Walt Mueller Podcasts

God has made us for relationships, and the primary human relationships for which we’ve been made are those with our family. It’s no secret that one of the primary trends undermining the health of our families has been the loss of a family meal time. Researchers recently listed seven benefits of eating together as a family. First, everyone has bette…

I was only six or seven years old when I spotted a wrapped chocolate bar sitting on the kitchen counter. It was holiday time and my mom was getting ready to bake something but had left the room. The temptation was too great, and I cracked open the candy and broke off a square. Imagine my disappointment when my tastebuds sensed the unexpected bitter…

One of the most alarming trends in today’s youth culture is a growing sense of entitlement. It’s especially prevalent among those children and teens living on the receiving end of a silver spoon. On the other end are parents who feed their kids an endless parade of opportunities, activities, and things - all without ever having to work for any of i…

Recently, there’s been a lot of debate regarding whether or not the social media app TikTok is appropriate for teenagers. The video sharing app has come under lots of criticism regarding the spread of inappropriate content, as well as its addictive nature. The nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate has found that harmful TikTok content relate…

John Trent and his daughter Kari are guests on the first podcast of Season Three. They talk with Wayne Rice and John Coulombe about The Blessing and how grandparents can include this simple but powerful act of love, kindness and generosity into their grandparenting toolbox. During the conversation, Kari describes the difference that The Blessing ha…

Our friend, Nicholas Black, recently wrote an article for the HarvestUSA ministry that offers wise counsel on what to say when a child or friend expresses gender confusion. This week, I’ve been unpacking Nicholas Black’s five broad principles a parent, pastor, and church can pursue. The fifth and final principle is this: we want to call our friend …

Our friend, Nicholas Black, recently wrote an article for the HarvestUSA ministry that offers wise counsel on what to say when a child or friend expresses gender confusion. This week, I’m unpacking Nicholas Black’s five broad principles a parent, pastor, and church can pursue. The fourth principle is this: we need to teach a biblical view of perser…

Our friend, Nicholas Black, recently wrote an article for the HarvestUSA ministry that offers wise counsel on what to say when a child or friend expresses gender confusion. This week, I’m unpacking Nicholas Black’s five broad principles a parent, pastor, and church can pursue. The third principle is this: help your young friend to grasp that our li…

Our friend, Nicholas Black, recently wrote an article for the HarvestUSA ministry that offers wise counsel on what to say when a child or friend expresses gender confusion. This week, I’m unpacking Nicholas Black’s five broad principles a parent, pastor, and church can pursue. The second principle is this: Carefully teach and seek mutual involvemen…

Our friend, Nicholas Black, recently wrote an article for the HarvestUSA ministry that offers wise counsel on what to say when a child or friend expresses gender confusion. Nicholas says that of course, we want to be sure to talk about the bible’s teaching on gender, that God created humanity as male and female. However, we must also recognize that…

Why is it that so many of us feel like failures when we or our children make a mistake? My guess is that we are disappointed because we expect ourselves and our kids to be perfect – a very unrealistic expectation. But our gnawing sense of imperfection should not keep us from being good parents. Realistic parents pave the way for family closeness an…

Our friends at Common Sense Media have released their latest report on teenagers and pornography. Since pornography is a horribly fallen expression and distortion of God’s good gift of sexuality, we want to encourage parents to listen to what the survey has found, and then take ongoing steps to teach your kids about God’s good gift of sexuality. Ne…

I recently read a fascinating and helpful perspective on the place sports should and should not hold in our lives written by Robert Cunningham for ByFaith magazine. Cunningham says that all of us have been made with religious impulses and the desire to worship something. For the Christian we know these impulses have been put there by our creator an…

It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it? I’m talking about the rapid advances being made in technology and social media. As parents and youthworkers, it’s essential that we not only keep up with these changes, but that we also develop biblically-faithful strategies for helping our kids and their families navigate the use of these tools in ways that bring glor…

A recent news story about concrete serves as a metaphor for nurturing our children and teens into long-term spiritual growth and vitality. Scientists have long-wondered why the ancient roman pantheon and other roman buildings constructed of concrete have remained intact for almost two-thousand years. Researchers have unlocked the mystery by compari…

The dictionary defines sextortion as the practice of extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity. In today’s online world, sextortion has become a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them with images of a …

In his book “Help my Kids are Hurting,” my friend Marv Penner offers an acronym to help us think through the skills needed to help wounded kids. The letter L stands for listening – the most fundamental skill needed by anyone working with hurting kids. We must close our mouths and listen intently as they tell their story. O refers to what we offer s…

Over the course of the last several years, those who lament the rapid decline in mental health among children and teens have been working to figure out if there’s any connection between the decline, and the pervasiveness of smartphones and social media in the world of children and teens. More and more research is pointing to a connection. In additi…

As a Christian parent, what is your greatest desire for your children? I’m afraid that all-too-often, we allow our desires for our children to be shaped by the ideals of the kingdom of this world, rather than by the ideals of the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 20, we read about the request made to Jesus by a mother named Salome, about her sons, the …

I love digging deep into church history to uncover parenting advice that has not only stood the test of time, but which might be even more necessary and true than it was when it was first given. I recently ran across a quote from John Chrysostom, an early church father who lived from 347 until 407. Listen carefully to these words from Chrysostom: “…

Anorexia Nervosa is a medical term which means “nervous loss of appetite.” In recent years, anorexia has been on the rise, fueled in many ways by society’s pressure to be thin and to be perfect, an ever present reality thanks to both social media and marketing. While anorexia is more prevalent in our girls, a growing number of males are struggling …

As Christian parents, what can we do to help our teens weather the inevitable storm of negative peer pressure in a way that brings honor and glory to their heavenly father? First, realize that negative peer pressure is a spiritual battle that all of us fight constantly. Second, pray for your kids as they face the pressure on a daily basis. Third, e…

Humorist Will Rogers once said, “I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they do now.” Rogers was saying that the world he had grown up in, no longer existed. Like a snowball accelerating and growing on a trip down a steep snow-covered hill, today’s youth culture is changing at breakneck speed. What does that me…

For the last forty-eight years, researchers at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan have been monitoring drug trends among teenagers, and reporting their findings annually in the Monitoring the Future Survey. The most recent survey indicates that in 2022, levels of adolescent cannabis use and nicotine vaping held steady. …

If you’ve ever had a family game night, you are most likely familiar with the game called would you rather? You might have used questions like would you rather team up with wonder woman or captain marvel, or would you rather be forced to sing along or dance along to every single song you hear? It’s a fun game where you can learn much about other fa…

From time to time I will inform you of the latest social media challenge going viral among teens. Some of these can be fun. But many of these challenges are dangerous or even deadly. One of the latest social media challenges police departments across the country are encountering is one that encourages young TikTok viewers to steal two particular br…

Parents, we can’t buy into the widespread cultural cynicism regarding children and teenagers as difficulties or burdens. The psalmist writes, “Don’t you see that kids are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the kids of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers…

Where is God in the midst of the trials and suffering we face in life? Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, and the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is filled not only with testimony to this fact, but with a theology of suffering that we must know, embrace, and pass on as an inheritance to our kids. If you’re like me, you o…

I’ve been lover of music since I was in elementary school and friends introduced me to the Beatles. By the time I got to high school in the 1970s one of my favorite music listening devices was my headphones. I could plug them into the family stereo system and crank up the music, leaving me to listen without complaints from my parents. Today, I love…

Everyone who has ever walked the face of the earth has been made by God for a relationship with God. Because our rebellion and sin has severed that relationship, there remains a deep yearning inside each human being to have that relationship restored. Whether our teenagers know what to call it or not, Blaise Pascal described this universal hole in …

In our North American culture, one of the only rites of passage we have from childhood to adulthood is the day that teenager passes their driver’s test and gets their driver’s license. As parents, we take the time to ensure that our kids have learned how to drive safely and conduct themselves responsibly before we allow them to take their driver’s …

With the use of cannabis on the rise and increasingly accepted in our culture, it’s important that we reckon with the fact that its use does have an effect on one’s cognitive and psychological processing. A variety of recent studies found that in relation to cognitive processes, cannabis users showed significantly lower performance on memory tests …

Our friend, counselor Julie Lowe, has written a brand new book for parents that addresses many of the safety issues our kids and families face in today’s world. The book is called Safe Guards: Shielding our Homes and Equipping Our Kids. The book offers up a very realistic picture of the dangers our kids face in today’s world, along with biblically …

Over the course of the last few years, we’ve had a host of parents and educators ask our opinion on the use of screens in the classroom. In every case, we advise people to keep their eyes on the research so that technology can be utilized as something that enhances rather than detracts from the educational experience. In a recent column in National…

As a youth culture analyst there’s one question I get asked more often than any other: “What’s the greatest problem facing teenagers today?” The one-word answer is very simple: sin. It’s the same greatest problem facing people of all ages in all times and in all places. It’s the same greatest problem I face in my own life. We live in a Genesis 3:6 …

Parents, what sexual script are your kids following as they learn how to live out matters of sex and gender? You see, whoever speaks first to a child on these matters sets the bar for truth. When we teach God’s good order and design for sex and gender, our kids will be better equipped to discern the errors of the cultural narrative. Not surprisingl…

With the Super Bowl happening this week there’s excitement building not only about the game, but about all the new commercials that will air. This year’s cost to marketers? Seven million dollars for a thirty-second spot. As always, we suggest that you take the opportunity to make your Super Bowl watching experience a teachable moment for your kids.…

One of the most quoted bible verses about parenting is found in Proverbs 22:6. It says, “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Our greatest responsibility as Christian parents is to lead our children into a lifetime of living under the Lordship of their Savior, Jesus Christ. We do this by teachin…

Today, I want to offer a word of encouragement and perspective to the parents who may be listening. I’ve made an effort to be a good parent. I’ve made many, many mistakes. I’ve struggled from time to time with my own self-centered feelings of inadequacy, sometimes falling into the trap of worrying about what other people will think about the shortc…

According to the most recent research from the Institute for Family Studies, the amount of time kids ages eleven to eighteen spend on digital media is clearly linked to the type of family structure in which a teen is growing up. Teens who are growing up in a single-parent home or step-family are spending just under eleven hours a day engaged with d…

At creation, God instituted the family to be the place where all human beings are born, nurtured, loved, and brought to physical, emotional, and spiritual maturity. In God’s good order and design, children will flourish best in a loving home where there is a father married to a mother. In the world of family research, this is known as an intact fam…

While I haven’t seen it, there is a new play about teenagers that’s gathering steam in a new York city theatre. Billed and reviewed as a coming of age comedy, the play is about a church, it’s youth pastor, and it’s youth group. Of course, as one who was a youth pastor and who now trains youth pastors, I’m interested! But it’s the title of the play …

Pastor Tim Keller defines an idol as anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. It’s anything you seek to give you what only God can give. One way to discover our own personal counterfeit gods is to see where we are spending our time and our money. One idol that’s fairly unique to our culture and times is youth sports. Accordin…

Your children and teens are most likely not going to like what I have to share with you today. It has to do with the proper age to put a smartphone in a child’s hands. Chances are, if your child or teen doesn’t have their own smartphone, they’re telling you that they are the last person in their school or perhaps even on the face of the earth to be…

What is your greatest desire for your children? Most parents summarize their desire with the word “success.” But what is success? For many, it’s a secure job, the accumulation of things, and personal safety. But the Jesus who calls us to “take up your cross and follow me” defines success differently. When asked by the teacher of the law about which…

Today, I want to share some words from Rick Reed in his Salvo Magazine article on the word Pride. Reed writes, “Until 1970, the former understanding of pride as one of the seven deadly sins was regarded as a foundational moral truth. With the advent of gay pride, the word assumed a positive connotation. The semantic shift facilitated a cultural shi…

The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks this question: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever!” The Gospel is about God in His mercy and grace doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus came to rescue us from all of our sin, brokenness, and disordered desires. The Gospel creates an entirely new …

With the NFL playoffs in full swing and the Super Bowl just a few weeks away, it’s no surprise that the already pervasive ads for online gambling are ramping up in big ways. This has been going on for a few years now, and we must be aware that our kids are being nurtured into believing that it’s normal and even right to place their bets. Pastor Phi…

Recently, I was chatting with a friend about the never-ending stream of tv commercials for attorneys offering to represent marine corps vets who may be experiencing health issues as a result of time spent at one of the largest marine corp bases in the country. We got to thinking about what the next big issue might be that will be featured in future…

The Bible tells us about the way things in our world should be. As Christian parents raising teens trying to find their way through a world that’s broken and terribly mixed-up, we are given a responsibility to help them wade through the muck that is, by leading them into an understanding of the way things should be. In Old Testament times, God rais…