Apparently the author, Jake Dell, is a conservative pastor at an Operation Reconquista UCC church in Connecticut. He also has a Substack, though I haven't really read it. But I have been thinking about the fate of what he calls "zombie denominations" -- the rump Mainline organizations that are on track to persist with 9-10 figures of wealth but no congregation.
I believe I have said this before. Christian parents should be more involved in their children's preparation for marriage and therefore dating. As a father of three girls - two of which are now married; 15 years and 12 years - with children of their own, four and three, respectively. My wife and I focused them on the roles of being wives and mothers - not preparing them for college and career. We help guide them through the dating process and they were married at young ages, 20 and 19. Our third daughter - who is adopted - is 23 and is in a long-distance relationship with a young man of 25 whom I disciple on a weekly basis on a video service.
The point I am trying to make, is that in today's environment parents - especially Christian parents - should not give in to worldly wisdom of letting them figure it out on their own. When I was still employed and discussed my approach with other women in the workforce, they almost all said they wished their fathers had done the same thing.
I don't think this will be the exact path we're going down, but I respect it. Especially as it has borne fruit for you.
Our kids are young, and both sexes are represented, so I'm still thinking about how we'll navigate this. I'm with you on helping them navigate the world of dating. But I don't think I can only tell the boys, "Here's what I know about how to make a living." My wife and I are on the same page that we will teach how life is inevitably different for men and women, for fathers and mothers, and how a man's career is almost always more important than his wife's. And your career isn't what is going to "complete" you, to "self-actualize" you.
But if after all that my daughter really wants to go into finance, I don't see how it's going to lead to anything besides a broken relationship if I refuse to help her. And I don't expect we'll discourage college, but we might try harder, on the margin, to encourage her to stay closer to home, or to go to a Christian school that we respect.
We shouldn’t be surprised that dating even for Christians is a complete joke.
Many Christians today are ok with fornication, contraception and cohabitation. We’ll not see big changes until young men and women disavow these things in their lives and practically prepare for marriage.
Lastly, I find that many writers are simply content with describing what is happening and skip prescribing any clear and practical social changes. Is there anyone working on practical efforts to help faithful Christians marry?
This piece from American Reformer was interesting, seems relevant to some of Aaron's themes:
https://americanreformer.org/2025/02/americas-zombie-protestant-denominations-and-the-coming-land-grab/
Apparently the author, Jake Dell, is a conservative pastor at an Operation Reconquista UCC church in Connecticut. He also has a Substack, though I haven't really read it. But I have been thinking about the fate of what he calls "zombie denominations" -- the rump Mainline organizations that are on track to persist with 9-10 figures of wealth but no congregation.
I believe I have said this before. Christian parents should be more involved in their children's preparation for marriage and therefore dating. As a father of three girls - two of which are now married; 15 years and 12 years - with children of their own, four and three, respectively. My wife and I focused them on the roles of being wives and mothers - not preparing them for college and career. We help guide them through the dating process and they were married at young ages, 20 and 19. Our third daughter - who is adopted - is 23 and is in a long-distance relationship with a young man of 25 whom I disciple on a weekly basis on a video service.
The point I am trying to make, is that in today's environment parents - especially Christian parents - should not give in to worldly wisdom of letting them figure it out on their own. When I was still employed and discussed my approach with other women in the workforce, they almost all said they wished their fathers had done the same thing.
I don't think this will be the exact path we're going down, but I respect it. Especially as it has borne fruit for you.
Our kids are young, and both sexes are represented, so I'm still thinking about how we'll navigate this. I'm with you on helping them navigate the world of dating. But I don't think I can only tell the boys, "Here's what I know about how to make a living." My wife and I are on the same page that we will teach how life is inevitably different for men and women, for fathers and mothers, and how a man's career is almost always more important than his wife's. And your career isn't what is going to "complete" you, to "self-actualize" you.
But if after all that my daughter really wants to go into finance, I don't see how it's going to lead to anything besides a broken relationship if I refuse to help her. And I don't expect we'll discourage college, but we might try harder, on the margin, to encourage her to stay closer to home, or to go to a Christian school that we respect.
We shouldn’t be surprised that dating even for Christians is a complete joke.
Many Christians today are ok with fornication, contraception and cohabitation. We’ll not see big changes until young men and women disavow these things in their lives and practically prepare for marriage.
Lastly, I find that many writers are simply content with describing what is happening and skip prescribing any clear and practical social changes. Is there anyone working on practical efforts to help faithful Christians marry?
Regarding the world of podcasters who are massively popular but unknown to those over 40, Ted Gioia has much to say:
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-6-new-rules-of-communicating
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/mainstream-is-now-fringe-and-fringe