The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast

Fatherhood is often tiring. But does it have to be? Brett and Perry share some of the ways they maintain high energy in their own lives so that they can show up fully for their families. Brett also reveals a personal struggle that has been robbing him of energy, and what God has been showing him about how to navigate it during this busy season of his life. Perry closes with a proven breathing exer...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Perry encourages you to have an adventure with your kids based on their passions, not yours. Check back every Friday morning for a new Friday Focus episode where we share one piece of encouragement, insight, motivation, or how-to that you can focus on heading into the weekend so that you can show up more fully in the lives...

Scripture connects love with discipline. If we truly love our children, we need to discipline them. But how? In this episode, Brett and Perry talk about ways in which they punish their children — what works, what doesn’t work, and most importantly, how to connect with the heart of each child uniquely. Change of action stems from change of heart, so if our kids are truly going to grow and change th...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Brett discusses the importance of rest and shares practical ways to do it even while spending time with your family this weekend. The book referenced at the beginning of the episode is Peak Performance   by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. “For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will...

Sometimes our kids mess up and need discipline. Other times they need grace. Chaplain Rick Brewer joins the show this week to talk about that all-important interplay between letting our children know we’re there for them by rescuing them when necessary, but not going so far as to enable behavior that needs correcting. Rick also talks about the biblical principle of “instructing as you go” and shar...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Perry shares an intention that his family tries to honor each week around screen time. He encourages you to join him in the challenge! Check back every Friday morning for a new Friday Focus episode where we share one piece of encouragement, insight, motivation, or how-to that you can focus on heading into the weekend s...

We can all be better fathers to the extent that we can better exemplify the attributes that Paul refers to as "fruits of the spirit" in Galatians 5:22 - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In this episode Brett and Perry discuss these characteristics as they pertain to fatherhood. They also share the results of a bold experiment the...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Perry warns against the increasingly-prevalent "stay safe" culture and talks about the value of encouraging your kids to take reasonable risk — and how to father them through those experiences responsibly. Check back every Friday morning for a new Friday Focus episode where we share one piece of encouragement, insight, moti...

Brett introduces his daughter, Revalyn Maxine Ethridge, born January 28, 2023, to the Faithful Fatherhood community. He and Perry discuss the significance of Revalyn’s name, what it was like to have a home birth, how he (Brett) and his wife walked out this pregnancy in faith after losing another daughter in 2021, whether or not there’s extra “weight” to fathering a daughter after three boys, and t...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Brett recalls a profound question asked by the convicted Russian spy in Tom Hanks' 2015 film Bridge of Spies , and discusses how the question can help us recalibrate our thinking when we find ourselves beset by worry. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why...

What makes for a strong father-daughter relationship? John Hutchinson and his daughter, Nancy Hughes (co-host Perry’s wife), join this episode to share stories and reflect on the ingredients of a healthy, loving father-daughter dynamic. This wide-ranging conversation hits on the importance of having fun with your kids, what makes a daughter feel loved, how to protect a girl's heart, what not to do...

As Brett anxiously awaits the arrival of his daughter, he picks Perry's brain about what it's like to raise a daughter — how girls are different than boys, why he (Perry) was initially intimidated by the weight of responsibility of fathering a daughter, how to handle a girl's myriad emotions, ways to intentionally protect and nurture a daughter's heart, and more. If you have daughters, are ex...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Brett shares three ways we can better understand our kids, and why it's so important. Inspiration: "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." — Proverbs 14:29 Check back every Friday morning for a new Friday Focus episode where we share one piece of encouragement, insigh...

It’s easy to get wrapped up in our kids’ lives at the expense of our marriage. Yet, a healthy relationship with our spouse can have a profoundly positive impact on how we show up in our role as father. Indeed, given the Biblical imagery of two becoming one, there’s literally something missing in terms of our ability to father well if we’re not connected in a life-giving way with our wife. Joining...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Brett shares a story related by Oprah Winfrey about a bowl of Cheerios that contains profound wisdom about what it takes to connect in a meaningful way with our kids. The book referenced by Brett in this episode is What Happened to You? by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. Check back every Friday morning for a new Friday F...

As 2023 marches on, Brett and Perry begin this episode by sharing the books they’re reading and podcasts they’re listening to in order to grow themselves as fathers in the new year. But about halfway through, the conversation takes an unexpected and powerful turn as they dive into what it means to hear God’s voice — and how. If you’ve struggled to hear from God in the past or simply want to be mor...

Welcome to Friday Focus on The Faithful Fatherhood Podcast. This week Perry reflects on what it means to be the hero in our own fatherhood story. The book referenced by Perry at the beginning of the episode is  Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller. Check back every Friday morning for a new Friday Focus episode where we share one piece of encouragement, insight, motivation, or how-to that y...

Happy New Year! As we kick off 2023, Brett and Perry reflect on what went well last year in terms of their fathering, what they intend to improve on this coming year, how they set goals with their kids (including a conversation about the value of "dumb" goals in addition to the more traditional SMART goals), and why it's so important to be in flow with God this year. They share a framework for ref...

Life can be hard sometimes. Tragic, even. Yet, when challenging life events strike our families, it's our job as fathers to stay strong and help navigate through the murky waters. For Brian Bohlke, guest on this episode, he and his family have had to endure more than most. He recounts the three unspeakable tragedies that he had to walk through in the span of just two years — each unimaginable indi...

As fathers, we love our children. We’re proud of them and see positive attributes and abilities that portend a bright future. We have hopes and dreams for their lives — and, more importantly, believe that God is ordering their paths and desires a fruitful life for them as well. But do they know that? Have we actually said any of those things to our children? Have we blessed them? Pastor John Leach...

You might recognize the last name of this week's guest, Liam Hughes, the 13-year-old son of co-host Perry, who joins this episode to debrief his recent coming-of-age surf trip with his dad. Liam and Perry share stories of challenge and triumph — and one particularly amusing tale of pranking a stranger at their campsite! As you think about fathering your own kids into manhood / womanhood, be blesse...

Helping to bring your child into the world is your first opportunity to fully embrace your role as father. Yes, the woman does the hard, physical labor of actually birthing the baby. But there's an important role for the father to play as well. We're joined in this episode by Crystal Shields, a doula from Knoxville, TN, as we dissect the labor and delivery process and explore the father's role in...

The holidays are supposed to be a magical time of year, with lots of time spent with family and memories created that will last a lifetime. Yet, for fathers, they often carry extra stress and pressure that can rob the joy from the season. With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, Brett and Perry share ways they try to keep the holidays meaningful, balance the demands of the sea...

In many ways, Ephesians 6:4 is a foundational verse for what faithful fatherhood is all about. There's a strong admonition about what not to do (something we're probably all guilty of from time to time) followed by clear instruction about what to do instead when it comes to fathering our children. While the verse may seem straightforward on the surface, however, there's a lot of depth hidden in it...

Brett and Perry recently climbed Mount Leconte with their boys in an effort to put them in a position to answer the question, Do I have what it takes? The hike was beautiful and incredibly rewarding, but most importantly it revealed several important lessons about fatherhood. In this episode we debrief the adventure, share funny stories experienced by the boys, discuss the value of what we call "p...