I (Jonny) remember sitting in my friend's dorm room, eating pop-tarts (he LOVED pop-tarts) and talking about the future. I was in law school at the time and I was FOR SURE cutting class to talk to a friend who was still an undergrad, but something was wrong and I had to figure it out.
And then I realized: I wasn't meant to be a lawyer. And once I knew that, there was no going back and pretending I didn't. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew it wasn't THAT. Today on the podcast, we talk to Brian Zahnd about his own "moment of no return" and how he knew that it was time to change... even if that meant losing the "status" of a mega-and-growing church. Brian speaks plainly and openly about his journey and provides encouragement to pastors who are on journeys of their own. If you enjoyed our conversation with Brian, check him out on Scot McKnight's "Kingdom Roots" podcast as well or follow him on Twitter or find his book, "Water to Wine" on Amazon. Brian has an amazing story and even if you disagree with him on some points, we know that you will grow in your own faith by wrestling with what he shares on our podcast and in his writings. Brian Zahnd is the pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, MO. He is the author of A Farewell to Mars: An Evangelical Pastor's Journey Toward the Biblical Gospel of Peace, and Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure and Mystery of Christianity Until next week, God bless you as you lead your 200church! A great message by Brian...
Recently, I (Jonny) purchased some new insurance (auto, home, life, the works) and as painful as the whole process was--literally, there were needles involved--at the end I had a little peace of mind. In case of something bad happening, I"m covered and ready to go!
Now, imagine if instead of paying for insurance to cover some particular eventualities like my house burning down, my insurance man had told me that instead of insurance, when I signed up with him my home could actually be relocated to a brand new community. A community where people baked pies for each other and took care of each other and where I'd be taken care of completely. I think I'd take the second option. Today we're talking to Ray Hollenbach on the podcast about what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God. As small church pastors, we can peddle a "fire-insurance" view of salvation, or we can invite people into the adventure of living as though God's Kingdom really has come down to earth. In his winsome manner, Ray outlines how our ministries and lives can be impacted by that truth and gives helpful advice for how to introduce others to that reality as well. If you're looking for more content about how the Kingdom of God affects our lives, check out Scot McKnight's book "Kingdom Conspiracy" and listen toSeason 2, Episode 7 of the Theology on Mission Podcast with our friend David Fitch. To hear more Ray Hollenbach, we would encourage you to go back and listen to episode 195 where he gets a fuller introduction and don't forget to grab your copy of Ray's Christmas devotional for FREE! We hope you have a great week living and loving in the Kingdom of God! Jonny (and Jeff)
This is an amazing conversation with NT scholar N.T. Wright, author of Surprised By Hope, The Day the Revolution Began, and dozens of other theological works. Tom Wright speaks at length on pastoral ministry in the small church - huge encouragement!
He also talks about NTWrightOnline.org. There is a special offer for you as a 200churches Podcast listener at NTWrightOnline.org/200churches.
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