Why are Gen Z and young men coming back to church? Pastor Ray Clark leads a young adult ministry in Houston where about 1,400 people show up on a Tuesday night, and he has a few ideas.

Ben Spell sits down with his friend of 14 years, Pastor Ray Clark. Ray grew up between two homes and lost his first spiritual mentor at 12. At 16 he started going to church to get closer to a girl, and he found Jesus there. He turned down a baseball scholarship and later moved to Houston with no job. His first church role was pressure washing sidewalks and fixing the septic tank.

They talk about why a generation that was told it could have anything is now looking for truth and structure, why the church became one of the only places telling men it's okay to be a man, and the difference between what's sinful and what's just common. Ray also talks about raising a son with Down's syndrome, and Ben explains why Good Ranchers is about more than "just shipping meat in boxes."

If you're a parent, a spouse, or someone still looking for where you belong, this one's for you.

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THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOOD RANCHERS
American meat for American families, raised the way it should be.

Ben said it in this episode: empty tables are for interrogations and interviews. The table is where life happens. Fill yours with beef, chicken, pork and wild-caught seafood from American ranchers, delivered to your door.

GoodRanchers.com

Bring Good to the Table.
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FOLLOW RAY
Instagram: @rayanthonyclark

CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome, Pastor Ray Clark
2:39 A 21st birthday and 14 years of friendship
5:35 Born in Brooklyn, raised on baseball in Tampa
8:38 Growing up between two homes
11:26 A first taste of church at 12
16:00 Going to church for a girl
19:03 Why everyone needs a spiritual family
22:02 Why food brings people together
28:11 From pressure washing to youth pastor
31:17 Showing up beats talent
33:41 What's driving Gen Z back to church
35:08 Why men are returning to church
37:28 Holy vs. common
45:42 The goal: marriage, family, legacy
51:32 Raising a son with Down syndrome
53:49 What "raised right" means
55:26 Discipline and love as a dad
58:01 Rapid fire
1:03:37 Best marriage advice
1:05:54 Closing

#RaisedRight #ChristianPodcast #GenZ #FaithAndFamily #GoodRanchers

Julie Friedman's daughter was almost three and barely speaking when a behavioral psychologist suggested sensory play. Store-bought dough didn't work, so Julie made her own in her kitchen. Ten years, six warehouse moves, and a lot of sold-out Tuesday nights later, Young, Wild & Friedman is on Target shelves.

On this episode of Raised Right with the Spells, Corley sits down with her friend Julie, a Houston mom of four, to talk about building a business with babies at home, why her kits still cost $39 ten years later, and how she's raising kids in a world full of screens. They get into screen-free schools, waiting until 8th grade for phones, food dyes and behavior, why it isn't your job to entertain your kids all day, and why Julie thinks gentle parenting is overrated.

Plus: how Good Ranchers was supposed to be a temporary way to fund a church, and the day Ben realized the business was the ministry.

IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Welcome to Raised Right
01:03 Her daughter wasn't speaking. Here's what helped.
04:13 The $39 kit that's still $39
05:01 Buying out every IKEA in Texas
12:28 60 kits, sold out in 30 minutes
15:24 Building a business while having babies
17:12 Raising kids who know they can create a job
21:37 Raising kids in a world full of screens
27:05 Moms as gatekeepers: screens, food dyes, and what we allow
30:11 Do you have to entertain your kids all day?
31:25 How Julie defines success now
33:46 "This is the ministry right now"
35:41 No business degree? Start anyway.
38:27 Rapid fire: gentle parenting, mom guilt, and more

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Good Ranchers: American meat for American families, raised the way it should be. Beef, chicken, pork and wild-caught seafood from American ranchers, delivered to your door. Bring Good to your Table.

FOLLOW JULIE
Young, Wild & Friedman: youngwildandfriedman.com
Instagram: instagram.com/youngwildandfriedman

#RaisedRight #ScreenFreeKids #MomEntrepreneur

Dr. Daniel Pompa's labs came back normal. The head of toxicology told him he was healthier than the doctor. It took three more years to find the real problem: mercury.

On this episode of Raised Right with the Spells, Ben and Corley Spell sit down with Dr. Daniel Pompa, author of The Cellular Healing Diet and Beyond Fasting, and his wife Merilee for an honest, unpolished conversation about health, faith, marriage and raising five kids.

In this episode:
- How Dr. Pompa went from agnostic to believer by reading the Gospel of John
- The health crisis that began in 1999, and why he believes his silver fillings triggered it
- Why he calls five days the fasting "sweet spot," and what autophagy does in your body
- Fasting for spiritual breakthroughs, not just physical ones
- Going from two kids to five in six weeks after a family tragedy
- "Pain, purpose and a promise," the family mantra that carried them through
- Why their kids skipped college to start businesses
- Rapid fire: the most overrated wellness trend, the fasting myth he'd retire, and gentle parenting

Plus: the AI-written bio that got his entire childhood wrong, and a wedding-night story that's never been told on a podcast before.

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOOD RANCHERS
American meat for American families, raised the way it should be. GoodRanchers.com
Bring Good to the Table.

CONNECT WITH DR. POMPA
Website: https://pompaprogram.com/
Books: The Cellular Healing Diet | Beyond Fasting

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Valter Longo's fasting research
Dr. Thomas Seyfried's work on ketones and cancer metabolism
And David Perceived He Was King by Dale Mast
More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
Streams in the Desert

CHAPTERS
00:00 The AI bio that got everything wrong
02:56 Pain, purpose and a promise
04:42 From agnostic to believer
13:18 The wedding night story
16:21 Growing up on real food
20:13 A childhood without antibiotics
22:09 Fasting for spiritual breakthrough
24:16 The 121-day water fast
24:46 Why 5 days is the fasting sweet spot
28:29 Dr. Pompa's health crisis
30:25 The Mad Hatter clue
32:17 Mercury, silver fillings and toxins
37:07 Two kids to five in six weeks
39:09 Putting healing on the altar
46:37 Mindset: optimists vs. worst-case thinkers
51:25 Identity, faith and David
58:02 What they hope to pass down
59:24 Why their kids skipped college
01:03:23 Trick-or-treating and Red 40
01:04:00 Rapid fire

This episode is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Talk with your healthcare provider before starting a fast or changing your health routine.

#RaisedRight #DrPompa #Fasting