How do you as a dad create the opportunities to disciple your sons? Andy Fletcher joins host Mike Smith today on Home School Heartbeat with some suggestions.
Mike Smith: Andy, you began meeting with your son Hayden and another young man to discuss some books and challenge them to grow their faith. What were some especially important topics that you discussed?
Andy Fletcher: Well, Mike, several years ago I noticed a lot of young men were growing up in the church and the homeschool environment, and they were not being developed to engage in the culture of the world. There was one constant mantra that said, “don’t look, don’t taste, don’t touch,” but at the same time, they were not given really any tools to navigate those pitfalls we were loosing them out into the world to see. So, I began to meet with my sons and a few other young men to discuss some of the bigger topics of lust, pornography, relationships, as well as some of the others as addiction, depression, self-control, and I made it clear to my boys that no topic was taboo, and I was willing to talk through anything with them, and soon we had a table full of young men and a few other dads that joined us to talk through some of the weightier issues of being a young man in our culture, and I think what made it successful was two things—first, there was someone willing to have the discussion, and second, we always, always applied the gospel to the situation. So, instead of just loading them up with a list of do’s and don’ts, these young men were being equipped to live in the freedom and transparency that the gospel provided.
Mike: Andy, it’s absolutely critical that we dads mentor our sons and other young men. And thanks joining us this week to provide some great suggestions for doing that! And, until next time, I’m Mike Smith.
