In this episode of the Be The Church Podcast, Luke Bilberry sits down with Pastor Dan Vandewarker and his wife, Shannon, for a deeply honest and hope-filled conversation about biblical parenting. Together, they unpack what it means to see parenting not as behavior modification, but as a calling—a spiritual mantle to disciple children to love and follow Jesus.
Drawing from Scripture, personal stories, and lived experience, Dan and Shannon explore how parenting flows from theology, marriage, and mission, why the nuclear family was never meant to operate in isolation, and how God uses both hardship and community to form faithful disciples in the home.
This conversation encourages parents to move from control to preparation, from fear to faith, and from isolation to intentional dependence on the Body of Christ—trusting God with both the process and the outcomes.
- Why biblical parenting is rooted in discipleship, not behavior modification
- How parenting flows downstream from your theology, marriage, and mission
- Why the goal isn’t protecting kids from everything—but preparing them for what’s ahead
- How to disciple each child according to their unique personality and calling
- Why the Body of Christ plays a vital role in raising spiritually healthy kids
- How to approach schooling, technology, and culture through a discipleship lens
- What it looks like to parent from humility, repentance, and dependence on God
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