What would be your last takeaway on this?

Oh my, that's a big question.

But I would say, you know, and you hit on a few of these points.

Those moments where you get a peek into your children's hearts are priceless.

Yes.

And let the Holy Spirit lead you.

I had to, because I'm a very structured, driven guy too.

The

So help parents understand how to do this without fear.

Yeah, no.

Fantastic.

I think I think.

probably the first thing to consider here is what is the source of your fear? Honestly, is it that you have unresolved out? You know, is there something in your faith that maybe needs to be worked through first? You know, that experience that I shared with you of my story for...

that was so dramatic that when I finally came to the truth, I was passionate and adamant.

And so I stepped into it with renewed vigor and courage.

Oh, I love

How has your experience helped you navigate kids today?

yeah and thanks for that question too um i think i think the first thing is to and you kind of already mentioned it don't be afraid of doubt you know we doubt it tends to cause us to be um ashamed right and and and so the first thing i did as i started just to to investigate well Who else has doubts? And so I first turned to the Bible and kind of canvassed the scriptures to find out, was there an example of somebody that was doubting? And there are a lot of examples, right? Even doubting Thomas, but probably the most dramatic one in my mind was John the Baptist.

Before he was even born, he leapt inside Elizabeth's womb as Mary approached to tell Elizabeth that, hey, I'm I'm with child and it's the Messiah.

And so he was prepared before, before he was even born to prepare the way of the Lord.

And yet, you know, even in, he even recognized Jesus when he came to the Jordan to be baptized, he's behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Then fast forward, where John is now in prison, ready to be beheaded.

And he calls his disciples and, and he says, go ask Jesus if he's really the one, or if we should look for another.

wow.

As he was speaking, I just thought, man, I knew in my heart that that just wasn't true.

And so I walked out of there and my doubt just kind of exponentially increased to the point where I feel like I was really in a precarious state spiritually.

So Chuck, you come to this conversation with a story of doubt in your life that you went through kind of for your own season and actually it was kind of a long season, right? Will you share a little bit about what triggered the doubt, how long that season was, how old you were and really what brought you out of it and how did it shape you along the way?

Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you.

Um, so, you know, last week we talked about spiritual warfare and got into apologetics a little bit.

All of this kind of wraps in, uh, and there's a lot of overlap because there's a lot of it's tied together for, for me.

Um, I was a young guy, uh, very excited about math and science.

I really tried to listen to the Spirit and go where the Spirit took me and listen really closely to my children, discerning their hearts, asking questions about what they were dealing with, you know, be very, very practical and relational with that.

OK, we get the importance, but now give us the how to.

Yes.

No, that's a fair question, Abby.

And unfortunately, I'm not very good at answering it because I did not have a particular curriculum or set of resources that I use specifically.

I made it up as I went because I really tried to listen to the Spirit and go where the Spirit took me and listen really closely to my children.

I listened really closely to what their... what their concerns were, what they were facing.

I did take time and get really good at discerning their hearts, asking questions about what they were dealing with.

So, so speak to that a little bit.

Yeah, absolutely.

Great point, Abby.

You know, and here's the thing.

I think too many times throughout history, the Christians are reactive instead of proactive.

And we need to start getting on the...

the philosophical and theological offense on the, on these issues.

to

The enemy has laid a minefield of deception out there for our young people.

And it's enormous.

I think in the history of humanity, never has there been more deception for young people than there is today.

And what are some of the biggest spiritual blind spots that you see in Christian families today?

That's a really good question.

I would say, so one thing I'm extremely passionate about is apologetics.

I think that apologetics, We need to wake up and realize that we talked about marriage, key part of that.

The next key part of it is to know that the enemy has laid a minefield of deception out there for our young people.

perfect.

But we got to have a willingness to compromise, to work through our problems, to be transparent, to ultimately, I think the key ingredient here is... humility and just both for the husband and the wife, that they're humbly called to serve each other.

And so that's where leadership comes in.

I do a lot of speaking on leadership and how important that is, especially for the guy.

But there's a lot of leadership that the mom has to demonstrate too, right? And that structure that God created in the home is so important.

And the enemy has done really well at lying to the world about that and destroying that hierarchy.

Not that any role is more important than the other.

yeah,

And then what do you mean by we're on the front line? And why do you think so many families underestimate that?

Yep.

No, thank you, Abby.

And I'd like to just kind of revisit what you said earlier, too, if I may, that this isn't often talked about.

And that is very true.

You don't hear a lot of sermons on this.

There's not a lot of sessions on it.

yeah

right

you know there those those questions are can be really challenging to answer but you cannot shy away from them like you say you know if you freak out and you respond to them with oh man i just don't even know what to say to that it's going to kind of solidify the doubt but there is an answer there are good solid answers biblical answers um and so just don't be afraid to go there that is certainly a an attack by the enemy yeah he is the first thing he does is he asks question to start get you to questioning the truth, right? Just way back to Adam and Eve, did that with Eve in the garden.

And did God really say, you know, and so interestingly, he just twisted that because, you know, really God told Adam and he was to convey that to her.

There's so much to talk about on that one, but yeah, for your children, again, just don't be afraid of that and be willing, And some people say, well, I'm just not really good at this.

Or if it's apologetics or if it's a philosophical question, then I would just encourage parents to get good at it.

You know, you got to you got to become that student of that area where they're struggling and go there and deal with it yourself and help them through it.

Kind of the direction I go is just really just have the courage to step into it.

And so how do we recognize that?

Will you share a little bit about what triggered the doubt, how long that season was, how old you were and really what brought you out of it and how did it shape you along the way?

Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you.

So, you know, last week we talked about spiritual warfare and got into apologetics a little bit.

All of this kind of wraps in and there's a lot of overlap because there's a lot of it's tied together.

For me, I was a young guy, very excited about math and science.

I just, I was born to be an engineer.

And so how do we recognize that?

Will you share a little bit about what triggered the doubt, how long that season was, how old you were and really what brought you out of it and how did it shape you along the way?

Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you.

So, you know, last week we talked about spiritual warfare and got into apologetics a little bit.

All of this kind of wraps in and there's a lot of overlap because there's a lot of it's tied together.

For me, I was a young guy, very excited about math and science.

I just, I was born to be an engineer.

And so how do we recognize that?

yeah

um you know spiritual warfare can take on so many different forms but you know it says in scripture we wrestle not against flesh and blood right but against uh spiritual forces in high places uh thrones and that sort of thing.

So it's a very real thing.

Jesus talked about it.

His disciples talked about it.

It's absolutely a core part of what it means to be a follower in Christ.

It was very, very It was very much on the macro level when we see Jesus and Satan doing battle in the wilderness with the temptations and then later on at the cross.

OK, we get the importance, but now give us the how to.

yeah

um you know spiritual warfare can take on so many different forms but you know it says in scripture we wrestle not against flesh and blood right but against uh spiritual forces in high places uh thrones and that sort of thing.

So it's a very real thing.

Jesus talked about it.

His disciples talked about it.

It's absolutely a core part of what it means to be a follower in Christ.

It was very, very It was very much on the macro level when we see Jesus and Satan doing battle in the wilderness with the temptations and then later on at the cross.

OK, we get the importance, but now give us the how to.