Transcript

Abraham Hamilton III hosts the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: This is the, Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite, delivering people

>> Abraham Hamilton III: out of the bondage of mainstream media and the philosophies of this world.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: God has called you and me to be his ambassadors even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And now the Hamilton Corner.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Hamilton Corner. My name is Abraham Hamilton iii, joined by the producer extraordinaire, often imitated but never duplicated, the real J. Mac. I'm so excited about today's program. I am confident that it will be encouraging and inspiring and provoking in the best way possible. And I am looking forward to, to the conversation that we're about to have.

Many of you are making transition from part time jobs to full time jobs

But at this very moment, many of you, if not most of you, are making your transition from your part time jobs where you generate an income, to your full time jobs where you cultivate an outcome. And as you do so, I want to remind you to do so with intentionality, understanding the primacy that God places on family and welcoming his position. His view to govern, guide and guard your engagement in your homes. Simply put, I want to challenge you and encourage you to refuse to sacrifice your families to the spirit of the age. To refuse to allow, the press of the world, the insanity of the culture to dictate to you some sort, some notion of inevitability. Inevitability. Can I talk today? Inevitability. But to recognize that we have been positioned and ordained for such a time as this. As you're making your transition from your part time jobs to your full time jobs, I want to remind you that what goes on in your house, what goes on in your house, it's more important than what's going on in the White House. The primary reason for this is that you and I are directly, directly accountable and responsible for our engagement in our homes. We have the wherewithal to directly impact our children. For those of us who are in the similar life stage as I am with young children in our home, we have the direct responsibility for how we engage our wives. If we are husbands or your husbands, if you are wives, you have the direct opportunity and responsibility to engage there. And so we must refuse to allow the things that are percolating in the world to manipulate us away from what must be foundational, our foundational engagement as our full time commitments. If we would welcome the Lord to grasp A hold of us in our homes and in our families. There is no question, no question as to what could happen in our societies. But the focal point must not be, well, we're going to do this so that the society's become this, that, and the other. No, we should do. We must engage in our families out of obedience to what Jesus commands of us. And we're going to begin the program as usual in the Word of God, because it is vitally important that we refuse to try to do life by putting God's word aside. You know, there are too many mantles, too many coffee tables, too many end tables that have Bibles collecting dust and not enough Bibles that are being utilized and put into practice. One of the things I say all the time, I don't search the Scriptures and study the Scriptures, so I have something to come on the radio and talk about, to come on the air and talk about, to come on the podcast and talk about. I study God's Word to be challenged and transformed. Personally, I read God's Word to welcome the God of His Word, to read me, and I encourage you to do the same thing.

Third John, verses one through four. The Beloved Disciples recording

Okay, we're going to begin the program today in Third Jon. Third Jon, verses one through four. Third Jon, this is the Beloved Disciples. The Beloved Disciples recording of this epistle. The first four verses say this, the elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects that you may prosper and be in good health just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth. That is how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this to hear of my children walking in the truth. Now, the apostle Jon is. This is. Is articulating these words, these phrases. he's addressed Gaius by name directly. He is discussing, really a disciple, a discipleship relationship, when he refers to, his children. No doubt about it. But it is something that we should glean and apply in the discipleship context. I say it all the time. The great commission is not to go, ye, therefore make converts, but it is to make disciples, all right? Discipline learners who are lifelong obedient followers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our foremost desire with our children is for them to join us in eternity

But this also should stir us who are parents as well. I've explained to you guys before. This is a verse that, has grasped my wife and I at a foundational core level that our foremost desire with our children is for them to join us in eternity. Our foremost desire for our children, as they are regenerate individually and that they learn and embrace the glorious wonder of living lives fully submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ. That is our foremost desire, more than anything else. and that should be the desire of all Christians who God has blessed with children. That our foremost commitment, our primary objective, the thing that we want more than anything else. More than them having a quote, unquote, good life, more than them having a, quote, unquote, successful career, more than them having, you know, seasonal vacationing and all this other kind of stuff, attending certain educational establishments. Our foremost desire, my foremost desire should be to know that our children are walking in the truth. Jon's description of walking in the truth. He's using the word picture to depict manner of living. I have no greater joy than to know that my children's lives are characterized by living according to the truth. Living in the truth captured by truth with a capital T. I've said numerous times that there's a light years worth of difference to being casually curious about Christ and being captured by him. And when you have been captured by Christ, you move away from merely giving offerings to becoming the offerings. One of the major, I just say it plainly, man setbacks that has, befallen us in our nation is that we have really seeded the area of the discipleship of our children. Outsourced is a better way to describe it. Outsourced that in many ways to people who are haters of God and His Word, frankly. Now some of you are thinking, hey, what do you mean? What do you mean by that? I'll tell you exactly what I mean by that. One of the major sources of disciple making in our country is the decisions we've made as to how we would educate our children. You know, education, we describe it as education, but education really is the cultivation of the mind. When Jesus was asked about the Great Commandment, he said very plainly, you shall love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and your strength. And the second is like, you should love your neighbors as yourself. We have seeded the cultivation of the mind largely to people who are Antichrist. Then at the same time, we become apoplectic at the notion that this mind cultivation has actually been effective. I mean, we funded the tunes of trillions of dollars. We send our children to these systems of discipleship, and they come home having learned, well, what they have been instructed to learn. We have a phenomenon right now. I mean, a lot of people are talking about what just happened in NewSong York, where you have outright open, socialists who are running for office and they're getting Elected right. It's not sufficient to just curse the darkness and to assess what is dark. Have we invested in a populace who are so anchored and fortified in truth where the reality is socialism is not attractive, you hear me say very often. And it became, I didn't intend for it to become like a tagline or nothing on the show, but that's what happened. That darkness is not an affirmative force. However, it will reoccupy the space that is vacated by the light. That is what is going to happen. So it's not sufficient to say, America is never going to be a socialist country. It's not sufficient to say, well, that is anti American. That's not sufficient. The question is, have we invested in our children and subsequent generations of Americans sufficiently where they will be able to live? Charles Spurgeon's description of discernment. Charles Spurgeon described discernment as not merely distinguishing right from wrong. Charles Spurgeon said discernment includes, in addition to distinguishing right from wrong, also distinguishing right from almost right. Have we cultivated a populace, have we invested in, generations sufficiently to where they have their own capacity to distinguish right from. From almost right as well as distinguishing right from blatantly, highlighted, screaming down the street, down the roadway at 100 miles per hour wrong and evil. Have we done that? Have we done that? And my point in sharing this now is not for us to cry over spilled milk and to, you know, pull a, eeyore a nobody knows the trouble I've seen, but to say, wait a minute, whoa. I realize where I might have missed it in the past. Let's pick up from where we are right now and change course. Are we willing to do so? Do we have the humility and the integrity to acknowledge. Yeah, I missed that one. There's a reason why, guys, that, that our nation though we have, our founding declaration that we are about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of on July 4th that begins that we hold these truths be self evident that all men are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The unalienable rights notion flows directly from the biblical revelation of the Imago dei. Because man is made in God's image, that man enjoys intrinsic bequests from our Lord. Governments at best exist to protect and to secure to the individual what has been given to by God. That's a part of our founding document. Yet we here, we aren't approaching 250 years and we have people that are preferring outright socialists, which by the way, if you Understand, Moses Mordecai, Marx Levy, his articulation and Communist Manifesto. Socialism was always meant from his standpoint to be an intermediary step en route to full blown communism. That the theological undergirding for socialism and communism, or to say it more broadly in one word, Marxism, is atheism. It has a fundamental rejection of truth concerning the fall and the damic nature rejected outright. But we have younger people that are embracing it. And I said this before and I'll say it again, there are lots of people that want to complain about young people, the young people of this and young people that young people don't understand. I told you guys before, my grandmother said a long time ago, when you point a finger, one is pointing outward, but you got at least three pointed back at you. All of these young people come from somebody's homes. All of these young people come from somebody's families. Many of these young people are parts of peoples of certain churches, youth groups. All of these young people come from somewhere. They didn't just zoom. It wasn't like a Star Trek kind of light beam that just caused them to be just disembodied plants in the world. They all came from somewhere. I can tell you the number of conversations I had, you know, with people and y' all know, because I'm the third. In my home church back in NewSong Orleans, everybody called me Lil Abe. They would say Lil Abe. If I had known. If I would have known, I would have made different choices. If I'd have known, I would have made different choices. But the scripture tells us that the church exists to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. We have lots of saints who have not been equipped. We have lots of saints who haven't even realized that God has entrusted your children to you specifically and intentionally, not just a, coincidental biological occurrence. He has specifically and intentionally entrusted your children to you and entrusted my children to me. For what purposes? So that we. Ephesians 6:4 says it plainly, fathers, do not exasperate your children, rather rear them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God has assigned our children to us and us to our children because we are primarily responsible for the evangelization, the catechizing and the disciple making of our children. Have we done it? Have we been involved in it? One of the saddest realities when you introduce the concept of disciple making into a conversation with many Christians, or probably should say many Churchians, because churchianity is not synonymous with Christianity, oftentimes the whole concept of disciple making is conflated. But really, worship service, attendance, decorum, that is not making disciples. So we're going to have a conversation today and I've invited a guest to join me to help me to have this conversation about it is God's divine ordinance. He has created the institution of marriage and blessed fathers and mothers with the privilege, privilege, prerogative and opportunity to be frontline vanguards of disciple making. This is your mission. You have no choice whether or not to accept it. We must be about our Father's business. Man.

American Family Radio celebrates America's 250th birthday with patriotic apparel

We know intuitively that darkness is not an affirmative force. That's why none of us goes home at the end of a long work day and say, honey, would you turn the darkness off? All that is necessary is for us to turn the light on. Jesus told us to put the light on the lampstand. Let's be about our father's business.

>>  : America's 250th birthday. It's a great excuse to have some extra cake and ice cream, but we can help your celebration go well beyond that. Show your patriotism with America 250 apparel that will become a memento of this special year. We also have special episodes on AFA Stream to help underscore that America is a Christian nation and help you find God in the Constitution. Find all of this and more in one place. Afa.net topics250.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Shining Light into the Darkness this is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Abraham Hamilton III welcomes Leanne Mancini to the Hamilton Corner

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton III here. I'm delighted to have on the program with me a woman who I've come, who I'm coming to know. she attended a conference where I was speaking in Florida earlier this year and then she contacted our ministry after that. Her name is Leanne Mancini. She is the founder of Raising Christian Kids and the host of the award winning podcast Raising Christian Kids which is available on all major platforms and streaming on KHCB Radio's uplifted station. She shares their expert godly advice, biblically based wisdom, and insightful tools for parenting children to bring them closer to Jesus. She's also an adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary and she's also a sought after speaker on topics such as Christian growth, biblical understanding and children's spirituality. She has a Bachelor's in Religious Studies from Regent University and master's degrees in Christian and Classical Studies and Biblical and Theological Studies from Knox Theological Seminary and and a Master's in Christian Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. My guest is Leanne Mancini thank you for joining me here on this program.

>> J. Mac: Well, thank you for having me. I'm honored to be here.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, the honor is certainly mine.

Leanne Mancini's Raising Kids to Follow is amazing

And I wanna show the people that because you were kind enough to send me your book, Raising Kids to Follow, Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God, which if you're watching the show, I'm showing you the book right now. It is an amazing guide for parents to aid you on your journey, of in making disciples of your children. And one of the things that you guys know, if you listen to the show and watch it for any length of time, that I'm exceedingly passionate about this, you get, do overs in lots of areas. You know, you get mulligans m in golf, but you don't get mulligans in parenting. You know, you don't get to go back and repeat the ages and things of that nature. And so one of my things that I enjoy doing is sharing resources with you that I find to be helpful. And this book from Leanne Mancini is one of those books. Our good friend Dr. Kathi Cook wrote the foreword to Leigh Anne's book. And so this is one you definitely need to get. And I'll just say this right at the onset. And Jeff, please put this, in the show notes. Go to her website, raisingchristiankids.com she has all kinds of resources available there to aid you in your journey.

You wrote Raising Christian Kids and now have an animated series

All right, first and foremost, how did you end up in the position where you ultimately wrote your book Raising Christian Kids, but you also had the animated series, see Kids adventures? How did you come to the position recognizing that, wait a minute, this is something that not only we can do, we must do this?

>> J. Mac: Well, as you know, God calls us and he equips us. I had no desire on the radar of doing an animation series or writing children's books or writing a parenting book. I was a volunteer at my children's school and just helping rather than raise my children well as best as I can. But God called me in. Well, let me just back up. When my kids were little, I wrote these stories, because I couldn't find books that taught them how to live out the biblical principles. I was trying to instill in them in real life situations that little kids face. And I wrote these stories and ah, my kids loved them and I shelved them. Well, years later, I felt the Lord and the Holy Spirit prompting me to write the sea kids stories. So I wrote the books. I went to nrb. I met a producer who said, we need to make them an animation series. So they are an animation series on right now. Media Pure Flicks, Answers, tv. Minnow. Yippee. And then from there, I started realizing that children were walking away from their faith at an alarming rate. Five years ago, it was like 45% middle school and 75% high school. And I prayed to the Lord and I felt the Lord prompted me to do research because I'm a professor. I love to research and, and research and write a book. Write a book that would help parents and grandparents raise their children from the Womb to age 7. To build that foundation, once the foundation is solid, to build upon that foundation. Because by the age 13, their worldview has formed. So I felt the calling and I was obedient. And that's how we got the raising kids to follow Christ.

You encouraged others to step out in faith to serve their families

>> Abraham Hamilton III: M. Now I just want to run a highlighter over, something you just said, and this is how some of the greatest contributions are made. You, were in the trenches raising your own children, and you were seeking to do what you now encourage others to do. But yet you found that there weren't sufficient resources, to convey, the biblical truth that you wanted your children to grasp and practical application in their own lives. So you did what any loving mom, God fearing, Christian mom would do. It doesn't exist. Well, why don't I make it? Why did I do it myself? That's often the most important step to take, because the society wants us to be in a position kind of where we're paralyzed or infantilized to where we don't have anything. We can't do this, we can't do that. Well, what keeps us from making the kind of things that, that we want to see? You know, I say often, I don't want to be one who just stands on the sideline and curses the darkness. I want to turn the light on. I want to raise, put the light on the lampstand. What would you say to other moms or dads and parents who are listening to you right now? To encourage them to be willing to step into the void that they may sense or may feel surrounding them, to be able to serve their families well and honor the Lord in doing so?

>> J. Mac: I would really listen to that Holy Spirit, you know, touching you on your shoulders, saying, there's a problem. You need to solve this. But with God's help, with the Holy Spirit, you can accomplish anything. You need to trust and pray in the Holy Spirit, ask for guidance. If you have this burning desire to create something, there's a reason you have that burning desire. And, you don't want to stifle it. Like you said, you don't want to put that light underneath a bowl and not let it shake. You want to fan the flames through the Holy Spirit. And you'll be so amazed at what you can do if you step out of the boat. Okay, Step out of the boat and try and trust the Lord in what you need to do. And it's so much fun. It's, you know, creating things for the Lord and for children is so much fun and it's so rewarding. But don't be afraid, because the world will tell you you can't, you can't, you can't. But God says you can, you can, and you will, and I will help you.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: M man. And one of the things that, as you said, this wasn't even on your radar. You were just endeavoring to serve your family. But here, God takes what you, what you were willing to step out in faith, to trust him to do for your own family. And now it becomes something that is beneficial, a resource for, for other families. I mean, I read some of the children's books that you sent to me to my own children, you know, to where the things that you did for your children are now being a blessing to my family. And I'm able to pass it on and share with others now. I mean, that's how God does things that, as we follow him and trust him, as he says in what we may perceive as something little man, he expands that and makes it maximally fruitful and reproductive and productive within his economy for his kingdom.

>> J. Mac: Yes, he does. You just have to be obedient to his calling.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen. Amen.

You start teaching children from the womb, according to Psalm 70

So you mentioned, for this book, raising kids to follow Christ, instilling a lifelong trust in God, the one I mentioned that Dr. Kathi Cook did the foreword for. you told me that you did a bevy of research as an academic, as a professor, that you enjoy doing research because you didn't want to just, kind of just share off the cuff. You wanted to make sure you anchored, your presentation in empirical facts and objective truth. what are some of the things that you learned during your research for your book that kind of struck you as you were preparing to write it?

>> J. Mac: Well, I, I'm just so excited to share that you start teaching children from the womb.

>> J. Mac: Okay. God says in Psalm 51:6, yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb. You taught me wisdom in that secret place. And Psalm 70, 8, 6 says, teach even to the children yet to be born. At 18 weeks, the baby can hear in the Womb. But at 28 weeks, they can decipher between a mother's voice and a stranger's voice. And what happens is you can just talk about Jesus and sing songs about Jesus. Let, your fetus or your infant in your belly there hear the name of Jesus all the time. When from the WOMB to age 3, what we're doing is we're preparing that soil to be rich soil. For example, you're feeding your baby. You can say, jesus loves you, Joni, Jesus loves you. What you're doing is you're connecting the name of Jesus with his name with, his needs being met. You have a six month old giggling and looking in the mirror at the reflection. You say, sarah, Jesus loves you. You're so beautiful. Jesus created you. You're connecting her happy emotions with the name of Jesus. And there's so much you can do. By the age of three, okay, you have a toddler that needs to take a nap. Instead of saying take a nap, say, let's take a Sabbath's rest. Now, they don't understand the true meaning of Sabbath, but they know it has something to do with resting and praying to Jesus. Then from the ages 4 to 7, when you're instilling biblical principles and wisdom, you're planting those seeds into rich soil to grow deep roots. So I learned a lot about how to build that foundation by the age of seven, what you can do, and I'll give you an example, I have, my godchild is 3 years old and his mother's done a fabulous job. He can recite the Lord's Prayer, he can tell you the story about David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, Jonah and the whale. He knows all of these and he can tell you about them, he can articulate them, and he can recite Bible verses. Because his mother has worked with him through playtime, she made playtime sacred playtime. And Einstein says play is the highest form of research for children, for anybody really. When you play, you learn. That's how they learn. So I learned a lot through reading over 250 parenting books and researching, doctors and the brightest minds and children's spirituality. And I condensed it into this book to be a, ah, tool parents can use. A lot of applicational ideas I put in this book and I don't keep any of my proceeds from this book. I donate them to our nonprofit, Raising Christian Kids, which gives free resources to families who are in need. So it's All a mission. It's a mission to serve parents and grandparents to the best of my ability that God has, blessed me to do, man.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen.

You say parenting is the most important and blessed duty the Lord has assigned

I know in your book you refer to who's a friend of mine and a friend of this program, Dr. George Barna, his book Raising Spiritual Champions. He often talks about worldview being crystallized by the age of 13 and, and early in your book you were just talking about, Jonathan Edwards and, and things of that nature. And then you have this quote in your book concerning parenting that it is the most important and blessed duty the Lord has assigned to us. This is something that I wholeheartedly believe and agree with, but unfortunately much of our world, including, the church in our world, doesn't seem to practically agree with that. Is that something you encountered in your research or even anecdotally as you have been invested involved in the ministry raising Christian kids?

>> J. Mac: Yes. You know, in fact, he talks about his statistics with the Christian Arizona University that 13 to 14 year olds from Christian families, 70% don't believe Satan is real, 84% don't believe, are born into sin and need a savior, and 90% of those children don't believe in absolute moral truth. And this is the problem we have. And 53% of children's Christian pastors believe in reincarnation. So this is the problem we're having, that the church is not stepping up and meeting the needs to the parents. Not all churches, but many of the churches, they have a lot of programs for divorce care and for grief and everything. But they need parenting classes in the church that can equip these parents to educate them so they in turn can educate their children in biblical principles. And you know, we have God's word that tells us. What does, Jeremiah, Isaiah, King David have in common? They were taught from birth, from the womb, from a young age. There's so much we can do. We just have to be willing to, you know, get out there and learn it and do it.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: You mentioned that we start teaching our children from birth. What has, happened in our society that occurs that where we get to a certain age and parents sometimes believe, once my child becomes this age, I'm no longer capable of teaching them. Because the truth is from the moment that even before birth, like you mentioned, the capacity to distinguish dad and mom's voice. I remember. I mean, it's a little inside joke, but I would sing to my children when my wife was pregnant, you know, and because I know what you just said, not only Statistically, but I would sense the responses and things of that nature. What has happened to cause parents to all of a sudden become kind of immobilized in thinking, well, I can actually teach my children in this way. What has happened in our culture that has led to that kind of communication?

>> J. Mac: Well, I think what happened is if you have in the 50s and the 60s, you know, everybody went to church, people knew God's word, they passed it on to their children. We were living in a society that was more acceptable to the Christian morals and values and virtues. Fast forward now we're living in a society where I think parents have failed to learn God's word well enough. And you have parents who are unchurched or, unknowledgeable in the word of God, and they don't know how to raise their children in the word of God. But there's a big turnaround. A lot of parents are seeking wisdom. They see what's happening in our world, they see this socialistic woke society, all this craziness, and they're like, wait a minute, I don't want my children to believe that this is true. How can I teach them what proofs, how can I educate them to know that this is not true, that this is a lie from the devil, that this is not truth. And so they're seeking and they're asking for help. And so programs like yours and ministries like mine and the things that we're doing, our ministries are helping parents. They want and need the help. And so we can turn this around. it's just we have to, adhere to what God's calling is and step out of the boat, like I said, and be active.

Hamilton Corner: What is your website where people can access parenting resources

>> Abraham Hamilton III: I want to mention before we get too far into the conversation, what is your website where people can access these resources and again, the name of the podcast that you do?

>> J. Mac: Yes, well, the website is raisingchristiankids with a plural S. Raisingchristiankids.com Now, my podcast, I have past episodes because I moved on from the podcast, a live podcast right now. And I have George Barna. I have a section of apologetics with, the top, educators and apologetics for children. Ah, for disciplining. like I said, I have George Barna, I have, Natasha Crane, I have so many well known experts, the parents can go and listen to these episodes. what we are having is we're having a parenting conference October 10th in Pompano Beach. We have a one day parenting conference. We have excellent speakers. Ginger Hubbard, Rhonda Stoppe, Sam. Sorbo you know, Kevan Sorbo, the actor, Sam Sorbo and their ministry speaking. So we have a fun filled day that we want to give back to parents and grandparents. We have tons of door prizes that are out of this world that we're just going to give to these parents. So we, this is what we're all [email protected] we want to help parents, we want to assist them and grandparents in raising their children.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Presenting AFA Stream, an online platform that hosts all AFA produced video content, including documentaries, church curriculum, American family radio shows and our cultural Institute series.

>> Jenna Ellis: I would submit that we are a Christian nation and the proof of that is in our founding documents and in the US Constitution itself. Because our founders recognized for the first time in world history that our rights come from God our Creator, not our government.

>> Ed Vitagliano: AFA Stream is a vital step that we are taking to fulfill our vision to be a leading organization in biblical worldview training for cultural transformation. You'll find top notch resources that address the issues of our day related to marriage, family, the sanctity of life and many others. Start streaming today. Stream.AFA.net

>> Abraham Hamilton III: the Hamilton Quarter podcast and one minute commentaries are [email protected] back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Leanne Mancini is preparing a parenting conference for October 10

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. My guest is Leanne Mancini, author of Raising Kids to Follow Christ, Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God, also the founder of Raising Christian Kids. Her website is raisingchristiankids.com that is raisingchristiankids.com before we went to the break, Leanne, you were sharing that you, you are preparing a one day parenting conference, October 10th in Pompano Beach, Florida. Is that right? Pompano Beach. Where can people get the information for your conference and all of the details? Is there a cost and all of that information? Would you share that with us, please?

>> J. Mac: Yes, it's very affordable. It's $65 and you could go to raisingdisciplesconference.com so that's again with an S raising disciples conference dot com.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Man, this is so, so good. What, what are you seeking to accomplish through the conference? As I know we've been having this conversation, I can intuit what you're seeking to accomplish. Accomplish. But I want to, want to invite you just to share what the conference's objective is.

>> J. Mac: Well, God says in Psalm 127, our children are arrows in our quiver. So what are arrows used for and how are they manufactured? They're made precise so they can be used to shoot and kill the enemy. So what we're doing at this conference is we're equipping parents to sharpen their children biblically, emotionally, spiritually so that they can become the future fighters, disciples against evil. And we're also making sure that parents are walking away feeling loved and understood and heard. They'll be able to engage with the speakers. And we're giving, tons of door prizes, I mean really, really nice door prizes. When they go to the website, they'll be able to see that. And we want parents to have a fun filled day, while learning a lot about what they can do and take home. The goody bags will be filled with information as well.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: M Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

You were talking about the importance of discipline in rearing children

Now in the previous segment you mentioned something that is unfortunately seems to be so sorely lost in our culture. You were talking about the importance of discipline in rearing children. You know, the root word to discipline actually is disciple. why is that such an important feature of Christian parents commitment to rearing the children God entrusts to our care and his nurture and admonition.

>> J. Mac: Well, your children need to be obedient if they're going to learn. the first step is obedience. In my book, I have, I think, two chapters on, teaching children how to obey and then how to, follow the rules after they learn how to obey. They need to learn how to obey first. you know, for example, I'll have parents say, I always tell them, write a family mission statement. Start with the family mission statement that tells about what you're going to, as a family, how you're going to worship. Have a contract, a disciplinary contract in that as well, that talks about what is expected for obedient children, what are the consequences for disobedience. I tell parents that children earn their consequences. You're not doling them out. They earn that and they earn, privileges as well. And I'll have parents say, you know, I have a teenager. And so I did what you said. They're still not listening. And I tell them, look, you have to sit down and tell your child, your teenager, the three reasons we're doing this is because we have to be accountable to God for how we're raising you. We're doing this because we want to keep you safe and we're doing this because we love you. Those are three reasons that they cannot push back upon. And you'll see how fast your teenager will turn around when you take the computer away, the cell phone or the keys to the car, and I also think it's important, also for learning children. Teaching children how to be obedient is having a good relationship with your child. You don't lecture to your teenagers. They don't lecture. You lecture them. They're going to turn around, they're going to turn around and run away. You have to have a good relationship. And that starts very early. You need to listen to them, and hear them out and understand them. You're a coach when you're a teenager. And so there's just so much we can do. Teach, our little ones how to be critical thinkers. When they come to you with a question, instead of answering their question, ask them what they think about it. So when Johnny comes to you and says, mommy, is it okay? Tommy has two daddies. is that okay? Is God okay with he has two daddies? You say, tommy, what do you think? And how he answers you is how you reply, yes, you're right. It's not right in God's word, it's a mommy and a daddy. or you say, well, here's what God's word says. Let's look. You teach them how to become critical thinkers by asking, the question back to them. So critical thinking also works with obedience.

>> J. Mac: When you want them to learn how to be obedient, they need to work through situations. And it's all about relationship.

You highlight the distinction between honor and respect in your book

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Well said. One of the things you tackle in your book, raising kids to follow Christ, is you highlight the distinction between honor and respect. Honor and respect. We know the commandments, articulated first in the Hebrew text reiterated in Ephesians 6. children are to honor your father and your mother. This is the first command, with a promise. What is the distinction between honor and respect that we should understand and seek to convey and cultivate in our children?

>> J. Mac: Yes, Respect is, please, thank you. obeying, the authority figures in our life, doing what we're told to do. Johnny, you have to go take the garbage out on Friday. Okay, Mom. He takes the garbage out on Friday. Honor is a little bit different. Honor goes above and beyond what they're called to do. So how does a child honor a parent? Susie has to do the dishes every night after dinner. But after Susie does the dishes now, she goes to the front room and starts cleaning the front room or putting the toys away from her little brother and sister. And she wasn't told to do that. That's how she's honoring her parents. Honor goes above and beyond what is called, what is necessary.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That is something that is so sorely lacking because we live in a society, and I encounter this often that people are often surprised when they see children who are obedient in public and, let alone children who are willing to honor, their parents, if you don't mind. And this is something I invite my guests to do all the time. Would you share? Excuse me? Would you share a bit?

How the Lord saved you, and I know you and your husband Guy have two children

How the Lord saved you, and I know you and your husband Guy, you all have two children who are adults now. how the Lord saved you, and, how has it been for your family, implementing this into your own lives, which you're teaching others through your books and your resources?

>> J. Mac: Yes. Well, I was a believer of Christ since I was a young child. my mother, we were. I was raised Catholic, and my mother had a big picture of Jesus on the wall in our front room, and we had all the family pictures around him. And I was raised by a single mother, and we didn't have a lot, but we had everything we needed. And she always, instilled, that relationship with Christ from a very early age. Praying, you know, asking him for forgiveness and praying. So I've always believed in him. And it wasn't until I was older that I realized, what it meant to confess your sins to Christ and ask for forgiveness and receive salvation and be baptized. So I was baptized in my 40s. I'm not going to tell you how old I am now, but I'm way past.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Let the record reflect I didn't ask. I didn't ask.

>> J. Mac: And as I was raising my kids, I always wanted them to love the Lord Jesus. Now I wish I knew then what I know now. It would have been easier, but praise the Lord. My adult children come to my house once a week for Bible study.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Wow.

>> J. Mac: They're learning from me. They said, mom, there's no one better than to teach us than you about the Bible. So we have Bible study every week in my home. And now I have a new grandson, and I can't wait to teach him, too.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Wow. Wow. I asked that question. I'm so grateful for your response because, you know, the Lord saves us and calls us. We all have different journeys and. And there will be some who would say, and I encountered these people, I'm sure you do as well, who would say, well, I wish I had known this at some earlier point, but you can't go back and know what you didn't know when you didn't know it. But the issue is, now that you know it, what are you going to do with it? You know, so now here you have this life stage where, you're, you're able to, you're studying the scripture with your adult children, and now you're positioned with your first grandchild to be able to, to invest there. And this is something that I encourage our audience to do all the time. Listen, don't waste time crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. But what are we going to do now? How can we implement now what we know? How can we serve now? And having that broad vision, that Psalm 78 vision, that you conduct and engage your children, your children's children, your children yet to be born, and that we have the wherewithal. I often think about this, I have the wherewithal that, the way I comport myself now to set a foundation for how my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, Lord willing, one day will be impacted to a degree. I obviously won't be their parents, but I have, an opportunity and a platform from which to impact them as well. So that is just encouraging to hear.

>> J. Mac: Oh, I'm so excited you said that. Because that little godson of mine that I told you about, that's three years old, I took the time to invest in his mother, to teach her, to talk to her, to educate her, to give her the resources she needed. And because of that, she is an outstanding Christian mom, and she is raising an outstanding Christian child. A little toddler who all he wants to do is know about Jesus and play puppets about, Bible stories and sing, Christian songs. He, if you try to give him something else to look at, another book, he just tosses it to the side. He wants everything, all the biblical stories, he just eats them up. Because I took the time to invest in her.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Praise God.

One of the things that you stress, you said it here, is starting young

One of the things that you stress, you said it here, that you emphasize the necessity of starting young. I'm sure you've got this question a bunch of times. How soon? When Is it the appropriate age, or is there an appropriate age to start to pour into your children, to raise them to become Christ followers right away?

>> J. Mac: Like I said in the womb, sing songs about Jesus, volunteer at, a church nursery, let your fetus hear the songs children sing in the songs, and then volunteer after that and bring your infant son with you. And the first day they have to attend, they're going to be used to it. Always, everything you do, it's, you know, Deuteronomy, when you rise up, when you walk along the path, when you lie down, when you play with your children, when you talk with your children, bring Jesus into every conversation. And also I tell parents, when you have a little one memorizing a Bible verse, make sure they understand every word that they're memorizing. Children will say, honor thy father, thy mother, but they don't know what the word honor means. So there's just so much we can do. Your play areas at home, are they more reflected of Disneyland or Destinyland? Then make it a sacred play area with everything biblical. You can buy biblical Legos now. there's so much we can do. And as they get older, you supplement their books and their reading and what they're watching. Make sure you know everything that your child is reading and watching and hearing, because again, you have a short window. 13 years. Really? This is your most important job. There is no other job on earth more important than a parent raising the next, Christian disciple in honor of God and being obedient to his word to go make disciples.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: I'm going to invite you to say that again. There's no more important job than what?

>> J. Mac: Than raising disciples, starting in your home with your children.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen. Amen.

Leanne Mancini teaches biblical parenting at South Florida Bible College

This is the last question we'll probably, probably have time for, because as we mentioned already, I know you're also an adjunct professor. How has your work in helping parents to disciple their children, impacted your work as a professor, if it has at all. Has it provided any contributions to your academic offerings and what you do as a professor?

>> J. Mac: Yes. I'm so excited. So South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary is one of the top 10 most affordable colleges in the country. It's a wonderful college. And, they said, hey, why don't you teach an elective for the psychology course? degree counseling degree. I'm sorry. And so I was teaching a biblical parenting course for the counseling degree. And the, the students loved it. They said, wow, we'd never heard of this. We never seen this before. And we addressed all the issues that children are facing today. The problems with, especially the cell phone. And I would like to add, there's a cell phone that is fabulous, and it's trumi t r o o m m I that is the best cell phone you want to get for your children. you can research it and the parents can research it. But it made me a better, ah, teacher in the classroom too, because I understood that even when I'm teaching Romans or apologetics, you can teach with the idea of making sure. Listen, when you teach your children at home or when you talk to your niece and your nephew, make sure they understand this concept. Again, it's the the most important job is teaching not only our children, but somebody else's children, or your niece and your nephew or your grandchild. It's just so important. It's, it's the future of Christianity. It's the way we change the trajectory of our world.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: It's the only it's the only way we disciple way in, discipled our way into it. We have to disciple our way out of it. Leanne Mancini, thank you so much for joining me here on the program. RaisingChristianKids.com is the website October October 10th, the one day parenting conference coming up. You do not want to miss it. You all have a wonderful evening.

>> J. Mac: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.