Brian McLaren, like many of us, grew up fundamentalist and then evangelical, and he has been a thought leader in forging a path forward to finding a way to sustain faith that is inclusive and healthy for the world. I am honored to invite him onto the show today to give us some of his predictions of what the faith landscape will look like as our children grow into adulthood.

There’ no getting around the awkwardness of talking to kids about sex, but it’s also a critical conversation to have if we want our children to grow into healthy sexuality. Parenting Forward is here to help! Join my conversation with Bromleigh McClenghan, pastor and author of the book, “Good Christian Sex,” as we help navigate the landscape of faith and sexuality, and how we can best equip our children with the tool to form their own sexual ethic.

Because I’ve been traveling, I’m running a bit behind schedule. While I work to recover and get back on schedule, I wanted to run a crossover episode with Little Faith: A Podcast for Parents Who Doubt. Havilah interviews me so hopefully listeners of Parenting Forward will enjoy hearing the roles reversed and hear more of my Parenting Forward story in depth.

This show is our first Q&A format! I answer questions from what to do if grandparents are spouting Right Wing rhetoric at my teenage son, to how to talk about the cross with 6 year olds, to how to raise our children to care about social justice. Special featured guest, Brad Jersak came on the show to give us insight into framing the crucifixion for children - thanks so much Brad! Let me know what you think of the advice column format, and submit question for the next round of Q&A at [email protected].

My guest today grew up in a cult and tells her story in her memoir, Once You Go In: A Memoir of Radical Faith. We talk about why adolescents and teenagers are particularly drawn to community, supernatural experiences, and what it looks like to parent teens without taking advantage of their vulnerabilities.

One of the pillars of progressive faith parenting is inclusivity, connecting with people of all religions and faiths instead of drawing dogmatic boundaries. Because of this, I think it is a critical conversation to have with interfaith families and children who are raised to be religiously literate in more than one faith.

Raising white kids is to raise children in a vexed location, at the intersection of whiteness and childhood. White children experience the smog of toxic white supremacy and yet are often silenced and rendered incapable of navigating racial tensions and build meaningful relationships with peers of color.

Today, I invite Jennifer Harvey, the author of Raising White Kids to help shed some light on why parents of white kids should care about raising race conscious children.

Andi Cumbo-Floyd is a writer, editor, and writing coach, who recently entered the season of motherhood at the older age of 43. She struggled with infertility and miscarriage before giving birth to her baby boy Milo, and she share vulnerably of that emotional roller coaster to parenthood in this episode.

“Domination is built by binaries.” My guest today explains why the race conversation in America is often flattened to the black and white binary and erases other race and mixed race folks. Sharon Chang is an author and race activist and we have an interesting and informative conversation about her mixed race family and how parents of all children can make the world more kind and inclusive for mixed race children.

When November 2016, and the election results were final, many of us were shocked, scared, and confused. Parents, in particular, couldn’t fathom how we could talk to our children when violations of basic decency were put on display and voted in the highest office in the United States.