According to the Barna research group there is a resurgence in church attendance that is led by young people—GenZers in the modern nomenclature. Millennial are also increasing their church attendance but not at the level of GenZers. According to Barna “These are easily the highest rates of church attendance among young Christians since they first hit Barna’s tracking.” We are finding these results pan out in our own congregation. In fact, it seems to be happening in a lot of countries around the world, according to missionaries I am in contact with.

Meanwhile, Boomers are attending church less. GenZers attendance is remaining steady. Much of this change has come post-pandemic.

Why?

Aside from a work of God in our culture, which is certainly going on, there are other reasons that are obvious but somehow being ignored. …

Read the rest of the post here: The Young People’s Revival and How Churches Must Respond or just listen to the podcast.

We are back to interviewing our authors from the Growing Fathers edition of FrontLine, the July/August edition. We are fast moving on into fall, so we are gearing up for the next edition, but there are a few more interviews from this one to bring to your attention.

Today's guest is Caleb French, who serves on the staff of Northwest Valley Baptist Church in Glendale, Arizona. His article had the title "The Fatally Friendless Father." In the interview, I think we go into some depth discussing what Caleb means by that, so I will not spend a lot of time describing it here.

I will say, however, that what Caleb is describing is purposeful Christian friendships where Christian men help one another grow in Christ. It's not just a casual sharing of common interests (those kinds of friendships are fine too), but it's about purposefully entering regular conversations with one or more brothers to really push each other in spiritual growth.

That's all for now, Caleb will tell us more about it shortly.

Before we get to the interview, let me remind you that Caleb's article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

Caleb's article for paying subscribers (excerpt for everyone else): The Fatally Friendless Father

Growing Fathers Links:

Growing Fathers Blog | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Growing Fathers Podcast | Helping Christian Dads Grow

The Growing Fathers Accountability Guide (mentioned in the article and podcast): transparency-questions-growing-fathers.pdf

Proclaim & Defend: Contents and Editorial

Growing Fathers (FrontLine July/August 2025) – Proclaim & Defend

The death of James Dobson this week has revealed a level of vitriol against him that I did not know existed. The reaction seems to be primarily focused on his 1978 work, The Strong-Willed Child. It is easy to dismiss such criticisms as the bitterness of people who never truly embraced the faith, and that might be true in many cases. But a bit of self-examination in humility is also in order. I have seen parents misapply the Bible in their parenting, which can result in abusive behavior. I do not want to review Dobson’s book right now, but I do want to acknowledge this parenting danger.

The problem is seeking the illusion of control. The balance is parenting in faithful obedience, trusting the Spirit of God to work in the heart of your child.

My wife and I raised five children. We are by no means perfect parents. One of those children would have clearly been categorized as a strong-willed child in the Dobson nomenclature. This child was unusually mentally committed to getting exactly what he wanted and willing to endure significant discomfort and pain in the process. I learned quickly that if I continued to escalate physical discipline to get conformity (much less submission), I would go beyond biblical parenting to abuse. This became a real test of faith for us. Here is what we learned.

…

Read the whole thing here, or just listen to the podcast.

This is a bonus edition of the podcast. It's the product of a summer visit from longtime friends who visited us for a couple of weeks this summer. I've been reading a bit about AI since our first FrontLine edition of the year that was devoted to the subject. Our friends mentioned that one of the professors at BJU had discussed the subject in a Sunday school session at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville a while back.

I went back and watched the session with Dr. Bill Lovegrove. It was very helpful and I thought it would be a good idea if Dr. Lovegrove would agree to come on to the podcast to discuss the subject for your benefit. He agreed, ant that is what this session is all about.

Dr. Lovegrove isn't "anti-AI" but he isn't a booster either. He is advocating a realistic approach that employ's biblical wisdom and caution. Along the way in our discussion we touch on ways that AI is revealing the weakness of our fallen human nature and our susceptibility to deception.

I think you will find the discussion quite interesting.

We thank you for tuning in and also encourage you to follow us on our blog, Proclaim & Defend, to subscribe to FrontLine and help support the ministry of the FBFI through your subscription to the podcast.

We include below a link to Dr. Lovegrove's session at Mount Calvary in the show notes. If the topic interests you, I think you will find his discussion there to be helpful as well.

Artificial Intelligence :: Mount Calvary Baptist Church

Yesterday’s Proclaim & Defend article prompted by this episode: You Can’t Hide Your Lyin’ AIs – Proclaim & Defend

* See FrontLine January/February 2025: AI: Developing a Christian Perspective (with links to our podcast episodes on AI)

* Also Interview 72: More on AI – Shumate and Hanson Discuss AI Ethics (additional bonus episode on AI)

School is starting around the country again, and the Christian School movement is growing again significantly. I wanted to take a moment to remind all that literacy education, even from Bible times, has been seen by godly people as an essential aspect of reaching people and truly discipling people for the Kingdom of God. General education from a biblical perspective is God’s work.

The Hawaii Example

The first gospel-preaching missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1820. They were Congregationalists sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM)—the same board that had commissioned Adoniram Judson to Burma eight years earlier. As with Carey and Judson, the initial work of the missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands focused on language.

Learning the native language was essential for communicating gospel truth. These early missionaries believed that reading the Bible was vital to the growth of true Christianity within the soul. The independent study of Scripture had sparked the Reformation, and personal possession of the Bible for private study was once a capital offense under the Inquisition.

Putting the Bible into the hands of the people had profound effects. It enabled personal conviction through the power of the Holy Spirit and removed theological control from a select few. Influenced by the First and Second Great Awakenings, these missionaries understood that true Christianity involved the transformation of the soul, not mere outward conformity to religious norms. Inward faith is nurtured through private worship. …

Read the whole post here: Teaching Children (and Adults) to Read is God’s Work – Proclaim & Defend (or just listen to the podcast).

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

We are discussing the July/August edition of FrontLine, featuring the theme "Growing Fathers."

Growing Fathers is not only the theme of this edition but it is also a blog and a podcast. We include links here in our show notes.

Our guest today is Chris Pennington. His article for FrontLine was called, "5 Things Kids Need to Hear Dad Say" The article was published a few years ago on the Growing Fathers blog, and republished in our latest FrontLine. In our conversation, we talk about the things Chris wrote about in the article as well as discussing other things that Chris has learned in the ensuing years.

We hope you find this conversation helpful for your own lives. God gave us children so we could raise them for his glory. Chris offers us some thoughtful insight on part of that process. We hope you take it in and share it with others. If you are in the child-rearing stage, share it with your peers. If you are a grandfather, like me, share it with your sons and others you are discipling. Encourage others to listen to our podcast, and this time, check out the Growing Fathers blog and podcast as well. These young men are doing a good work for God and we want to help them get more attention for the work they are doing.

Before we get to the interview, let me remind you that Chris's article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

Chris's article for paying subscribers (excerpt for everyone else):

5 Things Kids Need to Hear Dad Say

Growing Fathers Links:

Growing Fathers Blog | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Growing Fathers Podcast | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Proclaim & Defend: Contents and Editorial

Growing Fathers (FrontLine July/August 2025) – Proclaim & Defend

As a young pastor, I watched my mother walk a path that many dread but most will eventually face — the journey of caring for aging parents. First, it was my grandfather, whose health declined rapidly and who passed away in my parents’ home — in the very room that had once been mine. A few years later, my grandmother battled bone cancer. The pain and complexity of her condition was beyond my mother’s ability to manage alone. She agonized over the decision to place her in hospice care, ultimately spending hours with her every day during those final months.

Now, my mother is facing her own end-of-life journey, and I find myself retracing the steps I once helped her take. After nearly four decades of ministry, I’ve counseled many people in this same situation. What I’ve seen time and again is that even the most loving, conscientious children are often riddled with guilt — especially when decisions feel impossibly hard. But Scripture offers clarity, comfort, and guidance for those walking this sacred path.

The Bible speaks directly to our role in caring for aging parents. In 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul writes that anyone who does not provide for their relatives is “worse than an unbeliever.” This passage isn’t about caring for children — it’s about widows and aging parents. The responsibility falls on family first, not the church or society. …

Read the complete post here: A Biblical Message for Children of Aging Parents, or just listen to the podcast.

We are discussing the July/August edition of FrontLine, featuring the theme "Growing Fathers."

Growing Fathers is not only the theme of this edition but it is also a blog and a podcast. We include links here in our show notes.

Our guest today is John Dalrymple, who also serves as the host of the Growing Fathers podcast. His article for FrontLine was called, "Jesus’ Guide to Praying for Your Children." He uses the Lord's prayer as the model, really just the way the prayer was intended. No matter the need, as we study the Lord's prayer, it serves as a great guide for our own walk with God.

We hope you find this conversation helpful for your own lives. If you have young children, you should purposefully pray for them. If you have grown children, as I do, they still need your prayers. And regardless of your station in life, the material we are discussing here deserves your endorsement with others. Encourage others to listen to our podcast, and this time, check out the Growing Fathers blog and podcast as well. These young men are doing a good work for God and we want to help them get more attention for the work they are doing.

Before we get to the interview, let me remind you that John's article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

John Dalrymple’s article (for subscribers, preview for everyone else): Jesus’ Guide to Praying for Your Children

Growing Fathers Links:

Growing Fathers Blog | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Growing Fathers Podcast | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Proclaim & Defend: Contents and Editorial

Growing Fathers (FrontLine July/August 2025) – Proclaim & Defend

As parents age, the dynamics of family life shift in profound ways. One of the most important—and often overlooked—conversations aging parents must have is about their end-of-life care. This isn’t a topic to delay until crisis strikes. It’s a conversation that should happen while minds are clear, hearts are open, and options are available.

The Urgency of the Conversation

Aging parents must speak with their children about their expectations and plans for their sunset years. This includes discussing living arrangements, medical care, financial matters, and emotional needs. These conversations are not just practical—they are deeply spiritual and relational. Scripture calls us to live wisely and lovingly, and that includes preparing for the inevitable transitions of aging.

Biblical Tensions and Responsibilities

Scripture presents what may seem like competing principles regarding family care:

1 Timothy 5:8 reminds us:“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Matthew 19:29 and Luke 14:26–27, however, emphasize the cost of discipleship, even when it involves leaving family behind for the sake of Christ.

These passages are not contradictory but contextual. The latter verses speak to the priority of Christ over all earthly ties, especially when family demands conflict with spiritual obedience. The former affirms the importance of caring for one’s household—in the context its aging parents. Aging parents must recognize that their children have God-given callings and responsibilities—raising their own families, nurturing marriages, and serving in their communities. Parental needs must not override these responsibilities. …

Read the whole article here, or just listen to the podcast.

Today we begin our podcast series on the July/August edition of FrontLine, featuring the theme "Growing Fathers."

Growing Fathers is not only the theme of this edition but it is also a blog and a podcast. We include links here in our show notes. Our conversation today is with Kristopher Schaal who put the magazine together this time.

His duties here came on short notice as one of our regular Associate Editors has suffered some health problems and has had to step down. Kris and his co-authors from Growing Fathers stepped into the breach and did an excellent job.

Our conversation covered the ministry of Growing Fathers, how it came about, what the authors are trying to do with it and so on. It's a ministry we follow with interest and really want you to follow it as well, especially if you are in the category of a young dad.

And even if, like me, you are not a young dad (or young mom) anymore … well, I still feel young, most days … this ministry is one you can pass on to your grown sons or young people you know. I just subscribed to the podcast and have been blessed by the topics I've listened to so far. This is good stuff, pass it on.

Now, normally, the person I'm interviewing also has an article in the magazine that we make available to our paying subscribers. This time, we only have the opening editorial by Kris, which we have already published on Proclaim & Defend blog site. I'll give you that link also.

All that's left for me to do now is to ask you to join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.

Growing Fathers Links:

Growing Fathers Blog | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Growing Fathers Podcast | Helping Christian Dads Grow

Proclaim & Defend: Contents and Editorial

Growing Fathers (FrontLine July/August 2025) – Proclaim & Defend