Have you ever stopped to think about how much power a single word can have? I mean, really have?

I’m not just talking about changing someone’s afternoon—I’m talking about the power to shape the course of families, communities, and even entire nations.

What if I told you that concepts like “truth,” “freedom,” and “justice” are far more than spiritual talking points or academic ideas—they’re what my guest this week calls “load-bearing words.” These are the words that hold up the entire structure of our faith and our civilization.

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⚠️ WARNING: WORDS UNDER ATTACK
Here’s the sobering reality:

Our culture is actively redefining these words—hollowing them out and twisting them away from their biblical roots. And when those foundational meanings are lost, the results are culture-shattering.

You don’t have to look far to see the cracks forming:

• Confusion
• Chaos
• The death of hope and human flourishing

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👤 MEET MY GUEST: SCOTT ALLEN
On the latest episode of Christian Parent / Crazy World, I begin a powerful three-part series with Scott Allen, author of 10 Words to Heal Our Broken World: Restoring the Meaning of Our Most Important Words.

Scott is an expert on worldview and culture, and he’s spent decades working with communities entrenched in generational poverty.

His discovery? The most powerful solution he’s seen isn’t money or modern technology—it’s the restoration of biblical truth, one word at a time.

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🌾 ONE WORD THAT TRANSFORMED A VILLAGE
Scott shared a story that left me speechless:
An entire impoverished community was rescued from crippling poverty not by outside aid, but by rediscovering the biblical meaning of a single word: “dominion.”

When villagers understood dominion as God’s call to steward and cultivate creation, everything changed:

• Crop yields improved
• Infant mortality dropped
• Hope was restored

👉 That’s real-world transformation rooted in a single, God-given word.

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📜 TRUTH THAT BUILT CIVILIZATION
We dive deep into how these “load-bearing words” shaped Western civilization—not because God “loved” certain nations more, but because the biblical worldview unleashed a flourishing never seen before in human history.

From the Reformation to the printing press, the Bible introduced ideas like:

• Human dignity
• Individual rights
• Freedom and justice

But today, those very words are being drained of their true meaning.

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🧠 KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR PARENTS

📌 Words build (or destroy) cultures:
Redefine them, and you crumble the very foundations—whether in families, churches, or nations.
📌 Biblical concepts changed history:
Terms like freedom and mercy didn’t exist in pagan cultures. They came from Scripture—and sometimes new words had to be invented just to capture these brand-new ideas.
📌 True justice ≠ secular justice:
Scott unpacks how the word “justice” has been twisted—often to reflect Marxist or secular ideologies, even inside the church.
📌 Discipleship goes beyond salvation:
If our faith stops at “getting saved,” we’ve missed the mission. God’s plan includes shaping entire cultures through people who live His truth.
📌 You are passing on a worldview:
If we don’t teach our children the true meaning of these foundational words, the culture will teach them counterfeit definitions. And the stakes? Our kids’ faith and future.

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💧 THE WORD STILL SPEAKS
I was moved to tears reflecting on the power of the Word—Not just as an idea, but as a force that speaks life over our children, our families, and our calling as parents.

God didn’t create through snapping his fingers. He didn’t create by waving a magic wand. He created through the spoken word.

He called Himself “the Word” made flesh.
And He’s called us to be truth-bearers in our generation.

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📣 THIS IS OUR CALLING
Parents. Grandparents. Teachers. Leaders:
We must rebuild on the firm foundation of the original, biblical meaning of these world-changing words.

If we don’t, the culture will happily supply a substitute.

💥 If you’ve ever asked:

“Why does the world feel so shaky right now?” or “What can I actually do to push back?”
This episode is for you.

🎧 [Click here to listen to Episode 153 of Christian Parent / Crazy World

Join me for a conversation that could change the way you parent—
and the way you see the world.

Call to Action:
Parents, which “load bearing” word or biblical concept will you reinforce in your home this week? Share your story, start big conversations—and join us for the next episode as this essential conversation continues.

Guest Bio: Scott David Allen is an author and teacher on Christianity, culture, worldview, family, biblical justice, and poverty. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, including his bestselling Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice: An Urgent Appeal to Fellow Christians in a Time of Social Crisis. He serves as president of the international discipleship ministry Disciple Nations Alliance. Previously, he spent 19 years with the Christian poverty alleviation organization Food for the Hungry. His work has taken him across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, equipping Christian leaders to embrace and live out a biblical worldview in faithfulness to Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

10 Words to Heal Our Broken World: Restoring the Meaning of Our Most Important Words

Disciple Nations Alliance