Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
On The Rise: Marriage is bouncing back. + Deepfakes and analog life
Published 12 days ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.
Today, it’s not all bad news. Statistics on marriage show that marriage and family are making a comeback. That’s great! 😀
Also, 50 ways to enjoy some analog moments and pull yourself away from the screen you’re on right now, how to spot a deepfake, and what’s at stake in the coming wave of AI.
Marriage is Making a Comeback
The divorce rate has fallen by 40% since the 1980s.
Good news is hard to find, especially when it comes to the family.
Reports of marriage’s demise are exaggerated. Rather quietly, the post-’60s family revolution appears to have ended. Divorce is down and the share of children in two-parent families is up. Marriage as a social institution is showing new strength—even among groups that drifted away from the institution in the 20th century...
Even the percentage of kids growing up in married, two-parent homes has rebounded a little from hitting an all-time low in 2015. And that’s a good thing. Children raised in two-parent homes are much more likely to graduate from college than those raised in other families, and less likely to be incarcerated.
For sure, family is different than it was a generation or two ago, but the freefall appears to be over and the trend lines are bouncing back in favor of saying I do for life.
Preaching “Hot Seat” (Ask-Us-Anything)
Join the call THIS Tuesday!
On Tuesday, Mark Clark (Senior Pastor at Bayside Church) and I are taking the “hot seat” to answer your toughest questions about preaching
No fluff. No scripts. And no questions are off the table.
Just two preachers sharing what we’ve learned (the hard way), trying to help you preach with clarity, confidence, and impact.
So, bring your questions, and we’ll dive in together.
If you’ve ever felt stuck, unsure, or just plain tired in your preaching… this one’s for you.
If you’re like me, you have to fight phone addiction. I know this is an issue. I write about limits. And yet the digital life sucks me in again and again.
From using cookbooks rather than TikTok to make dinner, to watching a sunset, to getting a film camera or sending a handwritten letter, these ideas will help you remember what you forgot you once enjoyed, or (if you’re of a certain age) introduce you to some awesome ways to spend time.
So once you finish reading this newsletter, you know how to unplug.
A Text Message You'll Actually Love to Get
Save time. Stay sharp. Lead with confidence.
Imagine a short, weekly newsfeed made just for ministry leaders— where you learn about important research, AI developments, and trending perspectives...
Delivered in short, weekly texts to your phone.
Welcome to the Gloo Feed.
We filter out the noise and deliver only the best research, news, and resources every leader should know.
Save time. Stay sharp. Lead with confidence.
Texts we’ll send:
Monthly research releases from Barna & Gloo
Interactive polls showing live results around the nation
I’m spending a lot of time learning about and working on AI this year, and Deepmind and Inflection AI founder Mustafa Sulyeman’s book is an excellent, accessible overview not just to AI, but to what AI means, and will mean to the world.
Almost nobody’s ready for what’s ahead in the next few years. This book will open your eyes to what’s coming.
Speaking of AI, I shared a version of this exercise a while back in an earlier edition of On the Rise. I was decent at detecting deepfake AI images back in the day. But AI has gotten smarter, and my intelligence kind of leveled out a while back.
Dan Heath, author of Made to Stick, The Power of Moments, and other seminal leadership books, talks about the six surprising traits of sticky sermons, how to design church experiences people never forget, why focusing on the problem is the wrong approach to leadership, what he's learned from Chick-fil-A, and getting people to change.
Leadership Is Better Shared. Invite Your Friends!
Know someone who would benefit from The Art of Leadership Academy? Invite them to join by visiting your Invitation Hub.
Carey Nieuwhof Communications, PO Box 160, Oro Medonte, Ontario L0L 2X0
Carey Nieuwhof
Where 100,000+ leaders get top insights to thrive in life and leadership.
Don’t settle for an impact smaller than you’re called to make. It's time to unlock your potential and lead confidently into a future filled with growth — for yourself, your church, and your mission. Get access to some of my best leadership content, only published in my newsletters.
