Your children are already being discipled. The question is: by whom?

In today’s fast-paced, screen-saturated culture, spiritual formation is happening all the time—often invisibly. Our habits shape what we love, and what we love forms who we become. For Christian parents, that makes the ordinary rhythms of the home deeply sacred ground.

In this first episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson speaks with Justin Whitmel Earley. Justin is a business lawyer, a father of four, and the author of The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, Habits of the Household and most recently, The Common Rule Youth Edition: Growing Your Faith in a Distracted World. In this episode, he shares how a mental health crisis early in his legal career led him to discover the power of intentional habits—and why those same rhythms are vital for the spiritual formation of our children.

Justin shares how simple but intentional rhythms—such as morning prayers at the front door, phone-free dinners, and Sabbath rest—aren’t just good parenting practices. They’re spiritual formation in real time. In this conversation, Justin offers a rich blend of theological insight and down-to-earth practices that equip parents to resist the pull of a culture driven by speed, screens, and self.

Together, Sarah and Justin explore why discipleship must move beyond information. It must be practiced, embodied, and lived, because it’s not just what our kids hear from parents that shapes their faith—it’s what they see, feel, and do alongside us.

Formation is always happening. Make the intentional choice as a parent or caregiver to guide that formation instead of leaving it to the culture or other influences in your children’s lives.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• How spiritual formation begins with ordinary habits
• Why parents are the most influential disciplers in their kids’ lives
• Practical rhythms that reshape home life toward Christ

Links from the episode:

• Learn more about Justin Whitmel Earley
• Read Justin Whitmel Earley’s books, The Common Rule and The Common Rule, Youth Edition
• Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read the transcript here
• Take the survey here

Credits

✅Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPTEACH25 for 25% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton

✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

Parenting in today’s world can be a daunting task. Our kids are surrounded by increasing cultural pressure, whether it’s around technology, academic achievement, or finding their identity. And many Christian parents feel ill-equipped to guide their children through it all.

But, in the face of today’s cultural narratives, how might the biblical narrative provide a clearer path forward?

In The Teach Your Children Well Podcast, host Sarah Cowan Johnson—ministry trainer, consultant, and author of Teach Your Children Well: A Step-by-Step Guide for Family Discipleship—seeks to answer this question. A parent herself, Cowan Johnson knows firsthand the challenges of navigating societal pressures and the hope and possibilities when we turn toward the way of Jesus.

In this brand-new podcast, Cowan Johnson sits down with nine expert guests—including Jon Tyson, Justin Whitmel Earley, Natasha Smith, and Amy Julia Becker—to explore critical parenting topics such as mental health, gender, grief, and so much more. Each episode explores what the world says about these topics, and then how the biblical story responds, ultimately offering wisdom and good news for the twenty-first-century parent.

Cowan Johnson will also give listeners practical, gospel-shaped ideas they can use in their own homes.

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch on the IVP YouTube channel.

The first episode of The Teach Your Children Well Podcast drops on June 23.

Links and Credits

• Learn more about Sarah Cowan Johnson
• Read Teach Your Children Well by Sarah Cowan Johnson

✅Producers: Helen Lee, Kaitlin Borek, and Travis Albritton

✅Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅Theme Song: "Childlike Wonder" by Reveille

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.