have been around their entire lives, and especially during those formative years.
25:04
SPEAKER_01: So that's one thing to keep in mind when you think about uh this generation, I think that you know is key to remember.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: So those influence uh that is a key difference.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's kind of like um our our kids grew up, you know, they're 20 and you know, plus now.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh they in their early, early years, tablets weren't really a thing.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: You know, parents are navigating that, so maybe not as well.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: Give them a tablet knot.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: But these kids in this generation, Jen Alpha.
25:42
SPEAKER_01: Tablets have been around since they were born.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: Right.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: They've never known life without the internet or without smart devices.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: So back in the 1900s.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: So what what uh obviously I could pick up the book and read it, or anybody watching this probably should pick up the book and read it.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: But if you were to extrapolate, then okay, so what does that mean, or what differences are some things that start to suggest to us about this generation from those influencers?
26:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, one of the things they uh they they include in the book that I think is especially helpful for parents who are raising children uh and teenagers today, uh, it and in light of the sermon uh that we're you know that you just preached on, how do we how do we share these things, these good things with uh students?
26:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, uh one, you know, they they give these big picture issues uh and challenges facing Gen Alpha.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on them, but I'll just run through the list real quick, right?
26:41
SPEAKER_01: So the birth rate, size, and expectancy, uh life expectancy of Gen Alpha.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: So you might hear people saying that people as a whole, like uh not just in the United States, but across the board, are having less children.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and that's true by percentage rate, but because there are because there are already so many people, this will be the largest generation on record, and probably already is.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
27:07
SPEAKER_01: So, so even though there's a birth the birth rate uh percentage-wise is going down, you've got to account for the fact though that because there are so many that are having multiple kids or whatever, the number still, the per the overall size is going to grow, right?
27:22
SPEAKER_01: So that's huge.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: This part's huge, and I think this is something that's challenging for churches as a whole.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh, number two would be family dynamics of Gen Alpha.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: In a recent study of Gen Alpha's ages 11 to 13, 50% lived with two biological parents, and 31% lived in single parent homes.
27:45
SPEAKER_01: 31%.
27:47
SPEAKER_01: 31%.
27:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh 17 in blended families and 2% in other families.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's what's wild.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: Comparatively speaking, only 7% of the rest of the world, not the United States, live in single parent homes.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: Now, we wrestled with this stat a lot.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Let me unpack that.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: Here's what this means.
28:04
SPEAKER_01: This doesn't mean that every other country is just killing it and they've got uh you know 93% uh with two-parent homes.
28:11
SPEAKER_01: That's not what that's saying.
28:12
SPEAKER_01: What it is saying is that uh the rest of the country has figured out how to navigate not letting kids have to grow up in single-parent homes.
28:20
SPEAKER_01: Regardless of what the other countries are doing, though, here's the thing in the United States, whatever church, including Calvary, uh whatever high school, middle school, there's a good chance that somewhere around that, you know, 30% mark, give or take a few percent, of the people going to school there, they're in single-parent homes.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: Well, that changes things, you know, for us.
28:45
SPEAKER_01: And also when it comes to talking about Psalm 78, it puts a calling on us as a church to recognize how are we going to come along beside moms or dads and help them to navigate pouring faith into their children, considering they're lit growing up in that situation.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: We can do a whole other podcast just on this topic, like it's like it's deep.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: But I'll keep going.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: You want me to stop or keep going?
29:11
SPEAKER_00: No, that's good.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: Please teach us Yoda.
29:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh number three, uh, coming off from the book, by the way, I'm not trying to take care of that, but the interpretation is from me, but uh uh these this is the list they gave.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Jen Alpha is the most diverse generation.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: Hello, Georgia.
29:25
SPEAKER_01: Uh, 47% of children identify as non-white in the United States.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: So you can do with that as you want, but the fact is that we're going to have to be mindful of the fact that things are going to continue to change when it comes to diversity and a need for diversity.
29:41
SPEAKER_01: Number four, I know we get sick of talking about it, but make no mistake, my friends, the pandemic had a massive effect, massive effect on Gen Alpha.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: Listen to this list.
29:51
SPEAKER_01: Isolation increased media consumption in online schools, right?
29:55
SPEAKER_01: So that's what they faced.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: Church attendance declined during this time.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh, from a spiritual development standpoint, this is this is this is terrible, uh, but eye-opening.
30:06
SPEAKER_01: Key events like vacation Bible school, kids and youth camps were canceled or modified during key moments for these children, right?
30:14
SPEAKER_01: In these kids.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: And some have argued that the decrease in baptisms in 2020 and 2021, uh, in the Southern Baptist Convention particularly, uh, is tied directly to the pandemic.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: So, man, like we have to recognize that some of the kids that are in middle school and like uh older high school, they were in some of their most formative years whenever they were having to go to school online as like first graders and second graders.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm standing in a room uh two, three weeks ago uh in Panama City Beach at our Super Wow camp.
30:46
SPEAKER_01: And I have like 60 people in the room, and I've got probably eight teachers in the room, and I'm like, teachers, tell me the truth.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: Is this is this true?
30:54
SPEAKER_01: And the teachers are like, Man, you have no idea how big of an impact like some of our kids are facing from an educational standpoint.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: So all the crazy like uh reading delays.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, totally.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I imagine some of those reading delays or math concepts that they didn't master social skills that weren't developed, some of that we're probably not going to fully see until they are in middle school or high school.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: We may not yet have revealed the magnitude of some of those things.
31:24
SPEAKER_01: No, that's from a church standpoint.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: But Ricky, if you if you take it from uh, you know, going back to the sermon and specifically Psalm 78, we may have to recognize that our kids learn differently now, and that there's a completely different approach that we may even have to take from a parenting standpoint with discipling our kids, right?
31:41
SPEAKER_01: Uh number uh five, Gen Alpha is a digitally immersed generation.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna submit, I think that's obvious.
31:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh six, uh they're focused on hyper-individualism.
31:51
SPEAKER_01: Again, don't need to spend a lot of time.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: I think that one's pretty obvious.
31:54
SPEAKER_01: Uh number seven, Gen Alpha knows all about division and polarization.
32:00
SPEAKER_01: That's not necessarily anything new.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: I think grown-ups have known about that for a long time, probably uh ever since nightly world news was a thing, you know, back in the day in the 60s, 50s, 60s, 70s or whatever.
32:13
SPEAKER_01: What's different now is all of that is shared with everybody.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: So any kid that's on social media, like, you know, maybe in the 60s, I wasn't around, but maybe in the 60s, every kid's not sitting around watching the nightly news and know and know that we're having problems with Russia, right?
32:32
SPEAKER_01: But now any kid that's on social media can hear about any conflict or any any bit of division or polarization.
32:39
SPEAKER_01: And regardless of what side you're on, you can't argue that we're we're not unified as a country.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: I agree.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: And I this is purely anecdotal.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: I have no evidence for this at all.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I use a feeling word.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you're right.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: The polarization is not new, but I feel like the extremes are more extreme.
33:01
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: And what is different right now, uh, and I gotta blame this on millennials and Gen Zers, not these kiddos.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: I feel like um if if we were back in the 60s and 70s, pre-Us, where there were certainly a polarization of issues, there was still some level of respect and common ground.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: I feel like now in the world that these kids inheriting are there is extreme polarization, and then because of well, if we don't agree on this one issue, then everything about you is bad.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: And so that inability um to find some common ground or common respect on what we do agree upon, um is it's problematic.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: We'll see, we'll see.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: Well, especially when you apply these faith, right?
33:57
SPEAKER_01: Like if a kid is going through a very, you know, and they're wrestling with is this true or not, like it can really create some challenges.
34:06
SPEAKER_01: You know, um, so yeah, it's big.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: I just one or two more here, man.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: Um they have unlimited access to information.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, the 2024 World Economic Forum identified disinformation and misinformation as the number one global risk.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: Woo, boy, that's wild.
34:25
SPEAKER_01: Uh but I get my news through TikTok.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: It's gotta be next.
34:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
34:30
SPEAKER_01: Um, so uh uh number nine, Jen Alpha has a difficult time trusting anything or anyone uh in a 2023 Gallip poll just 32% of Americans expressed a lot of confidence in the church uh or organized religion.
34:42
SPEAKER_01: So, all that to say, here's what I think a lot of that tells us.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of that tells us that our role as parents of discipling our children is more important than ever before.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: Because arguably the world is messier than ever before.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: There's always been sin, there's always been problems, but navigating for a teenager today, for a child that's going to be a teenager eventually, navigating all of that stuff is going to require some authentic faith.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: And I think we're going to be the ones that have to make sure we're helping them to navigate that.
35:21
SPEAKER_01: And the way we do that is Psalm 78, going back to the sermon.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: It's we we're not gonna hide this from them, you know.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna make sure so that a future generation, children yet to be born, might know about God and might love God and follow God, you know.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: So um it and to go back to your sermon as well, man, like one thing you said uh in there was uh we can know uh Bible stories and never feed on the fruitfulness of God.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: Um I I wrote this down when I when I was listening to the to your sermon.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: I wrote down, arguably, our children and teenagers will know more, and I use that in quotes, right?
36:03
SPEAKER_01: Will know more, okay, than any other generation ever before.
36:10
SPEAKER_01: But knowing uh is not the same as authentic relationship.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: Yes because you you you you think about the fact that our children will grow up in a world uh that has AI that at any point you can find answers to anything whatsoever.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: And I think there might be a temptation that you know, even what we know when it comes to AI and you know, chat bots and all the stuff.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: But what I don't think any of that knowledge and any of that um chatbot type fake relationship stuff is ever going to replace is authentic relationships and authentic walking with Jesus.
36:51
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: That's I and I actually think, Ricky, that's not scary to me.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: That's a that's an opportunity to me.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: That's an opportunity for us as us to get, you know, to go.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: Well, this is really all we we can't we can't try to compete.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: I can't compete with TikTok.
37:09
SPEAKER_01: But what I can do is I can love a kid, and TikTok can't.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: You know, I can point a, you know, so so that's there's a lot of it there.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: And I'm a little fired up.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: You got me all fired up this afternoon, man.
37:19
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm all like worked up.
37:21
SPEAKER_00: I want to check too.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: Like, here's one thing that is always one generation influences the next.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: So um, I have so much joy and expectation through Gen Z.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: You and I have worked with Gen Zers for years.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: Like, I I have said for decades, like, if they get excited about something, they will attack hell with a water pistol.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they are just motivated about things they believe in.
37:48
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm very encouraged about two things I'm noticing in Gen Zers.
37:52
SPEAKER_00: I realize we're talking about Gen Alpha.
37:55
SPEAKER_00: In Gen Zers, one, there is a huge surge in them engaging with church.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh so that that is potentially very exciting.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: Also, they are becoming a little more rebellious in a positive way against technology, like they're wanting more analog, they're wanting more disconnect, they're wanting more to unplug.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: And so I think some of that will have an immediate trickle effect into Gen Alpha.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
38:30
SPEAKER_00: But then I guess beta.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: I I bet I bet some Gen Beta kids, fewer of them are gonna rear and grow up with tablets.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: Because I think these Gen Zers were like, nah, we're not doing that.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: You know, here's a ball and some blocks, go figure it out.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, so I think we're in the middle of a of a tide that's gonna shift, that we're gonna have a some multi-generational positive impact that feels a little old-fashioned.
38:59
SPEAKER_00: That I'm uh uh part of me is really excited about.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm I'm with you, man.
39:03
SPEAKER_01: I I think I think you're I think you're right on.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: I think that's one of the things we're seeing.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I agree.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, man, uh you've given us a lot to think about.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: Chris has made a recommendation on a book.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: I tell you what, we'll do we'll drop in the show notes a link to the book.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh if you're hearing this and this is something you want to read more, and we won't even ask you.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Strengths of gen alpha in there.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: There's so many other things.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: They don't just go like woe is us by any means.
39:29
SPEAKER_01: They talk about strengths of gen alpha and uh they go into deeper study throughout.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: And again, I think it's just helpful.
39:36
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not permission to be snarky, I'm gonna be.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh parents we I say this with love.
39:43
SPEAKER_01: I I we've got no excuse in 2026 when it comes to understanding some of these things.
39:51
SPEAKER_01: If you don't understand a particular technology, a particular social media thing, Google it.
39:58
SPEAKER_01: Ask AI, watch a YouTube video.
40:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, it is incredibly important that we get this right and we help this generation navigate these things they're going through uh and and not allow those things to hide the truth.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: Psalm 78.
40:13
SPEAKER_01: But rather, yeah.
40:14
SPEAKER_01: So uh sorry, I gala fire.
40:15
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: Agreed.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: Man, Chris, thank you.
40:18
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your ministry.
40:19
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for trusting me, man.
40:20
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
40:21
SPEAKER_00: And uh thanks for giving us a little bit of time.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: And again, to all of you that have been watching or listening, thank you for giving us a little bit of your time.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: I hope you're blessed and encouraged.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: Check out the show notes.
40:31
SPEAKER_00: You can get a link to Shane and Dr.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: Malia's book.
40:34
SPEAKER_00: You can also get a link to our church website if you want to reach out to us, if we can connect with you further and come alongside you and uh tune in next week for our next episode to drop.
40:45
SPEAKER_00: But in the meantime, at where I ended, uh please take a moment, click like, share, subscribe, leave a review.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: It is so extremely helpful for us and for more people to hear and learn about um the High Dobb Podcast.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: So thank you very much, and thank you, Chris.
41:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, love you, Calvary.
41:03
SPEAKER_01: See you.
41:05
SPEAKER_01: Bye.