Rooted Parent

In this episode of the Rooted Parent Podcast, Cameron and Anna take a look at Mary and Joseph's "Home Alone" moment. When they accidentally leave Jesus behind at the temple for four days, Mary and Joseph weren't at the peak of their parenting skills. But no human parent is perfect, and God's grace covers our shortcomings as our children learn to walk out his best for their lives.  Resources: Luke...

This week Cameron and Anna examine the annunciation, the moment in Scripture when the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear God's child. Mary's idea of what marriage and family would look like did not meet whatever expectations she might have had. Parents have much to learn from how God helped Mary cope with the gap between what she had hoped for, and the painful reality of being the mother...

Looking at two different father-son relationships in the Bible (Saul & Jonathan, and Hezekiah & Manasseh,) Cameron and Anna unpack the comforting truth that parents are not ultimately responsible for how their children turn out. Thankfully, God is. Saul was a faithless, unrighteous king, but his son Jonathan was a humble, loving, loyal son and friend. Hezekiah was a good king, banishing idolatry f...

In an episode youth pastors and parents will not want to miss, Cameron interviews Christian writer and apologist Alisa Childers about why biblical truth matters so much as we disciple our kids. Their conversation covers, among many things, the linguistic theft of words like "love" and "tolerance"; cultural lies like YOLO and "God just wants you to be happy"; and the importance of teaching kids to...

In this episode of the Rooted Parent Podcast, Cameron and Anna discuss the pitfalls of permissive parenting. Despite best intentions, sometimes parents fall into the trap of pleasing their kids rather than wisely frustrating their whims and desires. The tale of the priest Eli and his sons, contrasted with the story of Hannah and Samuel, helps us to see how permissive parenting can truly contribute...

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Looking at the example of Jesse and his sons, Cameron and Anna discuss how parents can focus on outward appearances and overlook a child's heart. Parents must learn to resist labeling children, to ask God for help seeing our children clearly, and to focus on developing godly character rather than outward appearances. Reference...

Looking at Genesis 37, Cameron and Anna discuss the pain that favoritism causes in families. When parents demonstrate partiality, everyone suffers. By God's grace, we can learn to treat all our children with equity and love. Resources: Ask Alice: The Impact of Birth Order and Family Roles on Sibling Dynamics Summertime Blues: Sibling Love – Or Lack Thereof by Katie Polski Sanctification By Sibling...

Most parents would like to think we would never use our children to serve our own agendas, but the temptation to manipulate our children to get what we want is more subtle than it might appear. In this episode of the podcast, Cameron and Anna examine the shocking example of Laban, who tricks Jacob into marrying both of his daughters. Upon closer examination, every person in the story is using the...

Looking at one of the most difficult and ultimately beautiful passages in the Bible, Cameron and Anna discuss the freedom parents will experience when they remember their children belong to the Lord. In this light, children become gifts and parents let go of anxious ownership. Knowing the grace of God given to us through Jesus enables a parent to surrender control and trust God to fulfill his purp...

In this special episode of the Rooted Parent podcast, Cameron and Anna welcome renowned researcher Dr. Kara Powell. As the Director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Seminary, Dr. Powell has spent her career studying the spiritual lives of American teenagers. She shares their findings from the past twenty years (first shared in her seminal 2011 work, Sticky Faith ), and then talks about how...

One of the greatest challenges for a Christian parent is striking the balance between being a wise authority and being a humble servant in the lives of their children. Parents must discipline effectively, training children to obey, while at the same time they must meet their children's needs with timely warmth and affection. Most of us tend to err toward one or the other, preferring to command res...

In this special episode, Cameron interviews Amanda Smith about how a parent can respond with love and compassion when their teenager comes out as LGBTQ. She reminds parents how much courage, fear, and pain their teenager may have already experienced before this conversation, and she urges parents to affirm their love and care for their child, who may fear rejection. Parents should also be aware of...

This week on the Rooted Parent Podcast, Cameron and Anna dive into the book of Proverbs. Noting that wisdom literature offers principles, not promises, they demonstrate that the foundational principle that guides the entire book is found in Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This is good news for parents because our hope is not in ourselves, but in the Lord. Our hosts...

We are thrilled to welcome you to the first installment of our newest Rooted Parent Podcast season: What the Bible Says About Parenting. The Bible is not about us, but it is for us. God's Word is an invitation to relationship with him, given to us that we may know who he is. As God disciples parents, parents in turn disciple their children to know God. So as we examine what the Word has to say to...

Our guest today on the Rooted Parent Podcast is Evan Barber of Axis, a ministry that creates resources to "bridge the gap" between parents and teens. Axis creates content for parents that explains trends and fads in pop culture, along with issues of "mental health, relationships, social media, and spiritual formation." Cameron and Anna ask Evan to explain a little bit about what makes Gen Z differ...

In this special episode of the podcast, Cameron and Anna have the pleasure of speaking with Rooted writer Clarissa Moll, whose new book Beyond the Darkness: A Gentle Guide for Living With Grief and Thriving After Loss is a wonderfully helpful guide for families in grief. After her husband Rob's death in a hiking accident, Clarissa has parented their four children, shouldering their grief as well a...

Nashville-based counselor David Thomas is no stranger to the Rooted Parent Podcast: he hosted the entire first season, All About Boys . For this special episode, David is back, sharing with us about his newest book, Raising Emotionally Strong Boys: Tools Your Son Can Build On for Life . For anyone who raises or mentors boys, David offers excellent insight on several important topics. To name a few...

In this episode of the Rooted Parent podcast, Anna interviews author Christina Fox about her newest book, Like Our Father: How God Parents Us and Why That Matters for Our Parenting . They discuss how Christina came to recognize that her best guide in parenting her sons was the way that God parents all of us, and how God's fatherhood helps her in her anxiety as a mom. They also go in-depth discussi...

Cameron and Anna were so excited to record this episode with our friend, licensed professional counselor Alice Churnock, who also happens to be the host of Ask Alice, a part of the Rooted family of podcasts. We were glad to be with her not just because we love her, but because she is seasoned counselor who can speak to the trends in teen mental health while also offering us the comfort and encoura...

In the season finale of the Fear Factor, Cameron and Anna highlight some of the most valuable insights and tools we gleaned from our conversations about parenting and fear. Remembering always that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” we find that learning to trust God with our children protects us from being motivated by fear as we lead our families. Hear some of our favorite moments...

Paul Tripp's name is synonymous with wise Christian parenting practices, and his book Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens is one of the most hopeful, practical resources available today. Our culture tends to see teenagers as problematic: hormones, inexperience, and expanding freedom create a potentially combustible mix in a young person's life, and parents can only hope that th...

In this important episode, Cameron and Anna talk with Michelle Reyes about the excellent new book she coauthored with Helen Lee: The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing Hope. The authors write: "When we are talking about an area as complex and challenging as race, our underlying inclinations combined with our uncertainties and hesitations often result in inertia, ignor...

Show notes: John 17:11-14 " We Should Talk About Disney ," by Trevin Wax, TGC " Why Are All the Kids Reading Dystopian? And How the Gospel Gives Us a Better Story to Tell " by Chelsea Erickson, Rooted " How Parents Can Use Brett McCracken's Wisdom Pyramid ," by Anna Meade Harris "Rooted Recommends: 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) About Christianity" "Good News for Teenagers" recurr...

Tish Harrison Warren expands on thoughts from her most recent book Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep , especially the prayer of parents who long for God to "shield the joyous" and protect their kids in their suffering. Warren is also the author of Christianity Today's 2018 book of the year Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life. An Anglican priest, wife...

Owen Lee is the senior pastor at Christ Central Presbyterian in Centreville, VA. He and his wife Margaret have three teenage and young adult children. Tracy and Kevin Yi serve and work at Church Everyday in Northridge CA, where both wear numerous official and unofficial hats. They have three young children. Hosted by Anna Meade Harris, author of God's Grace for Every Family: Biblical Encouragement...