Teddy W Sorrells Jr

The housing market it so out of whack. I went and checked out a property today. It's a beautiful piece of land. I would love to live there. It has great view on a ridge overlooking the Missouri River Valley, a creek that wraps around it, tons of woods and paths to explore, and it's within a short distance of our church IN THE CITY! A hidden gem! But the house is in bad shape. I doubt it would pass a VA home loan inspection. Even if it did the bedrooms are super tiny and it would require a ton of work and money just to make it livable and not, well, unappealing to look at. When we found it on Zillow we wondered why no one was buying it. Now we know. Barring something like Military Makeover, a housing market crash, or my forthcoming book selling 100K copies, I don't know how my wife and I can afford a home at all. I'm so thankful we have a parsonage to live in, but my family of 7 is quickly outgrowing it. That, and always living in fear of our kids getting plowed by the traffic on this busy side street has us longing for a place we can put our roots down permanently and call our own. If you own your own home, don't take it for granted. That's a real gift.

In a few years Christians across the globe will mark the 2000th anniversary of Jesus giving us the Great Commission. I think Southern Baptists should join in marking this major milestone with a generational push to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime.

"If I told you there was one free thing you could do every Sunday that would make your kids happier, healthier, smarter, and closer to you, you'd think I was selling something." Take your kids to church regularly. I don't care if you believe. The data is so lopsided that skipping it is the parenting equivalent of refusing vegetables because you don't like the taste. Grades. Religious teens get As at almost twice the rate of nonreligious teens. In a class of 100, that's 24 A-students instead of 14. Church gives a kid the same academic boost as being born rich instead of poor. College. Working-class religious kids earn bachelor's degrees at double the rate of their nonreligious peers. Middle-class kids do it at 1.5x the rate. For families without a trust fund, this is one of the most powerful forms of upward mobility social scientists have measured. Character. Religious teens are far less likely to lie, cheat, or do things they hope their parents never find out about. They're more likely to care about racial equality, the elderly, and the poor. They reject the idea that morality is whatever works for you in the moment. That kind of kid doesn't happen by accident. It's built. Closeness. 60% of parents of religious teens say they feel "extremely close" to their kid, compared to 50% of nonreligious parents. The kids report the same thing back. They get along better with their parents, talk about hard stuff, and actually want to spend time with their family. Despair. Religious teens are dramatically less likely to be depressed, anxious, lonely, or feel that life is meaningless. 90% of devoted religious teens never binge drink, compared to 41% of the disengaged. Economists named the modern epidemic "deaths of despair." Regular church attendance is one of the strongest known buffers against it. Parents are spending fortunes trying to solve teen mental health. The most evidence-backed intervention is free. Purpose. Religious young adults report higher purpose, gratitude, life satisfaction, and resilience. These are the exact traits every parent says they want their kid to have. Here's why it works. Affluent families already surround their kids with networks of stable, accomplished adults through neighborhoods, schools, and parents' colleagues. Working and middle-class families usually don't. A congregation is often the last institution in American life that puts your kid in weekly contact with dozens of stable, employed, sober adults who know their name. It used to be called "a village." Now it barely exists outside of churches. "But I don't believe." Your kid doesn't need your theology. They need you to show up. "But church is boring." So is sitting through a kindergarten music recital. Parenting is the deliberate choice to be bored on purpose for someone you love. There's a church within 15 minutes of nearly every American home. You don't need money, connections, or credentials to walk in. Nothing else in this country will surround your kid with engaged adults, teach them moral seriousness, and give them a stable weekly rhythm at zero cost. You already drive them to practices that produce far less. The free thing on Sunday produces more, on more dimensions, than almost anything else you do as a parent. You don't have to believe anything. You just have to take them.