Episode 327 - One Year Citylight KC Church Plant Progress with Jason Wilson and Eric Carpenter7/11/2019
What a great couple of guys, actually pastors, we got to talk with on this episode! Jason Wilson and Eric Carpenter are co-pastors of a new church plant in Kansas City MO, Citylight Kansas City! We spoke with these guys in 2018 on Episode 276, so check that episode out if you haven't listened to it yet.
Enjoy this episode, learn, think new thoughts, get fresh inspiration, etc! This episode is our gift to pastors, and we love sharing these gifts with you! Check out Citylight Kansas City right here! Share this episode with other pastors you think would benefit from it!
David Fitch, from Northern Seminary in Chicago, joins the guys to talk about how the church is finding its way in our current culture - a culture of ideological antagonisms - cultural conflicts. This episode is somewhat deep, but ultimately important because as pastors we must help our people to figure out how to follow Jesus in a culture that wants to divide us.
David has another podcast called "Theology on Mission" that we always encourage our listeners to subscribe to - because, it makes you think! Jonny and I believe that thinking is a great discipline and too often overlooked in ministry leadership circles. An interesting observation in this episode is that small churches are likely better able thank larger churches to navigate these issues in an irenic and constructive way. David is such a sharp guy - we LOVED talking with him and hope that you enjoy listening just as much! Below are a couple links to David's works... Awakenings Gathering 2019 (Special Discount until December 31!) Northern Seminary The Church of Us vs. Them: Freedom from a Faith That Feeds on Making Enemies Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines That Shape the Church for Mission
Jeremy Norton is the real deal! Straight from a small church, 200 miles north of Juneau AK, in the Yukon Territory of Canada, Jeremy talks about leading change, loving his leaders, and ordering his week! This is an awesome episode!
One Friday, on my (Jeff) day off, I was looking at recent iTunes reviews, and saw Jeremy's review of our podcast. So I thought, why don't I call this cat up?! I did, we had a great conversation, and I asked him to be on our podcast - and here it is! What we liked so much about Jeremy is just how real he was, sharing wins and losses, strengths and struggles. It's encouraging to know that small churches are being led by men and women with such conviction and transparency, and love for their people and for God. Jeremy is an example of just such a pastor. CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE FOR GREAT IDEAS If you want to see a good small church website, and a church making excellent use of social media, stop on by Whitehorse Baptist Church at www.whbc.ca and you can get some great pointers and ideas from what Jeremy's done. Thanks Jeremy for joining us, for inspiring small church pastors around the world, and for loving Jesus and his people! We hope that you, pastor, are personally encouraged by Jeremy's words, and also professionally challenged to make the most of the ministry God has blessed you with!
Do you partner in ministry with any other churches in town? If you do, how is it going? Is there unity, mission accomplishment, and neighborhood witness? If you are not partnering with other churches, why not? No time? Not interested? Bad histories? We always teach our people that there is one church in each community, but they meet in separate groups and buildings. But. Just. One. Church.
Pastor Zach Bauer, from Red Door Church in Sioux Falls, really believes this and partners with a number of other churches in the Sioux Falls SD area to accomplish bigger things for God, than any one of those churches could on their own. That's a good thing! There really is nothing like the feeling of Kingdom glory and satisfaction when you partner with another church to do something for God that is helpful and beneficial to others in your community! In today's episode, Zach, a small church pastor, tells how the partnering with others fuels his passion for his community, and helps him to achieve more with others than he ever could alone. Zach refers to Empower Sioux Falls, the partnership he has with other churches. At www.empowersiouxfalls.com you will find ideas, training, and resources to help you in your small church ministry leadership. At www.empowersiouxfalls.com you will find contact information for each of the church leaders involved. Feel free to call or email them! They are willing to encourage or equip you further as you lead your congregation in caring for the neighborhoods in your community. We hope you both enjoy and benefit from this episode with Pastor Zach! See you next Wednesday, because... if it's Wednesday, it's 200churches!
Valerie Bell is the CEO of AWANA Clubs International, a global Children's Ministry that reaches over 3 million kids each week. Valerie visited with Jeff and Jonny in person, in the opulent and luxurious 200churches Podcast studio and world headquarters way up in the northwest corner of Iowa!
Valerie has been involved in Christian ministry and radio for many decades, and her husband Steve is the Executive Vice President of the Willowcreek Association and the architect of the Global Leadership Summit. A member of Willowcreek Community Church, Valerie was nonetheless blown away by the grandeur of the 200churches Studio. :-) Jeff and Jonny were impacted by Valerie's heart and love for small churches and small church pastors. She shares how the backbone of AWANA is found in the small churches that dot the landscape. Small church input from the bottom up has influenced many advances and improvements in AWANA's curriculum and program. If you are not familiar with the AWANA Clubs program and materials, check them out at www.awana.org. If you want to know more about Willowcreek's Global Leadership Summit, then check it out too! More about Steve and Valerie Bell: STEVE and VALERIE BELL have been married and in ministry together for over 30 years. Steve is currently an executive vice-president of the Willow Creek Association. Valerie travels widely as a conference speaker, making frequent guest appearances on radio and television. Valerie is the author of A Well Tended Soul - Staying Beautiful for the Rest of Your Life, and co-author with her husband of Made to be Loved and Faith-Shaped Kids. Steve and Valerie live in Wheaton, Illinois; they have two grown sons.
From SmallChurchPastor.com, Dave "The Animal" Jacobs joins us to give great advice and pointers on how to make our meetings more effective. Board meetings, elder meetings, deacon meetings, leadership team meetings, etc. can all be better by implementing what we all share in episode 229.
This is not rocket science pastors! This is common sense that might, amazingly, elude us in the heat of the ministry moment. This is likely as practical as any of the episodes we've done, and you will enjoy the interplay and chemistry between the three of us. Dave shares some "do's" and "don'ts" regarding our preparation for, and leadership of our ministry meetings. Honestly, recording these episodes with such great and helpful people is more fun that you can imagine - and we are so thankful to be able to share them with you week after week! We are learning and growing with you. Enjoy episode 229 - and contact Dave if you need affordable and effective coaching from Dave, a coach to pastors, and a pastor himself for almost 30 years! Contact Dave at dave@smallchurchpastor.com. "Feminism calls women to be like men, but the Bible calls us to be like God!"
Jeff and Jonny met Carolyn Custis James at the Missio Alliance Awakenings Gathering in Alexandria VA. Carolyn is soft spoken, but carries huge content! She has written books like Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women, and Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World.
She is an author, thinker, teacher, and seminary president's wife. Carolyn thinks deeply about the role and mission of women in the Kingdom of God. She asks, "What is the Bible's message for women?" She thoughtfully answers that question both in her book and on this podcast with the guys. This conversation does not deal so much with the Egalitarian/Complementarian debate - but it is a call to action to mobilize women and girls in the church to look outward and say - How do I mobilize the Gospel to spread the Kingdom around the world? This is just one more of those head scratcher episodes that makes you think, and even question how you've viewed the church in regards to half of it... women! You'll enjoy Carolyn's kind and gentle nature, and her syrupy sweet affirmation of her husband in the outtakes! :-) Carolyn loves Frank!!
Kay Warren joins Jeff and Jonny to talk about mental illness and the church. How do we equip our churches to become mental-illness-literate congregations? Kay describes what her dream church would look like if she could snap her fingers and make it happen! In this episode there is a little humor and a lot of seriousness around this very sobering topic.
Let’s admit it, our churches should be the friendliest, most helpful, most encouraging spaces for people with mental illness. In this episode Kay will give you a plan to help your church arrive at just such a place! Pastor, there are people in your church who are suffering from mental illness, and they NEED your support, encouragement, prayer, and recognition. Kay will give you some very concrete and practical suggestions for doing these things. Below are the four books that Kay suggested that we as pastors buy, or pick up from the library, and read. We can dive into theological or ministry books ad nauseum, but Kay recommends these four as great primers on understanding people in our community and church who suffer with mental illness. You can follow all that Kay is doing as an advocate for mental health issues, HIV&AIDS, orphan care, and much more at www.kaywarren.com. Follow Kay on Twitter at @kaywarren1. Kay mentioned the following resources to help you as a pastor understand mental illness: Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church's Mission Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems
At one point or another, every pastor has run into the same problem: not enough volunteers! Maybe you're scrambling to find members for your worship team or teachers for Sunday school, but no matter what area you're trying to "staff," it can be difficult to find willing (and able!) people to help out.
On today's episode. we're joined by Zach Bauer, pastor of Red Door Church in Sioux Falls SD, and he shares his ideas for reimagining ministries throughout his small church and how he actually increased his volunteer base by changing the way his church approached their mission. For more with Zach, check out episodes 168, 173, and 180 where he talks about church planting, being bivocational, and working with volunteers in his small church. We also have a great episode with John Finkelde on "Keeping the Volunteer Pipeline Flowing" and the LEGENDARY Amplified Leadership series with Dan "the Animal" Reiland. We loved having Zach join us and we know you'll be as encouraged by this conversation as we were!
Race is one of the hottest of hot button issues in the world today, and when an issue is hot in the surrounding culture, it's usually hot in the church, too.
Some pastors will insist that we're living in a post-racial world. Others want us all to just be "colorblind.' Still others will have a vague notion of the idea of "racial reconciliation," but don't know what it entails beyond putting a few people of color on the platform and hoping for the best. We believe that our listeners are hard-working and thoughtful pastors and church leaders--but we also know what the topic of race and racism can be difficult for even the most conscientious individuals to navigate. There are real lives and real people involved, and even though we pastors might often have good intentions, our actions don't reflect those as well as we'd like. On today's podcast, we're joined by Jemar Tisby, president of the Reformed African American Network, Director of the African American Leadership Initiative at Reformed Theological Seminary, co-host of the Pass the Mic Podcast, and doctoral student living in the great state of Mississippi. Jemar brings some serious truth to today's episode and you are sure to be challenged by his words on race, reconciliation, and the work of the church. We were blown away by Jemar's willingness to be open with us and our listeners and so appreciate the wisdom he brings to the podcast. If you haven't already, we'd encourage you to check out the Reformed African American Network and check out more of Jemar's work over there. If you're hungry for more content on reconciliation and race, head all the way back toepisode 86 and listen to our incredible conversation with Christena Cleveland. If today's episode made you feel uncomfortable, we'd encourage you to sit with that for a bit and invite God into sorting out why. These are big and complex ideas and we both have listened multiple times to this conversation with Jemar seeking to understand and to grow in our knowledge. Our hope and prayer is that you would be blessed and challenged by this episode as much as we were and that we can all begin to think differently than we have before--allowing God to mold us into who He wants us to be and our churches into the congregations He intends them to be. |
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