discipleship – Christian Life Coaching Franklin Tennessee

14Jan 2026 by Post

Should I Read the Bible? What Christians Should Know

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Bible study, Christianity, Devotional, discipleship, Gospel, Heaven Not Harvard, Jennifer Defrates, Quiet Time, Spiritual Disciplines

Wondering Should I read the Bible? Maybe you’ve never picked one up. Maybe you’ve only skimmed it and never really read it with purpose. Either way, the answer is yes. If you’re a Christian or wondering about Christianity, nothing will change your faith and life more than reading the Bible. Reading the Bible daily is the most important habit any believer can have. It’s so important to read God’s word, deeply and thoroughly, that I say all Christians should be saturated in the Bible. Becoming deeply saturated in the word changed my relationship with God forever. I spent too many years full of misunderstanding and carrying legalistic burdens because I didn’t have an accurate understanding of the Bible and didn’t really know God for myself. My superficial relationship with His word had stunted my…

03Nov 2025 by Post

Spiritual Foundation #4 Environmental Preparation

Apologetics, Christianity, College-Prep, discipleship, Gospel, Julie Loos, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, MamaBearApologetics.com, relationships

As we wrap up our blog series on foundational types of college preparation, let’s review what we’ve covered. We’ve surveyed laying a strong faith-based foundation with personal habits of Bible study and prayer. Then we built on the importance of intellectual preparation, largely using the study of apologetics and its related disciplines. Next, we discussed the need for relational preparation through campus ministry and local church involvement, as well as friendships and family support. In this final blog, we’ll explore how being prepared for the college environment can help your child be ready for a successful transition to college. Knowing what you’re in for before you step on campus can help students acclimate more quickly and successfully to this new environment of strenuous academic expectations, new social networks and dynamics, and the responsibilities of adulting. That’s why…

29Oct 2025 by Post

Spiritual Foundation #3 Relational Preparation

Apologetics, Christianity, College-Prep, discipleship, Gospel, Julie Loos, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, MamaBearApologetics.com, relationships

As excited as I was to go to the university of my dreams, 40+ years later, I still remember the empty feeling of watching my parents and sister drive away. What would things be like at home without me? What would things be like at college without them? Will I make friends? Will I find my way? One of the first ways to prepare your child relationally for college is to prepare you both for your relationship to change. Going off to college is an adjustment for the entire family. Your relationship with your child is going to naturally change as they move toward calling more of their own shots (and calling you less). So let me give you my $5 piece of advice: Mama, you need to let go. And your cub needs…

22Oct 2025 by Post

How To Prepare Your Kids Faith Before They Leave For College, Part 2: Faith-Based Preparation

Apologetics, Christianity, College-Prep, cultural apologetics, discipleship, Gospel, Julie Loos, MamaBearApologetics.com, Prayer, Theology and Christian Apologetics

It’s doubtful parents would send their kids to college without some sort of meal plan, but are parents as diligent in helping set up a spiritual meal plan for their children? Once that dorm key is issued, there will be no more spoon-fed lessons by the youth group. When our kids head to college, it’s time for them to feed themselves, or they could spiritually starve to death. In our previous blog, we addressed the top four preparations to keep your kids on FIRE for God: faith-based, intellectual, relational, and environmental. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to prepare your kids spiritually for college, specifically through spiritual disciplines. Developing Good Faith Habits Helping your child establish the habits of personal Bible study and prayer while they are still living in your home is…

11Aug 2025 by Post

Sending Your Kids to College on F.I.R.E. for Their Faith!

Apologetics, Back to School, Christianity, College-Prep, cultural apologetics, discipleship, family, Gospel, Julie Loos, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, MamaBearApologetics.com, Parenting

If you are the mom of a soon-to-be-college freshman, hang on. You will survive! But the more important question might be: Will your child survive college. . . spiritually? Even if he or she has checked all the boxes associated with growing up in the church, there’s always the possibility that their faith will end up no more intact than the couch at the frat house. But rest assured, I have walked in your shoes. Twice. And I can happily say that my young men thrived in college and graduated, still walking with Christ. (Thank you, Jesus!) We know this isn’t true of all of our kids, though, and we’re not trying to make anyone feel bad; rather, we hope that these blogs will help prepare you for what’s to come…

25Dec 2024 by Post

How to Talk with Kids about Jesus

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, biblical apologetics, Christian parenting, Christianity, discipleship, Evangelism, Gospel, https://heavennotharvard.com/, Jennifer Defrates, Mama Bear Apologetics, Natasha Crain, Talking With Your Kids About Jesus

I used to think I knew how to talk with kids about Jesus to help them establish a lasting faith. It seemed simple enough. Read the Bible. And absolutely, the Bible is where we should begin. Reading the Bible together regularly is the best way to open a dialogue with your kids about Jesus. Everything about Jesus must begin with the Bible because that is how God chose to reveal His truths to us about Himself, the world, and Jesus. But, that isn’t as simple as it used to be. My parents taught me that the Bible was truth, and that was that, until college, where I first faced atheism as the predominant worldview. (And my faith was shaken – but more on that later). But we didn’t have the…

07Oct 2024 by Post

Prioritizing FAT Christians: A Practical Theology for Pastors

Apologetics, Christianity, Church, discipleship, Faithful Available Teachable, FreeThinkingMinistries.com, Gospel, Great Commission, Pastoral Care, Paul Rasor, practical theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics

Several weeks ago, I was listening to the podcast “Wise Disciple” with Nate Salah ( “Is Voddie Wrong about Churches?”). He was discussing the need for pastors to focus on finding FAT Christians in their congregations. (Don’t worry. FAT is an acrostic.) This is to say, pastors need to prioritize their time and efforts upon Christians who are Faithful, Available and Teachable. There are multiple reasons why this principle ought to be followed by pastors. But before addressing those reasons, we need to understand what exactly a FAT Christian is.[i] What are F.A.T. Christians? FAT Christians are not just interested in Jesus but are committed to him as true disciples. Specifically, these are believers who are faithful in many things in the local church, such as attendance to Sunday worship, small group studies, and Sunday school. They are…

19Aug 2024 by Post

5 Important Reasons Christians Should Study Apologetics

Apologetics, Bible study, Christianity, critical thinking, discipleship, Evangelism, General Apologetics, Heaven Not Harvard, HeavenNotHarvard.com, Jennifer Defrates, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics

All Christians should study apologetics. Christians should study apologetics may sound like a bold claim if you’ve barely even heard of apologetics, but I promise you apologetics has been the most important thing I’ve done for my faith besides reading my Bible regularly. What is Apologetics? Apologetics is a rational, organized defense of the Christian faith. It is the why behind the what we believe. Apologetics has many different aspects. Some people study the timelines of events in the Bible. Astrophysicists study the universe and God’s hand in creation. Some apologists are philosophers who consider the rational reasoning behind having faith. Some are archaeologists who examine artifacts and geographical evidence that supports the Bible. Apologetics has many different branches, but they all stem from the same tree of demonstrating the reasonableness of the Christian faith. Reason 1 why all Christians…

05Jun 2024 by Post

Church Matters

Annie Brown, Apologetics, Christian Living, Christianity, Church growth, Church Life, discipleship, Evangelism, Gospel, SES, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Unity

Gospel-centered churches are as important as ever, with powerful worldly forces at work actively competing with Christ for the souls of men.[1] The world buys our attention and convinces us that purpose exists in tangibles, accolades, relationships, drugs, fame, and money. In the Bible, the book of Romans tells us that all of mankind has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). There is no one exempt from this reality. At the root, we have a soul problem. The world and all that is within it will never fill the deep void that every human being is born with. Romans goes on to say that the wages for sin is death, but the free gift is eternal life in Christ (Rom 6:23). The only way ultimately…

07Feb 2024 by Post

A Student is Not Greater Than His Teacher

Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Christian education, Christianity, Culture, discipleship, Her Faith Inspires, Homeschool, https://shandafulbright.com/, Israel, mentoring, pedagogy, Rabbi, Shanda Fulbright, Teacher, teaching, Theology and Christian Apologetics

I still have nightmares about being in college. It usually has something to do with a math final and being unable to graduate without passing it. Why does it always have to be math? I wake up vowing I will never go back to college. One thing that was sure to make or break my semester in university was something some students might not consider before enrolling. It wasn’t the subject. It wasn’t even the course requirements listed on the syllabus. It was something much more important: the teacher. The teacher is a major contributor to whether you succeed or fail a class. Several of my teachers started the first day’s introductions by giving the most un-motivational speech that was sure to make more students drop the class before the…

Category: discipleship