Fatherhood Field Notes

Got a teenage son coming of age? Check out Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings - the program where Ned coaches dads and teen sons. Go to: riseupkings.com/ffn
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What if becoming a better father has less to do with learning more parenting techniques and more to do with becoming a man who is fully alive?
Zac Ernst is a husband of 22 years, father of two teenagers, entrepreneur, co-founder of ActivityPay, and founder of Pursuit, a men’s movement helping men come fully alive through community, fitness, spiritual formation, and adventure. Living in Seal Beach, California, Zac has built his life around one central conviction: the greatest adventure isn’t paddling to Catalina or riding bicycles down the California coast—it’s becoming the husband and father God created you to be.
In this conversation, Ned sits down with Zac Ernst to explore what it looks like to intentionally pursue God, your wife, your children, and your own formation as a man. From the opening minutes discussing dreams and how God still speaks today, the conversation quickly moves into entrepreneurship, margin, fatherhood, adventure, raising teenagers, discipling children, and the loneliness epidemic facing modern men.
Zac shares how building businesses wasn’t primarily about money—it was about creating enough freedom to be present at every game, school event, and important moment in his children’s lives. He explains the family values acronym “GraceFi,” why adventure slows time down with kids, and why fathers should become students of their children’s hearts instead of trying to make them into younger versions of themselves.
One of the most powerful moments comes when Zac explains the transition every Christian parent eventually faces: moving from telling children about Jesus to revealing Jesus through a life of answered prayer, faithful obedience, and authentic dependence on God.
The conversation concludes with Zac sharing the heart behind Pursuit—a nationwide movement helping men fight isolation through community, physical challenge, spiritual growth, and honest relationships.
This episode is packed with practical wisdom for fathers who want to raise resilient kids, build intentional families, and become the kind of men whose lives point people toward Jesus.
5 Questions This Episode Answers
How do fathers build deeper relationships with teenage children?
How do I help my kids develop their own faith instead of simply borrowing mine?
What should fathers do when their kids don’t enjoy the same interests they do?
How can entrepreneurship create more freedom for family life?
How do Christian men build authentic friendships with other men?

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Check out Zac's Christian men's fitness and fellowship program Pursuit:
www.joinpursuit.co
Join a nationwide 90-Day Challenge with Pursuit in August 2026 - or anytime!
Pursuit 90 Day Challenge
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The Dream Journal App
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Check Out the Program Talked About: Genesis by Rise Up Kings
This episode is sponsored by Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings
Order The Adventure of Fatherhood children's book here
Check out the TEDx

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Want to learn more about The Adventure of Fatherhood?
www.adventureoffatherhood.com
www.rebelandcreate.com

Each week Ned sits down with a dad and asks him to open up his field notes and share with other men who find themselves on the Adventure of Fatherhood. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Follow us:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fatherhoodfieldnotes
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Fatherhoodfieldnotes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebelandcreate

Mentioned in this episode:
Rise Up Kings Genesis

Bam Marshall is the host of The Wild Chaos Podcast, an entrepreneur, husband, father, a US Marines veteran and leader of the BAM Nation men’s community. He is intense, funny, blunt, protective, and deeply tender toward his wife and daughters. In this conversation, Bam brings a no-BS message to fathers:
your kids do not just need to know you love them — they need to trust you.
They need to know they can call you, or drop a pin in a text, and trust you'll show up to save them - no questions asked. Or be able to confess what is really going on, and not be met by ego, rage, or a lecture before they are heard.
This is a raw, passionate episode that touches on: girl dad fatherhood, trust, faith, homeschooling, playfulness, college alternatives, military skepticism, protecting your family, breaking generational chains, and refusing to become the grumpy old a-hole who nobody wants to visit.
Key Takeaways
Trust is the real currency.
A child who knows dad loves them may still hide from him. A child who trusts dad will call when it matters.
Your wife may see what you refuse to see.
Bam’s wife called him out, and instead of dismissing her, he eventually let that confrontation make him better.
Listening is not the same as hearing.
Bam learned to ask, “Do you want my opinion or do you want my ears?” That changed his relationship with his daughters.
Break the chain.
Bad fathering, trauma, addiction, rage, and neglect are real. They are not excuses to become the same man.
Presence beats presents.
Your kids do not need a dad who buys more stuff but is emotionally unavailable. They need your time, attention, and nervous system in the room.
Fatherhood does not expire.
Turning 18 does not mean your kids stop needing you. The relationship should shift, not disappear.
5 Questions This Episode Answers
How do I become the dad my daughter will call when she is in trouble?
How can fathers build trust instead of just demanding obedience?
What does it look like to break generational patterns instead of blaming your past?
How should dads think about college, trades, entrepreneurship, and alternative paths after high school?
How do fathers build self-worth and faith into their kids before the world gets to them?

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Check Out the Program Talked About: Genesis by Rise Up Kings
This episode is sponsored by Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings
Order The Adventure of Fatherhood children's book here
Check out the TEDx

----------
Want to learn more about The Adventure of Fatherhood?
www.adventureoffatherhood.com
www.rebelandcreate.com

Each week Ned sits down with a dad and asks him to open up his field notes and share with other men who find themselves on the Adventure of Fatherhood. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Follow us:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fatherhoodfieldnotes
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Fatherhoodfieldnotes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebelandcreate

William Brinker is an entrepreneur, husband, father of three, and business leader connected to The Landfill Group and Enerdyne Power Systems, companies working in the landfill gas-to-energy space. In this conversation, William shares how his family history, entrepreneurial upbringing, faith journey, marriage, fatherhood, and stewardship of land have shaped the way he thinks about legacy. He also talks about his work turning landfill methane into usable energy, his outdoor hospitality businesses, and the deeper realization that the things he once chased were never as valuable as the family, faith, and relationships he already had.
This episode is a rich conversation about fatherhood, family legacy, marriage, entrepreneurship, faith, and the importance of stewarding what has been entrusted to you. Ned and William begin with the normal aches and humility of being in their early forties, but the conversation quickly turns toward deeper themes: choosing your wife daily, learning to control emotional hijacks, setting expectations for children, and leading from faith rather than finance.
William tells the story of growing up as one of six kids in a tight-knit family where resources were limited but work ethic, discipline, faith, and family connection were strong. That upbringing shaped him into an entrepreneur who now helps lead multiple businesses, including The Landfill Group and Enerdyne Power Systems, where landfill gas is captured and used as an energy source.
The heart of the episode centers on legacy. William describes his family farm in North Carolina, protected through a conservation trust so that future generations can continue to use it, hunt it, walk it, and carry the family story forward. Ned reflects on the power of having a “homeland” and a shared place where family memories are rooted. The conversation becomes a vision-casting moment for fathers: don’t just think about getting your kids to 18; think about what kind of family culture, land, story, faith, and relationships might exist when your children are 42.
5 Questions This Episode Answers
How can fathers build a family legacy that lasts beyond one generation?
What does it look like to teach kids stewardship, work ethic, and financial wisdom without spoiling them?
How can a man reprioritize faith, family, fitness, and finance when he realizes his life is out of order?
Why does land, place, or a “family homeland” matter in building family identity?
How can fathers lead their kids spiritually without forcing faith in a way that feels hollow or performative?

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Check Out the Program Talked About: Genesis by Rise Up Kings
This episode is sponsored by Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings
Order The Adventure of Fatherhood children's book here
Check out the TEDx

----------
Want to learn more about The Adventure of Fatherhood?
www.adventureoffatherhood.com
www.rebelandcreate.com

Each week Ned sits down with a dad and asks him to open up his field notes and share with other men who find themselves on the Adventure of Fatherhood. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Follow us:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fatherhoodfieldnotes
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Fatherhoodfieldnotes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebelandcreate

Mentioned in this episode:
Rise Up Kings Genesis

In this short Friday episode of The Craft of Fatherhood, Ned reflects on finishing his son Brody’s junior year of homeschool and what the experience taught him about a father’s role in noticing, guiding, correcting, and affirming his son. The episode is not primarily about homeschooling; it is about proximity. Ned uses the end-of-year moment—reading Brody a letter on the back porch with Sarah present—as a picture of what it means for a father to be close enough to his son’s life to see growth, name character, recognize effort, and speak life into him.
The core message is that fathers should not outsource their influence entirely to teachers, coaches, youth pastors, schools, or programs. Those supports can be valuable, but they cannot replace a father’s words, attention, and presence. Ned challenges fathers to find practical ways to stay close to their sons’ work, development, struggles, and character formation so they can offer meaningful affirmation and direction.
Mentioned in this episode:
Rise Up Kings Genesis

For nearly a decade, Mike Foster has been helping people become stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. As the owner of CrossFit 1776 in Loomis, California, and founder of the Resolute Life Foundation, Mike’s mission is bigger than fitness—it’s about freedom.
But before CrossFit became his ministry, Mike was fighting a different battle.
Alcohol had become his coping mechanism. He was physically present for his son, but mentally absent. Everything changed ten years ago when sobriety forced him to confront the man he had become—and challenged him to become the father his children deserved.
In this deeply authentic conversation, Mike and Ned discuss addiction, recovery, CrossFit, parenting teenagers, raising resilient kids, and the life-changing difference between simply being around your children and truly being present with them.
Mike shares how sobriety transformed every area of his life, including one unforgettable moment when he realized his son wasn’t upset about losing a video game—he was carrying wounds that needed a father who could finally slow down long enough to listen.
The conversation explores:
Why freedom—not fitness—is the real mission behind CrossFit 1776.
How suffering builds connection between fathers and children.
The hidden cost of coping mechanisms.
Why reacting less helps fathers hear more.
Raising teenagers through trust instead of control.
What it means to become the kind of man your daughter hopes to marry.
Breaking generational patterns while honoring your parents.
How physical training develops emotional resilience.
Why showing up mentally matters more than simply showing up physically.

Mike also shares one of the most practical parenting ideas of the episode: instead of confronting his teenage son immediately after discovering drug use, he took him on a two-and-a-half-mile run before talking. The shared suffering opened a conversation that punishment alone never could have accomplished.
Whether you’re battling addiction, trying to become more present with your family, raising teenagers, or simply wondering how to lead your children through life’s hardest moments, this episode offers hope, wisdom, and practical fatherhood.
🔎 Top Questions This Episode Answers
How can a father become emotionally present after overcoming addiction?
What’s the best way to respond when your teenager makes a serious mistake?
How can CrossFit and fitness help men recover from addiction and rebuild their lives?
How do fathers earn deeper trust with teenage sons and daughters?
What does it really mean to become the father your children deserve?

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Check Out Mike and Crossfit 1776 at:
https://www.crossfit1776.com

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Check Out the Program Talked About: Genesis by Rise Up Kings
This episode is sponsored by Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings
Order The Adventure of Fatherhood children's book here
Check out the TEDx

----------
Want to learn more about The Adventure of Fatherhood?
www.adventureoffatherhood.com
www.rebelandcreate.com

Each week Ned sits down with a dad and asks him to open up his field notes and share with other men who find themselves on the Adventure of Fatherhood. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Follow us:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/fatherhoodfieldnotes
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Fatherhoodfieldnotes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebelandcreate