What kind of world have our sons inherited—and how different is it from the one their fathers and grandfathers knew? In Part 1 of Saving the Sons of Missouri, Rev. David Ramirez lays out the situation. Before offering solutions, he insists on telling the truth about how radically the religious, cultural, economic, and familial landscape of America—and the Missouri Synod within it—has changed in just a few generations. Drawing on historical data, generational comparisons, and lived experience, this episode traces the shift from a broadly Christian culture to a post-Christian—and increasingly anti-Christian—one. Listeners are walked through the realities faced by those born in 1960, 1980, and 2000, highlighting how changes in church life, worship, catechesis, male and female roles, family structure, and public morality have compounded over time. What once could be assumed now must be taught—and often defended. Rev. Ramirez also explores the wider civil and economic pressures shaping young men today: declining trust, fractured national identity, collapsing pathways to stable family life, and unprecedented generational economic decline. The result is a cohort of young men who are often angry, restless, and searching—not because they are uniquely rebellious, but because the world handed to them is profoundly disordered. This sets the table. The hard questions are named. Only then can faithful and wise responses follow. Tell the Good News about Jesus Convocation (2025) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAL2mMQkURReJEKYKZtJlMhjZth7bWFAt The Great Awokening https://www.gottesdienst.org/podcast/2022/3/2/tgc-172-the-great-awokening?rq=great%20awokening Aaron Renn's Negative World https://firstthings.com/the-three-worlds-of-evangelicalism/ ----more---- Host: Fr. Jason Braaten Regular Guest: Fr. David Ramirez ----more---- Become a Patron! You can subscribe to the Journal here: https://www.gottesdienst.org/subscribe/ You can read the Gottesblog here: https://www.gottesdienst.org/gottesblog/ You can support Gottesdienst here: https://www.gottesdienst.org/make-a-donation/ As always, we, at The Gottesdienst Crowd, would be honored if you would Subscribe, Rate, and Review. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support.
