On The Line Dr. Scott Keith: Recovering the Christian Family
Mar 19, 2026
Dr. Scott Keith, Executive Director of 1517 and author on Lutheran family life, reflects on raising children in the faith. He discusses baptism and church rhythms as primary forming practices. He explores work, marriage, vocation, cultural pressures against having children, male mentoring, and practical family habits like worship, discipline, and intergenerational support.
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No Wetsuit Nearly Ruined Nationals Qualification
- Dr. Scott Keith recounts an Xterra triathlon where leaving his wetsuit at the hotel ruined his swim start, but he recovered to finish strong and qualify for nationals.
- He started two-thirds back after the swim, passed many on the uphill bike climb, and still placed second in his age group.
Big Families Work By Practical Economies
- Large families create different social dynamics and practical economies (hand-me-downs, shared rooms) that make parenting more feasible than cultural assumptions suggest.
- Dr. Scott Keith explains his son Caleb's five kids manage with shared rooms and reused clothes, countering the 'can't afford' objection.
Fewer Babies Are A Church Problem Not Just A Statistic
- The church has long relied on births and baptisms to sustain membership, so falling birth rates pose an institutional crisis, not merely a demographic fact.
- Dr. Scott Keith links secular priorities (career, money) to declining birth rates and warns churches that not naming marriage/children as priorities causes the drift.