Fathering Our Future

Should your teen get a job while still in high school?

After watching a reel from parenting creator Scot Anderson arguing that teens should not work at 16, I found myself agreeing with part of his reasoning and questioning the rest. Responsibility should be taught at home. But does that mean teenagers should be kept from opportunities to practice it?

In this episode, I consider what a part-time job can reveal about a teenager’s character, money habits, work ethic, and ability to navigate real-world pressure. I also explain why I would rather help my children process those experiences while they are still at home.

This is not an argument that every teenager must work. It is a challenge for parents to think carefully about how responsibility becomes wisdom.

Explore practical Christian fatherhood resources:
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Your kids are watching you more closely than you realize.

They see how you lead, how you respond, what you believe, and the kind of man you are becoming. And sometimes, they see something in you that you have a hard time seeing in yourself.

In this episode, I share a personal moment with my son that reminded me just how much weight our example carries as fathers.

The challenge is simple:

Strive to be the dad your kids already think you are.

You will not be perfect. Neither will I. But our children are learning about fatherhood, manhood, faith, integrity, and leadership by watching the way we live.

So keep growing. Keep leading. Keep becoming the man your children believe you can be.

For more resources to help you become a better dad, visit: fatheringourfuture.com/resources/

If you want to become a better dad, personal discipline matters more than you might think.

And strangely enough, one of the best lessons I’ve learned about discipline came from watching cucumber plants grow in our garden.

As the plant reaches toward the sun, it continually grabs hold of fixed points around it. Those anchors give it support as it grows and help keep one disruption from bringing the entire plant crashing down.

I think dads need the same thing.

In this episode of Fathering Our Future, I share three practical ways men can create those anchor points through commitments, community, and intentionally remembering what matters.

I also revisit my philosophy of fatherhood through three connected areas: mission, relationships, and identity.

Our mission is to disciple our children. But discipleship requires influence, and influence requires relationship. That means we have to become men of personal integrity—men our children can trust, respect, and actually want a relationship with.

Being a good dad is not simply about checking boxes or providing the right things. It is about becoming the dad your child needs you to be.

And that requires discipline.

Motivation isn’t enough. Build anchors. Practice discipline. Become the man—and the dad—your children need.

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Stop being a slave to your phone. Get From Weakness to Weapon and make your phone serve your pursuit of being a better man, husband, and father. 

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For other resources designed to serve dads check out: https://fatheringourfuture.com/resources/

Most fathers want to be good providers. We work hard to give our children a safe home, good clothes, opportunities, experiences, and the things we believe will help them have a good life.

But providing for your children is about more than giving them good things.

In this episode, I talk about Jehovah-Jireh and what it actually means. Because the way God provides for us needs to shape the way we think about providing as fathers. It goes beyond the generic and it goes beyond what we may call good.

You can find my fatherhood resources, including tools for communication, discipleship, and discipline, here:

https://fatheringourfuture.com/resources/

No matter where you find yourself as a Christian, whether that be a faithful disciple or a full-time minister, you can never use God as an excuse to be absent from your family. That was never God’s design nor will it ever be His desire.

In this episode, I talk about identity and what it really means to put God first. As Christian fathers, our first identity is as disciples of Jesus. But that should never pull us away from being faithful husbands and present fathers. If our faith is real, it should make us better men at home.

I also share a personal announcement about the future rhythm of the podcast and why I am making a change for the sake of my wife, my children, and the mission God has placed in front of me.

In this episode you will learn:

1. Why your identity as a disciple should shape every other role.
2. Why God first should never mean your family gets your leftovers.
3. How Christian fatherhood requires faithfulness at home.

This episode is fatherhood advice for dads who want to lead their families well, love their wives faithfully, and become the men God has called them to be.

Get a digital copy of Following Our Father: https://fathering-our-future.kit.com/products/following-our-father-devotional

Get a physical copy here: (Amazon) https://amzn.to/3SrqrT7

Support Fathering Our Future: https://fathering-our-future.kit.com/products/anthony-vandagriff

Every dad knows the pressure of a child acting out in public. The restaurant gets loud. The store gets uncomfortable. People start looking. And suddenly, you are not just dealing with your child’s behavior, you are dealing with your own reaction too.

In this episode, I talk about one of the most important responsibilities we have as fathers: training our children at home for the real world. Our homes are not just places where our kids eat, sleep, and play. They are training grounds where they learn character, self-control, respect, consideration, and how to live around other people.

The added twist is that home is also a place where we train ourselves.

If you want your children to know how to live well in public, and you want to be prepared for the hard moments when they come, you have to faithfully train at home. Fatherhood does not pause when you get home. That is where some of the most important work begins.

Your kids may trust you completely when they are little, but will they still trust you when they grow up?

In this episode, I talk about a simple moment with my youngest daughter that hit me hard. She was tired, I picked her up, and she completely relaxed in my arms. In that moment, I realized I was a safe harbor for her. But I do not want to only be that while my kids are young. I want to remain a safe place as they grow, ask harder questions, face real struggles, and need a father they can trust.

This episode is a direct challenge for Christian fathers to become more stable, present, disciplined, and spiritually grounded. I talk about guarding your heart, stepping back from social media, getting outside, working with your hands, and building simple routines that reflect what matters most.

In this episode you will learn

1. Why your children need you to be emotionally and spiritually safe.
2. How social media can quietly steal your presence at home.
3. Why guarding your heart matters for biblical fatherhood.
4. How simple routines help dads lead with consistency.
5. Why integrity, discipline, and faithfulness build long-term trust with your children.

If you want your kids to keep running to you as they grow older, this episode will help you think honestly about the kind of father you are becoming.

Every dad gets angry. The question is not whether anger will show up, but what we do when it does.

In this episode, I talk honestly about anger in fatherhood, why it can rise so quickly, and how Christian dads can respond without damaging their children. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry and do not sin,” and that verse gives fathers both permission to recognize anger and a warning not to let it control us.

I share why delay matters, why angry words can leave wounds in our kids, and why the first response of a father should not just be taking a breath, but submitting to the Holy Spirit. This is not a complicated 15 step plan. It is a simple biblical parenting practice for moments when tension rises: pause, pray, and act.

If you are a dad trying to lead your family well, this episode will help you slow down, seek God, and respond to your children with wisdom instead of regret.

As fathers, we cannot rely on a "been there, done that" mindset. Our children are growing up in a world shaped by smartphones, artificial intelligence, and cultural changes that many of us never experienced. If we want to lead our families well, we must keep learning.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tim Elmore, author, and leadership and generational expert, for one of the most insightful conversations I have ever had about fatherhood. We discuss how dads can better understand Gen Z and Gen Alpha, adapt their parenting without compromising biblical values, and build strong relationships that last into adulthood.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why great fathers are both timely and timeless

• How to ask, listen, empathize, and guide your children

• The three personality types of children and how to lead each one

• Why dads should risk more, rescue less, and praise wisely

• Five experiences that help children grow into mature adults

• How to connect with your children so they still want to call you years from now

If you want practical fatherhood advice rooted in biblical parenting and real-world wisdom, this is an episode you will want to revisit again and again.

Check out Tim's newest book, The Future Begins with Z. https://amzn.to/4wwuxsR (Amazon)

If you want to become a better father, one of the most important questions you can ask is this: Does the fruit of the Spirit show up in the way I treat my children?

In this episode, I challenge Christian dads to examine whether their parenting reflects the character of God. Too often, we justify impatience, anger, harshness, and control in the name of discipline. But biblical parenting should be marked by love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.

This episode provides a litmus test to whether or not your parenting style is Spirit led or self led. You need to know how you are parenting because your children are the ones most impacted by that.

If you are ready to father more like our Father in Heaven, grab a copy of my devotional here: https://fathering-our-future.kit.com/products/digital-devotional-following-our-fa