What happens when you ask an AI to evaluate you? It calls you visionary. Impactful. Remarkable. And for about thirty seconds, it feels great, until you realize it has no idea who you actually are. It just told you what you wanted to hear.

That's fine for adults who know the difference. But millions of teenagers are having that same conversation every day, at the exact age when the answers are supposed to be shaping who they become.

In this episode, Darin unpacks a new Drexel University study showing that more than half of American teens now use AI companion apps regularly and that many of them feel trapped by attachments they can't explain. The issue isn't screen time. It's something deeper: a generation turning to algorithms for the connection, identity, and belonging that only real relationships can provide.

This isn't a technology lecture. It's a conversation about what intentional families can actually do; three practical commitments that make the real thing so present in your home that the counterfeit loses its grip.

Counterfeit Companions is one of the most important conversations happening in family culture right now. Don't miss it.

To order Darin's new book Parenting with Purpose, go to https://pentecostalpublishing.com/products/parenting-with-purpose-five-foundations-for-shaping-the-next-generation

Your family doesn't need more of your accomplishments. They need more of your eyes. In this episode, Darin breaks down the Three A's — Attention, Affection, and Availability — and why connection is marinated, not microwaved. A practical, honest conversation for every parent who wants to be more than just present.

To preorder Parenting with Purpose visit https://pentecostalpublishing.com/products/parenting-with-purpose-five-foundations-for-shaping-the-next-generation

If you would like a signed copy of the book please click here and make sure to include your address and email address: https://square.link/u/iPkuSJeR

Enjoy and thanks for listening.

~D

Why I Wrote Parenting with Purpose

The long days eventually give way to short years — and what we build into our children during the ordinary moments of life becomes the foundation for everything else.

In this episode, Darin Sargent takes you inside his brand-new book, Parenting with Purpose: Five Foundations for Shaping the Next Generation. From why he wrote it, to the honest reality of flawed families in Scripture, to the five foundational pillars that shape the hearts of our children — this is an episode for every parent who has ever felt like they were barely keeping up.

Darin walks through the Five Foundations: Loving, Learning, Living, Leading, and Launching a Legacy — and along the way, shares powerful stories from his own family, including the conversion of his grandfather Sid Sargent, the prayers of a grandmother that are still bearing fruit years after her passing, and the moment he walked his daughter down the aisle and released her into her future.

Whether you're knee-deep in diapers, navigating the teenage years, or watching your grown children find their place in the world — this episode will remind you that what you're doing matters, and that you are not just raising kids.

You're releasing legacy.

📖 Get the book: pentecostalpublishing.com

The most influential leaders most of us will ever encounter never had a title. They had a kitchen table, a bedtime routine, and a willingness to show up for the people in their house every single day — whether anyone was watching or not.

In this episode, Darin shares two stories from his own family that changed the way he sees leadership forever. The story of his grandfather Sid Sargent — a logging town baseball star who cussed out a coworker for talking about Jesus, then ended up alone in the woods with a cigarette and a prayer that altered the course of an entire family. And the story of his grandmother Maggie, known simply as Nannie, who prayed loudly and passionately every single night — calling out the names of her children and grandchildren with a faith that didn't die when she did.

Because of those two people and the way they led inside their homes, hundreds of people on one side of Darin's family alone are actively involved in ministry and following Jesus today.

Those prayers outlived them. That legacy is still growing.

This episode is for every parent who feels like what they're doing isn't enough. Every grandparent who wonders if their prayers are making a difference. Every guardian who is holding things together quietly and wondering if any of it matters.

It matters. More than you think or know. More than you'll ever fully see on this side of eternity.

In this episode,you'll walk away with:

• The story of how one simple prayer in the woods produced a legacy
• Why the most powerful leadership most of us will ever do happens in private — in the moments nobody applauds
• What faithful parenting actually looks like when the fruit isn't visible, and the feelings aren't cooperating
• One honest question to ask yourself before this week is over that will change the way you see your role

You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be faithful. This episode will remind you why that's enough.

If this episode speaks to you, share it with a parent or grandparent who needs to hear it today. And pick up a copy of Darin's book Parenting with Purpose — available for preorder at pentecostalpublishing.com

Order Battle the Beast Defeating the Lions that Oppose Your Destiny by clicking HERE!

Life doesn't always pause to ask if you're ready.

Over the last several months, the Sargent family has walked through one of those stretches where everything seems to shift at once — the loss of a mother-in-law, the loss of a beloved family pet, children moving in and back out again, and all the quiet grief and transition that comes with each of those things. The kind of season that doesn't make the highlight reel but absolutely shapes who you become.

In this episode, Darin gets honest about where he and his family have been — not to complain, not to perform, but because he believes someone listening right now is in their own version of a hard season and needs to know they're not alone.

This is a conversation about grief that doesn't resolve neatly. About transitions that cost more than you expected. About showing up for the people still in the room even when you're carrying something heavy. And about the truth that seasons are not interruptions to your life — they are your life. The question is never when this will end. The question is who you will be when it does.

You'll walk away with:

• A honest reframe of what grief is actually asking of you and your family
• Why transition seasons expose what you're really built on — and why that's a gift even when it doesn't feel like one
• The one decision that makes the difference in every hard season — and how to keep making it when it's hardest
• Why nothing you've walked through is wasted — and how your hardest seasons become your greatest credibility

If life has felt like a lot lately — this episode is for you.

New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who needs to hear it today.

Links mentioned:
Ryan Franklin - It Is What It Is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03lcKRzXMTg&t=2248s
Battle the Beast: Defeating the Lions that Oppose Your Destiny https://amzn.to/3NXBLoc

In this episode we talk about creating those moments that matter with our children.

Check out the YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/@darinsargentleadership.

Thanks for listening.

This episode is a tribute to not only my father but to fathers everywhere. Happy Father's Day!

Show your dad how much you love him by sending him this episode.

Make sure to watch the YouTube video of this episode at YouTube.com/@darinsargentleadership