Many dads live in the house. A lot of them still aren't there.

Alex Proffitt is the Area Director of Young Life for Sevier County, Tennessee. He came back from camp this summer angry — because half the boys he talked to and a lot of the girls were carrying the same wound. One kid looked at him through tears and said, "I just don't understand why my dad won't choose me."

Alex knows something about that. He grew up in a divorced home. He signed up for Young Life leadership as a front so people back home would think he was a good Christian kid. What pulled him out wasn't a program. It was an area director who welcomed him back when he knew he didn't deserve it.

In this conversation we talk about what teenagers in his county are actually carrying, what Christian parents keep handing off that they shouldn't, and why an adult who thinks he's too old and not cool enough is exactly who a sixteen-year-old needs.

This is the first in a series of conversations with the ministry partners Northview Church supports.

—

Young Life needs male leaders. About 75% of Alex's current team is women, and they need men willing to step into the lives of boys. If that's you:

www.younglifeseviercounty.com

—

CHAPTERS

00:00 The kid I still think about

03:03 Divorced at three, church every Sunday

11:55 The dealer's apartment that scared me straight

19:41 What Young Life actually is (and isn't)

23:53 70% of teenagers aren't in any youth group

25:42 What kids around here are carrying

26:20 "Why won't my dad choose me?"

29:31 Getting students into a local church

34:18 The part of this job that wears you down

37:13 Ministry at night, family at home

38:25 Seniors leading freshmen

40:56 What Christian parents keep getting wrong

43:46 You're not too old to reach a teenager

45:09 What Alex needs you to pray for

49:50 What God made me for

—

The God Made Podcast with Greg Rains

Northview Church | Kodak, TN

The conversation explores the formation of beliefs, the authority of Scripture, the impact of outrage and exhaustion, the influence of content consumption, the labor pains of formation, the role of people in formation, and evaluating content consumption. Key takeaways include the impact of repetition on beliefs, the contrasting effects of Scripture and content consumption, and the deceptive nature of the absence of correction.

Takeaways

• Repetition shapes beliefs
• Scripture confronts, feed conforms
• The absence of correction feels like peace

Chapters

• 00:00 Evaluating Content Consumption

Christians are already using AI for Bible study, theological research, prayer, and spiritual questions. So maybe the question isn't whether Christians should use AI. It's how we should use it.

In this episode, Greg explores the growing role of artificial intelligence in the Christian life and one important distinction: AI can be a great research assistant, but it makes a terrible spiritual authority.

What happens when AI gives us answers so quickly that we stop wrestling with Scripture? Can we trust theological answers from a system that has learned from both sound doctrine and false teaching? And what do we lose when a chatbot begins replacing pastors, mature believers, and real Christian community?

We'll work through four major concerns and a simple framework for using AI wisely:

Research. Verify. Wrestle. Discuss.

AI can help us gather information—but it should never replace Scripture, the Holy Spirit, or the people God has placed around us.

God Made Podcast — practical conversations about following Jesus in everyday life.

What do strong Christian marriages actually do differently?

A healthy marriage usually isn’t built on one huge romantic gesture. It’s built through small, intentional choices made over and over again—how we talk to each other, prioritize each other, handle disagreement, protect our relationship, pray for one another, and remember the covenant we made before God.

In this episode of the God Made Podcast, we walk through 9 practical habits of healthy marriages and look at the biblical principles behind each one.

Some of these are direct commands from Scripture. Others are practical marriage habits that flow from biblical wisdom. Either way, they give us some great questions to ask about our own marriages.

The 9 principles and Scriptures we discuss:

1. Put your spouse’s needs ahead of your own
Philippians 2:3–4 • Ephesians 5:21, 25, 28–29 • 1 Corinthians 10:24

2. Don’t expect your spouse to complete you
Colossians 2:9–10 • Psalm 73:25–26 • Philippians 4:11–13

3. Spend time together
Genesis 2:24 • Ecclesiastes 9:9 • Song of Songs 2:10–13

4. Prioritize your marriage over your career
Genesis 2:24 • Ephesians 5:25–33 • 1 Timothy 5:8 • Mark 8:36

5. Prioritize your marriage over your kids
Genesis 2:24 • Ephesians 5:31–33 • Deuteronomy 6:6–7

6. Set  boundaries
Proverbs 4:23 • Proverbs 25:28 • 1 Corinthians 6:12 • Ephesians 5:15–16 • Matthew 5:27–30

7. In front of others, we only speak compliments about our spouse.
Ephesians 4:29 • Proverbs 31:28–29 • Proverbs 18:21 • James 3:5–10

8. Pray for your spouse instead of trying to change them
Philippians 1:9–11 • Colossians 1:9–12 • 1 Peter 3:1–2 • James 5:16 • Philippians 2:13

9. We agreed to a covenant where divorce is not an option
Malachi 2:14 • Matthew 19:4–6, 9 • Genesis 2:24 • Mark 10:9 • 1 Corinthians 7:15

Marriage doesn’t become strong by accident. It grows stronger when two people continually choose to love, serve, forgive, encourage, pursue, and pray for one another.

Which of these 9 comes naturally in your marriage—and which one needs more attention? Let us know in the comments.

If this episode encouraged you, subscribe to the God Made Podcast for honest conversations about marriage, family, faith, and following Jesus in everyday life.

For more information about Northview Church visit www.mynorthview.church

#ChristianMarriage #BiblicalMarriage #MarriageAdvice #ChristianCouples #GodMadePodcast

What does it really mean to have a biblical marriage?

Christians often talk about marriage in terms of roles, rules, responsibilities, headship, and submission. Those things matter, but it’s also possible to become so focused on defining everyone’s role that we lose sight of the heart of marriage itself.

In this episode, Greg and Kristi talk honestly about what biblical marriage looks like, the difference between Scripture and cultural expectations, and why marriage was never meant to become a checklist.

They discuss sacrificial love, leadership, submission, service, grace, and what it means for a husband and wife to pursue Christ together.

Ultimately, a biblical marriage is not just about getting the roles right. It’s about two people learning to love, serve, forgive, sacrifice, and follow Jesus together.

What made the Apostle Paul so resilient, useful, and faithful through opposition, suffering, and change?

In this episode, Greg and Kristi look at seven habits and disciplines that shaped Paul’s life and helped him remain faithful to the end.

Paul didn’t rush to be validated. He prayed for people specifically. He never stopped learning. He kept his hands dirty. He refused to walk alone. He never graduated from grace. And he trained with the finish line in mind.

These habits were not a formula for earning God’s favor. They were patterns of faithfulness formed by grace—patterns that shaped Paul’s character, strengthened his ministry, and helped him endure when following Jesus became costly.

This conversation explores both sides of Paul’s life: the private habits that prepared him for powerful ministry and the deeper convictions that kept him faithful through hardship.

The question is not only, “What shaped Paul?” It is also:
What habits are shaping us into people God can use—and what will help us remain faithful to the end?

What really happens when you stop going to church—and is attending church every Sunday enough to make someone a faithful follower of Jesus?

In this episode, Greg and Kristi have an honest conversation about both sides of church involvement.

First, they explore what Christians can gradually lose when they become disconnected from a local church. The greatest danger is usually not missing a single Sunday. It is allowing isolation to become the normal way we attempt to follow Jesus.

Christian community provides encouragement, accountability, relationships, opportunities to serve, and people who help us remain faithful when life becomes difficult. While sermons and online content can be valuable, they cannot fully replace life within the body of Christ.

But simply showing up is not the finish line.

A person can attend church regularly, listen to sermons, sing worship songs, and still remain spiritually passive. Presence in the room is not the same as becoming a devoted disciple of Jesus.

Greg and Kristi discuss the difference between attendance and engagement, how church hurt can make connection difficult, and how Christians can begin moving from merely attending toward building relationships, serving others, obeying Scripture, and participating in the mission of the church.

This conversation is not about earning salvation or shaming people into attending more services. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus. The goal is not merely better attendance—it is meaningful engagement with Jesus and His people.

The God Made Podcast helps everyday Christians navigate the real struggles of following Jesus with biblical truth and practical wisdom.

Why are you reading the Bible, hearing sermons, and consuming Christian content—but still not seeing real change in your habits, reactions, relationships, and decisions?

In this episode of the God Made Podcast, Greg and Kristi unpack James 1:22–25 and the difference between simply hearing God’s Word and actually obeying it. The problem may not be that you need more biblical information. It may be that you have learned to consume truth without responding to it.

We talk about why Bible reading plans can become checklists, how devotionals can sometimes replace real meditation on Scripture, and why exposure to truth is not the same as surrender to truth.

You will learn a simple three-part framework for Bible study that leads toward real spiritual growth:

Slow Down → Respond → Repeat

Instead of rushing through chapters just to finish a plan, learn how to read smaller passages more carefully, identify one clear act of obedience, and stay with that truth long enough for it to shape your everyday life.

In this episode:

-Why knowing more Scripture does not always lead to transformation
-What James means by being a hearer but not a doer
-How Bible reading can create spiritual self-deception
-Why consistency matters—but frequency alone is not enough
-How to use repeated reading and Scripture immersion
-A practical 30-day challenge to help the Bible move from information to obedience
-How to identify one specific response every time you read Scripture

The Bible is not failing to change you. You may simply be walking away too quickly.

Key Scripture: James 1:22–25

Subscribe to the God Made Podcast for practical Christian living, biblical discipleship, spiritual growth, and honest conversations about what it really looks like to follow Jesus in everyday life.

#BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #SpiritualGrowth #ChristianPodcast #Discipleship #BibleReading #James1 #FollowingJesus #BiblicalTruth #FaithInAction

Have you ever felt like giving up on prayer because nothing seems to be changing?

You're not alone.

In this episode of the God Made Podcast, Greg and Kristi talk about one of the hardest parts of the Christian life: continuing to pray when God seems silent and your circumstances stay the same.

Looking at Luke 18, where Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow, we discover why persistent prayer isn't about convincing God to care—it's about learning to trust Him while we wait.

In this episode you'll discover:

Why Jesus told us to "always pray and never give up"
What persistent prayer actually accomplishes
The difference between trusting God and trying to pressure God
One practical way to strengthen your prayer life this week

If you've been discouraged by unanswered prayer, this conversation is for you.

Question:

What's one prayer you've been tempted to stop praying?

When God feels silent, it's easy to assume He's distant—or even gone. But what if His silence doesn't mean His absence? In this episode of the God Made Podcast, we open Psalm 13 and discover how David wrestled with God's silence, why honest prayer is an act of faith, and how to trust God's character even when He seems quiet.

If you're walking through unanswered prayer, spiritual dryness, or a season of waiting, we pray this conversation encourages you and points you back to the faithfulness of God.

In this episode:

00:00:00 Why God sometimes feels silent
00:11:28 What Psalm 13 teaches about honest prayer
00:15:55 Why silence doesn't mean abandonment
00:20:14 One practical step to strengthen your faith this week

Question for you:
Have you ever experienced a season when God felt silent, only to realize later that He was working all along? We'd love to hear your story in the comments.

If this episode encouraged you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs this reminder today.

#GodMadePodcast #ChristianPodcast #Faith #Prayer #GodFeelsSilent #UnansweredPrayer #ChristianLiving #BibleStudy #Psalm13 #TrustGod #HopeInGod #WalkingByFaith