✦See If It's SoAll guides

Study & Discussion Guide

Spiritual Fathers & the Family Under Pressure

A three-session study on finding and becoming a spiritual father or mother, whether there are still apostles today, and God's design for the family in a culture that's straining against it.

Based on: Live Free with Josh Howerton Hosts: Josh Howerton · Paul Cunningham · Carlos Erazo Runtime: ~110 min
An independent study & discussion guide, prepared as a free resource for small groups. It summarizes and organizes the ideas discussed on the podcast episode above; it is not official material of, nor endorsed by, Lakepointe Church or the Live Free podcast, and the spoken content and original ideas belong to the hosts. The final segment is a politically pointed cultural analysis that the host himself flags as generalization; the Scripture — and the cultural claims — are gathered so you can check everything for yourself.

Despite the dramatic title, this long episode is really about fathers — spiritual and biological. It moves through three topics: how to find and become a spiritual father or mother, whether there are still apostles today, and a reaction to a viral clip about who really represents a child's interests — parents, or society. This guide follows those three, and it's front-loaded with the richest, most universal material: spiritual fatherhood.

Session One

The Heart of It

Finding & Becoming a Spiritual Father or Mother

▶ approx. 26:30 – 65:00

Timothy is one of the New Testament's most underrated figures — and, by the clues in the text, a young man from a fatherless home whom the Apostle Paul takes on as a spiritual son. It's a picture of something most people never experience, and the ones who do are never the same.

Key points

Dig into the Word

Discussion

  1. Who has been a "Paul" in your life — someone who showed you how to follow Jesus, not just told you? If no one, what has that absence cost you?
  2. The hosts warn against letting online personalities disciple you. Whose voices are actually shaping you right now — and do you know how their real lives are going?
  3. Which are you in this season — a Timothy who needs to find a spiritual parent, or a Paul who should become one? What's one concrete next step?
  4. Read 2 Timothy 1:5. If you came from a broken or fatherless home, how does Timothy's story land on you?
“What you have heard from me… entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”2 Timothy 2:2
Session Two

A Theology Question

Are There Still Apostles Today?

▶ approx. 65:11 – 92:00

The word "apostle" gets thrown around a lot in the modern church. This segment sorts out what it means, and why it matters when someone claims the title.

Key points

Dig into the Word

Discussion

  1. Why does it matter whether "apostle" is an office (with unique authority) or a function (a gift of being sent)? Where have you seen the confusion the hosts warn about?
  2. Read Ephesians 2:20. What does it protect to say the apostolic foundation was laid "once for all"?
  3. The hosts note that for ~1,900 years almost no one used the title "apostle" for themselves. How much weight should church history carry when we evaluate a new teaching?
“…contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”Jude 3
Session Three

The Headline

The Family Under Pressure

▶ approx. 92:08 – end

Josh reacts to a viral clip — NYT columnist Ross Douthat interviewing a Yale law professor who suggests parents "confuse the interests of their family with the interests of their children," and that society should keep children from being "the hostages of their parents." Josh frames it as the reverse of a promise in Malachi.

Key points

Dig into the Word

Weighing it like a Berean (Acts 17:11)

Hold the biblical truth firmly. That God designed the family, that parents bear primary responsibility for raising their own children (Deut 6; Eph 6:4; Ps 127), and that Christians are called to discern the ideas shaping their kids — that's solid ground.

Examine the specific claims yourself. The three "currents," the clip's meaning, the BLM and Marx quotations, and the political framing are the host's analysis — offered, by his own admission, as generalization. Watch the full Douthat/Moyn exchange, read the sources in context, and test each claim before adopting or dismissing it. Don't let a political read do your discernment for you.

Discussion

  1. Read Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and Ephesians 6:4. What responsibility does Scripture put on parents — and who else does God give a role in a child's discipleship (see Session 1)?
  2. Josh frames the clip as "Malachi 4:6 in reverse." Where do you actually see hearts of parents and children being turned against each other — and where might you be tempted to see an enemy that isn't there?
  3. The episode moves fast between Scripture and politics. Practice separating them: name one claim in this segment that is clearly biblical, and one that is a political judgment call you'd want to verify.
  4. How do you engage the culture around your family with conviction and charity at once — holding the truth without treating every neighbor as an enemy?

Live it out

  1. Invest in one younger believer (or seek out one older one) this month — the single most practical response to the whole episode.
  2. Steward your inputs. Audit who is discipling you and your kids through a screen, and change one thing.
  3. Verify before you share. When a dramatic cultural claim crosses your feed, check it in context before repeating it. Truth is a discipleship issue.
“He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”Malachi 4:6