Technology is a blessing - we’re more connected than we’ve ever been with more access to information than what should be reasonably possible. On the flip side, all that access opens us up ideas and images that we cannot unsee. Pornography use is rampant in our society. One study shows that 93% of teenage boys and 62% of teenage girls have already been exposed to internet pornography. Exposure to it opens us up to all kinds of issues - unhealthy expectations, addiction, and devaluing God’s design for sexuality and marriage. In addition, Porn use and sexual addiction comes with intense feelings of shame and regret.
Awaken Founder Greg Oliver joins the conversation to help us understand how pornography use and sexual addictions grab hold and isolates us - and how there is hope.
Parent U is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 3.3 - All the Feels
September 23, 2024
Dealing with our own feelings is hard work. The degree of difficulty feels as if it ramps up exponentially when attempting to understand the feelings of your teenagers. Our feelings are God-given, to help us fully understand our need for Him and our place in His creation. When we begin to live out of authenticity, it allows us to demonstrate to our teenagers how to build significant relationships with others.
Licensed counselor Rebecca Walker joins us from Nashville, TN to walk us through how to acknowledge, listen to and wrestle with our core feelings, as first coined by counselor and writer Chip Dodd, and how it has changed the way she understands feelings.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 3.2 - The Role of Relationship in Prevention
September 16, 2024
Prevention and education is the greatest way to combat substance abuse in teenagers, but when your child is already dealing with the consquences of parents often feel at a loss for where to turn.
This is why the Shelby County Sheriff's Office created Compact, a task force created to prevent substance abuse amongst teenagers and assist families dealing with substance abuse to lead them back to substance free living outside of the juvenile system. Inv. Austin Brown and Inv. Ash Lightner join us from the Shelby County Sheriff's office to share that vision and help parent's understand today's challenges, what intervention looks like through Compact's services, and why community matters.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 3.1 - Addressing Depression in Teenagers
September 9, 2024
Depression is a serious mental illness, and it's likely touched each of our lives in some manner. Parent's so often just want to fix it, but often we choose counterproductive means to try to do it.
OMPC's own Emily Walker, a licensed counselor at Calvert and Associate's and OMPC's Shepherding Care Coordinator joins us on the podcast to discuss depression in teenagers -
the warning signs, the triggers, and how parents can respond to provide the best care to their teenagers or ourselves.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 2.8 - Boundaries
March 3, 2024
Establishing and keeping boundaries is difficult, especially when our teenagers are in need of more freedoms. Communicating clear expectations - rooted in the gospel can help parents discover new freedoms, as well.
Rachel Gunn, of Seeds of Impact Ministry, stops by to discuss impact vs. impulse parenting and all things boundaries.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Find out more at http://ompc.org
Ep. 2.7 - The Comparison Paradigm
February 25, 2024
Sara Litten, Director of Youth Ministry at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, joins us to discuss the pressures facing teenage girls, how constant access to these pressures can create a comparison problem, and things parents can do to encourage teenage girls to derive value for themselves from the right places.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, visit http://ompc.org
Ep. 2.6 - Self-Centered vs Gospel Centered Parenting
February 18, 2024
Control: When faced with conflict within the family, do you seek to control before you try to understand and empathize?
Recognizing the motivation behind your need to control those situations can help reveal the status of your own head and heart. Are we seeking control so that we don't look foolish in front of others, weak in front of our teenagers, or are we seeking to love them by demonstrating the grace of Jesus?
Mark Long helps us examine our motivations and look to Jesus in hope when we are in tough situations.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, visit http://ompc.org
Ep. 2.5 - Parenting Styles
February 11, 2024
Are you a tiger, a helicopter, or a lawnmower?
Mark leads us in a conversation on where our need to maintain control is often revealed by how we parent, how understanding our tendencies can help us parent better, and how the Lord is using all of it to draw us close to Him.
The parent U podcast is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 2.4 - Preparing for College
February 3, 2024
High school graduation - it's an exciting time for students as they transition into adulthood. Are you, as a parent, ready to transition into a new role? How can you best prepare your child to face the pressures
RUF Samford Campus Minister Ben Griffith stops by to share how college today is - and is not - different than two decades ago.
The parent U podcast is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 2.3 - Managing Social Media
January 27, 2024
We're all walking around with social media machines in our pockets, and we all have opinions on its merit. So what's the best way to manage it?
Patrick Bush, Student Ministries Director at Faith Presbyterian Church, stops by to join Mark in a conversation on Social Media usage, establishing healthy boundaries, establishing healthy boundaries and how to view your own social media usage.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 2.2 - Four Things Every Teenager Needs to Hear
January 20, 2024
Choices. Our kids are facing choices every day that we may never know about. They will inevitably make a mistake, or face unintended consequences
that could change the immediate or long-term trajectory of their lives. How will you respond?
Steve Ward, founder of STEPS Ministries, join us to remind parents of the four biblical truths that every teenager needs to hear, and how proactive
parenting may lead to opportunities to connect and influence in a way that leads to positive choices.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 2.1 - A Means of Sanctification
January 7, 2024 • Rev. Mark Long
Parenting teenagers is hard work, but it's also the privilege of a lifetime. In the hard moments, it's critical to remember that the Lord uses our circumstances
as a means of sanctification.
ParentU's own Mark Long guides parents through a conversation on trusting the Lord to guide and shepherd their own hearts and minds as He guides and Shepherds their teenagers.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 8 - Breaking Down Barriers
October 8, 2023
Sometimes for parents, getting information is like pulling teeth. It's hard to know what barriers we're putting up in our conversations with our kids or how to avoid them. Jenn Ervin, with Restore ministries stops by to give some insight on what those barriers are, how to recognize them, and when to establish healthy boundaries with our teenagers, all while helping us understand that often, it's trying to fix things that hinders open communication.
ParentU is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Brimingham, Alabama
Ep. 7 - The Mission of Youth Ministry
October 1, 2023
Seventy percent of Christians come to know Christ before they are 18. The teenage years present a critical window for people to know Jesus.
In this epsiode, Director of Youth Ministry at OMPC, Braxton Baker, joins us to discuss the role of youth ministry, the importance of seeing the Gospel lived out, and how the family is the primary means of discipleship in students' lives.
The ParentU Podcast is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ep. 7 - The Mission of Youth Ministry
Seventy percent of Christians come to know Christ before they are 18. The teenage years present a critical window for people to know Jesus.
In this epsiode, Director of Youth Ministry at OMPC, Braxton Baker, joins us to discuss the role of youth ministry, the importance of seeing the Gospel lived out, and how the family is the primary means of discipleship in students' lives.
The ParentU Podcast is a ministry of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
