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 : and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show prescribing Hope for healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there friends and welcome to my favorite time of day getting to spend time with you, prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. And listen, we got a great dose of it for you today because one of the things, you know, that is one of my biggest pet peeves is hearing negative talk about younger generations about just all of the negative attributes and just basically telling them the world's a terrible place. It was so much better when we were growing up and we just worry about the future. And I will tell you that almost every guest that I have on here, especially those guests who are working with young people, they are optimistic, they are hopeful seeing God raise up a generation of leaders in the next generation. And we're going to talk to one son such leader. Today we're talking to a father and a son about this. We're talking to Joe and Jake Soltis. Joe is a successful entre entrepreneur. He's husband to Becky, father of six children and he's a board member of an organization called Prayer at the Heart. Now this is a ministry encouraging Americans to return to God through prayer. You can find out more about [email protected] and his 15 year old son Jake is boldly using an unlikely mission field, one that honestly older generations that would be this Gen X are included love to hate. On that mission field is actually social media where he is encouraging teenagers to live loud for Jesus Christ, reaching tens of thousands of peers with the gospel. And his story is also deeply personal. In his testimony, after losing his mother not once but twice, almost losing his mother almost twice to serious medical cris. Jake has learned firsthand what it means to trust Christ in life's storm. So today we're going to explore what resilient faith looks like, how parents can intentionally disciple the next generation and why there is genuine reason for hope. Jake and Joe, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm so grateful that you are spending some time with us this afternoon.

Joe Soltis: It's great to be here, Jessica.

A lot of young people leave their faith behind when they graduate from high school

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Joe, let's start with you. Let's talk about. We all know that Barna research tells us what happens to a lot of young people when they graduate from high school. As far as their faith journey, it's the fear of a lot of parents. This is a reality that we're facing. What are you seeing that in your ministry world and also as, a dad that has you concerned?

Joe Soltis: Well, there's a lot of kids or young adults that as they, they go into early young adulthood, they leave their faith behind. And that, that's something that has been around with us for a while. and that causes concern, it causes heartache, it causes angst for parents. And the good news is that those trends are really starting to reverse. and we're seeing that the youth, particularly young men, are embracing Christ, and they're coming to church, in really record numbers. And, there's so much cause for hope. The generation itself has had a world where pretty much every institution has let them down and lied to them. there's a lack of objective truth. everything seems subjective and wishy washy and just, it's very hard to hold on to. And the generation is seeing that and saying, I want something full of hope. I want something that's concrete, I can hold onto. I want something that's rock solid. And what they're doing is they're finding young men is, that's in Jesus Christ.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I, I, I said it in the introduction, Joe, and it is true. Everybody I'm talking to who's working with young people, they keep expressing really profound hope for the next generation. And I'm so grateful today that you're joined by your son, Jake. Jake, we're so glad to have you here. Would love to talk with you a little bit because you don't come from, you know, oh, nothing has ever happened. As I said, you've, you've been through some tough stuff, stuff especially with your mom. How has that impacted your faith journey? And how have you found God to be real to you during those times of trouble?

Jake Soltis: that definitely had a positive impact on me. it made me double down and trust, that God is the one who created that path and that we should stay on that path and we should trust him because, better stuff came out of that just by trusting God then what was caused by that? So better things come out of the worst thing.

Dr. Jessica Peck: What do you see in Jake and your peers that about their faith. Are you seeing what your dad's seeing? Are you seeing people interested in coming to a, faith in Christ? What do you see that worries you and what do you see that has you?

Jake Soltis: Hopefully, what I see that has me hopeful is a lot of people that I personally talk to and mostly the videos I make and like the people I drag those videos at, I see that they're understanding and they want to know more. See, well, like most people my age, younger and a little older, so pretty much like heist, top of high school and down, are curious and they want to know other people's opinions, they want to branch out and they want to see that. So, so that is very positive. And also, one thing that many people would find happy is the people that are farther away from God or doesn't or like don't believe in him, are the ones that tend to listen the most, and try to understand the most. And they're the most open people I've talked to, when it comes to God because they want to know what it means to us and what it could mean to them.

Jake is stepping out in faith and sharing his faith on social media

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Joe, Jake is stepping out in faith and sharing his faith on social media. And as I said, that is a platform that parents and grandparents, we kind of love to hate on. It's our favorite punching bag. What has it been like for you to see your, your son step out in this way to share? What has your experience been like?

Joe Soltis: The most exciting part of it is seeing the love he has for Christ and others and the fact that he did it without me saying, hey, what do you think about doing this? He did it on his own, and he has just this drive to help others and bring people to Christ. so, you know, I'm working and got a bunch of kids, I'm doing that and you know, just going about my day. And then, and then, and then he's like, hey dad, let me show you what I've been up to. And like, he pulls up his YouTube channel where he's got a bunch of videos that he's put out and, and, and, and, and other things he's done on Tick Tock. And you know, he's preaching the gospel in a way that relates in a very real way, to young people his age and they're going viral. I mean he didn't really have any followers. And one video gets 30, 000 views. That's a sign that he's listening to the Holy Spirit. And it's a sign that this generation wants to listen to the holy Spirit. That's something new. and that's beautiful.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Joe, as we were just talking about, you know, your wife had a health scare, and you have stewarded your family through this and their faith journey through this. And that can be really hard, especially for teenagers, when things don't go like we expect them to go. And to have something that significant can really often shake a teenager's faith. Especially, what has your experience been like stewarding his faith and seeing him respond and growing stronger in his own walk with the lord.

Joe Soltis: Back in 2020, my wife had, a major health situation. so she said she felt sick, needed to go to the hospital. I took her. It was during COVID she ended up being in there for two weeks. and the doctors, after they went into it, said she's got about a 10% chance of pulling through. She had lupus, Lyme disease, bezosis first gallbladder pancreatitis, and sepsis all at the same time. That's a heck of a lot. and as we're in that situation, you know, we're praying together as a family. You know, we're crying a bit at night. And I had to tell the kids there's a good chance mom's not coming home. And I tell you what, sometimes you go through those difficult things, and God makes just pure beauty come out of it. And that was absolutely our case. My wife had Lyme disease. She was not herself prior to that. and, by the grace of God, she's cured of all that right now. she has lupus. We're managing it, but, everything else is cured, and it's gone. It's eradicated. She's totally herself. She is a beautiful mom, a beautiful wife, a, really holy woman. Our family is closer than it's ever been as a result of that. my wife and I are closer than we've ever been as a result of that. and God really worked through that difficult situation and just brought just beauty, and just so much hope out of it. So I guess what I would say is, to anybody that's going through some difficult stuff, sometimes God allows those things to happen, and it's for the greater good. what he really wants you to do is have joy with him in eternity. And sometimes those difficult things that occur is what caused you to cling to him the most, which gives you the most reason for hope and everlasting life.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, it's that's easier said than done. But you having walked through that, having experienced that, having been through that season and still here on the other side, to talk about the hope that you found is really encouraging.

Jake decided to transform his unfinished basement after mom had a seizure

Jake, I read that after one of your mom's health crises that she had, that you decided as a service project to transform your family's unfinished basement as an exercise and recovery space for her mom, for your mom. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what you did and how maybe that strengthened your relationship?

Jake Soltis: Yeah. so on January 3rd of 2025, my mom had a seizure. And. And me seeing, it and being terrified. I want to do help with justice in my heart. I want to help everyone and every thing that I can help. so I wanted to build a sauna because it will help detox your body and lower stress. so I decided to do that and to do that to make it look nice, because I like to make things look nice. I, had to redo the entire basement, so I still want to frame, do drywall, do carpentry, do flooring. and yeah, I built this exercise room, this relaxation thing in this sauna with, like, a wet bar area to get, like, drinks and whatnot. so I spent, like, about four months every day after school doing that. From like, three until like, probably like, eight every single day. And I knew if I just started, God would help me finish it and he would help me figure it out. So I didn't start having it all planned out. I just started and told myself, I will figure it out with God. So that's how that went about.

Joe was blown away by his son's dedication to helping his mom

Dr. Jessica Peck: Joe, what was that like for you to watch your son serve his mom in that way?

Joe Soltis: It was beautiful. It was amazing. And to be honest, I was totally blown away. I mean, not only did he have that love and heart for his mom, but, like, the work is super high end. Like, it looks super professionally done. He built a beautiful sauna down there, a beautiful exercise room, little theater room, out of just, like, cement walls and floor. so. And the fact that he did that in 8th grade has been amazing. And again, that's how, like, God works in his life. I mean, what he discovered through that is he has a tremendous talent for that type of work. and it might have opened up a vocation for him m running his own construction business in the not so distant future. So it's neat to see how God works.

Prayer at the heart is all about bringing awakening to America

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, God is working through the organization for which you're a board member. Prayer at the heart. Joe, can you tell us a little bit about what you see God doing across the country and tell our listeners how they can be involved.

Joe Soltis: Yeah. So prayer at the heart is all about bringing awakening to America. In the United States, we had a great awakening to give birth to the nation, and now we need one to save it. anybody can look around, as a whole and see things aren't quite, quite right. they definitely could be better. but at the same point, if we unite in love of Christ and love of others, there's nothing, there's nothing that can stop us. So where the inspiration for prayer at the heart came from, for me was that after my wife almost died, she's home from the hospital. She's been home about a week. I'm really busy guy. And for whatever reason, that July 4th of 2020, I happen to have a good amount of free time. And I got, brought my wife home from the hospital. I got an alert saying there were riots in downtown Cleveland. I live in Cleveland, Ohio. There were riots going on all over the country. If you remember the summer of 2020, it was, you know, there was a lot of bad stuff going on. and really what it just boiled down to was manufactured division and just a lack of love for others. and so, I'm like, the only thing that's going to reverse this, it's not a person, it's not a political party. It's Jesus and it's love of God and love of neighbor. And if you look at the early church, what caused the early church to go from 12, 12 people, one of them, who was a traitor to 2 billion today and growing was prayer and public witness. Prayer and public witness. It's really simple.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I love it. We're going to learn a little bit more about prayer at the heart after this break. You can go to prayerattheheart.org and we'll hear more from Joe Soltis about how you can get involved. Don't go away. Will be right back after this break. This year, America celebrates its 250th birthday. Two and a half centuries of courage, innovation, faith and freedom. But what will the next 250 years hold? The next generation could hold the next Billy Graham, the next Rosa Parks, the next Ronald Reagan, the next child whose life will impact generations. But first, they must be given the chance to live it. I couldn't imagine my life without him. Because of them.

Dr. Jessica Peck: he's here. We're going to get through it and it's going to be okay. Everyday preborn network clinics helps mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound. When a mother sees her baby and hears that tiny heartbeat, her baby is twice as likely to be given the gift of life. What story will God write through America's next generation? In honor of America's 250th anniversary, we're asking friends to consider a special gift of 250 dollars Your gift can help provide nearly nine life saving ultrasounds. Dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound 250 baby or donate securely at preborn.com/AFR. that's preborn.com/AFR Every gift is tax- deductible.

Your Way's Better by Forrest Frank: Oh Lord, I need you now more than ever. Would you put my heart back together? I sace the world to my head it hurts just to find out your ways better uhoh you're ways better uhoh you're ways better oh lord, you're ways better Jesus, you're ways better.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is your way's better by Forrest Frank. And what a great anthem, to be taking over the world. I hear that song everywhere and when I see little children singing those lyrics, your ways better Lord, it just brings a smile to my face. And I hope it does you too.

Jake Soltis is using social media to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ

One of the things that has brought a smile to my face today is talking to father and son, Joe and Jake Soltis. Now Jake is 15 years old and he is stepping out in faith and using social media to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And his dad, he's learned this at home. His dad serves on the board for an organization called m prayerattheheart.org before the break you can, Joe was telling us about prayer at the heart. Joe, I'm going to give it back to you and let you tell us more about this and invite people to be involved.

Joe Soltis: Yeah, so I have this plan to help bring awakening to the United States. And I started to shop it around, and bring it to various leaders. Long story short, I met Thom Phillips, vice, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He introduced me to Dr. Douglas Small, who was doing something similar. And today prayer at the heart, has had outdoor prayer events in 30 states. suicide stopped, drug addictions, broken, people coming into relationships with Christ. I've seen it firsthand myself of two suicides I know for a fact were stopped, through God intervening, through prayer at the heart prevented, at these outdoor events. In addition to that, prayer at the heart right now is part of this push for an awakening in the United States is in the middle of a Million Souls campaign. So right now, you like Jessica, you, everybody listening. You have one person in your life who you know, who you love, who you care about that needs the love of Jesus, that needs the hope of Jesus. and they need some help getting there, whether that be a son, a daughter, a cousin, a co worker, a neighbor, with Prayer at the Heart and the Million Souls campaign, it is 1 million Americans praying for 1 million Americans to find a relationship with Christ. So you can go to prayerattheheart.org, be one of a million that are praying for one person close to your heart. And then, you sign up. Prayer at the Heart will send you a message every day with a prayer to pray for that person at the end of 50 days. We know that God answers prayer. Ah, we will be the persistent widow, if you will. We will continue to pray and intercede on that person's behalf, and we're going to see what God does. and I can tell you from experience, when you pray for a person for a long period of time, it really does soften their heart. The Holy Spirit does do some work there, and some really amazing things happen. So that's with Million for a Million. In addition with Prayer at the Heart, as we move into, July 4th, there are sunrise prayer, services happening all over the United states on America's 250th anniversary. So you can go to prayerattheheart.org, you can download that prayer guide. You can do it with your family, you can do it with your church, you can do it with your friends. and, just pray for a country, you know, pray for the United States. Pray for the people of the United States to come into a more fervent and just a revival in the United States. And as the US Goes, so goes the world. So we have a job to do as a country, and that's to love God and love others. And that's what we're praying for, is revival. And then as we move ahead, finally, we are looking at, outdoor prayer events all over the country. so hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of people at each event. and, as that snowballs across the country, we're expecting a tidal wave of folks to come to know the love of Jesus.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Joe, it sounds like there's room for everybody to do that. I mean, I doubt I'm just going to go on a limb and doubt that people are booked at sunrise on the job on July 4th, I'm going to guess that probably most people are looking forward to maybe sleeping in, but what an exciting opportunity to be able to engage in what God is doing. And a million people praying for a million people. There is plenty of. Plenty of room under that tent. We invite you to come in. You can go to prayerattheheart.org to find out more about either. Signing up to pray, signing up for a sunrise service, signing up for an outdoor service. Joe and Jake, thank you so much for joining us today, for sharing your faith. Jake will continue to pray for you as you step up as a leader in this next generation. I know that God is raising up some good ones, and it's been so hopeful and encouraging to hear both of you today. Thank you so much for joining us.

Joe Soltis: Thank you.

Dr. Jessica Peck: All right, thank you.

A lot of families worry that their kids will walk away from their faith

Well, we have some more to talk about because this is something that I hear a lot from families. It is a genuine fear that a lot of families have that their kids are going to walk away from their faith. And why do we think this? Well, because it. Because they do. And when we hear, you know, we look at the future. You may have heard a saying that goes something like children or, Or a letter that you send to a world that you won't ever see. But really, what kind of faith? The question, the greater question, I think, is what kind of faith is going to be imprinted on the hearts and minds and souls of children who are going into the future who will be sharing their faith? It is amazing. Just as Joe was saying, when you look at the start of the church with 12 disciples of Jesus, that has now persisted and endured for more than 2,000 years. The church is alive and well. That is really encouraging. But parents today are raising children in a culture that's really unlike what we've seen before. So we think. We think that. I really think that that is one of the greatest tactics of the enemy, is to use deception to lure us into a fearful state. I really believe this. And we constantly have these whispers that the world is so scary. We've never experienced this before. We're parenting things that we've never seen before. And our parents don't understand and grandparents don't understand and nobody can understand. And all of a sudden we feel really alone and really fearful. But God calls us to be faithful in a world like this. Yes, it is true that young people are navigating constant digital influence, competing worldviews. They have social pressures, they. That are amplified through social media. They are not like what we experienced before. They're experiencing Identity confusion, and a relentless stream of voices that are competing for their hearts. And we see we're entering into graduation season, and this often brings celebration, but also some quiet anxiety, if we're really honest. Now, I know that because I've been living in a graduation season for almost a decade now, where I have kids graduating from college, from high school. And you celebrate launching them into adulthood, but you're also a little sad. And you also wonder, will the faith that we have cultivated remain when they leave home? What kind of choices are they going to make? Are they going to adhere to the values that we've given them? And here's the thing. When they make one little mistake, we all of a sudden put on our Chicken Little hat and it's, the sky is falling. And we act shocked and dismayed that, oh, my goodness, our kids are not, in fact, perfect. Oh, how could it? I mean, I did this, I did that. I took them to church, I prayed. Well, newsflash, their parents aren't perfect either. And we need to make sure that we have a posture that is ready for grace. I, really, one of the concerns I have, as well as kids living in a cancel culture and feeling like if they make one little mistake, if they ask one little question about their faith, all of a sudden we're just gonna lose it and give them a lecture. And, we're going to hit the panic button and just, you know, come down heavy. And this is not what we need to be doing. Because, yes, kids are navigating a culture that feels different. But the sin, the heart issues, the character issues, all of those things are nothing new to the world, nothing new to God. These are stories that we see in scripture. And when we look at the heart of the issue, take away the technology, take away the. The modern advances, the heart, the soul, the character issue is still the same. Now, I know. And I realize the statistics can still feel discouraging because there are many young adults who were raised in church whose parents did all the right things. I know that because we've been talking about that. We talked about that last week with Jim Burns. We talked about it. We've talked about it before on other shows. We have been talking about this. And they do drift from their faith. And some disconnect, some deconstruct, and that is devastating. It's devastating for parents to watch. But there's another story unfolding there, and we know that, again, we have reason for hope. We've talked with Lee Strobel before about encouraging young people to ask questions of God, he is big enough to handle their questions. And it is normal for them to have questions as their brains mature. And when kids are in that school age, developmental phase, everything is very concrete. They believe it. It's I love, you know, it's because the Bible tell tells me so. And when they get to be teenagers, they want more evidence, they want more proof, they want to wonder about those things and they want to bring their questions to the God of the universe. Don't let that make your heart be fearful right away. Let that, let your heart be faithful. God can handle their questions. And I want to reemphasize that. We see young people across the country, across the world, in fact, getting baptized on college campuses, gathering together to worship thousands professing their faith in Christ. And we are seeing leaders emerge from this generation. Z, Gen Z and Gen Alpha behind them. And even more encouraging, as Joe shared with you earlier, research does suggest reversal and trends of decline in faith in young people, especially young men who are deeply committed to following Jesus. That number is reversing. That number is growing. And we can cultivate as parents, we can cultivate resilient disciples, young people whose faith doesn't disappear when life gets difficult because everybody is going to experience some degree of difficulty. We are promised that in this world we will have trouble, but we can take heart because God has already overcome the world. We know the end of the story. We can cultivate a faith that doesn't disappear when our kids make choices, where they mess up, when life gets difficult, when culture is pushing in the opposite direction. Those things can be true now. Every parent hopes that their child will grow into adulthood. We all want them to grow with character and conviction and a faith that's truly their own. But listen, I would call you gently to resist the urge to look at your children as a product to be manufactured than to display to the world to say, look at this wonderful child that I raised who is now going to go and do great things because that is not that, is not God's heart. And we know that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Our kids will make mistakes as they're learning. What we can do as parents is make the practice environment as safe as we possibly can and then just continue to point them back to grace, remembering that we need grace too. And God's mercies are new every morning now. I have great hope for the next generation. I really, really do. I work with young people. I'm a pediatric clinician. I teach young people. I am I am with young people.

We need to look at where our young people are spiritually and then make intentional investments

My kids are young people. I have great hope for this generation, but hope alone, not a discipleship strategy. So we've got to look at where our young people are spiritually and then make intentional investments. And I believe another tactic of the enemy, his primary tactic, I believe, is to make us fearful. And then when we're fearful, when we're scared out of our minds and we feel so uncomfortable in our spirits and we have anxiety that is raging our ne. His next tactic is then to distract us, to tempt us, to self medicate. Just numb out, don't think about it. Just scroll on your phone, just binge watch a show, just check out and ghost or whatever, Live in a digital silo. Just don't look over this way while culture, while the algorithm is playing. A hyper personalized worldview that I assure you is not intentionally biblical. And it's not for your child's good and for their character. And we're just distracted and we're letting that precious time pass us by. Now, this doesn't mean that we have to, you know, roll up our sleeves and have bible study like 24 7. It means that we're engaged with our families mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. It means that we are present in their lives. We are watching for that look of worry that goes across their face, and we are filing it in a cabinet to follow up on that later at bedtime. And that we're using cultural cues to start meaningful conversations, that we are spending time having fun with our family so that our relationship bond is strong and our kids will value what we say, those are things that we want to do. We need to be good role models. And when we feel discouraged by culture and we opine that loudly and talk about, oh, for the world, what a world, what a world we live in. That's what it feels like. Our kids are listening to that message too. But when we can pivot our messaging and tell them, God put you on this earth for such a time as this. He has raised you for this time and this place, for this people. And I am so, confident in what God has for your future. And the culture may be loud, but it doesn't have to have the final word. God is still drawing young people to himself. Faithful parenting still matters. Even when you don't get that instant gratification, even when you're in a tough season and you're thinking, oh, I wish that my son would say things like, we just heard Jake say, be patient and have hope and know that he who Began a, good work. Will be faithful to complete. Complete it and pray for your child's story. As much as we want to have control, we want to be the author of every chapter, every word of our children's story. We are not in charge of our child's testimonies. And one of the greatest fears that parents have is watching their children experience suffering and how is that going to impact their faith. But, throughout scripture, God often uses hardship to strengthen faith. And Jake's story reminded us of that. And that even when the world seems like it's falling apart, that God can be weaving strength and faith together. That is really encouraging to me. And that's a beautiful reminder that faith is not merely taught. It is often forged through adversity. God is still raising courageous young believers. Families have an incredible opportunity to partner with him. And after the break, I'm going to take talk to you a little bit more about some of the things that we've been talking about and healthy habits on Fridays about technology and the challenges that come parents way through all the technological advances that we have. But listen, let me remind you, God has not given you a spirit of fear, but a power and love and a sound mind. And he is faithful. He who promised is faithful. We'll be right back after this break. Don't go away. And my father, your great grandfather fought in World War II. Really? He was a gunner on a big ship out in the Pacific Ocean. Wow. Your great grandmother did her part, too. Was she on a ship? Oh, no. She stayed back home. She and a lot of her friends worked really hard in a factory because the men had gone off to war and they held scrap metal drives to help in the war effort. The folks back home were heroes, too.

Jeff Chamblee: Here at the American Family association, we consider you the heroes back home as you fulfill your responsibility of caring for your family day to day. Your partnership with us is crucial as we fight the enemies of freedom in America. Thank you for your commitment to the American Family Association. Grandpa, what's a scrap metal drive? Let's get some cookies and I'll tell you all about it.

Don't Stop Praying by Matthew West: When m. You've cried and you've cried till your tears run dry the answer won't come and you don't know why. And you wonder if you can bow your head even one more time. Don't stop praying don't stop calling on Jesus name Keep on pounding on heaven's door Let your knees wear out the floor don't stop believing Cause mountains move with just a little faith. And your father's heard every single single word you're saying? So don't stop praying? He's close to the brokenhearted? it saves those who are crushed in spirit. The alpha and omega knows how your story ends? When you've cried and you cry till your tears run dry? The answer won't come and you don't know? And you wonder if you can bow your head Even one more time? Oh, do it one more time? And don't stop praying? Don't stop calling on Jesus name? Keep on pounding on heaven's door? Let your knees wear out the floor? Don't stop believing? Cause my mountains move with just a little faith? And your father's heard every single word you're saying.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back. friends, that is Don't Stop Praying by Matthew West. If you are singing that out loud, I hope that you'll be praying it too. We need to be praying for this generation, God is raising up, generation of young leaders and that is exciting, let me tell you. They need to hear your words of encouragement, they need to hear your words of hope. They need to hear that we have confidence in them. And we can do that because the Bible says, don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believer. And we have heard from so many young people who are doing just that. It was heartwarming to hear from 15 year old Jake Soltis who is stepping out in faith and sharing his faith in Jesus Christ with his peers through social media. And when we look at influencer culture, it is real and it is more than it ever has been. Now when I look back and have had the opportunity, the blessing to walk some ancient paths in this world, it has struck me how much modern culture really isn't that different from ancient culture. And people still worshiped figures like politicians, like philosophers, like athletes. Does that sound familiar? This is what my pastor has been telling me and he is so right. Influencer culture is alive and well, but it is amplified through technology. But we have always, as a society, as a people, looked for things greater than ourselves. And we are so, we are so blessed to be children of God, the God of the universe. And, and when we look at the influence that children have today to be torn towards other influences, they carry so many voices right in their pocket. Hours and hours, billions of hours of streaming content. And we see some shifts that have taken place. Now this doesn't mean that this is something that is insurmountable, but it means that it should reframe our way of thinking Often our strategy as older generations of, if you're not a teenager, you're an older generation. And we just want to make the world seem like it was when we were growing up, because that feels a little more controllable. But we have to acknowledge the reality of what kids are facing today. Instead of playing in the neighborhood, they play in the algorithm. And instead of, you know, seeing things of value that are meaningful, things that are sacrifice and other loyalty, other virtues. And really, one of the most prized commodities in today's culture is things going viral, because that means more influence, more money, more branding opportunities. And we see that followers often are mistaken for someone having wisdom. I call this concept, just of myself. I just call this vicarious credibility. And before, when you would decide who you would follow, especially maybe you're going to go to a local church. Well, you ask around and you want to know, you know, what kind of person is the pastor. And maybe you look online, you do a little research, and you listen to a few of their sermons. But then when we see who we follow. Now when you go to follow someone on social media, it automatically shows you, oh, also followed by. And you see a couple of people you know and that you respect and you think, okay, well, this must be vetted, because they follow it. And I think, what happens if one person just follows that one person just because they clicked something on accident, and then all of a sudden they have all of these hundreds of people who are following along behind. We are like sheep. We just go really quickly. And many children are also growing up believing that the goal in life is not to love God and, serve others. It's to be a marketable brand, to be financially profitable, to be successful in the world's eyes. And influencer culture really teaches kids that image matters more than integrity. And that, platform really matters more than purpose. And being noticed by the public matters more than being known by God. Now, these things are absolutely not true. But it is very easy to fall for the world's traps because people have done it since the beginning of time. And as parents, we often focus on what our children are watching. But maybe an even more important question is, who is discipling them? And if you're hearing that noise, I'm hearing it too. Welcome to Live Radio. Don't let it distract you. Here we have tactics to distract you from what I'm saying. Don't let that happen. Because when our kids are scrolling through social media, when we are scrolling through social media, every video they scroll through is answering questions for them about identity, about who they are. Every creator is teaching them who and what to value. Every algorithm they encounter is shaping the desires that they have. And we have been given so much script, so much wisdom in scripture. And I read from Proverbs 13:20, Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. And that is very true. Long before social media existed, the scripture was written before social media platforms. God understood that we were designed to become like the people we follow. This is great because we are intended. Our, intent is to follow Christ and become more like Christ. But we get distracted along the way. The good news is that research shows, especially in the context of a healthy relationship, that parents remain the most influential force in a child's life. And everyone thinks, no, no, the influencer is more or their friends matter more. That is actually not true. Now they may be giving you side eye, they may be rolling their eyes, they may be sighing, they may be giving you, oh, mom, oh dad, not again. But it really is taking root when we are intentionally present, when we're working in a healthy relationship, parents remain the primary influencer on their kids. So it's not about removing technology from our homes, although I know there's a trend toward that. And I'm even about talking, talking about that on Fridays. Every Friday, we talk about healthy habits. And here in the summer, we are right in the middle of tech habits. And next week I'm going to double up and talk about being transparent with our tech. We have talked about a lot of different things with technology already, but it's really the goal is making sure that technology is not out. We're not outsourcing our discipleship, responsibility in our families to technology. And so so far what we've discussed in our healthy habits is that of course technology is a tool, but AI is not neutral. AI is shaping your child's worldview. And so we've talked about tech free zones, tech free times. We've talked about tech tracking and being good digital citizens and modeling good healthy tech use ourselves as parents because many times what our kids do that annoys us to death on technology, they're really just mirroring what we see as far as our screen time as far as phubbing our children, phone snubbing them. That's a term that's emerging in research that I've been talking about. Attention is stewardship in the attention economy, our attention is being bought and sold to the highest bidder. And so we've got to replace that numbing out endless scrolling with intentional living And a couple of weeks ago on the Friday show, I reviewed the movie Toy Story 5, which honestly was a gut punch to any parent who would watch it because it showed pretty unflinchingly what happens when we just check out and how technology can so rapidly influence. And so instead of just saying we feel like we have to be the screen police, we feel like we have to be the screen time police, say, what are you watching? How much time have you spent on your phone? Get off your phone, turn off your phone, put away your phone, get, get away from your phone. We're asking those kinds of questions instead of saying, hey, how does what you're watching make you feel? How is it shaping who you are becoming? Is it influencing you for good or is it influencing you for negative? Is it making you more anxious? Is it making you more sarcastic? Is it making you more, you know, just whatever it is that you don't want to be? We need to help our kids and ourselves evaluate the influencers we're following. Does watching this show, interacting on this platform, does it make me love God more? Does it encourage me to be more kind? Do I feel more kind and compassionate?

Children need help learning that influence is never ever neutral

Do I speak more kindly and gently to my family? When I've been watching this platform and looking at the influencers themselves, like, do I want my life to look like theirs? And are they really giving biblical wisdom? or is this just for attention? Is this just entertainment? Children need help learning that influence is never ever neutral. And especially now with influencer culture, because influencers aren't simply advertising products anymore. They're not just selling something. It's not a product placement, it's not a soda that you see in a movie or a car. We're talking about things like identity and beliefs and priorities and the language that we use, the way that we look, the way that we dress, the way that we engage in relationships, the way that we engage in politics and, and our beliefs about things like sexuality and faith and mental health. And children are spending way more hours. We used to be more concerned about them spending 30 hours a week with a teacher. Now they've spent. They're spending 30 hours a week or so with influencers. Rather than hearing parents and grandparents and other faith filled people, faithful people in their lives. And that is discipleship and that is happening digitally. And that's why it feels so powerful, because it is, it is ever present. You. There is endless content and there is endless. There are endless forces at work to draw you back to the platform, to make it more appealing. And it gives you what you want, not what you need. And people who are invested in your family's life, who love you, they're going to tell you tough truths. They're going to tell you you're wrong to say that you need to apologize. Your tone of voice was too harsh. You didn't handle yourself well in that. Go and apologize, make it right. Whereas influencers are going to say, oh, yeah, you should have said that. You need to stick up for yourself. Things that are really counter to the biblical narrative. Being popular doesn't mean being wise. Just because everybody's watching a certain show doesn't mean it influences your life for the better. Being viral doesn't mean that something is trustworthy. Being entertaining doesn't mean that it is instructive. And the Bible tells us about influence. It doesn't matter that social media was didn't exist. These scriptures help us for healthy Christian living. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That comes From Romans, from 1st Corinthians. Bad company corrupts good character. Psalm 1, Blessed is the one who the man who does not walk in ungodly Counsel. And Matthew 5:16. We are called to be light bearers to influence the world, not just be consumers. We need to be contributors. And I've talked about that. So I encourage you to really take hold of your family discipleship journey and be intentional about it. You don't have to compete with every influencer that's out there. You just have to consistently show up. You've just got to give your kids a compelling alternative. And you already have an advantage because you are flesh and blood and you are their family. You are invested in them, you love them, you care for them. You are three dimensional. These are things that are, that are advantages for now, even as technology competes. I talked, last week about robots now that are trying to come to life to be real life robot companions. Parents have got to be there first. And when we're looking at who we're following, look at it. Really teach our kids not just to hit that follow button, because that's what we're culturated to do, right? How many times do you scroll through social media, hey, hit that follow button. If you like this content, hit that follow button. Subscribe, like really ask yourself, what is this person celebrating? What are they mocking? What are they selling? What do they believe? How are they benefiting from my attention? But even more so, help kids discover real influencers who are real heroes of the faith. And, we've talked before about missionary biographies or the lives of faithful pastors or Christian athletes even, or scientists who practice with great faith historians or musicians who glorify God or just local community service. Expand your family's understanding of who who and what is influencing you. And the kingdom grows through celebration of people who are serving, people who are just sharing kindness, people who are generous, who are humble, who are diligent, who are honest. Now, these things rarely trend online, but they always matter to God. And in giving our kids a kingdom mindset that is so powerful, make your home more influential than the Internet. You can do that by just going to Healthy habits. Every Friday I invite you to join us. It is never too late to join. We talked about four core spiritual disciplines starting in January. We talked about rhythms, communication patterns. And now we're talking about technology. Now listen, Influencer culture tells kids get famous. But Jesus says, be faithful. And social media says, okay, how many people? How many followers do you have? Have? And God says, are you following me? Our children don't need just protection from harmful content. They need discipleship and formation into Christian character. So I encourage you to do not grow weary in doing good. And as you are continuing that work wherever age and stage your family's in, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. And I'll see you here tomorrow.

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Jeff Chamblee: opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family radio.

Father and son Joe and Jake Soltis talk with Jessica about prayer, resilience, and how a 15-year-old takes a stand for Christ on TikTok. She also talks about social media, influencer culture, and healthy habits for tech use in our homes.

https://prayerattheheart.org/