The MAVEN Parent Podcast

Recently, the Kunkle family sent their youngest kid to summer camp. When he got home and debriefed Mom and Dad on all of the conversations and encounters, it was a good reminder of the immense social pressure our kids may face, especially when it comes to sexuality and LGBTQ issues. In this episode, Brett and Erin recount the details of that conversation with their son and discuss the powerful inf...

Ever since God rescued Christopher Yuan from a gay lifestyle, he has used his story to point people back to God’s design for sexuality. In this podcast interview, Christopher provides a gospel-centered view of sex and discusses a brand new project to equip families with a biblical view of identity, sex, and relationships.

The son of Chinese immigrants, Christopher Yuan, discovered at a young age that he was different. In this podcast interview, he describes his journey from same-sex attraction into a gay lifestyle and then into God’s redemption of a prodigal son.

Many parents and church leaders over-emphasize our need for practical steps in raising and discipling children and students. However, if we don’t first THINK carefully, we may actually short-circuit the impact of our practical advice or worse, offer practical guidance that isn’t effective at all. In this episode, Brett and Erin discuss the role of thinking and reflection in our discipleship of the...

There’s a lot of good advice out there for building strong marriages and families. But how often are we encouraged to serve in God’s Kingdom work to strengthen family relationships? In this episode, Brett & Erin discuss the powerful impact that serving in your local church or in other ministry opportunities can have on marriage and family life. Doing God’s work together can unite families like not...

Culture often portrays fathers negatively. They’re inept. They’re irresponsible. They’re bumbling idiots. As a result, dads can become more passive in their parenting duties. In this podcast, Brett and Erin challenge moms and dads to examine their views on the role of fathers in the home and offer practical advice on how dads can step up and play the important role God designed them to play in the...

The culture’s individualistic emphasis on personal fulfillment at the expense of our obligations to others runs counter to the truth of scripture. A marriage in the Kunkle family illustrates how our children can become a huge blessing to those around them. In this episode, Brett and Erin discuss their son’s recent wedding and how we need to help our kids understand that their obedience to God does...

Controversy has erupted around the Target Corporation, as their celebration of LGBTQ+ pride has reached new heights. Carrying products like chest binders and tuck-friendly bathing suits has seemed to push consumers too far. So what’s the appropriate response from Christians? Should we boycott Target? Should we refuse to shop at stores that promote immorality? And how could we possibly be consisten...

Can a boy be “trapped” in a girl’s body or vice versa? Are there any good reasons to detach our biological sex from our gender identity? How does transgender ideology hurt people? How do we best love those who are struggling with gender dysphoria without compromising the truth? In this episode, we present a recent talk that Brett Kunkle gave to a group of fathers at a church in Southern California...

Parents today complain of fragmented relationships with their kids. What parents yearn for--and their kids, too--is deep, heart-to-heart connections. But how can parents compete with all the other noise fighting for their kids' attention? In this episode, Brett and Erin interview Greta Eskridge about her new book, Adventuring Together. She discusses how to break free from regular routines and fami...

In a technological world, our kids don’t have to go looking for porn…it’s looking for them. So can we even protect our children and students from pornography? If so, how? And how do we demonstrate God’s love, grace, and forgiveness when they stumble? In this episode, Brett and Erin discuss the challenging topic of porn with Greta Eskridge. http:// www.gretaeskridge.com/blog/category/Pornography

The word love is over-used. It’s under-valued. It has become a subjective concept. And therefore, love has lost a lot of its significance and meaning. In this episode, Brett and Erin discuss whether love is objective or subjective and how God provides us with the rational basis for the existence of objective love. They also discuss a biblical definition of love that goes far beyond merely affirmin...

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who has done a lot of work on the impact of technology and social media on our Gen Z kids. He recently wrote a Substack article entitled, “Do the Kids Think They’re Alright?” and was subtitled, “It’s hard to find members of Gen Z who think their phone-based childhood benefitted them.” In this episode, Brett and Erin comb through the article and discuss Gen Z...

Teaching formal logic may sound daunting or we may fear that we’ll bore them to death. So, one of the best ways to introduce our kids to logic is through real-life examples. In this episode, Brett and Erin close out their series on critical thinking by going through a number of objections to the Christian faith. They identify and discuss some common logical fallacies in many of the skeptical chall...

A logical fallacy is a mistake in reasoning. And we need to prepare our kids to recognize faulty reasoning. In this episode, Brett and Erin continue their series on how to teach our kids how to think critically by examining some of the most common logical fallacies. In addition, they provide some very helpful resources. Links: The Fallacy Detective — https://www.amazon.com/The-Fallacy-Detective-au...

Critical thinking is in short supply. Our kids won’t just “catch it” from an anti-intellectual culture. So parents and leaders must be intentional in teaching our kids how to think critically. In this episode, Brett & Erin discuss one of the most practical tools we can use to teach our kids how to reason well and develop critical thinking skills.

We have been dumbed down by the culture. Reason, rationality and careful thinking are absent from so much of life. Indeed, our educational institutions don’t even teach kids logic or critical thinking skills. So Christian parents must step up and take over this part of their children’s training. In this episode, Brett & Erin discuss the proper role of reason in the Christian life and the benefits...

In her 2023 MAVEN Conference talk, Erin Kunkle discusses the undermining of the traditional nuclear family and then explains the biblical case for God’s design for the family. She discusses the implications of God’s design and lays out practical steps we can take to restore the family in a challenging culture. This talk provides the necessary Christian worldview framework for understanding how fam...

In his 2023 MAVEN Conference talk, Christopher Yuan shares his testimony of how God’s grace redeemed him and brought him out of a gay lifestyle. Then he carefully explains God’s design for human sexuality by walking through the biblical teaching. This talk provides a clear view of “holy sexuality” and challenges parents, grandparents and leaders to teach a fully gospel-centric approach to sexualit...

Is it better for our adult children to marry younger? Or should they delay this significant decision? Do the rates of divorce differ between those who marry young and those who delay marriage? In this episode, Brett and Erin unpack some of the benefits of marrying younger and how the church can support young married couples. Book: The Ring Makes All the Difference — https://www.amazon.com/Ring-Mak...

People are waiting longer to get married. The new marriage norm for American men and women is to marry around the age of 30. Is this a good trend? What explains these recent marriage trends? And should we encourage our children to wait, as well? Brett and Erin discuss this current cultural trend in marriage, the secularism that seems to motivate it, and contrast it with the biblical view. Website:...

The proposal of new “normal" family structures is causing the culture to rethink the supremacy of the traditional family. Same-sex parents. Families where children are conceived by assisted reproduction. Single-parent homes formed by divorce. Stepfamilies. Cohabiting parents. These new ways of being a family raise a host of questions. Are mothers and fathers essential? Do children do just as well...

The proposal of new “normal" family structures are causing the culture to rethink the supremacy of the traditional family. Same-sex parents. Families where children are conceived by assisted reproduction. Single-parent homes formed by divorce. Stepfamilies. Cohabiting parents. These new ways of being a family raise a host of questions. Are mothers and fathers essential? Do children do just as well...

How do we teach our kids the Bible effectively? What practical steps can we take with our kids to get them acquainted and interacting with Scripture? In part two of this two-part podcast series, Brett and Erin offer a host of practical ideas that you can implement RIGHT NOW in your home and family life. Links to Resources Mentioned in the Show: Questioning the Bible by Jonathan Morrow: https://www...

If the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, it should be the primary “textbook” for our kids. But how can we effectively teach them how to read, study, and handle the Bible? In part one of this two-part podcast series, Brett and Erin discuss how our own view of Scripture is the starting point for teaching our kids the Bible. Links to Resources Mentioned in the Show: Questioning the Bible by Jon...