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Parenting is one of the few God-given responsibilities that changes constantly. The way we parent a five-year-old can’t be the way we parent a fifteen-year-old, and if we do our job well, our children will eventually need no parenting at all. So how do we make that transition well? In Episode 287, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Pastor Alan Shelby, dean of the Living Faith Bible Institute, for a practical conversation on the purpose of biblical parenting and the stages that serve it. Pastor Shelby argues that most parents never settle on the goal of parenting, and that without a goal, principles become scattered tactics. His answer: raise children who are prepared to face “the evil day” and to establish godly homes of their own. In this episode: • Why the goal of parenting must come before the methods (Eccl. 12:1; Eph. 6:4, 13; Gal. 1:4; Prov. 22:6)• A four-stage framework: discipline, relationship, fellowship, and responsibility• Authority versus authoritarianism, and what it means to be “an extension of the Holy Spirit” in your child’s life• The role of conscience in moving from external control to internal conviction• Law without life: what Samson’s upbringing warns us about following principles without the Spirit• Recognizing idols in a teenager’s heart without panic or judgment• Hope for parents who feel they’ve missed the mark: meekness, humility, and honest candor• The church family’s role, especially for single parents and children who need godly mentors• How to measure success in parenting, and why faithful preparation matters more than outcomes Whether you’re raising toddlers, shepherding teenagers, or praying for adult children, this episode points you toward the heart, mission, and goal behind the work. Visit https://lfbi.org/learnmore

Most young disciples begin in ministry with zeal. They're grateful for the opportunity, excited to serve, and eager to prove their faithfulness. They're willing to take smaller ministry assignments, do the unnoticed work, and pour themselves into whatever field God has given them. But eventually, ministry becomes familiar. The work gets repetitive. Progress can be painfully slow, people can be difficult, and the fruit doesn't always match the effort. What once felt like a privilege can slowly become a burden. Without even realizing what's happening in our hearts, weariness becomes boredom, boredom becomes restlessness, and restlessness eventually settles into apathy. So what happens when the field God has given us no longer feels exciting? How do we learn to love the ordinary work of ministry, remain faithful when things get difficult, and recover joy when our hearts have grown tired? On this episode of The Postscript Show, host Brandon Briscoe is joined by Pastor Mitch Dobson, instructor of Biblical Studies at Living Faith Bible Institute, to discuss ministry apathy, the danger of restlessness, and what it means to faithfully and joyfully stay the course. Together, they explore how young ministers can prioritize spiritual growth over the pursuit of new experiences, resist comparing their ministries to others, recognize the warning signs of apathy, and find renewed joy in serving the people God has entrusted to their care. They also discuss the importance of rest, fellowship, prayer, and maintaining a Christ-centered perspective on ministry. For pastors, church planters, and growing spiritual leaders, this conversation offers practical wisdom for persevering in ministry, cultivating godly character, and remaining faithful in the work God has called you to do. In this episode: • Why young ministers become restless and seek the next opportunity• How ministry apathy develops and how to recognize its warning signs• Why spiritual growth matters more than checking boxes or climbing the ministry ladder• How comparison, pride, and a desire for recognition undermine faithfulness• Finding joy in small ministries, ordinary responsibilities, and unseen service• The difference between temporary weariness and growing apathy• Why rest, fellowship, prayer, and time with Christ are essential for ministry leaders• How to keep serving faithfully when ministry becomes difficult or repetitive Visit https://lfbi.org/learnmore

In this episode of the Ps+ Pastor Chris Allred wraps up this series on the call to ministry with a conversation about what confirmation looks like.

Confession is one of those Christian practices that many believers struggle to understand. We know 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” But James 5:16 goes further: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” So why is confession still necessary if our sins have already been forgiven through Jesus Christ? Why does God call Christians to confess not only to Him, but also to one another? And what would happen in our churches if believers felt free to honestly acknowledge sin, weakness, and struggles without fear of gossip, shame, or condemnation? In this episode of The Postscript Show, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Chris Best, an instructor at Living Faith Bible Institute, to examine the biblical theology and practice of confession. They discuss the difference between positional righteousness and our practical walk with God, the relationship between confession and fellowship, the role of the Holy Spirit in conviction, and how unconfessed sin can affect our prayer life, joy, relationships, and fellowship with other believers. Brandon and Chris also explore James 5:16, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 32, 1 Corinthians 11, the Lord’s Supper, repentance, accountability, discipleship, and the role of confession within the local church. They discuss how churches can develop a healthy culture of confession rather than encouraging believers to hide their struggles or simply “perform” their faith. The conversation also addresses an important question: Is biblical confession the same thing as the Roman Catholic practice of confessing sins to a priest? Brandon and Chris examine the historical and theological differences between Catholic sacramental confession and the New Testament teaching concerning confession, forgiveness, fellowship, prayer, and spiritual growth. Finally, they discuss practical ways pastors and church leaders can encourage a healthy culture of confession through prayer, Bible studies, discipleship relationships, accountability, pastoral example, and the church invitation. If you have ever wondered why Christians need to confess sin after salvation, what “confess your faults one to another” actually means, whether Christians should confess sins to a priest, or how confession should function in the local church, this episode is for you. The Postscript Show is Living Faith Bible Institute’s weekly podcast and YouTube series featuring in-depth theological and ministry conversations with pastors, Bible scholars, missionaries, and professors. Visit http://lfbi.org/learnmore

Motherhood is often described as one of life’s greatest joys—and it is. But for many women, it can also become one of life’s darkest and most disorienting seasons. Exhaustion, isolation, hormonal changes, overwhelming responsibility, and the quiet fear that “I’m not the mother I’m supposed to be” can converge into something much deeper than ordinary discouragement. For some, that darkness has a name: postpartum depression. For others, depression arrives later and lingers silently behind the daily responsibilities of raising a family. Unfortunately, Christian mothers can also feel an additional burden—the fear that admitting they are struggling somehow means they are failing spiritually. So, how should the church understand depression in motherhood? How do we take seriously the relationship between the body and the soul without surrendering our confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture? And how can husbands, pastors, friends, and churches recognize suffering and respond with truth, compassion, and genuine biblical hope? Today, I’m joined by Christine Chappell, author of Midnight Mercies: Walking with God Through Depression in Motherhood, for an important conversation about postpartum depression, the pressures mothers quietly carry, and how the gospel meets women in some of their darkest moments—not merely with explanations, but with the enduring hope of Christ. Follow the links to get Christine Chappell's book Midnight Mercies: Walking with God Through Depression in Motherhood and upcoming devotional Crying Out in Faith. Visit: https://www.lfbi.org

In this episode of the Ps+ Pastor Chris Allred walks through the different stages of spiritual growth—and how they relate to our involvement in the call of ministry.

The Book of Judges is one of the most sobering leadership books in the entire Bible. It tells the story of a people who had been given a clear mission, a rich spiritual inheritance, and every reason to move forward in faith. Yet generation after generation drifted. Compromise led to spiritual weakness, spiritual weakness led to oppression, and God raised up leaders to set things right. But the judges were not all the same. Some were courageous and decisive. Others were reluctant. Some were deeply flawed, while others became ambitious for the wrong reasons. Their stories give us an honest picture of biblical leadership—how God develops leaders, how fear can hinder them, how pride can corrupt them, and how character determines whether a person's influence becomes a blessing or a liability to the ministry. What does Judges teach us about raising the next generation of Christian leaders? How can pastors, fathers, and mentors develop men who are willing to take responsibility and faithfully serve God? What happens when giftedness exists without character? How can fear, pride, self-promotion, ambition, or a desire for comfort derail a leader? Brandon and Lee discuss Joshua's leadership and the generation that followed him, the warning of Judges 2:10, the importance of discipleship and spiritual inheritance, and the examples of leaders including Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Abimelech, Jair, Jephthah, and Samson. They also address the dangers of self-promotion, the difference between gifting and godly character, the temptation to maintain ministry rather than advance the mission, the importance of humility and contentment, and the need for fathers and mentors to intentionally train the next generation. The Book of Judges reminds us that biblical leadership is not ultimately about charisma, position, or gifting. Faithfulness, humility, character, discipleship, and obedience matter. The question for every Christian leader is whether we will faithfully steward what God has entrusted to us and help prepare others to serve Him. Whether you are a pastor, ministry leader, father, young man preparing for ministry, or simply a Christian seeking to grow in biblical leadership, this conversation offers practical lessons from one of the Bible's most challenging books. The Postscript Show is Living Faith Bible Institute's weekly podcast and YouTube series featuring in-depth theological and ministry conversations with pastors, Bible scholars, missionaries, and professors. For more information, follow the link to read the notes for Episode 283 Visit http://lfbi.org/learnmore

In this episode of the Ps+ Pastor Chris Allred leads a discussion about the important role a worshipful heart plays in a life of ministry leadership.

Prayer is one of the most familiar practices in Christianity—and yet it may be one of the least understood. In Episode 282 of The Postscript Show, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Pastor Troy Stogsdill to discuss the biblical theology of prayer and to preview this year's Certainty Conference: The Theology of Prayer. What actually happens when we pray? Does prayer change things? What does it mean to pray "in Jesus' name"? How should we understand God's promises to answer prayer? And how does prayer relate to God's sovereignty, providence, and His work through the local church? Brandon and Troy discuss: • Why prayer is fundamentally an act of worship• Prayer as a relationship and spiritual connection with God• How Jesus' prayer life teaches us dependence upon the Father• Why prayer prepares us for temptation, suffering, and ministry• What it means when God answers prayer differently than we expected• God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in prayer• Whether our prayers can genuinely move God to act• Why the Great Commission must be accompanied by prayer• How prayer relates to evangelism, church planting, and spiritual fruitfulness• The danger of becoming self-sufficient in ministry• Why churches in these last days should not give up on fruitfulness The discussion ultimately challenges believers to move beyond treating prayer as either a way to manipulate circumstances or merely a mystical experience. Biblical prayer brings us before God in worship, faith, submission, and dependence—and it has profound implications for the mission of the church. Troy also shares what listeners can expect from the upcoming Certainty Conference, including teaching on the doctrine and practice of prayer and a fellowship-wide time of prayer. Visit https://www.lffellowship.com/certainty to register for Living Faith Fellowship's 2026 Certainty Conference. Visit http://lfbi.org/learnmore

While much of the Western church experiences Christianity with relative freedom and security, millions of believers live in places where identifying with Christ can cost them their homes, their families, their livelihoods, and even their lives. Few places illustrate that reality more tragically than Nigeria. For years, Christians throughout Nigeria—particularly in the northern and central regions of the country—have endured violence, displacement, kidnapping, and the destruction of their churches and communities at the hands of Islamic extremists and militant groups. But behind the statistics are real believers, pastors, widows, children, and churches learning what it means to follow Christ in the midst of suffering. Persecution isn't simply a humanitarian or political issue—for Christians, it is a biblical reality. Scripture tells us to expect persecution, teaches us how believers should respond when it comes, and commands the church to remember and care for those who suffer for the name of Christ. That means our response must be informed not merely by outrage or politics, but by a distinctly biblical philosophy of ministry. In this episode of The Postscript, we are joined by Brad Brandon, founder and CEO of Across Nigeria, a ministry serving some of the most vulnerable and persecuted communities in Nigeria. Brad helps us understand what Nigerian Christians are experiencing, what the Bible teaches about persecution and our responsibility toward the persecuted, and how those convictions have shaped the philosophy and methodology of Across Nigeria. Please pray for the persecuted church in Nigeria, for the widows and families affected by violence, for those proclaiming Christ in dangerous places, and for Muslims who have yet to hear the Gospel. Learn more about Across Nigeria and consider how you can pray for and support this ministry. Visit https://www.acrossnigeria.org For more information, follow the link to read the notes for Episode 281. Visit http://lfbi.org/learnmore

In this episode, we join Pastor Chris Allred again to discuss the importance of being fully dependent on the Lord in everything we do when it comes to our pursuit of ministry.

In this long-form edition of the Postscript, we join Seth Keenum from Decatur Baptist Church in a comprehensive devotional look at what it means to walk in the Spirit.

If God inspired His Word, what happened to those words after they were given? In this PostScript Essentials conversation, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Dr. Alan Shelby to explore the relationship between inspiration, inscription, transmission, preservation, and translation—and what those doctrines mean for our confidence in the Bible we hold today. From a KJV, Bible-believing perspective, this conversation asks whether preservation ended with the original manuscripts or whether God providentially preserved His Word through history, transmission, and translation. Dr. Shelby discusses textual criticism, the history of the English Bible, the King James Bible, Jeremiah 36, the Received Text, and the providential preservation of Scripture. Originally recorded as PostScript Episodes 100 & 101, these two conversations have been brought together into one PostScript Essentials presentation. If God was capable of inspiring His Word, is He also capable of preserving it? Visit http://lfbi.org/learnmore

In this episode of the Ps+ we join Chris Allred again to discuss God's call to ministry on our lives—and how our personal ownership of the ministry God gives us is critical to the trajectory of our lives.

What does the Bible actually teach about men and women, gender roles, and leadership in the church? In this episode of The Postscript Show, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Thomas Harding, pastor of Portland Gospel Church, to examine the debate between egalitarianism and complementarianism. They discuss biblical authority and hermeneutics, whether Galatians 3:28 teaches that gender distinctions have been erased in Christ, and why the doctrine of creation is foundational to understanding God’s design for men and women. The conversation also examines Jesus’ teaching, Paul’s instructions in Ephesians and 1 Timothy, the qualifications for pastors and deacons, and why Paul’s teaching on gender roles is rooted in creation rather than merely first-century culture. Does complementarianism diminish women? Brandon and Thomas address this question from Scripture, showing how equal value in Christ does not require identical responsibilities. They also discuss how biblical distinctions between men and women allow both to serve the church in meaningful and complementary ways. Finally, they discuss how pastors and church members can hold firmly to biblical convictions while showing grace and compassion toward people wrestling with these questions—and why discipleship and the gospel should remain central. Visit http://lfbi.org/learnmore