Hi friends,
Recently I was watching NFL football with my kids. In the span of a few minutes, two commercials showed same-sex couples, and my six-year-old announced what he saw out loud. In an instant I was a reactive parent, wondering what to say.
If you have ever felt that jolt, this week's episode is for you.
I sat down with Amber Garrett Carroll, author of Ready to Talk: A Christian Parent's Guide to Gender & Sexuality and Vice President of Impact and Parent Resources at Equip. Her colleague Pieter Valk was a guest last year, and he insisted I get Amber on the show. He was right.
A story of the gospel, still being sown
Amber is a pastor's kid who came to Christ at six. She tells how her faith deepened most through a season of deep suffering in her mid-twenties, and how that season exposed something she calls the idol of romance: the unspoken formula many of us absorbed that if we behave, God will give us a great marriage. It is a hard, honest, and hope-filled conversation.
Three takeaways for parents
You are more qualified than you feel. Silence is the real risk. Amber says waiting until midway through high school is "about six years too late." Aim for solid conversations by age nine or ten, with foundations (God is trustworthy, family is bigger than the nuclear family, Scripture is authoritative) laid as early as age two. You will bomb a few conversations. Across twenty years, you will have hundreds.
Discipleship starts at home. Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs 22, and Ephesians 6 speak directly to parents. The church is a gift and a help, but not the primary discipler. Research also shows parents carry the most influence over their children's sexual decisions, even through late high school and college.
Build bridges to the gospel, not barriers. When a surprise moment hits, a good test is this: if someone who identifies as LGBT+ heard how I responded, would they be drawn to the love I show and want to know its source? We can be bold in truth and clear that God deeply loves every person made in his image.
Also in this episode: sexual stewardship (a much bigger frame than most of us expect), the intimacy "buckets" we all need filled, and why singleness is not a holding pattern. As Amber puts it, life begins in Christ, not in marriage.
GUEST BIO
Amber Garrett Carroll is the author of Ready to Talk and Vice President of Impact and Parent Resources at Equip, where she helps Christian parents and churches disciple kids according to God's wisdom for sex, sexuality, and gender. A former middle and high school teacher, Amber has spent over a decade researching, writing, and teaching on LGBT+ topics, sexual stewardship, and Christian formation. She regularly speaks to churches and national ministries on equipping parents for proactive discipleship. Amber lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her two children.
LINKS
Amber's Website: https://ambergarrettcarroll.com/
Parent Resources: https://ambergarrettcarroll.com/parent-prep-pack-downloads/
Equip Your Community: https://equipyourcommunity.org/
Ready to Talk book: https://www.amazon.ca/Ready-Talk-Christian-Parents-Sexuality/dp/B0HBTYCRRS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DK9Y55QPTIU9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TnD4wMh1ylBrbVJSwKezUnOj8eFHGQiN_88Okyps0fgc0UvoyH1ZmewoqN0MgNjZIE88Vd0Ngjd_mth7CEuoocx4TAol9zfCE2HDrdtJ_p6uxezcULU5mr0bn1KfvYk45ZWWJ_gpVxrV2XvVvEeGQbqm__JAEWc8LEZzOEpMrdm63-egZnGKLXluY_mR2cyfhZeyZZcQBJBIt4F66HWR-0BOBX8tvhenDq_-PLjLvB1AkgCEpyPpqr_KvBE9wiJnRH2_MWvULPWfSx-pl4NzqCSbayiKi-0DhapkoA5wF78.8AtNy4nm1dbEqtLrgXX__z4ihbmcVoaMlX3dAiDlPEg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Ready+to+Talk&qid=1793281898&sprefix=ready+to+talk%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-1
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