Jim Burns on A Student's Guide to Sexual Integrity
The focus of today's podcast is the imperative nature of fostering conversations surrounding sexual integrity between parents and their children. In our dialogue with Jim Burns, we discuss the complexities and challenges that often accompany these dialogues, particularly in a cultural environment where exposure to pornography is alarmingly prevalent among youth. Jim shares how parents can engage in meaningful discussions that are both biblically grounded and devoid of discomfort, providing practical strategies to facilitate these vital conversations. Through sharing compelling statistics and personal anecdotes, he emphasizes the importance of early and continuous dialogue regarding sexuality, thereby equipping parents to navigate this often awkward terrain with their children. We are reminded that the responsibility to impart knowledge and values in the realm of sexuality rests significantly upon the shoulders of parents, who must strive to create an environment where such discussions can thrive.
Takeaways:
- This podcast episode emphasizes the necessity for parents to engage in discussions about sexual integrity with their children at an early age, as exposure to pornography begins as young as ten years old.
- Jim Burns elucidates the importance of leading conversations about sexuality with love and kindness, while maintaining a biblical perspective that respects both the child's dignity and God's design.
- The hosts highlight the idea that frequent, short conversations about sexuality are more effective than infrequent, lengthy discussions, advocating for ongoing dialogue as children grow.
- Statistics shared during the episode reveal alarming rates of pornography exposure among youth, underscoring the urgency for parents to provide guidance and education.
- Listeners are encouraged to approach the topic of sexual integrity without shame, focusing instead on fostering a safe environment for open communication with their children.
- The discussion touches upon the cultural shifts regarding sexuality and identity, stressing the importance of parents being informed and proactive in guiding their children through these complexities.
Back Channel with Foth- aaron.santmyire@agwmafrica.org
Transcript
Hey there and welcome back to the Clarity podcast.
Speaker A:This podcast is all about providing clarity, insight and encouragement for life and mission.
Speaker A:My name is Aaron Sandemier and I get to be your host.
Speaker A:Today we have the phenomenal opportunity to have with us back on the podcast Jim Burns.
Speaker A:Jim and I get to sit down and discuss.
Speaker A:One of his new books is Student's Guide to Sexual Integrity and How the parents Can Begin Having the conversation.
Speaker A:Sometimes this can be an awkward conversation.
Speaker A:It doesn't need to be awkward and Jim just gives really practical points on how parents can engage these conversations with their students.
Speaker A:He shares some startling statistics about how much pornography kids are exposed to at such a young age.
Speaker A:But at the same time in families sometimes it can be parents can kind of feel awkward even though their kids are as young as 10.
Speaker A:You know, boys as young as 10, I think girls, he said 11.8 are looking at or seeing being exposed to pornography and how we have the opportunity to have these discussions with them from a biblical perspective, a biblical worldview and walk with them and so just some really valuable insights.
Speaker A:Jim's phenomenal to have on the podcast and just really enjoy spending some time with him.
Speaker A:Do want to ask you to continue to subscribe to the podcast and know the podcasts I subscribe to or the ones I listen to.
Speaker A:They show up on my feed every Monday or Tuesday and know what I'm going to listen to throughout the week.
Speaker A:Also please continue to send in your questions for Backchannel with Foeth.
Speaker A:That's where we get to sit down with Dick Foth and get to learn from him, from his wisdom, his insight and his experience.
Speaker A:And yet always a joy to be with Dick.
Speaker A:And then my book A Caring Family.
Speaker A:It's out wherever you can find.
Speaker A:As part of this family series, we did a podcast on A caring family, one on the seven myths of Singleness.
Speaker A:Today we're spending some time with Jim Burns on talking about sexual integrity in our students lives.
Speaker A:Just want to continue to promote healthy families in the day and the world we live in.
Speaker A:Well, there's no time better than now to get started.
Speaker A:So here we go.
Speaker A:Excited to be back on the Clarity podcast with our friend of the podcast, Jim Burge.
Speaker A:Jim, welcome back to the podcast.
Speaker B:Great to be with you.
Speaker B:The last time you know you were on my podcast we were talking about your wonderful book A Caring Family.
Speaker B:And hey, you did a great job.
Speaker B:I love that, I love that conversation.
Speaker A:And it's always a joy.
Speaker A:You've been an encouragement to me and yeah, looking forward to our conversation today.
Speaker A:About the new resource you've put out as students Guide to Sexual Integrity.
Speaker A:But before we jump into that, Jim, will you share just a little bit about yourself and Homeward and your passion and where you invest the hours of your day?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:Well, you know, I did not grow up in the church and I became a Christian when I was a teenager and so my heart has always been with kids.
Speaker B:But I tell people now that I'm an older guy, I go, you know, the best and most effective way for me to help, you know, young people is to actually help their parents and help those who work with kids.
Speaker B:But I still have this heart for kids.
Speaker B:And so what we're going to have a conversation today is about kids, a book I wrote for kids.
Speaker B:You don't see my face in it because nobody wants, you know, a creepy bald headed guy to talk to him about sex like a junior eyed girl.
Speaker B:But you know what?
Speaker B:It is my absolute passion to try to help kids make right and wise decisions.
Speaker B:I was one of those kids and for me, fortunately I wasn't raised in a church home.
Speaker B:But as I started going to church I found my caring family, if you would, at the church and, and I found people who loved on me and cared for me and became mentors and disciplers.
Speaker B:And so that's my story.
Speaker B:And I then went into youth ministry and I was a youth pastor for a number of years and I started speaking, in fact I, we were talking about what you do and what you're going to do in Springfield.
Speaker B:And I can remember several times being in Springfield speaking at kind of national conventions for the assembly of God church, which what you're a part of but talking to kids.
Speaker B:And I always went, wow, these guys do the music, right?
Speaker B:This was longer time ago.
Speaker B:And you know, some of the ones, they're still like singing hymns and I'm like, oh geez, no.
Speaker B:But not the ag people.
Speaker B:They had, they had it going great and so always loved that.
Speaker B:But that was what I, what I did.
Speaker B:And then I kind of made my transition to try to help parents and those who work with.
Speaker B:And now I work for Homeward.
Speaker B:And Homeward has four values.
Speaker B:Strong marriages, confident parents, empowered kids and healthy leaders.
Speaker B:And so that's what I write on, that's what I speak on, that's what I think about.
Speaker B:And it's a privilege to do it together with a bunch of great people at home.
Speaker B:We're the large provider of parenting seminars in the US and it's not just me, but I'm on a roll right now.
Speaker B:Aaron, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm doing.
Speaker B:In six weeks, I'm doing five marriage conferences.
Speaker B:And so I'm on the marriage conference role right now.
Speaker B:And then you and I are going to talk about, you know, sexual integrity for kids.
Speaker B:Actually, if they had sexual integrity, if the kids had sexual integr integrity, then they wouldn't carry as much baggage into their marriages.
Speaker B:So it's a natural way to think about it.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker B:Oh, and married to Kathy, have three daughters.
Speaker B:So we've had no hormones in our life, in our.
Speaker B:In our world.
Speaker B:And now I have four grandkids, so, you know, all adult daughters.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Well, looking forward to our conversation today.
Speaker A:Jim, you share that you want to change the narrative of talking about sexual integrity without compromising a biblical worldview.
Speaker A:Can you unpack that for us?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, you know, over the years, and I've been doing this for a long time, in fact, I started speaking.
Speaker B:I mean, you were either a child or not alive when I started speaking, you know, to students about sex.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And it really.
Speaker B:The narrative changed on the negative side, for one thing, they were getting mixed messages.
Speaker B:Their parents weren't talking to them about it.
Speaker B:The church was saying, don't do it because it's dirty, rotten, horrible.
Speaker B:Save until your marriage.
Speaker B:That's what they heard anyway, or if the church even talked about it.
Speaker B:And then the culture was just blowing their mind saying, do it.
Speaker B:You know, it's okay.
Speaker B:You know, use birth control.
Speaker B:And then we got a little weird in the Christian world, and we started talking about things that had a lot of shame.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And we.
Speaker B:We put a wedge, just like we've done politically in our country with a lot of stuff.
Speaker B:And so I went, is it possible to give a biblical narrative?
Speaker B:And the Bible's very clear on how we handle our sexuality.
Speaker B:And the great master designer is God of our sexuality.
Speaker B:Can we still keep that straight and yet just be a little nicer?
Speaker B:So my principles in this book, when I wrote this book, is, was lead with love.
Speaker B:That's what Jesus did.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:They're prostitutes.
Speaker B:He still loved them.
Speaker B:He didn't agree with what they were doing, but he loved them.
Speaker B:Lead with love, practice kindness.
Speaker B:Make sure that every kid knows that they were created in the image of God and that God loves them unconditionally.
Speaker B:Because today, when you see kids who.
Speaker B:Boys, you know, age 10 are seeing pornography, girls 11.8, I think, is the latest statistic, which is like last week, you know, they have a lot of shame and there's a lot of issues in there.
Speaker B:Is it possible to give them biblical answers, focus on the master designer in that narrative, but also help them understand that, you know, that we care for them and that.
Speaker B:Because I think that's what Jesus did.
Speaker B:I actually think when we.
Speaker B:When the book came out, I reread it again and I went, I think we did it.
Speaker B:And that's what people are saying today.
Speaker B:It's a bestseller.
Speaker B:I saw it today.
Speaker B:Somebody sent me a note that on Amazon, it's the bestseller in its works, secular or Christian, in the area of dating and sexuality, and was like, yay, yes, it's working.
Speaker B:And even people who go, you know, I'm not really a Bible person, so you have a lot of Bible in there.
Speaker B:But this made sense.
Speaker B:I went, they had.
Speaker B:I wrote them back and just said, you have no idea how great that made me feel.
Speaker B:And it's funny, because they weren't Christian, and they kind of went, I'm not sure what to do with the Bible, but it's a very spiritual book for me, Aaron.
Speaker B:Honestly, it is.
Speaker B:I mean, it's a.
Speaker B:It's a book that, you know, I really wanted to.
Speaker B:To change the narrative.
Speaker B:And I think that happened.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, Jim, you said it's a.
Speaker A:It was a spiritual book.
Speaker A:How do you see sexuality and theology and all that tying in?
Speaker B:Well, actually, I mean, even in this book, and I'm not sure a student, because it's written for students, but I'm not sure they totally understand it.
Speaker B:But I.
Speaker B:I called it a theology of healthy sexuality.
Speaker B:So, you know, theology is a study of God, and sexuality is the study of our bodies much more than just today's deal on gender or whatever.
Speaker B:It's a whole gamut.
Speaker B:So, you know, the Bible is very clear, and this is the theology.
Speaker B:God created sex.
Speaker B:God created male and female.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:He sees it as very good in the context of marriage.
Speaker B:He says, don't commit adultery.
Speaker B:That's not because he's some kind of rotten person.
Speaker B:That's because he's protecting us.
Speaker B:Do you know people who've had adulterous relationships go, hey, it was good for our marriage.
Speaker B:It's good for our family.
Speaker B:No, even first Thessalonians 4.
Speaker B:Three that says flee from sexual immorality.
Speaker B:The Greek word is immorality is porneia, and it could be fornication.
Speaker B:It actually is the same root word as pornography.
Speaker B:Interesting enough, but flee from it.
Speaker B:All other sins a person commits are outside of their body, but he or she who sins sexually sins against their own body.
Speaker B:So in other words, it doesn't say Flee sex, that's a beautiful thing.
Speaker B:In the context of marriage, that's an important, important part.
Speaker B:But flee sexual immorality.
Speaker B:And so kids need to hear that.
Speaker B:They need to know that you are one flesh.
Speaker B:You know, Jesus quoted the Old Testament, but he said a man will leave his father and mother be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
Speaker B:Well, the word for united in the Greek is bonded.
Speaker B:So people are bond.
Speaker B:I don't believe in casual sex, but a lot of kids are hearing that on TikTok where they're getting their sex education, TikTok, YouTube, stuff like that.
Speaker B:So you know that theology and then the last part of that and there's so much more I could talk about.
Speaker B:But if they're going to live with sexual integrity, then I think they have to learn to honor God with their body, renew their mind for good.
Speaker B:I always tell kids or adults that the strongest sex organ is not your private parts, it's your mind.
Speaker B:And then turn your eyes from worthless things.
Speaker B:That's right out of Psalm 119.
Speaker B:Exactly out of it.
Speaker B:And then guard your heart above all else.
Speaker B:I was speaking last week in North Carolina.
Speaker B:In fact, we were talking because I was trying to get you to.
Speaker B:We need to do a face to face.
Speaker B:And I said at this quite large church, I wasn't speaking on sexuality, but I came up on morals and values, was in a sermon.
Speaker B:And I said, how many of you received good, positive, healthy sex education from your parents growing up?
Speaker B:And in a very large church, one person reserved.
Speaker B:Actually it blew me away because usually there's at least five, but one person.
Speaker B:So what that meant is because we didn't receive good, healthy sex education as parents, then we don't do a very good job of talking about it with our kids.
Speaker B:And it's awkward, I get it.
Speaker B:But who do we want?
Speaker B:Who's going to talk to our kids about sex right now?
Speaker B:Tick Tock is thrilled to do it.
Speaker B:YouTube is thrilled to do it.
Speaker B:And that's where they're getting it.
Speaker B:The number one place they get sex education is on the Internet.
Speaker B:Well, that's.
Speaker B:I'm not sure I trust the Internet.
Speaker A:For this for sure.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:You, you said it.
Speaker A:You know, it's awkward.
Speaker A:So if, if kids are seeing pornography, you said boys, I think at 10, girls at 11.8.
Speaker A:If the sexuality is there, what makes the conversation then so aw between kids and their parents?
Speaker B:Well, I mean, for a number of reasons.
Speaker B:One is even when you have it, it's awkward because it's sex.
Speaker B:I mean, when you talk about it, it's awkward.
Speaker B:My daughter Christy, who, I'd love for you to meet her because she's so awesome.
Speaker B:But she said recently, now she's 40, okay, but she goes, dad thinks he did a great job with us girls.
Speaker B:He was so awkward.
Speaker B:His bald head sweat, his ears turned red.
Speaker B:He stuttered.
Speaker B:And I started laughing and I looked for help from my wife.
Speaker B:We're out of dinner.
Speaker B:And she goes, oh no, you are really awkward.
Speaker B:So it just is.
Speaker B:But, but the part of it is, is because when we don't talk to our kids at a younger age, well then we're not the safe ones.
Speaker B:So all of a sudden you have a, you know, in your mind you go, okay, I'm going to talk to, you know, my son, you know, at 16, whatever.
Speaker B:Well, we've never had that conversation.
Speaker B:We've talked about baseball, we've talked about spiritual things, we've talked about, you know, music, all these other things.
Speaker B:But all of a sudden, you know, the dad says, hey son, let's talk about the birds and the bees.
Speaker B:Well, they're like, no.
Speaker B:And you know, if they never have the conversation at like, say by 17, you're going to say, we want, we need to talk about sex.
Speaker B:And you know, the daughter says, well, what do you want to know, mom?
Speaker B:What do you want to know, dad?
Speaker B:Because seriously.
Speaker B:So I think the awkwardness of it, we just have to get past two things.
Speaker B:One is it's going to be awkward and two, just embrace awkwardness.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I mean we had a funny thing.
Speaker B:So I believe that you start talking to kids really early.
Speaker B:So I have a book for kids three to five and it's got, it's called God Makes Babies.
Speaker B:Last weekend, not last weekend, the weekend before, we were watching our 4 year old and our 1 year old grandchild children.
Speaker B:Our daughter was in Japan with her husband.
Speaker B:So I, I, he, he brings the book and it has a book and it has pictures of babies.
Speaker B:It's really cute.
Speaker B:And he goes, papa J, will you read this?
Speaker B:And I'm like, oh man.
Speaker B:So I text Heidi, I take a picture and go, permission.
Speaker B:And she goes, permission granted.
Speaker B:I'm glad you're doing it, dad, because I've been meaning to.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:And again, you're not, I mean, you're talking about 4 year old.
Speaker B:So just right.
Speaker B:So at the very end I said, well buddy, do you have any questions?
Speaker B:And he said, did you know me when I was in mommy's tummy?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:And I, and I teared up and I said, you Know what?
Speaker B:I loved you.
Speaker B:Oh, God.
Speaker B:Just teared up.
Speaker B:Yet I loved you when you're in Mommy.
Speaker B:Your mommy's tummy.
Speaker B:But I didn't know you.
Speaker B:I met you when.
Speaker B:The day you were born.
Speaker B:I got to hold you and I showed him a picture, and he's going, that's Huxley.
Speaker B:His name is Huxley.
Speaker B:That's Huxley.
Speaker B:Because a little tiny, you think?
Speaker B:And then he looks over at my wife and goes, mikko is our dog.
Speaker B:Does.
Speaker B:Was Mikko in Grandma's tummy?
Speaker B:And we started laughing.
Speaker B:That has been for a week and a half now.
Speaker B:That has been the big joke that the dog was in Mommy's tummy.
Speaker B:But, you know, that was.
Speaker B:So guess who he's going to feel comfortable talking to me as time goes on.
Speaker B:Because we sat on the couch and we read a book about that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:Now, again, it's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:I would call it Sex Light.
Speaker B:I mean, we do name the body parts.
Speaker B:And you, being in the medical profession, might appreciate that, because if you don't, sometimes they are calling private parts weird stuff or not able to do, especially when there's abuse or something like that.
Speaker B:But he'll now be his comfortable person.
Speaker B:Because we found this with the other kids, too, because we did it that, you know, they'll.
Speaker B:They'll talk to me about it.
Speaker B:So as they get older, it's not as awkward because they're used.
Speaker B:They've already had some conversations.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, I might have shared this story with you before, Jim, but when I was probably eight or nine years old, we were on the way, you know, somebody's a guy.
Speaker A:We had church Sunday morning, Sunday night, so we.
Speaker A:I was out playing with my friends, you know, after the mandatory Pentecostal nap, the afternoon, right before church.
Speaker A:And so anyway, you know, there was two dogs out in.
Speaker A:Out in the field.
Speaker A:And so, you know, my friend R said, you know, he was older.
Speaker A:He said, you know, your parents do that every night.
Speaker A:And so we're on the way to church.
Speaker A:You know, we're.
Speaker A:I can still remember where we were at on the road.
Speaker A:And my mom said, what were you doing?
Speaker A:So I was playing football.
Speaker A:And I said, ruri said that we saw these two dogs.
Speaker A:And he said that you and dad do that every night.
Speaker A:And I said, there is no way that my mom would do something dirty like that.
Speaker A:And I said, you don't do that, do you, Mom?
Speaker A:Well, you know, on the car, it goes completely quiet.
Speaker A:This awkward, you know, I mean, this awkwardness.
Speaker A:It goes Completely quiet.
Speaker A:And my dad said, change the subject, change the subject, change the subject.
Speaker A:Well, then as a kid, I'm like, you don't.
Speaker A:Do you not?
Speaker A:You know, I mean.
Speaker A:But then their face was red and I thought, oh, man, there's something, there's something here.
Speaker A:But that, that awkwardness was.
Speaker B:You could.
Speaker A:It was palpable in the car as we on the way to church.
Speaker B:But the beauty of it, and that is a hilarious story, by the way, for two male adults.
Speaker B:It's like every night.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:But the point that I'm saying is the, the, the awkwardness was.
Speaker B:It wasn't awkward for you because you just ask a question.
Speaker B:It was a simple question.
Speaker B:You didn't know that was an awkward question because you didn't understand what was going on in reality.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:So the beauty of it is, is if your parents.
Speaker B:Let's take it back.
Speaker B:And I, and I, you know, I read your book A Caring Family.
Speaker B:I love your parents, right?
Speaker B:But if, if they would have said, hey, you know what, buddy?
Speaker B:We're not going to talk about right now on our way to church, but you're at a stage where we're going to have a short conversation now again, so you're not going to still take it to the neck all the whole level, but to have the conversation to say that, you know, when, when a husband and a wife come together, they actually have a very special relationship and, you know, kind of start the process, that would have been the way to do it.
Speaker B:But in the heat of the battle, I mean, the questions my kids have asked, where I've done just what your parents did, you know, or just started laughing or, you know, ignored them or whatever.
Speaker B:I'm sorry, I'm hard of hearing, but, but the point being, you weren't awkward.
Speaker B:You had a valid question that concerned you.
Speaker B:And so as parents, we have to be able to say, maybe not right now, but soon we're going to have this conversation and then have the conversation.
Speaker B:Especially back then, it was different.
Speaker B:But if you at 9 ask that question, there's a pretty good chance that you've seen pornography or you will see pornography that next year.
Speaker B:So you're like, with James, we have our grandson.
Speaker B:James is 9, and he's going to be 10 in September.
Speaker B:And so I've actually already loved screens, and his parents let him use screens a lot more than we would probably.
Speaker B:But that goes back to another conversation we had.
Speaker B:Keep your mouth shut, and the welcome mat out to your adult children.
Speaker B:But with that, I've already approached that with him.
Speaker B:I said, you know, there's going to be some boys.
Speaker B:Because he told me that some of the boys already have cell phones at 9.
Speaker B:Goodness sakes.
Speaker B:And so I said, you know, they're going to show you pictures maybe that aren't really appropriate.
Speaker B:And I want to teach.
Speaker B:So I taught him about what it means to turn your eyes from worthless things.
Speaker B:Now again, he's nine.
Speaker B:I mean, this is.
Speaker B:Was it a theological conversation?
Speaker B:It would be for a nine year old, but.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You know, I just started that conversation with him.
Speaker B:That's the kind of thing you do.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Jim, you share also that it's better to have, you know, 100, I think, one minute conversations about sex rather than one 100 minute conversation.
Speaker A:And I think that's.
Speaker A:You mentioned, I think that's been in the past.
Speaker A:That's the way we've, we've waited to 16.
Speaker A:We're going to have a long conversation.
Speaker A:But can you share like these, these one minute conversations and the reasons that that's, that's very important.
Speaker B:Well, I even have research backing me on that.
Speaker B:Aaron, in the one minute conversation, Columbia University, not a Christian, you know, school.
Speaker B:But they say that the one hour conversation, one time isn't very effective.
Speaker B:And that makes sense, you know, so, so what I say, it's, it's the one minute, it's, you're watching television and you see something on TV at a certain age, everything has to be age appropriate.
Speaker B:Three to five, six to nine and then 10 on, you know, on up and then 14, you're talking about anything.
Speaker B:But let's say you're watching a television show and something there is somewhat sexual, you know, that's the time to say, hey, what do you think about that?
Speaker B:Or what are they saying at school?
Speaker B:I just read that, you know, kids are watching porn at age 10.
Speaker B:What are they saying at what do your friends say?
Speaker B:You know, those kind of things.
Speaker B:And now that's a one minute conversation.
Speaker B:Or hey, let me tell you what I think about uncle, you know, John and his, the person who lives at the house who's also has a male name and is a male or whatever.
Speaker B:Let me just give you a.
Speaker B:I mean we love Uncle John and at the same time in our home we believe this and here's why.
Speaker B:Yeah, those are the one minute things.
Speaker B:Those are much more powerful, I think, than the sit down with a kid with his eyes as big as saucers, you know, and you kind of go through the whole whole deal.
Speaker B:I mean, that's, that's rough.
Speaker B:So it's the One minute thing.
Speaker B:So you make it a part of your life.
Speaker B:When you read the, in the Bible, when you read the Deuteronomy 6, 4, 9, you know, what you do is you, you live it, and then you impress it on your children.
Speaker B:How do you impress it on your children?
Speaker B:In that scripture, it says when you get up in the morning, when you go to bed at night, when you walk along the road.
Speaker B:Now, you know, most places, you're not just walking where you have lived, there is more walking.
Speaker B:But, you know, you're doing it in the car.
Speaker B:You're having these kind of conversations.
Speaker B:That's where you, that's where you have it.
Speaker B:You bring God into the home, you bring God into your mind.
Speaker B:And so it's those beautiful conversations that add up to a lot more than an hour.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, and, and those are how, that's how you do it.
Speaker B:And I think even as parents, if you're proactive and you take, say every six months, I mean, we got this idea from a friend of ours who was a pastor, and then Kathy and I have implemented it.
Speaker B:Every six months we would go to the park or we live by the beach.
Speaker B:So we'd go to the beach, we'd have our little notepads, and we'd say, Christy.
Speaker B:And we'd say, what?
Speaker B:What do we want to talk about?
Speaker B:Faith development?
Speaker B:What do we want to talk with her in the next six months about?
Speaker B:Sex education.
Speaker B:What do we want to do with school and education?
Speaker B:What do we want to do about friends?
Speaker B:And then we'd look for what I would call divine interruptions to have those divine conversations.
Speaker B:And I'm amazed.
Speaker B:It always happened, and I mean, sometimes forced by us, but a lot of times not.
Speaker B:And it was, again, it was that television show as her saying something like, guy so and so thinks this.
Speaker B:What do you think about that?
Speaker B:And I was like, that's exactly on our list.
Speaker B:They never knew we had the list.
Speaker B:You know, the list was more, you know, close to them.
Speaker B:But even those were really good things.
Speaker B:We, we, we prepped that, that kind of conversation, you know, and we use books.
Speaker B:I mean, Kathy and I, Kathy at 11, she went through, she took them, the girls, because they were, you know, young women, took them away, read a book to them, had a good meal.
Speaker B:They're girls, they liked outfits, bought an outfit.
Speaker B:And then at 16, I did that too.
Speaker B:So we still did that same kind of stuff, but it was the in between stuff that I think was more powerful.
Speaker A:A lot of intentionality.
Speaker A:That's what I hear.
Speaker A:Jim Is.
Speaker A:Is some intentionality.
Speaker A:Is parents to have these conversations and yes, to take the opportunities when they come.
Speaker A:At the same time, the intentional thought process and thinking about it.
Speaker A:And, and honestly, I think if we pray about.
Speaker A:Pray for God to give us those opportunities, as you said, he gives us those divine opportunities.
Speaker B:So, you know, I'm glad you brought that up because I think part of our discipline of doing it, you know, six months and again, sometimes it was five, sometimes it was seven, whatever.
Speaker B:But was at the end, we prayed for our girls and we prayed for us, and we even had a section where we talked about our marriage, what we wanted to see in our marriage.
Speaker B:So this was kind of the.
Speaker B:And we, you know, we did it someplace fun.
Speaker B:We sat out in the sun, we, you know, had coffee, you know, all those kind of things.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But we would pray and we would say, God, give us that.
Speaker B:And I think Kathy was more in touch with the fact that God dropped a conversation in our mind than I was.
Speaker B:I sometimes am not as aware of the divine interruptions as she is because she's more in tune with that.
Speaker B:And I think that's.
Speaker B:I think the Lord does that.
Speaker B:He, you know, the Bible says, take delight in the Lord.
Speaker B:He'll give you the desires of your heart.
Speaker B:Well, what is a greater desire than teaching your children morals and values?
Speaker B:And so he knows that.
Speaker B:And so he's going to give us those opportunities because he wants us.
Speaker B:He knows that it should be the parents who have those conversations, for sure.
Speaker A:Jim, you share about today's cultural impact regarding sexuality and how it's affecting both students and parents and this kind of.
Speaker A:This battle for, For.
Speaker A:For our minds.
Speaker A:How are you navigating that?
Speaker A:And as you guide and direct families, any words of wisdom, both for students that will be listening into this and to their parents?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, first of all, I think parents have to be students of the culture because the culture really has changed.
Speaker B:And we can't just be whiny, negative, toxic people.
Speaker B:And we do that.
Speaker B:I do that.
Speaker B:I mean, I don't like what's going on with the culture.
Speaker B:And so what I do is I whine about it and then I'm not proactive in the positive side to it.
Speaker B:You know, like I said, all studies show that the more positive value centered sex education that kids get from parents, the less promiscuous and the less confused they'll be.
Speaker B:Well, confusion has to do with culture, so we have to be students of that.
Speaker B:But then we have to also realize that we have a greater impact in their lives.
Speaker B:Than you know, where they're getting their, their stuff.
Speaker B:But the problem is, because if we're not willing to have some of those conversations with our kids, and sometimes they're hard conversations.
Speaker B:But if we're not willing to do that, then I tell a story in the book about a young woman whose friend, two weeks before she had the conversation with her, with the.
Speaker B:This young woman, her friend didn't know what a lesbian was.
Speaker B:But then somebody said, I think you're a lesbian because you wear boys clothes and you, you know, so you're probably a lesbian.
Speaker B:And she's going, I don't know what a lesbian is.
Speaker B:And she said, well, you like other girls and that's because of how you dress.
Speaker B:So in her, if you don't, if you don't wear pink or you don't have a dress on or whatever, then of course you know that.
Speaker B:So the girl two weeks later has decided she is a lesbian and had never thought about it, and then tells her friend, I think you're a lesbian because you dress the same way I dress.
Speaker B:Well, they had a relationship for a year and a half.
Speaker B:I know these people, so I know this story.
Speaker B:They had a relationship for a year and a half.
Speaker B:And at youth group they went to a retreat with the one girl, my, the one I know.
Speaker B:And at this retreat she decided, I don't think I'm a lesbian.
Speaker B:So she didn't have any context, but she had never talked to her parents about it.
Speaker B:She never talked to anybody about it, but she'd actually already acted upon it.
Speaker B:And one of the things I say to people and, you know, this is not R rated by any means, but I do say that if two girls kiss at 13, it's the same thing as when I kissed Nancy Pace, I think at about 14, you know, and I, I was like, this is the greatest thing that's gone.
Speaker B:You know, I, you know, I'm a boy, my hormones are, you know, racing.
Speaker B:But what we forget is that girl got confused.
Speaker B:And that was partly because her parents never said, you know what, you know, God created you.
Speaker B:And, and girls grow up to be mommies and boys grow up to be daddies.
Speaker B:And I'm not just talking about the gender issue.
Speaker B:I'm talking about so many other issues.
Speaker B:So I think it's so critical that we help them navigate the culture.
Speaker B:See, we help them navigate education big time.
Speaker B:We're good at that as parents, pretty much get your homework done, blah, blah.
Speaker B:We're pretty good at even beginning to, I mean, especially we who are Christian we want our kids in Sunday school, we want our kids in youth group and all that kind of good stuff, children's ministry.
Speaker B:But when it comes to navigating culture, we.
Speaker B:We either just go, those people are nuts, and then we don't help them understand it.
Speaker B:So they're living.
Speaker B:You're not safe because you've said that.
Speaker B:So to have that dialogue.
Speaker B:And again, you have every right to say what you believe.
Speaker B:You have every right to.
Speaker B:I mean, for me, I'm a very conservative, theological person when it comes to sex and sexuality, but I need to, you know, listening is the language of love.
Speaker B:So I needed my kids to have conversations that actually, you know, made me want to cringe at times.
Speaker A:Jim, when you said that when two girls kiss and when, you know, your first kiss, that was very similar.
Speaker A:Is that in the culture's eyes today or how do you see that?
Speaker B:No, I think it's in the exper.
Speaker B:I think it's experiential.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I do think it's in the culture too, because again, nobody's saying, you know, we don't have boundaries up when it comes to some of the gender issues.
Speaker B:And frankly, when you look at a younger generation of kids, you don't see this as much.
Speaker B:Interesting enough, I'm thinking about Africa.
Speaker B:Not that I'm an expert in Africa, but, you know, the few times that I've been there, you don't see it as much, but you see it here in the United States where kids are being so influenced that way that they don't want to say that they're heterosexual now because all of their, you know, all of.
Speaker B:And especially it's happening with girls.
Speaker B:When I was getting my PhD, I got it in London and I studied a little bit of gender dysphoria without even knowing how to spell the word dysphoria when I was getting my PhD, honestly.
Speaker B:But it was all boys and they were all young and it was so small that it wasn't in even the manuals.
Speaker B:And then today it's girls age 13, so.
Speaker B:And people are embracing that.
Speaker B:So say you take a girl at 13.
Speaker B:When I was a youth pastor, they were eating disorder.
Speaker B:I mean, there's all kinds of stuff, everything.
Speaker B:But there were eating disorders that were going on.
Speaker B:They were cutting all these kinds of things.
Speaker B:Well, nobody thought that was a good idea.
Speaker B:Aaron.
Speaker B:Today, if a 13 year old says, you know, I think I might be a boy or I want to be a boy and I want to take hormones, then what takes place is people are embracing that immediately.
Speaker B:And so even in the book, I'm saying, if that's your case, do not rush this.
Speaker B:You know, get the help you need.
Speaker B:The Bible says where there's no counsel, the people fall, and the multitude of counselors, there is safety.
Speaker B:So get some help, but don't rush into making a life changing decision on that issue or other issues.
Speaker B:And I would say the same even with boy, girl relationships, you know, the girls and guys make sexual decisions oftentimes because their emotional involvement exceeds their maturity level.
Speaker B:If you unpack that phrase, you know, they're in love.
Speaker B:So they go, well, if I'm in love, I'm going to go farther.
Speaker B:Well, that's puppy love.
Speaker B:They don't know that.
Speaker B:But puppy love is real to puppies.
Speaker B:So as parents, we can't just dismiss that.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Not, not, not that I was talking about puppy love.
Speaker B:Dealing with what your experience was as a nine year old either.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:So, Jim, just two more questions.
Speaker A:You talk about the, the reality of sexual identity and sexuality.
Speaker A:Some, some students have never felt comfortable with their sexuality and their identity.
Speaker A:How, how do parents have those conversations in a world you shared about, you know, we, you don't want to cut off conversation, but I would imagine a parent, if, you know, if they're, the child, would bring that up and they were, they're a conservative in the church, they're going to say, whoa, how do they maintain a relationship?
Speaker A:Not cut that off.
Speaker A:But at the same time, the whole purpose of your book is to maintain a biblical worldview when you have those conversations.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, it's not easy.
Speaker B:I mean, there's no magic wand here.
Speaker B:But I think first of all, we can't freak out.
Speaker B:You freak out in your bedroom, slam on the pillow, talk to your spouse, do whatever and you will have worries and there are concerns.
Speaker B:But I think with them, I think, I think you create disequilibrium by saying, well, let me ask you a couple of questions.
Speaker B:And then you begin to ask questions at the same time.
Speaker B:Sometimes kids don't understand that there is a master designer, he's been doing this for thousands of years and that are you going to listen to the culture that you just heard the two weeks ago or two months ago, or you know, a kid your age acting like they know what they're talking about or are you going to listen to the master designer?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so with that, it's so hard because you're in the process so with our kids.
Speaker B:And I think you do a good job of helping us that with a caring family book, but it's a marathon.
Speaker B:It's not a sprint.
Speaker B:So we, as parents, you know, we freak out.
Speaker B:Well, really, what we want.
Speaker B:The better thing would be to say, well, there are people who believe this.
Speaker B:Let me tell you what I believe, and let me tell you why.
Speaker B:Because just saying that puts your kid in a disagreement.
Speaker B:You didn't say, well, you're an idiot or what a sinner, or all those people are nuts and they're all going to hell.
Speaker B:You didn't do that.
Speaker B:Well, we.
Speaker B:I think we have to keep our mouth shut on that and just dialogue and create that, because I know tons of people.
Speaker B:I have a good friend who's a pastor and his daughter.
Speaker B:On the gender issue, his daughter said, well, I'm sorry, but I am gay.
Speaker B:And he didn't.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:I mean, he screamed and shouted and cried when he was in the office.
Speaker B:He and his wife were in my office, but they did it so well.
Speaker B:Well, then she goes, you know what?
Speaker B:I kind of.
Speaker B:Maybe I'm bi because I kind of like this guy.
Speaker B:And, you know, today she's married and she laughs at that story about her.
Speaker B:Her short past.
Speaker B:But I think you could.
Speaker B:You could actually put them in the other direction by freaking out as parents.
Speaker B:So it takes discipline.
Speaker B:You know, Paul said to Timothy, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.
Speaker B:Well, part of the discipline is keeping your mouth shut on some of that stuff.
Speaker B:But when I say keeping your mouth shut, it's.
Speaker B:It's in the ways of being derogatory people.
Speaker B:You know, today's young person, almost a majority of them will say, I wonder if I'm gay.
Speaker B:They've never had a gay experience.
Speaker B:They've never done this.
Speaker B:But they'll go, well, I wonder if I'm gay, because all these people are gay.
Speaker B:And this.
Speaker B:I love this actor.
Speaker B:And, you know, this actor is gay or this, you know, actress or whatever.
Speaker B:So I think it's better for us to have the dialogue, do not just back off, but take the intensity and turn it someplace else.
Speaker B:And I honestly think a lot of the people who.
Speaker B:A lot of the kids who are going in that direction will go.
Speaker B:Will come back to God's way, the master designer's way.
Speaker B:It's partly in how we do it.
Speaker B:And that's where, when we started this conversation, we talked about the church.
Speaker B:And I think the church maybe didn't do it.
Speaker B:Well.
Speaker B:We did way too much on the shame level.
Speaker B:Well, gosh, I sin every day.
Speaker B:I feel shame when I sin.
Speaker B:That's a part of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker B:Convicting me.
Speaker B:However, we don't need to impose.
Speaker B:People aren't going to change through shame.
Speaker B:Typically, they change with a design from their understanding and a desire to be all that God wants them to be.
Speaker B:So even in the book A Student's Guide to Sexual Integrity, what I'm doing is I'm showing them what God.
Speaker B:The way God wants them to be, the way God wants them to act.
Speaker B:And it's not just about the gender thing.
Speaker B:You know, I talk about radical respect.
Speaker B:Our job is to treat.
Speaker B:The Bible says that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker B:So if that's the case, then I just did a podcast in here with a wonderful woman, beautiful woman.
Speaker B:I've known her for years, and my job is to treat her as a sister in Christ, not as a sex object or any of that kind of stuff, because I am going to honor God by honoring my sister.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So kids don't learn that this element of radical respect.
Speaker B:And so how do they learn it?
Speaker B:They learn it from us talking about, you know, what our job is to radically respect them.
Speaker B:Yeah, good word.
Speaker A:Yeah, good word.
Speaker A:Jim, I got one more question for you, and then I'm going to ask you about using the study guide and how parents could.
Speaker A:And students can use that.
Speaker A:So last question I have for you is you mentioned that there's an epidemic of sexual abuse among young people, but it's rarely talked about, maybe even in culture, and you hear it very rarely in the church.
Speaker A:How do we bring this issue to light?
Speaker A:And how can parents and students and leaders.
Speaker A:It's an awkward.
Speaker A:It's uncomfortable, but at the same time, ignoring it is not what God's called us to do.
Speaker B:Well, I'll tell you a story.
Speaker B:There was a woman in my church when I was a youth pastor, and she said, is there a lot of sexual abuse in your group?
Speaker B:Now, remember, I'm in a group in a church that's.
Speaker B:I mean, the church was massive, but the youth group was like almost a thousand people.
Speaker B:So I didn't know all the kids or whatever.
Speaker B:And I said, no, I've got a few, but not too much.
Speaker B:And she goes, you are so wrong.
Speaker B:She goes, I'm going to write you a talk for Sunday school.
Speaker B:And you.
Speaker B:If you'll give this talk on sexual abuse, you just.
Speaker B:You got to have counselors there because it's going to go crazy.
Speaker B:And I went, okay.
Speaker B:I mean, I.
Speaker B:Because I knew that the statistics weren't great.
Speaker B:I gave a Talk that week, 27 kids talked to us about sexual abuse.
Speaker B:Because all I Said was I?
Speaker B:And it wasn't.
Speaker B:The whole talk wasn't just on sexual abuse.
Speaker B:But I said, hey, if you're willing to have a conversation, we have people here who would love to hear your story.
Speaker B:And I did say at the beginning, I said, you know, we are mandated to report this.
Speaker B:So you got to know that right from up front, 27 of them still work through that barrier.
Speaker B:Well, now, I brought it up yesterday.
Speaker B:I was speaking to women yesterday at a women's conference, and I said, one out of three of their young women, one out of three of you have been sexually abused.
Speaker B:And what I and I was talking about sexual abuse, saying, when your kids are younger, teach them that no one has the right to touch you.
Speaker B:No one has the right to show you pictures.
Speaker B:And even if someone you know or love, because 80% of child sexual assaults are between people that they know and oftentimes love.
Speaker B:So tell them that you can talk to me as your mom, you can talk to me as your dad.
Speaker B:I was talking to women.
Speaker B:And I won't get mad at you.
Speaker B:Well, that saves a lot of kids because we didn't have that just that simple conversation about it.
Speaker B:So now, today, when I look at the marriage conference last week, the one that's going to be coming up, I will bring up sexual abuse because there's so many people who are running their own physical intimacy with their spouses through the grid of they were sexually abused.
Speaker B:And if you don't get the help.
Speaker B:And I even use a scripture in it, and I used it in the book Shortest.
Speaker B:You know, kids like this, the shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept.
Speaker B:Well, I think, yeah, Jesus wept at the death of a friend, but I think he weeps when there is sexual abuse.
Speaker B:I don't think he thinks that's a great idea.
Speaker B:So I think we have to name it.
Speaker B:There is something out there called sexual abuse.
Speaker B:This is what it looks like, this is what it feels when you know how people feel when this happens, are confused, they're hurting, they think it's their fault, not the fault.
Speaker B:And it's always the fault of the abuser.
Speaker B:So I think by parents having those kind of conversations.
Speaker B:And again, this isn't like something you do in the heat of the battle.
Speaker B:It's right.
Speaker B:And it's about awkward.
Speaker B:Let's go to Chick Fil A and you know, we're going to talk about sexual abuse.
Speaker B:But somewhere in there, again, this is the conversation where you go, did you know I was listening to a podcast and one out of three young women by the time they're 19, are sexually abused.
Speaker B:What do you think of that?
Speaker B:And the girl who might be 14 says, well, I.
Speaker B:I have a friend who was.
Speaker B:Or whatever, because they know more than we do a lot of times on that.
Speaker B:Well, did you know that if anybody is ever sexually abused, this might help you help your friends, and I sure hope it's never you.
Speaker B:But you know that.
Speaker B:That it's not your fault.
Speaker B:It's the fault of the abuser.
Speaker B:That you have to understand that you can't do this alone.
Speaker B:You've got to get help.
Speaker B:And there is help.
Speaker B:And the Bible says, you know, to.
Speaker B:To seek help and seek counsel and that go.
Speaker B:You know, that's where I'd say, Jesus, you know, wept.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And, you know, you go on and on with that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So that's, I think then you're teaching and you're opening it up where they go, whoa, mom and dad are willing to have this conversation.
Speaker B:Yeah, we had the conversation with our girls about babysitting because all three of our girls wanted money, so they were the babysitters extraordinaire.
Speaker B:And so we actually even had a word that they could call and say the word, our word.
Speaker B:For some reason, I have no idea why we chose this word, but it was orange.
Speaker B:But they could say something.
Speaker B:They could say the word orange.
Speaker B:And that, dad, get in the car right now and come and pick me up because this husband that was going to drive me home is drunk.
Speaker B:Or, you know, something is just awkward in there.
Speaker B:You know, we didn't have to ask what it was.
Speaker B:And, you know, so what we did was that was our way of saying this happens.
Speaker B:It's probably not going to happen to you, but we need to help you understand that, you know, this happens.
Speaker B:But you need to know that if there's anything awkward, you go on a date and you went to Inspiration Point.
Speaker B:And, you know, we're not suggesting you go to Inspiration Point, but if something was happening, call us, we'll stop.
Speaker B:We're not even.
Speaker B:We won't even yell at you.
Speaker B:We just come and help you.
Speaker B:You know, I said that with my kids about drinking.
Speaker B:You know, I didn't want my kids to drink.
Speaker B:I don't drink.
Speaker B:But I said, if you ever do not drive in a car with somebody who had been drinking and is, you know, and we talked about that stuff, call.
Speaker B:And I'm not even going to get mad at you.
Speaker B:Okay, we'll talk later.
Speaker B:Yeah, but.
Speaker B:But those are the kind of conversations that you have to have about Something like sexual abuse.
Speaker B:Name it, it's out there.
Speaker B:I kind of got intense with that because again, yesterday I had a conversation with a woman who said, how do I talk to my kids?
Speaker B:She had little kids, but she had one son from a previous marriage that was like 13.
Speaker B:And she goes, how do I tell them that I was, you know, he was basically a rape victim?
Speaker B:It was not.
Speaker B:I mean, she couldn't name rape because it was somebody that she was with and she semi consented to some stuff and then it went too far.
Speaker B:Never married this guy, whatever.
Speaker B:And she, he knew, he knows at 13 that she, you know, had a baby out of wedlock.
Speaker B:Him.
Speaker B:But she doesn't know the.
Speaker B:He doesn't.
Speaker B:She didn't know the story.
Speaker B:And so, you know, I looked at the pain in her eyes, I went, wow, if she could have had a conversation that made part of her narrative, you know, honey, I'm not going to go through all the details, but the reason I'm so excited for you to make better decisions, because I didn't always make good decisions.
Speaker B:Yeah, good word.
Speaker A:Jim.
Speaker A:How can people access the book how.
Speaker A:And also share a little bit about your podcast and then also the student's guide.
Speaker B:Okay, great.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, the book is called A student's guide to sexual integrity.
Speaker B:God's plan for sex in your body.
Speaker B:And that's an important, for me subtitle, God's plan, not my plan.
Speaker B:And so there's the book.
Speaker B:The book is written, you know, it's really a thin book.
Speaker B:It's written with great questions at the end.
Speaker B:We also have.
Speaker B:And I'm one of the things that I'm most proud of.
Speaker B:I said this to my board the other day.
Speaker B:One of the things I'm most proud of at homeward of all the stuff we do and have done is we have a course for kids.
Speaker B:And you never see my face, you know, in it.
Speaker B:But it's these amazing.
Speaker B:And they talk like you, you got a little southern accent.
Speaker B:I'll just tell you that right now.
Speaker B:And, and they, they, they're amazing young youth worker types and it's kind of this cool dialogue and I mean, it's awesome.
Speaker B:And they talk for like 8 minutes, 9 minutes.
Speaker B:And then you, you go into a discussion mode.
Speaker B:So parents can do that and also people in youth ministry can do it.
Speaker B:And you can get that book@homeword.com which is our website has good stuff or you can actually buy the book on Amazon today.
Speaker B:It's the best selling book in this area today.
Speaker B:I don't Know what it'll be like, you know, when your podcast launches.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But you can get the course@homeward.com and.
Speaker B:And parents can get help, too.
Speaker B:I mean, we have a book called teaching your children healthy sexuality.
Speaker B:And, you know, we're kind of big on this.
Speaker B:We've got it for three to five year olds, not this book.
Speaker B:Book.
Speaker B:Six to nine year olds, not this book.
Speaker B:And then the book that I'm talking about is the teen book and kind of preteen, because you got to start if your kids are getting pornography, if you would.
Speaker B:That's a new word, pornography, you know, 9, 10, 11, then you've got to have conversations early on.
Speaker B:Some of this stuff.
Speaker B:Never thought that would be the case.
Speaker B:When I first got into youth ministry, honestly, I thought that conversation you talked about at the beginning, at 16, you know, you sit them down and thought, well, that's probably a good idea.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:In your podcast, Podcast Homeward with Jim Burns, we are freaking out, you know, that Africa is a big area for us.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:But so is Indonesia and all these things.
Speaker B:When I'm talking to these people, I forget that, you know, the world can listen in on a podcast, as with yours.
Speaker B:And so, yeah, the podcast keeps going on.
Speaker B:And we.
Speaker B:We do the four values.
Speaker B:Strong marriages.
Speaker B:Did one today on marriage.
Speaker B:Yesterday, I interviewed Ruth Graham on Forgiving my father.
Speaker B:Her father was Billy Graham.
Speaker B:Forgiving my father, Forgiving myself.
Speaker B:And so it was on forgiveness, more of a spiritual growth thing.
Speaker B:But marriage, parenting, empowered kids.
Speaker B:This would be a conversation like what you and I are having.
Speaker B:So we have stuff on screen time and all that.
Speaker B:But I'm loving this.
Speaker B:You know, you got.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:I did radio for a time.
Speaker B:But, you know, when I started, when I met you and we're doing Clarity podcast, I was like, this is awesome.
Speaker B:Well, now this is my new world, and this is my new platform.
Speaker B:And it happens, you know, on a weekly basis.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:It's great.
Speaker B:Homeward with Jim Burns.
Speaker B:It's called we have another Homer also has another one called Embracing your season.
Speaker B:Parenting the littles, Understanding teens with Paige Clingham Pill, who's a wonderful mom.
Speaker B:She's 38 years old, she has kids, and she's also a strong Christian, works out, actually, at a church, but she's also a therapist, and she.
Speaker B:She brings on.
Speaker B:I love her podcast, too.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker A:Jim, will you pray for us?
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Lord, thank you so much for Aaron, thank you for the Clarity podcast.
Speaker B:Thank you for the people who listen to this.
Speaker B:May they be people who have the courage and the boldness.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:To deal with these issues.
Speaker B:The issues that are brought every.
Speaker B:Obviously, not this subject every time, but the issues that are brought forth are done in prayer and done with integrity.
Speaker B:And I'm so grateful for Aaron's leadership.
Speaker B:I'm grateful for his resources.
Speaker B:And I pray that, Lord, this conversation could help a lot of people.
Speaker B:Maybe there's even people who are hearing this that are going, I got to send this to my daughter.
Speaker B:I got to send this to my son or whatever it might be who have, you know, even, you know, they have children.
Speaker B:So I pray, God, that you would use this in a mighty and beautiful way.
Speaker B:Continue to use Aaron's ministry.
Speaker B:Continue to use the Clarity podcast is all, and all the rest that he's doing.
Speaker B:We love you.
Speaker A:Amen.
