With everything that’s happened in our country and world over the last few weeks, many of us have been online more than ever. In light of that reality, we should be taking an inventory of who we’re following, because the voices we’re choosing to consume matter—maybe more than we even realize.

On today’s episode, I want to call us out as believers: who we follow online, the pastors we listen to, and even the music we put on in our cars has an effect on us. Not everyone who shares a Bible verse or even calls themselves a Christian is living a Gospel-centered, godly life. Our culture, and at times the church, can get so caught up in platform and influence, but are the people we’re following actually speaking truth, or simply sharing something to make us feel good?

Let’s measure who we follow not by charisma, but by character—not by the words they share, but by the fruit of their lives. And in our own circles of influence, let’s challenge ourselves to do the same.

Dr. Frank Turek—best known for evangelizing college students as an apologist and author—joins me on Fearless today. We recorded this episode one week before Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination, and going back to review the interview, I was shocked at how relevant Frank’s message is in light of Charlie’s death. Frank was actually on campus with Charlie the day he was killed, and what we’re talking about—why so many young people are walking away from the faith, how to share the Gospel with your kids—is more vital now than ever.

70% of teenagers raised in the church reject Jesus altogether when they get to college. Frank and I talk about why that is, share our personal experiences as Christians during our college years, and leave parents with practical tools for how to disciple our kids while they’re still under our roofs.

Where scientific evidence used to be the main argument against the truths of the Gospel, morality—or my “truth” versus your “truth”—has become the battle we must now fight as believers. In a culture where everyone wants to believe what’s best for them, how do we defend and share the Good News? After the tragic events of last week, answering this question has taken on a new urgency. Let’s not be silenced, instead let’s move forward in strength—sharing the only truth we know will set the world free.

Find more resources for parents at https://crossexamined.org/.

This week, our nation grieves. We grieve because a fearless voice for truth, for freedom, for faith—Charlie Kirk—was taken from us. Today I wanted to share a bit about the Charlie I knew. A young man who, for the last 10-plus years, has been unashamedly preaching the Gospel to this nation, and the world.

Charlie will be remembered for his courage in faith, but will we be remembered for that same kind of courage? Charlie’s death is a tragic wakeup call for us as believers. Today we need to stop being afraid. Stop being silenced. Stop compromising. Instead we as the church need to take a stand. No more sitting on the sidelines, no more playing it safe. This is our moment to decide: will we be silent Christians, or fearless Christians? I pray we would all choose the latter.

In light of the darkness of this week, and the darkness of this day—September 11th—I want to leave you with the remarks my grandfather shared from the Washington National Cathedral 24 years ago in the wake of the evil attacks we remember today. These words remind us that the losses of 9/11, and the loss of Charlie, are not in vain. Good will one day triumph over evil, and faith will win out over fear.

Fearless is back this week, and I’m so fortunate to be joined once again by author—and one of my biggest parenting mentors—Julie Carr, to talk about how to be an intentional parent in today’s distracted world. Julie is the mother of eight kids, ranging in age from 18 to 35, so she’s pretty much seen it all when it comes to raising and launching the next generation.

I didn’t hold back in my questions for Julie—talking about the often messy areas of technology, gentle parenting, and stewardship versus ownership of our kids. As a mom whose oldest is now 12, I also asked Julie about navigating that transition from little kid to pre-teen, and shared some of my own stories of days when I’ve gotten it wrong, while at the same time leaning into the grace God gives each of us as parents to ask for forgiveness and regroup.

This episode is me letting you in on just one of the many parenting conversations I’ve had with Julie over the years. It’s not polished, it’s not a step-by-step guide, but it’s real, and I hope some of the issues we’ve navigated as moms—both the highs and the lows—can help you feel like we’re in this together as we do our best to equip our kids to stand firm in a constantly shifting world.

Learn more about Julie and the amazing work she does on her website: https://julielylescarr.com/.

I’m back with my second talk from the BGEA European Congress on Evangelism stage—this time sharing my interview with Oxford University apologist, Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing. From smuggling Bibles into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as a student to boldly contradicting those who preach “love is love,” Amy knows firsthand what it takes to live with courageous obedience in a world that has grown increasingly contrary to the Gospel.

After sharing some of her story, Amy and I dive into the challenges we as believers are called to face everyday—from postmodernism and militant atheism to the rise of identity politics. But even though the obstacles are real, Amy also offers hope: a new hunger for the truth of Scripture is emerging, especially among Gen Z.

Amy invites us to see Jesus not as an ideology to be debated, but as a Savior who validates our longing for justice and meets us in our pain. This conversation should inspire us to stand in strength, speak the truth in love, and to prepare those coming up behind us to do the same.

When Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Maria Räsänen tweeted a verse from Romans back in 2019, she had no idea that it would ignite a firestorm not only in her home country, but around the world. For today’s episode of Fearless, I’m bringing you into the room for this year’s BGEA European Congress on Evangelism, where I had the chance to talk with Päivi onstage all about her courageous stand for biblical truth in the face of ongoing cultural and legal pressure to take back her words.

During our time together, Päivi walks me through how growing up next to a prison in eastern Finland shaped her early understanding of sin, grace, and redemption—and how those convictions would later sustain her through hours of police interrogation and years of public scrutiny. Despite enduring multiple trials—including one currently awaiting a verdict in Finland’s Supreme Court—Päivi has refused to recant. She talks about the surreal experience of being questioned by police and prosecutors about Scripture, the pressure to deny her faith, and the global impact of her story. Through it all, Päivi has stood firm, refusing to apologize for God’s Word.

Päivi’s testimony is a call to courage for believers everywhere: to speak truth in love, to resist self-censorship, and to trust that God’s purposes are greater than any opposition. I pray this episode would be a wakeup call for believers everywhere, that our freedom to speak biblical truth is under attack, even in the West. Now is the time to hold to our Christ-given convictions and refuse to back down.

During my recent trip to Germany in conjunction with the BGEA European Congress on Evangelism, I had the immense privilege of traveling to Wittenberg, Germany and walking with one of my favorite pastors—Skip Heitzig—through the very same square where Martin Luther famously nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the church door. As we walked, we reflected on how what was intended as a discussion-starter by a monk frustrated with the problems he was seeing in the Catholic Church ultimately became a revolution that would change Christianity as we know it today.

Together, Skip and I discussed why the Reformation Luther started over 500 years ago should still matter to the Church today, and how we as the Church can uphold what Luther so boldly gave his life for.

Luther pointed the Church back to the free gift of grace—emphasizing the Bible, not the Church, as the ultimate authority for believers. In a time when churches all over the world seem to be leaning more towards performance versus scriptural truth, Luther’s message is more relevant than ever before. Church, it’s time to fearlessly stand for our faith just as Luther did all those centuries ago.

What if you could be arrested for your prayers? Sadly, that’s no longer just a theoretical question. In countries across Europe, citizens are being prosecuted for their silent prayers, and this could all too easily become our reality in the U.S. if we refuse to stand boldly against censorship.

Today on Fearless, Alliance Defending Freedom’s Kristen Waggoner joins me to discuss these increasing attacks against religious liberty and free speech, what Europe’s crackdown on “thought crimes” could mean for us here in America, and what we as Christians can—and should—do to protect our God-given rights.

But despite the political and cultural tide seeming to turn against believers sharing our faith, Kristen also shares some encouraging news—including court cases that have upheld our right to free speech, and how censorship is being exposed more and more for what it is. We hope this conversation will serve as the wake-up call many of us need—challenging us as Christians not just to uphold free speech because that’s our right as individuals created in God’s image, but also because it’s one of the primary ways to move the Gospel forward.

You can learn more about Alliance Defending Freedom on their website: https://adflegal.org/.