The Fatherhood Challenge Podcast & Radio Program

In the world’s economy, especially when the economy is struggling, giving away 10% of your primary resource seems stupid at best. But in the Kingdom economy,  tithe is a cornerstone of your family’s spiritual and financial infrastructure. It is the moment a father says, 'I am not the ultimate source of this provision; I am the steward of it.' It is embracing a fundamental truth of kingdom...

The world is aggressively trying to hand our kids a counterfeit identity based on performance, popularity, and culture. A durable father knows his highest assignment is to anchor them to a truth that never moves. True spiritual leadership requires us to be healed ourselves. We cannot guide our children to a Savior we haven't fully surrendered to.  I’ve brought a dad on the program who can walk...

Many men make the catastrophic strategic error of putting their career, their hobbies, or even their children ahead of their wife. But a seasoned sage father knows that the husband-wife relationship is the literal foundation of the fortress. If that foundation cracks, the whole house falls. Nowhere is this battle more fiercely tested than in the covenant mandate of 'in sickness and in health.&...

We watch the news and wonder how to protect our nation's future. But we make a catastrophic strategic error when we look outward for solutions while ignoring the ultimate command post: our own living room. The historical fact is undeniable: As the family goes, so goes the nation. A broken, volatile home is a direct threat to civil peace, while a stable, thriving, covenant marriage is the singl...

As a dad, you already know the tug‑of‑war that happens between real life and screen life. Maybe you’ve seen your kid disappear into a game for hours, maybe you’ve tried to set limits that didn’t stick, or maybe you’re already worried things have gone too far. You’re not alone. Today we’re talking about what’s really going on behind gaming addiction, why some kids struggle to log off, and what dads...

Dads, your primary command objective is to ensure that the heritage you pass down to your children is untainted by the vulnerabilities of your past. But many fathers are quietly fighting an invisible, internal enemy: the toxic cycles, anger, addiction, or emotional absence that they inherited from their own family trees. If you do not consciously step up to be the filter of your bloodline, you wil...

Many dads fall into the trap of using screens as an automated babysitter because the modern world is exhausting. Many dads are also using it to numb themselves and escape the real world. But a durable father knows that passivity is a slow-motion breach of his household's potential, slowly emasculating him and removing him out of his authority, his identity and his purpose. But I have a dad joi...

Because we lack the exact vocabulary to understand the human heart, we treat our kids' emotional distress like a behavioral problem to be suppressed rather than a critical signal to be decoded. If a child cannot accurately name what they are feeling, they cannot regulate their nervous system. They become trapped in a loop of silent isolation, and the perimeter of our home fractures from the in...

The world is constantly broadcasting a counterfeit signal, telling our kids that their worth is tied to their performance, their popularity, and their digital presence. A durable father knows that his highest assignment is to intercept that signal and program his children's compass with the truth of who God created them to be. True spiritual leadership requires more than just good intentions;...

Many dads don't realize that their phone addiction isn't just a bad habit—it is a subconscious nervous system regulation method. We use digital noise to numb the ambient anxiety and exhaustion of modern life, but that quick hit of dopamine actually fries our internal wiring and fractures our family's trust. But we need to regulate ourselves somehow so what are we supposed to do? In thi...

Most men in survival mode try to look tough on the outside while drifting completely on the inside. They become reactive, anxious, and emotionally isolated. But a durable dad understands that a broken marriage does not mean a broken calling. Your children do not need a perfect family tree; they need a present, emotionally regulated, grounded father who can guide them through the storm. But how are...

Most men deal with pain by tightening their armor. We pull inward, hide our struggles, and carry the toxic lie that if our family truly knew our brokenness, we would lose our authority to lead them. But a durable legacy isn't built on a fake perfection. It is built on redemption and restoration. So what exactly does this look like? Jaron Lockridge is a powerful storyteller and the visionary be...

In a world that constantly sends mixed signals about what masculinity means, our sons are watching our every move. They are absorbing our habits, mirroring our stress, and watching how we handle frustration. If we default to a reactive, hyper-stressed mindset, we aren't protecting our castle—we are fracturing it. So what’s our standard? Who is our model that we follow as we raise the next gene...

Many men and many dads are fighting to build that sense of belonging while wrestling with their own deep-seated questions about who they are or where they came from. To understand how to build an unbreakable family identity, you have to look at someone whose story began in the most vulnerable position a human being can possibly experience: complete abandonment. You’re going to hear his story in th...

Many fathers make the tactical mistake of pushing harder with authority when the connection starts to fray. But a durable father knows that you cannot protect a heart you can no longer reach. To guide a high-achieving, modern teenager through the pressures of anxiety, performance, and identity, we have to upgrade our communication framework from command-and-control to true, deep-rooted connection....

Many of us are trying to build that safe space while carrying the heavy, oppressive conditioning of our own upbringing—living under the 'dictatorship' of unhealed father wounds. Sometimes, to understand how to fix a foundation, you have to look at someone who watched an entire nation’s foundation crumble. That person can teach us so much about what it means to tear down old legacies and bu...

When it comes to education, we often see a massive battleground between public school districts and homeschool families. But in Vinton-Shellsburg, Iowa, our stomping ground, they’ve engineered a blueprint that proves it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing war. By building a strategic alliance, they’ve created a supportive network where independent home education and public district resources...

True durability as a father requires a high level of emotional intelligence. It’s the ability to look at your teenage son or daughter, read between the lines of their silence, and communicate with clarity instead of control. So if you have a new teen in your house like me and you’re not sure how to gain that emotional intelligence you need, you’re in luck. The expert I’ve brought on the program wr...

In a blended family, the friction is real, the boundaries are complex, and traditional parenting tactics often hit a wall. To build a durable, united home, a father needs more than just patience; he needs a strategic blueprint and a relentless reliance on his faith to handle the moments where human strength runs dry. Personally, if I were in a blended family situation I wouldn’t even know where to...

When you step into the role of a foster dad, an adoptive father, or a stepdad, you are entering a territory that has already experienced a structural collapse. The child under your care isn't starting from scratch; they are carrying the invisible weight of trauma, rejection, or loss. In these high-stakes dynamics, traditional 'command-and-control' parenting doesn't just fail—it can...

There is a common myth that pornography is only a struggle for men and boys. But the truth is that our daughters are being targeted by the same digital traps, often fueled by deep-seated root causes like a search for intimacy, worth, or an escape from pain. When a daughter falls into this trap, she often carries a level of shame that keeps her silent, pulling her further away from the very man who...

If you grew up in a divorced home, you didn't see a durable marriage modeled. You saw the cracks, the divisions, and the eventual collapse of the structure. Now, as a father yourself, you might feel like you're building on shaky ground, worried that the history you lived through might repeat itself in the lives of your own children. But what if it doesn’t have to? How would you begin to pr...

Perfectionism is like a 'Brittle Wall.' On the outside, it looks impenetrable and flawless, but because it has no flexibility, it shatters the moment life applies real pressure. When we demand perfection from ourselves, our marriages, and our children, we aren't actually building a fortress—we are building a prison. We create an environment where failure isn't a classroom, but a &#...

Eating disorders and disordered eating are among the most complex challenges a family can face. As dads, we often want to 'fix' the problem with logic or discipline. But when it comes to a child’s relationship with food, the mission requires a different set of tools: empathy, strategy, and a deep understanding of how to build 'eating competence.' And if you’re like me, you don’t ha...

Navigating the 'ABC's' of parenting adult children is often the hardest test a Durable Dad will face. How do you lead when you can no longer command? How do you protect when you aren't invited into the room? And how do you maintain a durable bond when the dynamic of the relationship has to be completely rebuilt from the ground up? In this episode, we are joined by James Moffitt , t...