Planning Like a Shepherd - Discipleship for Dads

Is the West simply in decline, or is God rearranging the landscape for the sake of His church? In this wide-ranging cultural post-mortem, Kevin sits down with Pastor Doug Wilson to trace 300 years of eroding Christian foundations and the inevitable collapse of the building that sat on top of them. They critique mainstream conservatism for clinging to external cultural forms (Christmas trees without Christ) while conceding the core, and they warn against purely ethnic forms of nationalism that can't resurrect a civilization. Instead, they call for a return to God's law as the standard for nations and to robust Christian education as the "Omaha Beach" of the worldview battle.

NYC has crossed a symbolic threshold, reflecting a broader shift in the West away from Christ and Christian order. When a society abandons God's law, it does not become neutral—it invites competing ideologies that promise liberation but deliver coercion. History shows that Marxism, Islam, and sexual revolution thrive where Christian foundations erode. This episode examines the spiritual meaning of these alliances and calls listeners to sober discernment, repentance, and faithfulness in a hostile age.

A new year exposes old illusions: political reshuffling cannot heal moral collapse, and fiscal tricks cannot stop the avalanche of debt. When a nation grows indifferent to the slaughter of the unborn and the corruption of sexuality, instability is not surprising—it is deserved. The most frightening sign is not outside the church but inside it: the weakening of pro-life conviction and the silence where the fear of God should be preached. Stability returns only when repentance returns, and when churches teach what God says matters most.

Every home drifts unless someone steers. Dads, God calls you to set direction—starting with Scripture, then bringing your wife alongside, and then translating vision into doable habits. The dads talk about simple, practical tools for family planning, how to build a "team" spirit, and how to take honest inventory without crushing your wife or discouraging your kids.

The drift is real: a softer, sentimental Jesus has seeped into preaching, worship, and discipleship—and it's producing a church that feels more like therapy than an army. Dale Partridge argues this didn't happen overnight; emotionalism and post-war "weakness" reshaped what many Christians think is normal. The result is a Christ who comforts but rarely commands, and men who disengage because the Jesus presented to them feels domesticated.

As 2025 closes, the headlines tempt us to interpret history as a contest of strongmen, markets, and machines. Scripture won't let us stop there—God rules the nations, weighs the church, and judges what our age calls "private" sins with public consequences. This year-in-review asks not merely what happened, but what God is doing, and whether we will repent where it matters most. The goal is sobriety, courage, and a return to first priorities: fear God, take up the cross, and disciple the next generation.

Questions about the nature of hell and the destiny of the soul are resurfacing in the church, often framed as matters of nuance or speculation. Scripture, however, speaks with deliberate gravity—placing eternal punishment and eternal life side by side. These doctrines are meant to shape reverence, humility, and urgency, not fearfulness or indifference.

The greatest threat to liberty is not immigration, economics, or political disagreement—it is Christian apostasy. When churches abandon truth, the culture loses its moral anchor and the state fills the vacuum with coercion. The West is learning, once again, that freedom cannot outlast faithlessness. Liberty fades wherever God's authority is denied.

For generations, Christian homes operated as miniature economies where moms, dads, and children worked, served, and built together—but that vision has been largely lost. The dads explain why recovering it is essential for raising responsible sons, diligent daughters, and families who take dominion for Christ. They discuss risk-aversion, skill-building, mentorship, starting small, and how ordinary dads can reintroduce entrepreneurial life into their homes.

Christmas becomes dangerous when the symbols grow larger than the Savior they were meant to proclaim. Mangers, music, gifts, and traditions can quietly replace worship if they are detached from the cross and the gospel. Families must come back to the full story of Christ—from incarnation and humiliation to death, resurrection, and kingship. True joy is found not in the celebration itself, but in the Savior it points to.