In today’s episode, Dr. Matt Jones and Janel Greig introduce themselves and share why they are passionate about equipping Christian parents. You’ll hear part of their story, practical parenting advice, and biblical encouragement for raising kids who embrace God’s truth. Together, they explore what it means to thrive as a family in today’s complex culture.
Episode 14: Summary & Transcript
Disclaimer: Please note that this is an automatically generated transcript. Although the transcription is largely accurate, it may be incomplete or inaccurate in some cases due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.
Episode Summary
In this episode of the Upside Down Parenting Podcast, hosts Dr. Matt Jones and Janel Greig introduce themselves and establish the foundation for their partnership with Summit Ministries. The hosts discuss their shared commitment to biblical worldview parenting in increasingly secular environments, emphasizing the importance of parents as primary disciplers, the reality that even perfect parenting doesn’t guarantee outcomes (as God himself has rebellious children), and their desire to equip parents with practical biblical principles.
Episode Transcript
Dr. Matt Jones (00:00):
Well, welcome to the Upside Down Parenting Podcast. My name is Matt Jones and I am joined by my co-host Janel Greig. Janel, how are we doing today?
Janel Greig (00:11):
I’m great, Matt. How are you doing?
Dr. Matt Jones (00:13):
I’m doing alright. I can’t believe we get to do this on behalf of Summit Ministries, especially in light of Summit’s care, not only for a biblical worldview, but also for their care for parents and raising their children up in a biblical worldview. And I’m so excited to get to do this with you, not only today, but looks like for the foreseeable future.
Janel Greig (00:33):
Yeah, super exciting. I’m excited to spend time with you, but also to share with the parents that are out there listening and help equip, maybe share what’s worked for us and what hasn’t. They can learn from our mistakes hopefully.
Dr. Matt Jones (00:45):
I hope so. And at this point, I’m sure I’ve committed more mistakes than you, but anyway, we want as a podcast, not only to interact with honesty and integrity and challenging you to understand the biblical worldview, but we want to help you embrace God’s countercultural truth in kind of this upside down way that is counter to our culture. And the reason why is, God has called us to pursue this upside down kingdom, to prioritize servanthood and living according to these biblical standards. And it’s not easy, and sometimes it feels really alone. Do you ever feel that way, Janel?
Janel Greig (01:25):
Yeah, absolutely. You live in Colorado, right?
Dr. Matt Jones (01:30):
That’s right.
Janel Greig (01:30):
We’re out here in Seattle. So I think we’re both living, especially besides the times that we’re living in, but in specific societies where it does, a biblical worldview feels very countercultural to what society in our immediate proximity, is even speaking. So it’s tricky and it’s tricky as a parent.
Dr. Matt Jones (01:49):
And I grew up in the Bible Belt for many years, and just moving from there to Colorado was, well, it was an adjustment and it continues to be an adjustment, but we try to figure out, man, here’s what God has called us to be and do in light of his worldview. And so we just want to take some time today to not only let you as an audience, get to know us in our heartbeat for parenting, but also just lay a foundation for why we’re doing this. And so I was just curious, first of all, Janel, why did you buy into this podcast and why would you want to do it with Summit Ministries?
Janel Greig (02:26):
That’s a great question, and I’ll throw it back at you in a minute, but okay, good. Summit Ministries does some amazing work, and I’m in the field of education as you are also Matt, which is fun. But I work at a private Christian school where we use Summit Curriculum K through 12, and so I’m familiar from that angle and have been a proud supporter of it for a long time because Fantastic.
But also the additional work that Summit does, the podcast, the parent resources, what Dr. Jeff does with his books and speaking, I’ve been blessed to hear him at some conferences before. It’s just great work. I think there’s an encouragement. A lot of Christian parents aren’t even sure where to start when it comes to discipling their kids.
And so Summit provides many fantastic resources, so to be able to partner with them for something that I strongly believe that God is fully in is an exciting opportunity. What about you, Matt? I know you’ve partnered, I’ve listened to you on this podcast before. So what’s the driving force for you?
Dr. Matt Jones (03:29):
Yeah, a couple things. One, I really do believe in what Summit, their mission and vision. And whenever I get the opportunity to speak for them, that’s how I start out. Because I really do and have experience not only within myself, but also with our family. Applying a biblical worldview radically changes not only the trajectory of your family, but also we just have a lot more fun. It is just a lot more exciting to do things according to the biblical worldview.
And we in our home really have a heart for parenthood. One of the things, or one of the opportunities that Summit gave me was speaking on marriage and the importance of marriage. And I came to realize how crucial, not only marriage is, but the importance in terms of establishing and developing and directing the life of a child. And as I began to understand that more and more, I began to say, wait a minute.
(04:30):
This is the second most important relationship, really, you can have. It’s the relationship with God, and then relationship within your family and focusing more on your wife. And so I want to be a part of helping people consider that I will more than likely say some things that are off the wall that maybe it may sound counter-cultural, but it actually may end up being true.
And so we want to wrestle with that through a biblical worldview together, especially as we continue what’s already started with some great topics and some great content and some great hosts and speakers. I mean that Raising Gender Confident Kids with Dr. Myers and Kathy Koch, Dr. Koch, just phenomenal. And I’m in the process of reading their book and catching up on what they’re saying, but it’s just.
Janel Greig (05:24):
So good.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:25):
It’s so good. And hopefully we can be a small part of helping us think about what we believe and why when it comes to parenting, because it really is, I think it’s the second most important relationship, that relationship between your wife and kids, that is not only vital for you guys and us experiencing life, but bringing life to others. So that’s really why I’ve said yes to this.
Janel Greig (05:51):
Yeah. Plus, you’re fun, Matt.
Dr. Matt Jones (05:57):
I try to, I want to be as engaging as possible because I have fallen asleep listening to podcasts before.
Janel Greig (06:03):
We don’t want that.
Dr. Matt Jones (06:04):
No, we don’t want that. And I’ll be honest, I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere. My wife says, Hey, let’s go to the movies. And I’m like, okay, I’ll go, but just fair warning, I might fall asleep. And she goes, well, then we won’t go tonight. So I don’t know. If I’m not the center of attention, I have a tendency to fall asleep.
Janel Greig (06:26):
Well, movie theaters, that’s a great segue, because the analogy of the dark movie theater, and I think this pulls in that biblical parenting principle. I don’t even remember when that was initially shared with me, but it was something that really stuck home for me, especially as a parent. You’re in, you go first, walk into a dark movie theater and you can’t see anything. It’s pitch black, but you’re there for a little bit and you adjust.
And our experience in society is like that. We get used to the world around us. And if we’re not doing upside down things, if we’re not setting ourself apart as God calls us to, we get used to it and we become in the world, or we become of it, not set apart as God calls us to. So I guess on that note, let’s talk about a biblical perspective of parenting. Why is that so important to you, Matt? What has that done for you and why is that important to you?
Dr. Matt Jones (07:24):
Yeah, it’s a great question. And again, as you said to me, Hey, I’m going to shoot that right back at you when I’m done, please feel free to add or subtract, but I was actually exposed to biblical worldview at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, where Dr. Myers taught for some time. And I really didn’t, even though I grew up in a Christian home, I was not aware that, hey, there’s a way in which to look at the world through scripture, through understanding here’s what God has taught.
And to be honest with you, my wife and I, even though I grew up in a Christian home, even though I was studying ministry, I got out of college and I honestly didn’t have a biblical, and went to a Christian college, I didn’t get out of there with a biblical worldview of husband, wife, marriage, and children. Not because they didn’t teach it, but because I didn’t really listen.
(08:20):
And as a result of my wife and I really going through some significant struggles, we actually had to sit down and say, all right, what does God’s word say about these things? And the biggest failure for me was recognizing, I honestly had no idea what it meant to love as Christ loves the church. I had no idea what that meant because you go say, well, he’s willing to die for her, and yes, but it’s so much more.
And so my wife and I went through about a three or four year, well, one or two year study that led to three and four years of just saying, alright, we’re living this out. And it radically changed not only our marriage, but it also radically changed the direction of how we were spending our time, how we were interacting with others. And so living this out has been huge for us, and as a result, it actually prepared us better to be better parents. But how about for you? Why is biblically parenting from a biblical perspective, excuse me, so important to you.
Janel Greig (09:24):
Yeah, no, I like where you were coming from in that, and I think I have a similar experience in that. And maybe most parents do, you step into parenting without, and unless you’re very intentional and focused on raising your kids with biblical principles and pointing them to God, you default to something else. You’re kind of on autopilot.
And similar experience in that my husband and I were very intentional about how we wanted to raise our kids. And that of course has evolved over time. And there’s things, even some of the things you’ve shared with me, Matt, it’s, oh man, I wish we’d done that. But that’s part of why you and I are here. We’re hoping that maybe we can shed some little nuggets for folks to take away. And we’re still gleaning nuggets from others, but very intentional in how we wanted to raise our kids.
(10:15):
It’s that Deuteronomy six principle, right? God asks us in everything we do, the walking, the sitting down, the talking, to point our kids to him. And we’ve really tried to be intentional about that. It requires intentionality. And so over time, and we’ll talk about this in a different episode too, down the line, right? Rhythms and habits that we’ve got into, but that’s been something that’s been very important to us because God calls us to that. It sets us apart. It helps equip our kids for this world and for living for the Lord.
And I think it’s important to remember that there was a point of time where I just wanted my kids in heaven with me. And it was a very simple, simple thought. And as my faith grew, it was no, I want my kids to have a firm faith foundation to be disciples for the Lord and to live for him and point others to him. It’s truly the great commission, we’re making disciples. That’s our call. And there’s no guarantee in our investment we’re making an investment that the Lord asks us to make. But that’s why in our household, one of the reasons that it’s so important to us.
Dr. Matt Jones (11:25):
And I appreciate you bringing in the guarantee and the investment piece, because God’s a perfect parent, and you and I have talked about this also. God’s a perfect parent, and yet he has really rebellious kids, me being one of them. And so this podcast is not expecting you to do this perfectly. This podcast is not saying, listen, this is going to be the outcome. But for me to be able to say, all right, when I stand before the God of the universe, and he says, Matt, I entrusted you with three incredible kids. How did you use the truth of the scriptures, the power of the Holy Spirit, the example of my son to make an impact not only in their lives, but hopefully in the lives of others.
And that’s one of the reasons I want to help parents. I’m not sure we’re doing a great job as a culture and sometimes even in our churches to say, listen, here’s a biblical worldview in raising your kids, and here’s what we’re challenging you to think about and apply and surround yourself with so we can walk alongside you. And we love the church. We love the church. Just want to make sure we say that, but have you found church to be a really encouraging place for parenting? Or one that we say, wow, there could be some assistance here. There could be some growth, some development.
Janel Greig (12:49):
Yeah, I do think, and my local church, we’re very blessed. There’s a lot of support and a lot of equipping that goes into parents. And I don’t think that’s normal. And again, Christian education, being exposed to that and seeing the families as the church, the bigger church, I think there’s opportunity there. I also think that it’s a little bit of a catch 22 because parents should be the primary disciplers. And so to help equip them to do that is important. But we don’t want parents outsourcing completely to the church or to the Christian school. So I think parents seminars and there’s more and more resources, and we’ll get to share some resources too, which is awesome.
Besides Summit Ministries for parents, but I think equipping parents, because oftentimes parents really don’t know where to start. What does it look like? Discipling the kids in my own home. And God is so faithful in that he gave us the best parenting book possible in the Bible. I mean, the story of reality is there for us to learn and grow and to point our kids to. But Matt, I’m curious, as you mentioned your three kids, let’s talk about the kids a little bit. Tell us about your kids and their ages so our listeners can hear.
Dr. Matt Jones (14:09):
Well, I was going to ask you the same thing, but yeah, like I said, we have three kids and my oldest is 22. Her name’s Hannah. She’s a senior at Colorado Christian University, and I think I can let this out. We’re about to celebrate an engagement.
Janel Greig (14:26):
That’s awesome.
Dr. Matt Jones (14:28):
Yeah, so we’ll see what happens there. And I’ve never been through that before in terms of when I grew up, we just asked them to marry, they said yes, and praise God. Now there’s these whole party things that I’m just not used to. So maybe we’ll talk about that at some point. I love, yeah, my son, Tyler is a sophomore at Colorado Christian, and he is looking to get into law enforcement and possibly the military. And so that’s been something that we’re saying we support, but Lord help us to trust.
And that’s been a little bit of a challenge for us, not in terms of discouraging from it, but saying, man, Lord, we’re really going to have to say, this kid is yours. Do with him what you will for your glory, but help us to hold loosely to him. And then our youngest, Kenzie is a senior in high school, and she loves culinary arts.
And then I got to talk about my wife. She and I have been married for 29 years. She is phenomenal. I actually remember what she was wearing the first time I saw her. It was blue and white striped overall shorts. And I was like, oh, she’s cute. Maybe I need to get to know her. And then how about you? How, yeah, I mean, we really do have a lot of fun. So yeah, 22, 22, 19 and 17. So by the end of the year, it’ll be 22, 20 and 18. How about you, the kid stack look
Janel Greig (15:59):
Like, well, it’s great because we can pick up, I can keep going down the ladder from you. We’ve got a 17-year-old that’s our oldest, and she’s a junior, Reagan, and she’s an amazing kid. Amazing kid. We have Keaton, and Keaton is our middle. And he’s a very typical middle child, which is so fun to see the personalities and how they stack. But he’s 15 and he’s a freshman in high school. And then we’ve got our seventh grader, whose name is Micah, and he’s the baby of the family. And he fills that role. Well, and my husband, Christian and I, we’ve been married, we’re getting ready for our 20th.
Dr. Matt Jones (16:43):
Congrats.
Janel Greig (16:43):
Celebration next March. But our history goes way back because my brother, who’s 18 months older than me, and my husband in that best friend group in high school, so they were a year ahead of me. And our history goes way back, although we weren’t exactly buddies in high school. There was a little bit of fun spark there.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:06):
Okay. All right.
Janel Greig (17:07):
Yeah.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:08):
But it finally lit to a flame.
Janel Greig (17:11):
Absolutely. And the Lord’s timing. And he is such a blessing to me. I love him very, very much.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:17):
And the flame is still burning.
Janel Greig (17:19):
Yes. And I’ll have to ask him what I was wearing the first time he saw me. I like that test.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:25):
Well, I mean, that was the first time I ever saw her or met her. And it was in Alexandria, Virginia, and I was from Tennessee.
Janel Greig (17:33):
I love it.
Dr. Matt Jones (17:34):
Now, apparently we’re going to try, every once in a while, I have what’s called a speed round where we’re just throwing each other questions here. And so I’m going to be looking at these while we go, but do you want to start or do you want to go back and forth here? I can’t find them. There they are. Okay, there.
Janel Greig (17:52):
Yeah, let’s do this. Alright, let’s start with board games or backyard sports. Matt?
Dr. Matt Jones (17:59):
Yes. We love both of them. We have about 20 people come over once a month and play wiffle ball, but then we also play hours for board games. How about you?
Janel Greig (18:11):
We’re a board game family all the way. We have the full on board game. My husband is hardcore in that. And that’s actually some of our sweetest family time is playing board games. Yeah.
Dr. Matt Jones (18:22):
Okay, good. Camping or staycation?
Janel Greig (18:24):
Oh, no. Camping for me. I am not going to do that. What about you?
Dr. Matt Jones (18:28):
Ditto. Yeah.
Janel Greig (18:31):
I love the idea.
Dr. Matt Jones (18:35):
Yeah, it’s just not clean for me. I’ll just leave it at that. Coffee with one person from Scripture. Who and why?
Janel Greig (18:45):
Man, that’s a tough question. I would say Daniel would be an interesting one to connect with. Yeah, I think I’d go with that. Just the time period, the faith component, all of that would be just so interesting. What about you?
Dr. Matt Jones (19:09):
Well, I mean, I don’t drink coffee, so no, I made it through undergrad, master’s and PhD without a sip of coffee. So whenever we’re doing this, it will be all naturality. Okay. So no addictive substances on my part. At least during the podcast, there’s so many people to choose from. And I wrote my dissertation on the humanity of Jesus, but I feel like that’s a cop out. So I’ll go with a guy named Malus. He’s the guy that had his ear cut off by Peter there in the Garden of Gethsemane. And I want to hear him talk about, how did Jesus put his ear back on?
Janel Greig (19:53):
That’s fantastic.
Dr. Matt Jones (19:54):
Did he just pick it up and just place it there, Play-Doh, and it just stuck? Or did he speak it into regrowing? Oh, we just don’t know. And then what happened to him afterwards? Because his name is not, his ear being cut off is in other gospels, but what happened to him and getting his name doesn’t show up until John. So why all that? Anyway, alright.
Janel Greig (20:22):
That’s great. You win. That was a good answer.
Dr. Matt Jones (20:23):
No, it was not a competition, but I do love winning.
Janel Greig (20:31):
Yeah. Go ahead.
Dr. Matt Jones (20:31):
Wait, are you competitive or not?
Janel Greig (20:34):
Oh, so much. But not with you.
Dr. Matt Jones (20:36):
Okay. Alright. Well, we’ll see.
Janel Greig (20:39):
We’ll work together. What are your favorite parenting books? Let’s close out with that one. That’s a good one. Sounds good. What are your favorite parenting books or more useful maybe?
Dr. Matt Jones (20:51):
Well, here’s the thing. What happened was, because most of my time of marriage has been in school, I don’t have a lot of free time for reading. And so what my wife would do is she would read the books and then she would say, hey, you got to read this section, or you got to read that section. One of them was Shepherding a Child’s Heart. I do remember reading that one and it was excellent. I don’t think I’m naturally a shepherd. I’m more of a truth teller who says, if you don’t like it, suck it up. And I don’t know that Shepherding a Child’s Heart was pointing to that. And so there were some important things to learn on that. How about you? Favorite parenting book?
Janel Greig (21:38):
Yeah, I can already tell your wife complements you well, doesn’t she?
Dr. Matt Jones (21:42):
Not verbally, but in terms of us working together, yes.
Janel Greig (21:46):
That’s great. I would say parenting books, Paul David Tripp’s, either of his, and the teen one is a more recent read for me, Age of Opportunity. But his general Parenting one was fantastic. His focus on grace and just very practical application. But also, I’m going to point out Natasha Crain’s Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side as a parenting book, because that pulls in that Apologetics 101 for a parent. How do you incorporate that into your parenting and equipping your kiddos with a worldview? That’s been a big mover for me. So I’d go with those. And the Bible, right, God’s word is the ultimate, can’t leave that one out.
Dr. Matt Jones (22:32):
Well, and I didn’t want to, but you had already mentioned that and I agreed with you. But yeah, the Bible just, it really is a life-giving book, and especially to the family, because I think God cares immensely about the family. So, man, this has been fun, Janel.
Janel Greig (22:49):
It’s been great.
Dr. Matt Jones (22:50):
I’m looking forward to doing more of these. So anything else you want to add before we sign off?
Janel Greig (22:56):
Yeah, no, I just think I would encourage our listeners out there to think about what drives you and your parenting, and especially biblical parenting. What’s the driving force for you? Think about the importance of that. And I would say, Matt, I’ve enjoyed my time with you. I’ve enjoyed my time connecting on this.
But listeners, parents out there, if today’s conversation has resonated with you, we’d love it if you would subscribe, leave a review. We’d love for other parents to discover this podcast, the Upside Down Parenting Podcast with Summit, and join us in the conversation. Matt, I’m looking forward to continuing the journey with you, and I think Matt and I both are looking forward to continuing the journey with all of you out there.
So until then, remember, you’re not alone. Keep going. Stay faithful. Keep leading your kids to live boldly in God’s upside down kingdom.