Podcasts about churches

Emily Pilbeam presents a mixtape of her personal selection of tracks from BBC Introducing, including Bonuru, Treks, OneDa, comfort, holybones, Another; Country $$$$, Aimée Fatale, Vehicle, Shaking Hand, Heidi Curtis, crush velvet, Tallulah Argue, Dead Dads Club, Ella More, Book of Churches and a new Track Of The Week from The Itch.Produced in Manchester by BBC Audio for BBC Radio 6 Music.

In Gratitude for Churches Raised

A growing hunger among young men is impossible to ignore, and many are filling it with voices that pull them away from Christ. Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar discuss the rise of secular influencers who offer fragments of truth about purpose and masculinity while remaining disconnected from God. The guys explain that while certain traits may be admirable, any worldview apart from Christ ultimately speaks from a fallen perspective. Young men are searching for meaning, and when that hunger is not met with the gospel, they will consume whatever is offered. Ears are always listening, and if the church does not disciple intentionally, other voices will gladly step in.The conversation turns to why this hunger exists in the first place. The guys point out that men have been steadily degraded and stripped of purpose, creating a vacuum that influencers rush to fill. At the same time, the church has often been content with shallow engagement. Cultural Christianity, political alignment, and surface-level conservatism are not substitutes for regeneration. Once someone has truly encountered Christ, there is nowhere else to go, yet many young men have never been shown the depth, authority, and beauty of Scripture. The masculinity they long for is not found in strength or dominance, but in the life and character of Christ.They then address how believers are called to respond. The guys emphasize that the answer is the gospel lived boldly and relationally. Discipleship requires presence, courage, and a willingness to speak into the lives God has providentially placed nearby. Churches cannot celebrate attendance alone but must labor for transformation. This includes engaging young men directly, intentionally investing in children, and recognizing that small moments of care and attention can leave lasting spiritual impressions. Influence is not limited to platforms; it is multiplied by faithfulness.Finally, the guys focus on the role of discipleship in the home and the church. Fatherlessness, whether physical or emotional, has left many young men without guidance, discipline, or example. The gospel restores order, purpose, and authority, calling men to repentance, leadership, and sacrificial love. Family devotion and sound teaching become foundations for generational change. Discipleship is framed as a mutual exchange of exhortation and growth, rooted in Scripture and oriented toward glorifying God. The episode closes with a call for men to lead with conviction, to invest deeply in the next generation, and to anchor identity and purpose in Christ alone.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you've been helped by this podcast, we'd be grateful if you'd consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

Roads across the Mid-South are still a complete mess. Schools are closed. Churches are closed. Many small businesses are closed - all because of 4 inches of snow. Did the storm cripple the Mid-South or was it bad leadership and planning? We discuss this morning. Call Todd with your thoughts at 901-260-5926.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leading Into 2026: Executive Pastor Insights Momentum is real. So is the pressure. This free report draws from the largest dedicated survey of Executive Pastors ever, revealing what leaders are actually facing as they prepare for 2026. Why staff health is the #1 pressure point Where churches feel hopeful — and stretched thin What worked in 2025 and is worth repeating Clear decision filters for the year ahead Download the Full Report Free PDF • Built for Executive Pastors • Instant access Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We’re wrapping up our conversations with executive pastors from prevailing churches to unpack what leaders like you shared in the National Executive Pastor Survey. Today we're joined by Shayla McCormick, executive leader at Coastal Community Church in Florida. Coastal is a rapidly growing multisite church with three locations, consistently ranking among the fastest-growing churches in the country. Shayla serves alongside her husband and brings deep operational insight shaped by leading a large church with a remarkably lean staff. In this conversation, Shayla helps unpack one of the most pressing themes from the survey: how churches hire—and why so many find themselves hiring the same roles over and over again. She challenges leaders to rethink staffing through the lens of multiplication rather than pressure relief. Why churches keep hiring the same roles. // According to the survey, churches continue to prioritize familiar roles—especially NextGen and support positions—even as ministry contexts change. Shayla believes this pattern often comes from reactive hiring. When attendance grows, volunteers feel stretched, systems strain, and leaders feel pain. The quickest solution is to hire someone to relieve pressure. But Shayla cautions that hiring to relieve pain is different from hiring to build capacity. When churches skip the discernment step—asking what this season truly requires—they repeat the same staffing patterns without addressing root issues. Relieving pressure vs. building capacity. // Shayla draws a sharp distinction between doers and equippers. Doers add short-term relief by completing tasks, while equippers multiply long-term impact by developing others. Coastal intentionally prioritizes hiring equippers—even when that means living with short-term discomfort. Her leadership philosophy flows directly from Ephesians 4 – the role of leaders is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. The courage to make the “big ask.” // Shayla challenges the assumption that busy or successful people won't serve. Too often, leaders say no for people before ever asking. At Coastal, high-capacity professionals—business owners, executives, retirees—serve in everything from parking to finance. The key is matching people's gifts with meaningful responsibility and inviting them with confidence. A radically lean staff model. // Coastal averages around 5,000 in weekly attendance with just 25 staff members, an unusually low ratio. This isn't accidental—it's strategic. Shayla explains that Coastal has built a high-capacity volunteer culture where unpaid leaders carry real responsibility. Staff members exist to equip and empower those leaders. This approach requires more upfront investment in training and coaching, but it produces sustainable growth without constant hiring. The risk of overstaffing. // Overstaffing creates more than financial strain. Shayla warns that it can lead to lazy culture, misaligned expectations, and long-term instability. Churches that staff heavily during growth seasons often face painful decisions when momentum slows. Without a strong culture of equipping, ministries become staff-dependent rather than leader-driven. Shayla encourages leaders to steward today with foresight—preparing for future seasons, not just current demand. When hiring is the right move. // While Coastal resists reactive hiring, Shayla is clear that hiring still matters. For example, Coastal recently decided to add staff in Kids Ministry—not because volunteers were failing, but because the kids pastor needed freedom to focus on strategy, family connection, and leader development. The new role removes task-based pressure while also serving as a developmental pipeline for future campus launches. The goal isn't to replace volunteers—it's to free equippers to multiply more leaders. Mission over position. // As Coastal grows, Shayla emphasizes a culture of mission over position. Roles evolve as the church evolves. Using metaphors like scaffolding and rotating tires, she reminds leaders that some roles exist for a season—and that rotation is necessary for long-term health. Leaders regularly ask: Who are you developing? Who's next? This mindset ensures the church can grow without being dependent on specific individuals. Starting points for stretched teams. // For leaders feeling perpetually tired despite added staff, Shayla offers simple coaching: eliminate work God never asked you to do, clarify expectations, and require every leader to develop others. Growth doesn't come from adding people—it comes from multiplying leaders. To learn more about Coastal Community Church, visit coastalcommunity.tv or follow @coastalchurch on Instagram. You can also connect with Shayla at @shaylamccormick. Watch the full episode below: Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: TouchPoint As your church reaches more people, one of the biggest challenges is making sure no one slips through the cracks along the way.TouchPoint Church Management Software is an all-in-one ecosystem built for churches that want to elevate discipleship by providing clear data, strong engagement tools, and dependable workflows that scale as you grow. TouchPoint is trusted by some of the fastest-growing and largest churches in the country because it helps teams stay aligned, understand who they're reaching, and make confident ministry decisions week after week. If you've been wondering whether your current system can carry your next season of growth, it may be time to explore what TouchPoint can do for you. You can evaluate TouchPoint during a free, no-pressure one-hour demo at TouchPointSoftware.com/demo. Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. So glad that you have decided to tune in. We are in the middle of these special episodes—I’ve been loving these—around really responding to your survey. We did a National Executive Pastor Survey. It’s the largest survey I can say that I’m aware of, of this, where we get out and talk to executive pastors across the country and really ask them, how’s it going in their church? What are they feeling? What are they learning? To really take a litmus test of where things are at. Rich Birch — And then what we’re doing is pulling in some incredible… leaders to help you wrestle through with some of the findings. And I’m excited, privileged, really, to have Shayla McCormick with us today. She’s with an incredible church called Coastal Community Church, a multi-site church with, if I’m counting correctly, three locations in Florida. It started in September 2009, not that long ago, and they’ve repeatedly been one of the fastest growing churches in the country. She serves with her husband at this church, and this is an incredible church. You should be following along with Shayla and with the church. Welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Shayla McCormick — Thank you so much, Rich. I’m glad to be back and excited just to, you know, share with everybody just some insights and things that that I’ve learned along the way too.Rich Birch — Nice. This is yeah super fun to have you on again. And you should go back and listen to back episode that Shayla was on was one of our best of last year. Super helpful. So you’re going to want to lean in on that.Rich Birch — Now, when I saw some of the results from the survey, friends, I’m letting you behind the curtain. We looked at a couple different you know things and I sent them out to these friends and I said, hey, you pick whichever one you want. And I was really hoping that you would pick this one because I really think that you’ve got just so much to offer to this. So let’s, I’m going to unpack this a little bit. Shayla McCormick — Yeah.Rich Birch — So one of the questions we asked was, ah you know, there’s all these different roles that people are hiring. And for years, in fact, I actually thought about maybe not doing this question this year, because basically the order is pretty similar that people come back every year. But what we’ve seen from 2023 to 2024 is that particularly support roles, this idea of support roles that churches are out looking for those has grown significantly, 12 percentage points in those three years. Other roles like NextGen remain consistently at the top. You know, Outreach ranks the lowest at like 9 to 12 percent, which breaks my heart as a former outreach pastor. I was like, ah, people are not thinking about those things. Rich Birch — So today what I want to do is unpack this idea around what are who are we hiring for? What difference does it make? We know as an executive pastor listening in, I know that many of you are are kicking off this year thinking about, hmm, who should we be hiring? What should that look like? And really this tension that we all face with you know, being understaffed and overstaffed. How does all that work together? So I’m really looking forward to having your input on it.Rich Birch — Why do you think churches continue to hire for essentially the same roles as we see year in, year out, Shayla, why do we see that? Even as ministry changes, it’s like we find ourselves having the same conversation. Where are the kids ministry people? Where are the support roles people? Shayla McCormick — Yeah. Rich Birch — Why do we find ourselves in these same conversations?Shayla McCormick — Yeah, honestly, I think a lot of times as church leaders, like we repeat roles because we haven’t we haven’t really honestly just kind of stopped long enough to really go, what does this season actually require? Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — I think a lot of times what we do is we hire to almost relieve pressure but not really build capacity. And so I think we repeat roles because like kids ministry, right? That’s always a place where you have growth, you have kids, you have to staff a lot of volunteers. It’s a lot of administrative work. And, you know, sometimes I think we can tend to go, Hey, I want to relieve pressure on this. And so we end up trying to to put somebody in a seat and then we end up over hiring. And a lot of, a lot of us hire when it hurts, right? When, okay, attendance is growing, volunteers are tired, systems are breaking, A leader is overwhelmed.Shayla McCormick — And we end up, I think, making these desperation hires rather than hiring to actually build capacity… Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Shayla McCormick — …so that we can continue to grow. And so I think a lot of times our mindset kind of subtly shifts from, I mean, Ephesians 4, right? You equip the saints for the work of the ministry. And it sometimes our mindset shifts from equipping the saints to to almost replacing the staff role or the saints role with a staff member.Shayla McCormick — And it can tend to just, you can be overstaffed. And then that puts pressure financially and all, you know, like so much, but we just continue to repeat the process. Because again, we hired to relieve pressure instead of build capacity and we’re not really sitting… Rich Birch — Yeah, I would love to unpack that. Shayla McCormick — Yeah. Rich Birch — I think there’s so much there. So how are you discerning or how, you know, if a church calls you up and is asking you discern really between those two, like, Hey, I’ve got maybe I’ve got an operational problem. I’m trying to relieve pressure using the language you do. You were saying versus like building capacity for the future, which inherently sounds like to me, if I’m choosing to build capacity, I’m going to live with some pain in the short term is what I hear in that. Help me discern what that, what that looks like. How how do you work that out at, you know, at, at Coastal?Shayla McCormick — Yeah, I think we we are always looking for equippers, for multipliers. We ask the question very consistently, is this a doer or is this a leader? And not that doers are bad. Doers can actually, they can help you add capacity because it relieves the stress or the pain on a leader, right? Because you have somebody doing stuff, but equipers actually, they multiply. And so when I’m a growing church, if I continue to hire doers, then I’m just like, I’m solving a temporary so solution essentially, or a temporary problem, because at some point those things are going to go away.Rich Birch — Right.Shayla McCormick — But what, what the approach that we’ve taken is the Ephesians 4, you know, you equip the saints for the work of the ministries. And I think a lot of, lot of the times we actually neglect almost our volunteer base. And we lean heavily on our volunteers, our, We average probably 5,000 in weekend attendance, and we have about 25 staff members. And that is not a lot of staff for…Rich Birch — That’s insane. That to me, that is… Friends, I hope you heard that. So that’s like one to 200 or something like that. It’s it’s that’s all it’s Shayla McCormick — I don’t even know. It’s low.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s very low. It’s very low. Yes.Shayla McCormick — But we have a very, very, very high value in equipping our volunteers. Because there are people in our church that want to, they want to do. Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — They might be the doers that can help build capacity in a way that can help lift responsibility off people. We have people that come in that like, they’re like on staff, but they don’t get paid just because they want to come and they want to serve. Rich Birch — Yes.Shayla McCormick — And a lot of times I think we actually, say no for people because, oh, I don’t want to ask somebody to do another thing. But they’re like begging, use my gifts, use my talents. But we’re saying no for them. And then we’re going and hiring for these positions when it’s something that we could actually give away…Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Shayla McCormick — …and equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Rich Birch — Yes.Shayla McCormick — And for instance, in our kids’ ministry, we average at one of our locations probably about between 500 and 600 kids on the weekend. And I have one full-time staff member for that position right now.Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. Yeah.Shayla McCormick — And now we are getting ready to hire an additional person. But she has done a phenomenal job at building high-capacity leaders that are volunteers… Rich Birch — That’s good. Shayla McCormick — …that want to give their time and their energy and their resources and their passion. But I think for so many churches, we just we say no for people… Rich Birch — Yeah, 100%. Shayla McCormick — …and then we end up hiring something that we could give away in a volunteer capacity. Now that is harder on us… Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — …because you have to you know you have to teach and equip and you know pick things up, but…Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s it’s longer term. It’s it’s not it’s not a quick and easy. Shayla McCormick — Right. Rich Birch — So I want to come back to the big ask in a second. Shayla McCormick — Okay. Rich Birch — But I want I want to play a bit of the devil’s advocate. Shayla McCormick — Yes. Rich Birch — So I was having this conversation with a church leader recently, and we were looking at their staff, like their just total staffing. And we were actually having this conversation between, I was asking them like, hey, what how many of these people would you say are Ephesians 4 type people, equippers, people who are… Shayla McCormick — Yeah. Rich Birch — And then how many of these would be doers? Because every staff team has some doers on it. Like you have some percentage of them.Shayla McCormick — Yes, 100%.Rich Birch — When you, shooting from the hip of those 25, what do you think your ratio is on your team of equippers to doers? Because this is what this leader said to me. They were like, because I was kind of pushing them. I was like, I think you need to have less of these doers on your team. Like we’ve got to, we got to get not, I said, we’d have to get rid of them, but we got to grow some of these leaders up to become more multipliers.Shayla McCormick — Yep.Rich Birch — And they were like, well, but those people, they release my multiplying type people to do the work that they need to do. And I was like, yes, but if we don’t watch this ratio very quickly, we’ll we’ll end up with a bunch of doers on our team. So what would the ratio look like for you on your team? How do you think about those issues? Unpack that for me.Shayla McCormick — Yeah, I would I would say it’s maybe like a, I would say it’s maybe 10% that are, that are…Rich Birch — Right. Wow. Yeah. A couple, two or three, maybe four at the most kind of thing.Shayla McCormick — Yes, exactly, that are that are not the ones that I’m expecting. And even even them, I expect to go out and multiply as well. It’s it’s it’s part of our part of our conversations.Rich Birch — Yeah.Shayla McCormick — But it’s a very low percentage because for me, it again, it goes back to, those are things that I can equip other people to do… Rich Birch — Yes. Shayla McCormick — …that I can give ministry away. And…Rich Birch — Okay. So yeah, let’s talk about the big ask. Shayla McCormick — Okay. Rich Birch — So I hear this all the time from church leaders across the country and they’ll this is, this is how the conversation goes. They’re like, yeah, yeah. But you don’t know, like people in our part of the country, they’re very busy. Shayla McCormick — Yeah.Rich Birch — And like the people at our church, they’re kind of like a big deal. And like, they got a lot going on in their life. And like, This is true. You guys are in like the greater Fort Lauderdale area. This is a very, you are not like some backwoods, you know, place and you’re doing the big ask.Rich Birch — You’re saying, hey, you used it, which is you said like, hey, basically we’re saying, could you work part time for us in this area?Shayla McCormick — Yeah.Rich Birch — Have a huge amount of responsibility. How do you keep the big ask in front of people? How, how what’s that look like? Unpack that for us.Shayla McCormick — I mean, something that we talk about on our staff very frequently is, because it’s so natural to say, oh, they’re too busy, especially high capacity people. What I’ve what I’ve realized is is just a side note, but like, single moms are the most high-capacity people. They are the busiest people juggling the most things. But there are best people to come in and serve and do and all of that.Rich Birch — Right.Shayla McCormick — But they’re busy. Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — And so just because someone seems busy or successful or, you know, whatever barrier that you put in your brain, like, I think the reality is is we say no for them before we even ask.Rich Birch — 100%. 100%.Shayla McCormick — And so the conversations on our team always look like, are you saying no for them? Make the ask anyways. And a lot of times they’re like, oh my gosh, they said yes. I mean, I have people that run million, billion dollar companies serving in my parking team. You know, it’s like…Rich Birch — Right.Shayla McCormick — It’s, yeah, I mean, I you have people that are retired, very successful, business leaders that are coming in and volunteering to you know do finance things. Like it’s finding what are what are they great at and giving them purpose in it.Rich Birch — Yes, yes.Shayla McCormick — And not just saying no for them because I think they’re successful or they’re too busy.Rich Birch — How much of that is, because I would totally agree, how much of that is like, like what I hear you saying, it’s like a mindset issue for us as leaders. Shayla McCormick — Yes. Rich Birch — Like, hey, we can’t, even when we ask someone, we can say no before them in that question, right? We can be like, I don’t know if you could, well, you know, you’re real busy and I’m not sure blah blah, blah. And that kind of lets them off the hook before we even. So part of it is a mindset, but then part of it has to be like a structural thing, the way you’re structuring the roles. How do those two interact with each other?Shayla McCormick — Ask the question one more time.Rich Birch — So part of it is like our mindset are the, the, when we approach people, we’re asking them in a way that, you know, is casting vision for like, Hey, this is a huge opportunity to push the kingdom forward. But then also a part of it, I would assume is like the way we’re structuring the roles so that it it feels like, no, like we’re, we’re kind of, it is a big ask. Like, it’s like, we’re giving them enough responsibility and all that sort of thing. How do those interact with each other when you’re asking someone, when you’re making a big ask like that?Shayla McCormick — I mean, I think most of what I’m talking, what I’m referring to is a little bit more in the the doer space or the operational space.Rich Birch — Yep. Yep. Okay, good. Yep.Shayla McCormick — So it’s structuring things based on almost task or, you know, responsibility that can be repeated consistently and come in and just, you know, like get it done, so that I don’t have to, again, go back to hiring somebody to do these tasks to take this off of this staff member’s plate to increase their capacity. I’m basically giving those tasks and responsibilities to a volunteer. And I think a lot of times what’s scary to me is people, us, you know, churches, their first response to problem in every situation is to hire. Rich Birch — Yeah, right.Shayla McCormick — And I think if that’s your first response, you’re going to get in, trouble you’re going to get in big trouble.Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah.Shayla McCormick — And you’re going end up overstaffed because you, you staffed in seasons where attendance was growing or something again, to relieve that pressure…Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah, that’s good.Shayla McCormick — …not thinking multiplication. And if every solution is to hire, I don’t think the church has a staffing problem. actually think they probably have a discipleship problem. And like…Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Shayla McCormick — …and an equipping problem because the goal is to multiply apply leaders faster so that your church grows.Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, that’s good.Shayla McCormick — And so if we’re not thinking multiplication and equipping, then you know I think we’re gonna get to a place where, again, we’re we’re overstaffing and we’re hiring for the same things because we haven’t learned to equip and empower and train up.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Let’s double click on that. Shayla McCormick — Yeah.Rich Birch — What risks? So overstaffing, why is that a risk? What’s the there’s obviously a financial risk there. Are there other risks that you see there that emerge when a church consistently staffs for doers or execution rather than you know invest in you know equipping and raising up the people in their church? What will be some other risks you see in that?Shayla McCormick — Yeah, I think if you’re, if you, I’m trying to figure out how to frame this. If you’re not thinking multiplication, you’re going to, you’re going to hit a point in your church where like everything isn’t always up and to the right.Rich Birch — Right. Yes. True.Shayla McCormick — And so it’s not that I’m planning for failure or the difficulty, but I’m also trying to steward what has been entrusted to me, and some of that requires foresight and wisdom… Rich Birch — Yep. Shayla McCormick — …even in my planning and my budgeting. And so if one season I’m staffing something in growth, the next season might not look the same. And I’ve because I haven’t diligently given, again, Ephesians 4, given ministry away, my role, pastor’s roles, you know, like, is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Rich Birch — Yep.Shayla McCormick — And if I haven’t done those things properly, then I think I’m going to get a hit a season where then I’m letting staff go. Rich Birch — Right.Shayla McCormick — And, you know, or honestly, culture has become lazy because everybody doesn’t have enough to to do. And so there’s tensions and frustrations and, you know, like, and it starts you start to get a culture, I think, where you say, well, we’ll just hire for that. We’ll just hire for that. We’ll just hire for that. Instead of, okay, who’s next? Are you always developing? Like, what volunteer have you asked to do that? Have you given ministry away? And start asking our staff questions. If they’re coming to you and saying, hey, i need ah I need this role and I need this role and I need this role, the question back should be, well, who have you been developing?Rich Birch — Right.Shayla McCormick — You know, what ministry have you given away? Some of those things that just kind of push back on the solution is not always to hire somebody. Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — But what responsibility have you taken in development of people?Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. in the In the kids ministry area, you had referenced this earlier, you know, a campus with 500 kids and one staff, which again is is, I know there’s lots of executive pastors that are listening in that are like, what? That’s crazy. But you are, ah you have decided to add a staff member there. What was it that kind of clicked over to say, okay, yeah, we are going to add someone. And and what are what is that role that you’re adding? And how do you continue to ensure that we’re, you know, that we keep this focus as we look to the future?Shayla McCormick — For us, my kid’s pastor is obviously very high capacity, you know, and she is a multiplier. And her greatest use of her time for me is connecting with those families, is creating opportunities for them to connect, and hiring another person is going to free her up to connect more with families on the weekends, and to spend more of her time being strategic.Shayla McCormick — And so she needs to duplicate another her on the weekends that can make sure they’re facilitating volunteers and they’re making sure people are encouraged and that teams are built and that people are showing up and schedules are being done. And it’s it’s high people, but it’s also task and responsibility that comes off of her plate that frees her up to um do the thing that she’s great at.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s fantastic.Shayla McCormick — And obviously, she’s given all that stuff away in this season, but now we’re also using that as a developmental role to potentially be a kids director at another location when we launch a location.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah. There will be more, hopefully more coastal locations in the future… Shayla McCormick — Yes. Rich Birch — …and you need to you know raise those people up now you have the ability to do that. This is one way, you know, to do that as well.Shayla McCormick — Yep. Yep. Right.Rich Birch — So put yourself in a, a, say a friend calls executive pastor calls and they’re in this kind of this topic. They feel like, man, my team is perpetually stretched.Rich Birch — We, we added a bunch of staff last year and, it just didn’t help. You know, it’s like we find it sure we’re starting out the new year here and our headcount is up, but people are as tired. They’re as burnt out as they’ve ever been. And it feels disproportionate. It feels like, oh, man, like I don’t this things are not getting better. What are they missing? What what are what’s the how would you coach them? Maybe some first steps that you would kind of help them to think about what they should be doing on this front.Shayla McCormick — So I think maybe first and foremost, I might ask what what work are you doing that really God never asked you to do, first of all? I think we, we, add a lot of things that aren’t probably the best use of people’s times. And so where have we added things that we didn’t need to add that aren’t adding value… Rich Birch — That’s good. Shayla McCormick — …that can, number one, lift something off of our team that maybe they don’t just, you know, doesn’t add value. Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — And so that would probably be one of the first places I would start. It was like what are what are you working on that God hasn’t asked you to do?Rich Birch — Yeah, what can we streamline? What do we need to pull back? Yeah, yeah.Shayla McCormick — Exactly. And then…Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — …secondarily, I think I would really focus on leaning into, and this is what we’ve done in in many seasons, is we’ve leaned into two things. Number one is starting to ask our team, like, hey, who’s who’s around you that you’re developing? I need you to pick three people, you know, and just start pouring into them. I know this this isn’t a, I know this doesn’t lift the load, necessarily in the moment, but I think it can help lift it for the future. So it’s like, hey, how am I teaching my staff to look for other leaders and developing those leaders? And the other question just went away from my mind.Rich Birch — Well, that’s a great one, though. This even it’s the idea of who are the two or three people that you’re developing, that’s a powerful idea. Because I think there’s think particularly if you’re a church that’s caught in this treadmill, um there probably are people in your orbit. There are there are volunteers that would be looking for more to do to look. But but oftentimes our team, we just they don’t see those people. They don’t because we haven’t challenged them to see those people.Shayla McCormick — It’s it’s it’s honestly a question that’s a regular part of all of our teams one-on-ones… Rich Birch — That’s cool. Shayla McCormick — …that one of the questions is, who’s next? Like you should always be replacing yourself. Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah. Who’s next? Yeah, that’s good.Shayla McCormick — And that is just a continual pipeline of people and it’s teaching them to see other people and develop people. And they know that when I come to this meeting with my leader, I need to be telling them what I did, who I’m investing in, you know, what that looks like. So that there’s like a pipeline of leadership.Shayla McCormick — And I even, like with with my own assistant, I’ll say this, she’s like, Shayla, how do I do that? It’s like I’m, she’s right, a doer, you know, she’s my assistant. But I said, honestly, the the way that there’s so much that you can give away, you can build volunteer teams to execute gift baskets when a, you know… Rich Birch — Yep. Shayla McCormick — Like there are things that we just have to teach people to start giving away… Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — …and equipping other people to do.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good.Shayla McCormick — And I think it’s why I don’t I don’t use like being a large church with a small staff as like a bragging thing because I I don’t think that that’s necessarily healthy long term.Rich Birch — Yes. Shayla McCormick — But I think that it’s very strategic in how we have built a volunteer culture that is very high capacity and shows up and gets it done because we simply just haven’t said no… Rich Birch — Yep. Shayla McCormick — …and we’ve always looked for somebody else to come up underneath us.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. I know for for me in seasons when I led in fast-growing churches… Shayla McCormick — Yeah. Rich Birch — …churches that were deemed as some of the fastest growing churches in the country, I would say to my… Now, I sat in a different seat than you were because I was never like a founding team member. Well, that’s not actually not true. That’s not actually not true. I was in one church. But but I always tried to hold my role with open hands, even with my team. Shayla McCormick — Yes. Rich Birch — I would say, listen, the the people that I don’t I don’t want to get in the way of the mission, the mission is bigger than my job and my role.Shayla McCormick — Yes.Rich Birch — And there might come a season when the ministry will outpace me and I need to be willing to step aside.Shayla McCormick — Yep. Yes.Rich Birch — And that whenever I said that, there was always like, it freaked people out a little bit. They were like, oh my goodness, what are you saying? What are you saying? But I do think that those people that got us here may not necessarily be those people that will get us there. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that. And and this does not apply to any of the 25 people currently employed at Coastal Church, but help us understand…Shayla McCormick — Hey, we’ve had this conversation with all of them, so it could apply to them.Rich Birch — Oh good. Okay. Okay, good. I Okay, good. I didn’t want to you know have people listen to it at your church and be like, oh my goodness. But help me understand how you think about that as a leader, because I think that’s a real dynamic in this area.Shayla McCormick — Yeah, there’s there’s two two things, two almost analogies that that I’ll give you. One was when we were a smaller church, we were a growing church, we were a church plant, and somebody gave us some some great advice. And they said, listen, the people you start with are not going to be the people you finish with, and that’s not a bad thing. That that happens. Rich Birch — Yep.Shayla McCormick — And they said, when you are building something, there’s a phase of that building that requires scaffolding. Rich Birch — Yep. Shayla McCormick — And scaffolding serves a purpose in that season to build the structure and the walls and and all of the things, but there is a point where that scaffolding has to come down… Rich Birch — Yeah. Shayla McCormick — …in order for you to utilize that building or that space effectively. Rich Birch — Yep. Shayla McCormick — And I think sometimes that’s people in a way. Like they serve a purpose for a season, but it’s not like, it’s not like oh, now they can’t serve in any capacity or any way. It’s just that the role that they played for that season was very important. But it looks different in the next season. And we have to be okay with that if we want to continue to grow.Shayla McCormick — As we’ve grown, there was actually people probably know the name Charlotte Gambill. Charlotte Gambill has invested a lot in our team and in in our church. And she came in and did a ah session with us. And one of the things that she talked with us about is like, if you think about a a vehicle, right? And that vehicle is there to get you to the destination of where you’re going. And that vehicle has tires. And those tires have to be rotated.Rich Birch — Right, oh, that’s good.Shayla McCormick — And as a team member, you are like a tire. And what you are doing is getting that vehicle to the proper destination. But if you don’t allow yourself to be rotated, then there’s going to be a problem in getting that vehicle to the location. Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — And so language that we use is this is mission over position. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good.Shayla McCormick — And your position may change. Your position may rotate. But this is not about your position, this is about your mission. And if you’re not here because of the mission, then you’re gonna be fixated on your position.Shayla McCormick — And so our team knows that. We we talk about that very frequently, like, hey, remember this is mission over position. And we’re gonna we’re gonna rotate the tire today.Rich Birch — Yep.Shayla McCormick — But this is because this is for the mission, not because of your position. Rich Birch — Yeah.Shayla McCormick — And so we just consistently have those conversations. And if we if we don’t rotate those things, And if there’s something that’s worn out and we don’t change it, it’s going to affect the mission of where that organization is going.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so true.Shayla McCormick — Yeah.Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s, that’s worth the price of admission right there. I think, you know, I think so many of us, um you know, people who are listening in their church leaders, they love people. They want to see them take steps towards Jesus. And, you know, we hold onto people too long or we, or we, you know, we always believe the best. We’re like, no, they’re going to get there. They’re going to get there.Rich Birch — But what would you say to a leader? You know, Give us some courage to say, hey, maybe there’s a team member we need to rotate, either find a different seat on the bus, or it might be we we need to move them off this year. Like we need to get them on a performance improvement plan and do the like, hey, you’re not leaving today, but it’s like, this has got a change. You’ve got a shift from being a doer to being an equipper. And we’re going to work on this for the next three months. But we need to see, we actually actually need to see progress on this. Give us some courage to do that. Talk us through that. If that’s the if that’s the leader that’s listening in today.Shayla McCormick — I mean, I think first of all, if you’re sensing that and you’re feeling that, you need to start having some very honest conversations. I think Proverbs is very clear when it says, bind mercy and truth around your neck. Like, we can have those truthful conversations while still being merciful. And, you know, if if you’re not clear with people, then there’s just, then there’s there’s going to be hurt, there’s going to be bitterness, there’s going to be all of those things. And so if you can just even start the conversation, if you’ve been frustrated for a long time but you haven’t said anything, honestly, it’s your fault. Rich Birch — Right. Yes. Shayla McCormick — Because you’ve allowed it for so long. Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — And now that’s that’s you’ve allowed behavior to continue. So the first step I think is just giving yourself freedom to have a mercy and truth conversation, right? Of just going, hey, like I know your your heart is here I know you have vision for this organization, but there’s just some things that need to adjust. Rich Birch — Right.Shayla McCormick — And so we’re going to bring some clarity to those things that need to adjust.Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — And you have those conversations and then, hey, let’s check in a month from now and just here’s some action steps for you to do. And it just gives framework for like, okay, now if they’re not doing those things, you’re just like, you know, hey, do you, we asked the question, do you get it? Do you want it? And do you have the capacity to do it? Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — If they have, if they get it and they want it, but they don’t have the capacity, they have to change their seat, you know.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Shayla McCormick — And so for me, I think it’s really starting off with the clarifying conversation… Rich Birch — Yeah. Shayla McCormick — …if you haven’t had that. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Shayla McCormick — And in that clarifying conversation leads to either an off-ramp or an adjustment of seat.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, that’s so good. I know that there are people who are listening in who that you know, like, hey, I’ve got to make a change. I have this staff member, team member that’s got to make a change. We can’t do this for another year. And even that idea of sitting down, having a you know, a truthful, but merciful conversation and doing exactly what Shayla said there. Let’s have the conversation and then document it. Shayla McCormick — Yes.Rich Birch — Here’s exactly what we talked about. Here are the three or four things that we need to see progress in the next month on. And we love you dearly, but in a month, we’re going to come back and actually ask you on that. My experience has been when you have that…Shayla McCormick — And even…Rich Birch — Yeah, go ahead.Shayla McCormick — …even asking at the end of that, like, hey, do you have any questions? Or even repeat back to me what you heard… Rich Birch — Right. Shayla McCormick — …because I want to understand how you’re receiving the information that I just gave you, because it can help you even go a little bit deeper in shaping that.Rich Birch — Clarify it. Yeah, that’s so good. Well, this has been a great conversation. Question that’s not really, it’s just kind of a broader question… Shayla McCormick — OK. Rich Birch — …about this coming year. What are the what are the questions that are kicking around in your head for this year as you look to 2026 as we come to kind of close today’s episode? What are you thinking about? Might be around this. It might be around other stuff. What are you thinking about this year?Shayla McCormick — Ooh, I was actually talking to my husband about this. We’re getting ready to go into a leadership team meeting, and the thing that’s just been sitting in my head, and this is so probably counterintuitive to large church, but it’s how can I grow smaller?Rich Birch — That’s good.Shayla McCormick — And so I’m just trying to think how can we be more intentional as we grow to make a large church feel small? And then I’m also thinking, are we building a church that can grow without us? So how, you know, is it only because of us that things are happening? Or how are we, again, ah equipping people that if we weren’t here, it would continue on? Rich Birch — I love that.Shayla McCormick — So how do I grow smaller? And would this survive without us?Rich Birch — Wow, those are two super profound questions. And they are so totally related to what we’re talking about today. Both of those, you’re only going to get to it feeling smaller. You know, that is that is the great irony of a growing church. I’ve said that to many. I didn’t I wasn’t as eloquent as you were there, but one of the, the interesting kind of tensions is when you become a church of 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, you get around those circles. Those churches are asking the, how do we be more intimate? How do we, um you know, we, okay. So we figured out how to gather crowds and, but how do we go beyond that? Right. How do we, how do we now, you know, really drive into deeper, more intimate conversations? I love that. And yes.Shayla McCormick — Systems just complicate things. Rich Birch — Yes. Shayla McCormick — So it’s like, how do you how do you simplify? I really appreciate you, appreciate your leadership and all that you’re doing and how you helped us today. And if people want to track with you or with the church, where do we want to send them online?Shayla McCormick — Yeah, they can follow our church on Instagram. It’s at Coastal Church or visit our website, coastalcommunity.tv. I’m not super active on Instagram, but you can follow me if you want to @shaylamccormick.Rich Birch — That’s great. Shayla, I really appreciate you being here today. And thanks so much for helping us out as we kick off 2026.Shayla McCormick — Of course. Thanks so much, Rich.

In this episode of the Church Ladies Uncensored series, Leighann McCoy shares a heartfelt conversation with Beverly Williams, a retired public health nurse manager and volunteer at the Middle Tennessee Pregnancy Center. Beverly opens up about her past, including a secret abortion when it was illegal, and how she found redemption and peace through faith. The discussion highlights the importance of sharing personal stories for healing and encourages listeners to create supportive church environments. Beverly's journey from secrecy to advocacy serves as an inspiring testament to God's faithfulness and transformative power.Church Ladies Uncensored, Beverly Williams, redemption, faith, healing, abortion, church support, personal stories, God's faithfulness, transformative powerHealing begins in sharing the truth.God's faithfulness is unwavering.Personal stories can inspire and heal others.Churches should be safe spaces for sharing.Redemption is possible through faith.Supportive communities foster healing.Secrets can be transformed into testimonies.God uses our past for His glory.Sharing stories can break down judgment.Faith can lead to personal transformation.KeywordsTakeaways

Recently, the “Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem” issued a joint statement explicitly condemning Christian Zionism as a harmful and damaging ideology. Their statement accuses local individuals who promote it of misleading public opinion, sowing confusion, and undermining the unity of the Church. The statement further states, “The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches further note with concern that these individuals have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally.” It's ironic that days earlier, Christian leaders throughout Israel were welcomed and celebrated by Israel's head of state, President Herzog, at the President's residence, hosted with honor and respect. Does this statement poke the president in the eye, and undermine the very existence of the State of Israel? Is Christian Zionism harmful and damaging? What is the theological basis of such a declaration? Why are there so many Christians who embrace Zionism, from the 19th century? Why was the statement issued now, and who is behind it? What does it mean that Zionism was singled out as problematic, but Israel was not mentioned once? PLEASE DONATE TO THE GENESIS 123 FOUNDATION AT WWW.GENESIS123.CO For information about and how to register for Root & Branch, please go to www.RootandBranchIsrael.comConnect with the Genesis 123 Foundation at www.Genesis123.co and learn how you can host Shabbat in your community.FB - www.facebook.com/Genesis123Foundation Twitter - @Genesis123FIG - Genesis_123_FoundationFind out how you can be part of Run for Zion and bless Israel with every step at www.RunforZion.com.

Patrick opens with Helen Andrews’ take on feminism and wokeness, then moves swiftly through audience questions about gospel parables, Communion practices, and Eucharistic theology, answering with clarity and candor. The episode spins between practical parenting advice, reflections on portrayals of Jesus in film, and behind-the-scenes insights about liturgical choices, keeping listeners on their toes. Audio: Feminism = Woke; Woke = Feminism - Helen Andrews is an American conservative political commentator, essayist, cultural critic, and author. - https://x.com/newstart_2024/status/2016224379353379025?s=20 (01:43) Jordon (email) - Where was the outrage when Kyle Rittenhouse killed two protestors; or other notable right-wing protests took place with armed citizens present? Corky - Jesus explains the seed and sower parable to the disciples, but why doesn't he explain this to others? (09:03) Andy – When I receive the Eucharist, I notice that not all Churches give out the body and blood. Why does this happen? (15:18) Andrew - Is the Eucharist valid when there is more than one priest or bishop consecrating it? Why does other minister hold the wine? (26:16) Audio: Keep your kids away from screens for as long as possible - Dr. Gabor Maté issues a stark warning for today's parents - https://x.com/newstart_2024/status/2013848228974727171?s=46&t=m_l2itwnFvka2DG8_72nHQ (34:48) Fred – When I received the precious blood for the first time, it was very significant to me. I wouldn't discourage both species. (36:01) Eric - What miniseries do you think is the best depiction of the Gospel? (44:13)

Thom and Jess are joined by Todd Brown and Isaac Brown of Brown Church Development Group, who are “The Church Facility Experts.” In this two-part series, we discuss the five myths of church building and why they cost churches millions. The post The 5 Myths of Church Building (and Why They Cost Churches Millions) – Part 1 appeared first on Church Answers.

Thom and Jess are joined by Todd Brown and Isaac Brown of Brown Church Development Group, who are “The Church Facility Experts.” In this two-part series, we discuss the five myths of church building and why they cost churches millions. The post The 5 Myths of Church Building (and Why They Cost Churches Millions) – Part 2 appeared first on Church Answers.

Indian man amputated own foot to get into medical school. Rogue horny elephant has killed 22 people in ten day rampage. Nuns in Sweden for found to be Russian spies. // Weird AF News is the only daily weird news podcast in the world. Weird news 5 days/week and on Friday it's only Floridaman. SUPPORT by joining the Weird AF News Patreon http://patreon.com/weirdafnews - OR buy Jonesy a coffee at http://buymeacoffee.com/funnyjones Buy MERCH: https://weirdafnews.merchmake.com/ - Check out the official website https://WeirdAFnews.com and FOLLOW host Jonesy at http://instagram.com/funnyjones - wants Jonesy to come perform standup comedy in your city? Fill out the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfvYbm8Wgz3Oc2KSDg0-C6EtSlx369bvi7xdUpx_7UNGA_fIw/viewform

In one of the biggest cases this term, the Trump legal team argues it is within the President's right to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, even though laws establishing that agency were designed to make it extremely difficult for a president to fire someone willy nilly. Cook was informed she was fired via a Truth Social post for alleged mortgage fraud. But she argues she wasn't even given a chance to defend herself in court. At issue: What would a fair trial for Cook even look like, when the law doesn't specify? And big picture... is the U.S. Supreme Court willing to give Trump much more power to fire whomever he wishes. Plus, as Minnesota reels from the loss of a second Minneapolis resident at the hands of federal immigration officials, churches have scored a major legal win against ICE and CBP.

Today we continue in Ephesians chapter 6, looking at verse 4, where the ApostlePaul speaks directly to fathers about their God-given responsibilities in thehome. In this one verse, God gives us both a warning and a calling.If left to themselves, children will naturally go their own way. Scripture andexperience both confirm this. That is why God places the responsibility oftraining children squarely on the parents—especially the father. The Biblerecords tragic consequences when parents neglect this calling. David pamperedAbsalom, and it ended in rebellion and heartbreak. Eli failed to discipline hissons, and it brought disgrace to his family and defeat to Israel. Favoritism inIsaac's and Jacob's homes produced division and sorrow. God gives us theseaccounts as warnings, not merely history lessons.In this one verse Pauloutlines several responsibilities for fathers. First, a father must notprovoke his children. In Paul's day, fathers held tremendous authority. InRoman culture, a father even had the legal right to accept or reject a newbornchild. Paul confronts that abuse of power directly and says, in effect, “Do notuse your authority to crush your children, but to build them up.” In Colossians3:21, Paul added, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they bediscouraged.” The opposite of provoking is encouraging. Fathersprovoke their children when they say one thing and do another, when theycriticize but rarely praise, when discipline is harsh one day and ignored thenext, when favoritism exists in the home, or when promises are made but notkept. Children can also be provoked when parents dismiss problems that are veryreal and painful to them. Christian parents need the fullness of the HolySpirit to respond with wisdom, patience, and sensitivity to their children'sneeds.Second,a father must nurture his children. Paul says, “Bring them up”—aphrase that means to nourish or cherish. It is the same word used earlier whenhusbands are told to nourish their wives. Fathers are called to nourish theirchildren not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Providing food,clothing, and shelter is important—but it is not enough. Children also needlove, encouragement, affirmation, and spiritual guidance. Jesus gives us the pattern: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” That is balanced growth—mental, physical, spiritual, and social. Nowhere in Scripture does God assign the spiritual training of childrento institutions outside the home. Churches and schools can assist, but theresponsibility belongs to the parents.Third,a father must discipline his children. The word translated “training”carries the idea of discipline and correction. Scripture consistently teachesthat discipline is an expression of love. “Whom the Lord loves, Hedisciplines.” A lack of discipline does not show kindness—it shows neglect.However, discipline must be done in the right way. It must never beadministered in anger. A parent who loses control cannot teach self-control.Discipline must also be fair and consistent. Children need to know where theboundaries are. Loving discipline provides security. Even when childrendisagree, they understand that someone cares enough to guide them. Many adultstoday admit they never knew where the limits were growing up because no onecared enough to discipline them. That uncertainty often leads to insecurity andpoor choices later in life.Fourth,a father must instruct and encourage his children. Paul uses the word “admonition,”which refers to verbal instruction and counsel. Parenting is not only aboutactions—it is also about words. The book of Proverbs is filled with a fatherlovingly instructing his son in the ways of wisdom. Children may not alwaysappreciate instruction at the moment, but that does not remove theresponsibility to teach. Our counsel must always be rooted in the Word of God,which equips us to guide our children wisely.

Segment 1 • Lots of us in the south cancelled gathering last Sunday due to inclement weather - and there are spiritual consequences to skipping church. • Church isn't something we do just to do - it's a weekly realignment of our lives. • Even when gathering is hard, faithful churches find creative ways to feed their flocks. Segment 2 • Kevin DeYoung models how to preach a one-off sermon with clarity, structure, and gospel power. • Biblical preaching must consider the genre of the text. Historical narrative, poetry, wisdom, and gospels don't all preach the exact same. • The aim in good preaching isn't just increasing knowledge, but to draw sinners to Christ as we learn more about him and are conformed to His image. Segment 3 • Disturbing church protests raise questions for parents: what if your child is trapped in the chaos? • Churches must prepare now — when agitators disrupt worship, there won't be time to get ready. • Comparing violent protests to Jesus cleansing the temple is biblical malpractice. Segment 4 • Churches are absorbing secular values — “Flamy Grant” drag shows prove it's more than a trend. • Postmodern self-expression is replacing reverence for biblical truth in pulpits and pews. • As persecution rises globally, now's the time to clarify our mission: be holy, not popular. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!

Brian From talks with pastor and Belonging author Bill Calvin about why people don’t stay in churches for programs or preaching—but because they find real relationships. Drawing on 46 years of ministry, Bill shares practical wisdom on hospitality, shared meals, and creating environments where people belong before they believe. The conversation offers hope both for church leaders seeking to foster deeper community and for listeners who feel lonely, reminding them that helping others belong is often the first step toward finding belonging themselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesus Followers Can Influence and Lead a Return to God by Our People, Churches, and Nation Through the “Five Exhortations” MESSAGE SUMMARY: In the Bible, you can find five exhortations, from the God, that are right on point for our times of uncertainty in America: 1) Do not fear; 2) Continue to tithe; 3) Get out of debt; 4) Help our brothers and sisters in need; and 5) Pray. The people in Malachi's day were withholding what was God's, and they were paying a price. But even in those conditions of the nation's sin and faithlessness, God said to the nation, in Malachi 3:7, “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?'.”. God does not change – God today is the same faithful Creator of the Universe as He was in the time of Malachi. Return to God, both as individuals and as a nation; and see how God will bless us!   TODAY'S PRAYER: Forgive me, Father, for at times treating you as if you were my personal assistant or secretary. Your ways are unsearchable and beyond understanding. Help me to put my trust in you and not in my circumstances. In your presence, I am silenced. In Jesus' name, amen.          Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 87). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Compulsions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Patience. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Malachi 2:1-17; Malachi 3:7; Malachi 3:16-18; Psalms 41:1-13. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Essentials Part1 – People of the Book”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Over the next weeks, we'll be revisiting Lance's series called “The Lord is in the Whirlwind and the Storm”. In this episode, Lance shares part 2 from this series on Nahum. This episode is called “As Seen in the Church”. May your trust in the Lord be strong in the midst of clouds and confusion.May you learn to wait on the LordMay you know the deep deep love of Jesuswww.lancelambert.org Chapters (00:00:01) - As Seen in the Church(00:06:55) - Wonders of the Night(00:08:19) - God's Way in the Whirlwind and the Storm(00:14:03) - Muslims and the holy war(00:16:39) - The stroke of David Porson(00:24:00) - The Church and its purpose(00:33:29) - The Storm and the Whirlwind(00:43:22) - The Bride of the Lamb(00:47:25) - Day of Evil(00:54:18) - THE PERPETUAL WORD(01:05:36) - The Foundation of the Christian Family(01:07:08) - Receive one another as Christ also received you(01:13:51) - Jesus washed the feet of his disciples(01:15:58) - 7 Churches of the Lord in Revelation 2 and 3(01:17:54) - God's plan for the church(01:22:49) - Wait on the Lord

In 2025, the whole world watched as Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope. Again, everyone watched as Conservative Christian Apologist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University.But while religious news events like these were known world round, other important stories are being covered all the time by journalists like Bobby Ross Jr., a veteran religion reporter.In addition to covering Kirk and Leo, Bobby also wrote about Christian parents grieving in the wake of the Central Texas floods, faith's role in The Oklahoma City Thunder's championship-winning season, and the possibility of Christian higher education in Europe.So on this week's episode of the Religion Unplugged Podcast Matthew Peterson sat down with Bobby to discuss not only the news trends he anticipates in the year to come, but also his career of 25 years covering faith through on-the-ground reporting in all 50 states and in 20 different countries.Bobby started his career of reporting on what he calls “the Godbeat” back in 2001, when he was working for the Oklahoman.Today, he is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle, which focuses on covering Churches of Christ all over the globe. He also writes his column, the “Weekend Plug-In” every Friday at Religion UnpluggedBobby and Matthew's conversation spanned how his interest in baseball shaped his initial career decision, how he maintains fairness and accuracy when covering difficult subjects within his faith tradition, and even how to discern what is true in the age of social media and AI.#religion #godbeat #religionnews #journalist #journalism #christianchronicle #2026 #bobbyrossjr #interview #podcast

A nationwide crackdown on urban house churches in China has drawn worldwide attention after nearly 30 members of the Zion Protestant Church were arrested in seven cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. In this episode of the Front Line Report, VOM Canada's Greg Musselman is joined by Dr Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, to explain the reasons behind these recent arrests and why the international media is finally paying attention. During the interview, Dr Fu also discusses the Chinese Communist Party's escalating campaign against Christians – and why this wave of persecution is considered the most severe crackdown since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

EPISODE   The Evangelical Church can be a weird place—we have our own customs and practices, and pastors are often    Vinnie and Rob continue to discuss the life of the church: what pastors might struggle with, the insider language of the church, and    FOLLOW THE PODCAST Subscribe to be notified of our new episodes (each Monday).  Want to help us expand the Gospel of the Kingdom? Leave a review, “like” the podcast, or share it with others.   CONNECT WITH DETERMINETRUTH MINISTRIES The Determinetruth Podcast is a ministry of Determinetruth Ministries. We offer free resources to equip pastors, leaders, and the body of Christ in the US and worldwide for service in the kingdom of God. You can visit us online at https://www.determinetruth.com   SUPPORT DETERMINETRUTH MINISTRIES Determinetruth is a non-profit 501(c)(3), and relies completely on the financial support of our partners around the world.  Please consider partnering with us and making a tax-deductible donation https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/3648601   Want a FREE CHAPTER from Rob's latest book? Sign up for email updates from Determinetruth.   https://mailchi.mp/5672d33f2b95/dt-podcast Music: “Love is Against the Grain” (Dime Store Prophets)   #BiblePodcast #TheologyPodcast #ChristianPodcast #BibleStudyPodcast #BiblicalTruth #FaithPodcast #politics #ChristianNationalism #suffering #thechurch #paul #timothy #ecclesiology #Fellowship #Mutual encouragement #Service #Corporateworship #Teaching #theWord #Communion #pastors #missions #women #complementarian #egalitarian #authority #colossians #presbyterian #housechurch #TedLasso  

When was the last time you visited your local parish church? Historian and social media influencer Daniel Wilson joins Damian Thompson to encourage more people to visit their local churches – not just as a centre of worship but as a historical treasure trove. Daniel takes us through some of his favourite examples of medieval architecture, as he emphasises the importance of being a 'tourist in your own neighbourhood'.For more from Daniel, you can find him on Instagram and TikTok: @greatbritisharchitectureProduced by Patrick Gibbons. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When was the last time you visited your local parish church? Historian and social media influencer Daniel Wilson joins Damian Thompson to encourage more people to visit their local churches – not just as a centre of worship but as a historical treasure trove. Daniel takes us through some of his favourite examples of medieval architecture, as he emphasises the importance of being a 'tourist in your own neighbourhood'.For more from Daniel, you can find him on Instagram and TikTok: @greatbritisharchitectureProduced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please Donate to Anglican Unscripted: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5DJN4KM2PZRA6 00:00 - Start 05:49 - ACNA College of Bishops Press Release 13:03 - The Privileged & the Affluent War 25:33 - Virutal Signalling Purple Shirts 28:27 - ACNA seeks new Safeguarding Director 31:00 - Next Archbishop of Canterbury needs your $$$$$ 38:08 - Thats so Anglican… 40:11 - Where Are They Now? https://www.facebook.com/kkallsen https://www.facebook.com/geoconger Kevin's Links: https://www.facebook.com/anglicanunscripted/ https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanInk/ https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanTV/ ---------------------------- Anglican Unscripted is the only online video newscast in the Anglican Communion. In each episode, Kevin Kallsen and Canon George Conger and occasional guests bring you their unique prospective on news around the globe. --------- Podcast Apps should all find the Podcast by searching for AnglicanTV Useful links for you: - Podcast Site - https://anglicantv.simplecast.fm/ Podcast Feed - https://rss.simplecast.com/podcasts/6620/rss Google Play Music - https://play.google.com/music/m/I2ua2hpneubdvz2whcceombquj4?t=AnglicanTV Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7amgRUCmrtUaKfZw7adozy TuneIn - http://tun.in/pi6m5 Itunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/anglicantv/id1412228062?mt=2.

A "compliment sandwich" - criticism layered between two compliments. To these 2 churches, Jesus says, "You have refused to deny me," and "I see your patient endurance." Ok, well done. But then, Jesus gets right to it. "And yet I have a few complaints about you." Jesus was bringing to light all the ways some in these churches were missing the mark... tolerating sin, idolatry and evil deeds. Those who weren't? "Hold on tightly until I come back", he says. 

Speaker: Abi Oosting

Ann Coulter Warns Democrats May Have Already Irreversibly DESTROYED America Mr Reagan- Christians Are Being SLAUGHTERED and No One Cares Attacking Churches Has Always Been the Marxist Playbook   Ann Coulter Warns Democrats May Have Already Irreversibly DESTROYED America Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/c3QV_5LLIkQ?si=FutWZyO8GUQs8gsQ Jesse Kelly 103K subscribers 34,079 views Jan 20, 2026 Ann Coulter joins Jesse Kelly for an important conversation about the future of America. LIKE & SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW VIDEOS DAILY:    / @jessekellydc   Watch Full Editions Of I'm Right With Jesse Kelly: https://bit.ly/3V2F2Tt Check Out Jesse's Latest Interviews With Big-Name Guests: https://bit.ly/48UxEzn Here Are Jesse's Can't-Miss Monologues: https://bit.ly/3UZBWQl Subscribe To Jesse Kelly Wherever You Get Your Podcasts Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7fy7hsV... Watch Jesse Kelly nightly on The First TV at 9pm ET: TheFirstTV.com/watch Follow Jesse Kelly On all social platforms X - X.com/@JesseKellyDC Instagram - Instagram.com/JesseKellyShow Facebook - Facebook.com/@JesseKellyDC   Christians Are Being SLAUGHTERED and No One Cares Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/taiV9pwyRF8?si=41Y90QDWm2gwCV06 Mr Reagan 427K subscribers 6,610 views Dec 17, 2025 Podcasts MR REAGAN MERCHANDISE https://teespring.com/stores/mr-reagan -------------------------------------------- Patreon:   / mrreagan   ----------------------------------------------- FOLLOW MR REAGAN ON X! https://x.com/MrReaganUSA ----------------------------------------------- Music by The Passion HiFi www.thepassionhifi.com #Politics #News #Trending   Attacking Churches Has Always Been the Marxist Playbook Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/yFk7wgIFuKc?si=rCKrv9JWlEXGi8yn Dad Saves America 464K subscribers 43,260 views Jan 20, 2026 #karlmarx #communism #christianity Karl Marx didn't just reject Christianity—he mocked it, fantasized about its destruction, and embraced a demonic worldview—so it shouldn't surprise anyone to see modern radicals targeting churches in Minnesota for political stunts. From the Soviet Union to Maoist China, economic redistribution was the sales pitch, but the real plan was to revolt against God and remake human beings in the image of Marx. Check out the full episode this clip was featured in here:    • The Real Karl Marx Was A Cartoon Villain   Subscribe and ring the notification bell so you don't miss a single video! _____________________________________ Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/ Another great way to support our work is by visiting our curated Amazon shop featuring our guests' books and dad stuff I actually use. This channel earns a commission on qualifying purchases. Please visit & bookmark: https://www.amazon.com/shop/dadsavesa... Visit Dad Saves America on Substack: https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/ Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-or... Our Website: https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/ _____________________________________ Dad Saves America explores the philosophies and practical steps needed to raise capable, curious, independent adults who are ready to thrive in a virtuous free society... and want to keep it that way. We've had all sorts of experts in the studio, including Jonathan Haidt, Dr. Drew, Michael Shellenberger, Bret Weinstein, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Adam Carolla. #karlmarx #communism #christianity

Audio taken from the live teaching "What Does the Bible Say About Self-Defense? Turn the Other Cheek" or "Buy a Sword"? - https://youtu.be/tEK8VoV9txUWe are witnessing an increase of violence around the world targeting Christians, Churches, and increasing cases of attacks and invasions during live worship services.These wicked attacks carried out by the godless where innocent men, women, and children are being assaulted, terrorized, and even slaughtered in cold blood require a response to the biblical rights of Christians affected by violence.Does the Bible call Christians to absolute pacifism, or does the Scripture allow for self-defense?In today's study, we will address these three questions:1 - What does the biblical admonishment ‘turn the other cheek' mean?2 - What does the biblical admonishment ‘buy a sword' mean?3 - Does the Bible allow the Christian to engage in self-defense?Key Scriptures used in today's teaching: Matthew 5:38-39Other Scriptures referenced: Matthew 26:51-52; Luke 22:36; Exodus 22:2; 1 John 5:11-13If you prayed with Tiff, click here https://lostlamb.org/ and let him know!  Be sure to check out the playlist “New Beginnings” - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsX8E19Azl58_FjxELPxjnsL8CAtmama4Thank you for listening, and subscribe for new content each week. 
Connect with Tiff Shuttlesworth:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LostLambAssociation/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffshuttlesworth/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiffshuttleswor Learn more about my ministry: https://lostlamb.org/ Learn more about my ministry in Canada: https://www.lostlamb.ca

Scripture commands ministers to accurately handle God's Word, not just give emotional messages to make people feel good.

What happens when activists cross the line from protest into outright lawlessness? Today on The Todd Huff Show, Todd breaks down the shocking storming of a church in St. Paul, Minnesota—and why the federal response matters for restoring law and order in America. From the arrests tied to the FACE Act to the media's attempt to rewrite what actually happened, this episode exposes the dangerous double standard surrounding protests, private property, and religious freedom. Todd also explains why enforcing the law consistently is the only path forward if we want to protect constitutional rights, public safety, and the freedom to worship without intimidation. When churches become targets, the rule of law must respond—firmly and without apology.

What happens when activists cross the line from protest into outright lawlessness? Today on The Todd Huff Show, Todd breaks down the shocking storming of a church in St. Paul, Minnesota—and why the federal response matters for restoring law and order in America. From the arrests tied to the FACE Act to the media's attempt to rewrite what actually happened, this episode exposes the dangerous double standard surrounding protests, private property, and religious freedom. Todd also explains why enforcing the law consistently is the only path forward if we want to protect constitutional rights, public safety, and the freedom to worship without intimidation. When churches become targets, the rule of law must respond—firmly and without apology.

Patrick shares how being a grandfather to 32 (and counting) shapes his understanding of the important bond between grandparents and grandchildren, weaving in personal traditions, childhood memories, and practical snack secrets involving Slim Jims and fruit snacks. He responds to callers’ stories about discipline, letting adult children develop their own parenting methods, and the surprises that come with family caregiving, while addressing everything from Mass translations to keeping faith traditions alive. Laughter, honesty, even a few debates spark throughout, as Patrick moves between heartfelt advice and the everyday realities of grandparent life. Children who have strong, consistent relationships with their grandparents often experience better emotional wellbeing (01:01) Mary - Have you ever had to correct your grandkids? For example, if they are going to hit another kid. (17:25) Steve – We, as Grandparents, cut down a Christmas tree every year and make walking sticks out of the trunk and use it for the Walk to Mary. (22:47) Cindy – It gets complicated when the grandparent is raising a grandchild. (25:25) Kathy - Why did the name of Churches in my area change? (27:43) Jessica (email) - How do you handle fights between grandchildren? (35:22) Timothy - Before a priest became a priest, is it okay if he had a girlfriend or is that a mortal sin? (36:56) Bill - Why did the Patriarchs of the Church in Jerusalem issue that statement about Christian Zionists? (42:01) Robert - You were talking about Latin translations into English. I translate the Spanish into English. (46:35)

Letting a staff member go is one of the hardest leadership moments a pastor will ever face. Churches are relational environments, and employment decisions are deeply personal. But there are times when releasing someone is the most loving, wise, and responsible step—for the staff member, for the team, and for the health of the church. In this episode, Josh and Sam talk through how to navigate this complex process with clarity, compassion, and integrity. The post How Do You Fire a Church Employee? appeared first on Church Answers.

In this episode of the Replant & Revitalize Podcast, Mark Clifton, Mark Hallock, and Dan Hurst share practical and pastoral guidance for effectively ministering to senior adults within the local church. As many congregations face aging memberships and declining attendance among older adults, this conversation offers actionable steps to help church leaders reconnect with, value, and retain senior adults as vital members of the body of Christ. These tips are especially relevant for pastors, replanters, and church revitalization leaders who want to foster unity across generations while honoring the faithfulness and legacy of older church members. 5 Practical Tips for Senior Adult Ministry Publicly acknowledge senior adults and recognize their history, faithfulness, and foundational role in the life of the church Visit senior adult Sunday morning classes to listen, build trust, and strengthen relational connections Intentionally include senior adults in corporate worship, ensuring they feel seen, welcomed, and valued Identify trusted leaders or representatives within the senior adult community to help foster communication and fellowship Create and promote ministry opportunities designed for senior adults, allowing them to serve according to their gifts, experience, and availability This episode emphasizes that retaining senior adults is not simply about programming—it's about cultivating respect, belonging, and meaningful engagement within the church family. Why Senior Adult Engagement Matters in Church Revitalization Senior adults bring spiritual maturity, consistency, generosity, and volunteer leadership to the local church. Churches that fail to engage older members risk losing not only attendance, but wisdom, unity, and long-term sustainability. Resources Related to This Episode “What NOT to Name Your Senior Adult Ministry” from Texas Baptists

Leading Into 2026: Executive Pastor Insights Momentum is real. So is the pressure. This free report draws from the largest dedicated survey of Executive Pastors ever, revealing what leaders are actually facing as they prepare for 2026. Why staff health is the #1 pressure point Where churches feel hopeful — and stretched thin What worked in 2025 and is worth repeating Clear decision filters for the year ahead Download the Full Report Free PDF • Built for Executive Pastors • Instant access Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We’re continuing our conversations with executive pastors from prevailing churches, unpacking what leaders like you shared in the National Executive Pastor Survey, so you can lead forward with clarity. Today we're joined by Paul Alexander, Executive Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church and Senior Consultant with The Unstuck Group. With more than 25 years of ministry experience and nearly 15 years at Sun Valley, Paul brings a blend of practitioner insight and coaching wisdom. Sun Valley is one of the fastest-growing churches in the country, with six physical locations, a prison campus, and more expansion on the way. In this conversation, Paul helps unpack one of the most pressing themes from the National Executive Pastor Survey: staff health, culture, and organizational structure. Is your church clear on vision and strategy but still struggling to move forward? Do you sense tension or fatigue beneath the surface of your staff team? Paul offers candid, practical guidance on how leaders can cultivate both healthy and high-performing teams. Staff culture is often the real growth lid. // Many churches leave strategic planning sessions with remarkable clarity—clear vision, strong strategy, and actionable next steps—yet still fail to move forward. The reason is rarely theological or missional; it's cultural. Team culture and staff structure often become the limiting factor. Just as personal growth stalls when internal issues go unresolved, churches stall when unhealthy patterns persist within leadership teams. Healthy and high-performing. // Many churches swing between two extremes: high performance with little concern for soul health, or relational warmth with minimal accountability to achieve the vision. Neither honors the full call of ministry. The healthiest teams refuse to live at either end of the pendulum. Instead, they pursue a culture where people are cared for deeply while being challenged to steward their gifts faithfully toward the mission. You can't legislate health. // Health cannot be enforced through policies alone. Leaders set the tone through example, not rules. Staff watch how senior leaders manage time, rest, family, boundaries, and pressure. Late-night emails, skipped days off, and constant urgency quietly shape expectations—even if leaders say otherwise. Pastors need to lead with moral authority, not moral perfection: modeling rhythms that reflect trust in God rather than fear-driven overwork. Practical rhythms that protect people. // At Sun Valley, staff health is reinforced through intentional systems. Leaders are expected to take their days off and use vacation time; reports track whether staff actually do. Full-time staff receive sabbaticals every seven years, including non-director-level roles. Marriage retreats are offered as a gift to staff couples, recognizing that healthier marriages produce healthier ministry. These investments cost little financially but yield long-term fruit in sustainability and trust. Hire leaders, not doers. // A common staffing pitfall is hiring doers instead of leaders. While competence and skill earn someone a seat on the team at Sun Valley, long-term effectiveness depends on their ability to develop others. Staff are evaluated not on how much ministry they personally accomplish, but on how well they equip volunteers to lead. Volunteers are the heroes; staff exist to serve and multiply them. This mindset shifts ministry from bottlenecked to scalable. Structure must evolve with growth. // Churches often treat structure as fixed, but Paul insists that growing churches must restructure continually. Span of care, staffing ratios, and role clarity must be revisited regularly. He points to healthy benchmarks—such as staffing costs and staff-to-attendance ratios—as helpful indicators, not rigid rules. When leaders ignore structure, culture suffers; when structure is aligned, momentum increases. Fruit requires clarity and measurement. // Every staff role at Sun Valley includes measurable outcomes. Paul likens this to personal goals—no one expects a marriage to improve without intentional action. Clear metrics create focus, alignment, and accountability. Monthly one-on-ones blend personal care with performance review, ensuring leaders are supported holistically while still moving the mission forward. Encouragement for leaders sensing tension. // For executive pastors who feel something is “off” but can't quite name it, Paul urges them not to ignore that instinct. Growth exposes weaknesses, and structure or culture may need adjustment. Whether the issue is misalignment, unclear expectations, or misplaced roles, addressing it early prevents deeper damage later. To learn more about Sun Valley Community Church, visit sunvalleycc.com. For resources on staff health, structure, and strategy, explore theunstuckgroup.com or email Paul directly. Watch the full episode below: Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: SermonDone Hey friends, Sunday is coming… is your Sermon Done?Pastor, you don't need more pressure—you need support. That's why you need to check out SermonDone—the premium AI assistant built exclusivelyfor pastors. SermonDone helps you handle the heavy lifting: deep sermon research, series planning, and even a theologically aligned first draft—in your voice—because it actually trains on up to 15 of your past sermons. But it doesn't stop there. With just a click, you can instantly turn your message into small group guides, discussion questions, and even kids curriculum. It's like adding a research assistant, a writing partner, and a discipleship team—all in one. Try it free for 5 days. Head over to www.SermonDone.com and use promo code Rich20 for 20% off today! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. Really glad that you’ve decided to tune in. We’re doing a special series here this month where we’re looking at the results of a national survey that we did of executive pastors across the country. And we’ve pulled in some leading XPs from prevailing churches to help us think through these issues. Like we’re sitting across the table, if you talk about this problem, they want to help you with that. And today it’s our honor, our privilege really to have Paul Alexander with us. He is the executive pastor at Sun Valley Church for over 10 years. He has 25 years of experience. He’s a senior consultant with Unstuck, I think for 13 years. And he’s worked with all kinds of churches on health assessment, strategic planning. Sun Valley, if you don’t know this church, you’re living under a rock. fantastic church in Arizona, six physical locations, if I’m counting correctly, plus in prison, plus online. It’s repeatedly one of the fastest growing churches in the country. Paul, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Paul Alexander — Yeah, Rich, glad to be with you. Hopefully the conversation can help your listeners, man.Rich Birch — I really appreciate that. Why why don’t you fill in the picture about Sun Valley? I know we’ve had you on in the past. You should go back and listen, friends, but kind of give us the Sun Valley picture. Kind of tell us a little bit about that to set some context today.Paul Alexander — Yeah, man, been here now for almost 15 years. It’s wild to think back. When I first joined the team, it was one location, 10 acres, one exit, one entrance.Rich Birch — Wow.Paul Alexander — And, you know, there’s a lid to what you can do with that. And so we had originally went multi-site because we had to go multi-site. You know, the mission that Jesus gave the church to help more people meet him and grow up in their friendship with him. We had a lid to that with the space we were in. And so we had to go multi-site. It wasn’t cool. It wasn’t cute. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t an experiment. It was like, if we’re going to obey Jesus, we don’t have an option.Rich Birch — Right. Yes.Paul Alexander — And so over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to add new locations. And, yeah, six physical locations, one in a prison. Our next prison campus opens up Q1. We grand open our Chandler location in March, and we break ground on San Tan in May. So, yeah, man, fun times, lots of people meeting Jesus.Rich Birch — So multi-sites not dead at Sun Valley.Paul Alexander — Man, multi-site’s not dead in America. Yeah.Rich Birch — I know. And it’s true, right? It’s one of those like, people are like, oh, I don’t know. That’s an old idea. I’m like, that’s not what I’m seeing. I’m like, gosh, there’s so many prevailing churches like Sun Valley that are just doubling down. That’s that’s fantastic. Rich Birch — Well, looking forward to today’s conversation. So friends, you’ve joined us actually for within, what did we ask, two questions that were about fears for next year and or for this year, 2026, you caught me. We recorded this late in 2025.Rich Birch — And we’re talking today about the biggest fear. 24.8% of all respondents identified staff health, organizational structure, morale, succession, leadership – the people issues as a primary fear heading into this year. In fact, and then a separate question we asked about data and insight. Where are you lacking some of that? Almost 9% of respondents answered that they’re looking for better data on staff pipeline and org chart and leadership development, these sort of things.Rich Birch — When you combine them together what does that mean? Nearly three in ten surface staff related tension as a defining pressure point for 2026. And when I was thinking about this issue, I thought of no one better than Paul to pull on and to have this conversation with. So Paul, when you look at the churches across the country, you interact with a lot of churches both just because you’re a great person and through Unstuck, and you’re and Sun Valley’s a leading church and people will ask you questions all the time. Where do you think staff health breaks down the most and why is that? Why is this such a tension for us as we lead from our seats?Paul Alexander — Yeah, well, to your point, Rich, it comes up repeatedly with my work with Unstuck with churches. It’s not uncommon to do a health assessment, strategic planning with the church, and you walk out of the room and they have great clarity on vision, on where they’re going next. They have great clarity on strategy, like how they’re actually going to pull this off and do it.Paul Alexander — And yet you walk out of the room and the lid to move towards that vision, actually obey Jesus and do what Jesus has commissioned and command commanded them to do, the lid is the culture of the team. And the team culture and the team structure is what’s holding them back from going where Jesus wants them to go. Paul Alexander — Which we shouldn’t be surprised by this, frankly. that’s That’s the organizational side of how that shows up. This shows up in our own life personally. So on a micro scale, what’s preventing you and I from actually following Jesus and what He’s calling us to do in 2026? Well, it’s not Jesus’s problem. The problem is not with him. The problem usually with us.Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — The problem is with how we structure our life, our family, our time, maybe something in our own heart and in the culture of our own heart and our families.Paul Alexander — And so on on a macro scalele scale in the church, it’s not a surprise that this shows up. Most most churches have a tendency to run on a pendulum, Rich, of either being a really high performing team or a very, very healthy team. And at Unstuck, we want we want staff teams to be both very healthy and very high performing.Paul Alexander — The the problem is most churches, their staff swing through that pendulum from one side to the other. And so, and you’ve seen this repeatedly, where it’s take ground and in just do the next thing. And they’re very project oriented and destination oriented, and they have a tendency to not really care about the soul of the team, the health of the team, and they’re caring much more about the the destination they’re chasing.Paul Alexander — Or they’re sitting around looking at each other, praying for one another, kumbaya-ing together, and they’re neglecting the actual call that God’s put on their life. It’s not just a personal holiness, but to invite others people other people to know Jesus as well.Paul Alexander — And while that’s an over-exaggeration, fundamentally, that’s very true of what happens with staff teams. And so, yeah, walking away from a strategic planning with the church, you’re thinking, oh, they’ve got everything they need.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — They just don’t have the culture to pull it off. their Their staff culture is going to prevent them from going where God wants them to go. Or they’ve hired ah a lot of doers on the team and they don’t actually have leaders. So they’ve hired people to do ministry instead of lead ministry. Or they don’t really have a development pipeline. You know, they don’t have a plan to coach up and build up people that the Lord’s already entrusted to them right underneath their nose, to invite them into leadership in the church. And so, yeah, there’s some overarching things that are common.Rich Birch — Yeah, so when I saw this came out, I wasn’t surprised by this result. We’ve seen similar results in past years. But whenever I look at this fear that leaders have, I’m reminded what our mutual friend Jenni Catrin says. She talks about senior leaders are, we think our staff culture is better than it actually is. Like from our perspective, sitting as an executive pastor, lead pastor, we look around and we’re like, man, this is a great place to work. But that’s not necessarily the case with our people. Rich Birch — Sticking with this idea of like high performing and healthy, when you think about Sun Valley or the churches you coach, what are some practical rhythms or structures that you’ve put in place or seen put in place that really help try to do both of those things. Cause I think that’s, I think that’s ultimately what honors the Lord is like, we do want to be high performing. We, the mission’s massive. Like, gosh, we got to get out and reach some people, but we, we don’t want to drive over our people to get there. Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — Help us understand what does that practical, some of those practical rhythms look like.Paul Alexander — Well, I don’t I don’t think a lot of XPs are going like what I’m about to say… Rich Birch — Uh-oh. Paul Alexander — …but you you cannot legislate health. You can’t. You can’t build enough guidelines. You can’t build enough policies. You can’t make people be healthy. You also can’t lead a healthy organization unless you yourself are healthy. It’s that’s a just it’s just a fact. You can’t take your family somewhere you haven’t been.Paul Alexander — You disciple people, to use a Bible word for a second, you can’t disciple your own children and your own family and people close to you by intention or neglect. We do that all the time, and unless you have something to actually give them. And so this is why even in the Old Testament, you know God gives the law and we realize we can’t live up to the law. And so it honestly only shows our own imperfection. Right. And so God you know, Jesus says, “Well, hold on a second. The Sabbath was made for man. Man wasn’t made for the Sabbath.” Paul Alexander — And so um what does that mean? It means, I think, as executive staff, senior staff in the church, you actually have to lead with some moral authority in this area. And so people are going to watch if if they get an email from you at 11 o’clock at night, that tells them what’s expected of them. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Without you ever even saying it, you’re telling them what’s expected. If you’re texting them after work hours, so to speak, and it’s not an emergency, it actually, you know, it could probably wait till tomorrow, but you’re having it right now because it’s important to you, and you don’t have the personal self-control to be able to not have that conversation with that staff member at that time.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Paul Alexander — You’re telling them how they’re supposed to behave. They’re watching you just again, leadership so much like parenting. And I don’t want to minimize this, but children watch their parents and they naturally adhere to and take on the behaviors of their parents and the family unit that they grow up in. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so true.Paul Alexander — And culture a lot like that. It’s way more caught than taught. And so the leaders of the executive staff and senior staff, they’ve got to lead with moral authority, not moral perfection. We’re not going to see that this side of seeing Jesus, right? Not moral superiority. We’re not better than anybody. But just to be able to say, hey, man, if if everybody at my church and on my staff. If they manage their time the way I manage my time, if they manage their finances the way I manage my finances, if they used alcohol the way I use alcohol, or if they use the internet or social media the way I do, if they traded their… would my church be more of what Jesus wants it to be or less?Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s so good.Paul Alexander — And so there’s a moral authority component to this. They got to model this. Okay.Paul Alexander — Now, practically, Rich, because you know, okay, what does it actually mean? Take your time off. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Like that sounds so silly, but I mean, I remember as a young guy in ministry, my my wife was working Monday through Friday. Friday was supposed to be my day off. I’m not the kind of guy that’s going to sit around and like watch Oprah on Friday. Or like, you know, just snack and binge watch Netflix or something like that. That’s not how God wired me up. And so I would just go into the office.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And I’m like, my my wife’s working. Well, we don’t have kids. um I’m going to go get some stuff done. I’m going to move the ball forward.Rich Birch — Yeah.Paul Alexander — And I remember the XP I was working with on the senior staff at the time came in to get something out of the office. And he saw me and he’s like, Paul, what are you what are you doing? And so I do the whole, my wife’s working and I’m not going to sit around and watch Netflix, blah, blah, blah. He’s like… he gave me a gift. He said, Paul, if you don’t take every day off between now and the end of the year, don’t bother coming in in January.Rich Birch — Oh my goodness.Paul Alexander — Yeah, yeah, yeah.Rich Birch — Wow.Paul Alexander — And looking back, that high challenge was a tremendous gift, to begin to teach a young man in ministry that had a propensity to drive hard to learn how to actually slow down and enjoy my life and receive from the Lord.Rich Birch — That’s interesting.Paul Alexander — And so, um yeah, take your day off. It sounds so silly.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. No, it’s good.Paul Alexander — I get a report on my desk once a year, Rich, of all of our staff, even multiple campuses, all that, who’s taking their time off and who hasn’t taken their time off. And it’s not uncommon for me to have a conversation in January to say, hey, dude, if you don’t take all your time off this year, we’re going to have a problem. Because you’re no good burning out. The Lord needs you in the game for the long run.Rich Birch — Yeah.Paul Alexander — And I need you in the game for the long run. Sun Valley needs you in the game for the long run. Rich Birch — Yeah. Right. Paul Alexander — Your family needs that, and you can’t self destruct. So.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so good. I had a similar interaction early on in ministry where I had a senior leader say to me, it with a similar kind of tone, don’t forget, take your day off is on the same list as don’t kill someone. Like, you know, which always stuck with me where I was like, you know, okay. And he said it in a funny kind of like, but but the message was was clear, right?Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — Same kind of thing. Hey, we, and I don’t know that I’ve always lived by that. Paul Alexander — Yeah, sure.Rich Birch — Are there other behaviors that you, you know, in a similar way would lean in. I think the fact that you’re pushing on, okay, as us as senior leaders, are we setting the pace with the health of our organizations? Lean a little bit more in on that for us.Paul Alexander — Yeah, sure. So a couple of practical things that any leader can actually make their decision to start doing today. Establish a finish line. In some regards, you know, when is ministry ever really done? Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Well, when 7.5 billion people on the planet know Jesus, we’re done, right? So it’s one of those, the poor will have you with you you’ll have with you always. There’s never going to be a done moment. So you got to choose each day when you’re done. And if you don’t choose it, someone else will choose it for you. Paul Alexander — And so talk with your family, figure it out. And there may be a moving target from day to day and what the rhythm of your family is and the rhythm of your ministry is the Lord’s entrusted to you. But you have to personally establish when’s the finish line. I’m going to turn my phone off. I’m gonna turn my email off. I’m going to mute this or whatever. And unless something’s burning down, I’m not going to I’m not going to jump in. Simple things.Paul Alexander — Marriage retreats. We started experimenting some time ago with marriage retreats for our staff at Sun Valley. And so like everybody would say, it’s a good thing for people’s marriages to get better. And sometimes we’ll do that for our people in our churches. And we just thought, well, gosh, what if we did that for our staff? You know, if the marriages of our staff got better, would the ministries that the Lord’s entrusted to them get better? Of course they would.Rich Birch — Of course they would, yeah.Paul Alexander — So we just started doing a marriage retreat couple times a year for our staff.Rich Birch — Wow.Paul Alexander — We invite, you know, 10 to 15 couples. We have a professional counselor that we pay for that runs the thing. And we we just do that as a as a gift to our staff. Because we think, if our staff marriages get better, the ministry that the Lord’s entrusted to them will get better. Paul Alexander — We do sabbaticals every seven years for our full-time director level staff and up. And there’s a period of time that they get and a financial allowance they get. And they think about it in three in three different buckets, like professional development, personal development, and just family. And and ultimately we want them to rest so they can minister from a from a full cup, you know?Paul Alexander — And ah some time ago, we actually made the decision. It didn’t cost us anything, Rich, that even our full-time staff, no matter what their level in the organization was. So for example, a full-time administrative assistant. If they’re full-time, every seven years they get a sabbatical. We give them… Rich Birch — Oh, wow.Paul Alexander — …yeah, you’re full-time admin at Sun Valley. You get, now the scale of it’s a little different.Rich Birch — Sure.Paul Alexander — We just give them a month off with no financial allowance, but we give a month off every seven years to take at one lump sum… Rich Birch — Wow. Paul Alexander — …to get out and refresh their soul and enjoy their life a little bit. What’s that really cost us? Nothing, but time.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Paul Alexander — Nothing.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And so, yeah, there’s some real tactical things that you can do to invest in your team. Again, you can’t make them be healthy people, but you can kind of roll the carpet out and pave the way for them to be healthy people.Rich Birch — I love that. That’s some real practical examples. I love what you’ve you’ve outlined there and been you know super practical. That’s, yeah, that’s fantastic. I get the sabbatical question actually quite a bit. I think churches wrestle with that and they you know they they think, oh, you know how should we do that? So you do, kind of like what we would typically think of as a sabbatical at director and above, but then everyone else does kind of this one one month off. That’s great. And they do they have to submit a plan for the sabbatical ahead of time? Some churches will do that where they have to kind of define, hey, this is how we’re going to do. Just give us a little more detail on that.Paul Alexander — Yeah. We’re not uber religious about it, Rich. Rich Birch — Sure. Paul Alexander — We, we, we, there is a plan and their supervisor talks through their plan with them… Rich Birch — Yeah. Paul Alexander — …because there’s a financial allowance that follows that. Rich Birch — Yep.Paul Alexander — So yeah, they have the conversation ahead of time. As a representative of the board, I actually sign off on all those sabbaticals just to make sure they’re thinking about and they’re thinking…Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — …intelligently about how they want to spend their time. But functionally, to be honest, like you and your wife just went on vacation, right?Rich Birch — Yep.Paul Alexander — If our staff went on vacation for like an entire sabbatical and sat on the beach for a month or two, and they came back a little bit more rested, and they’d read a couple of books and spent time with the Lord… Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — …and they walked and prayed and fasted and enjoyed their life a little bit, they’d probably come back a little healthier. Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s great.Paul Alexander — So I don’t have strong feelings about it, man. Rest, enjoy your life.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, that’s good.Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — That’s so good. I love that. I want to loop back on one thing you talked about earlier. You talked about hiring or or are the way our staff position themselves as doers versus leaders. I think this is a critical Ephesians 4, how we’re supposed to be equipping our people. But I see way too many of our team members, I see us fall into this all the time where we just slip into doing. Coach us around that. What difference does that make around cultures in our organizations?Paul Alexander — Well, yeah. Wow. Now you’re starting to talk about where accountability comes into play in culture, right? And where culture gets violated.Paul Alexander — So it’s not uncommon. So I still, at the size we are, director level and up, I still at least have a phone conversation interview with every single director level hire and up about our culture as they’re joining the team here. And if they do join the team, we go through net new staff orientation. Once a quarter, Chad, the lead pastor and myself, spend a half a day with all of our new staff and talk through our culture and our philosophy of ministry and our strategy and all that stuff.Paul Alexander — And frankly, it’s just a time to hang out have a meal together and create some relational accessibility. Because most these people I’m not going to work with day to day. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — But I want them to know that we care about them, love them, and they’re they’re part of the family now. And so we we don’t hire people that aren’t absolutely fantastic, incredibly gifted people. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And it’s easy to compliment everybody in the room. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — Hey man, glad you’re on the team. Whether I hired you or somebody else hired you, I know you’re awesome because we don’t hire people that aren’t awesome. And you were gifted, you’re gifted. Someone saw something in you. We invited you to the team. But here’s the deal. You’re no longer going to be evaluated on how awesome you are. Now that you’re on the team—congratulations—you’re going to be evaluated how awesome you can make everybody else. Rich Birch — So good.Paul Alexander — And so your job and how great you are and gifted you are and skilled you are, that’s what got you in the room. What’s going to keep you in the room is your ability to make everybody else just as incredible as you. And so we just say that from the very beginning. Paul Alexander — And, you know, a lot of churches, their ministry staff kind of think, OK, I have to get all these volunteers in place to help them accomplish my ministry. At Sun Valley, we flipped that upside down. And the hero of the ministry at Sun Valley is the volunteer. We’re helping the church actually be the church. The staff’s role is to be a servant, to help people find their gifting, their place, their calling. And real leaders who are getting paid real money that attend your churches, um they want to solve big problems. They don’t want to just push a broom. Now, occasionally you run into the CEO or the general or whatever, who’s like, I just want to push a broom to help me remain humble. Great. We can we have a lot of brooms you can push.Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — But most people are competent, skilled, gifted, educated people. And they want to be called into something that’s big, and where they feel like they’re making a real difference. And so, yeah, our job as a staff is to call them into that, tee them up for that, support them in that, and let them run. Not let them run within the boundaries of our strategy and our culture and our vision, but let them run. So, but we’ve got to paint the riverbanks for them.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s really good. I love that. You know, kind of a related issue is how how is Sun Valley ensuring that you’ve got the right people in the right seats? What does that look like in your system? Like, how are you, like, what’s the what’s the cadence of, you know, regular reporting and like goal setting? Paul Alexander — Yeah.Rich Birch — And, you know, how are you holding people accountable? What does that what does that look like? I realize that could be like a whole episode in of itself… Paul Alexander — Sure. Rich Birch — …but give us kind of a thumbnail version of that.Paul Alexander — Yeah. Thumbnail. I mean, at the end of the day, I’ll give you the, how it happens, but, besides the hiring process and recruiting process, that stuff matters a lot. Right. So you’re inviting people to something that they’re actually gifted and called to. But at the end of the day, um it’s really results, Rich. The Bible way to say that is fruit. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — OK, for all of our listeners who are high on the theology side of things, I can sympathize with you. I went to Bible school, too. Really, it’s fruit. And when you are in a place, when your staff are in a place where they’re playing to their strengths and their gifting, and they’re in a place where they’re not overreaching and trying to attain a different role, and they’re not talking about career path, they’re just content to be the person and play the part in the body of the Lord’s gifted and call them to to play, they’re going to have more fun and they’re going to produce more fruit.Rich Birch — Yep.Paul Alexander — It’s just a fact. And so when when you see all this striving and, you know, this ambition to like, I want more, I want more, I want more. It’s a very American, Western idea, right? And the biblical way of doing that would be, hey, well why don’t you be faithful with what the Lord’s entrusted with you today? And when he sees fit to entrust more to you, guess what? He probably will.Rich Birch — He will.Paul Alexander — There’s probably going be some stray arrow out of the battle that was never even intended to hit that guy. It’s going to find just the right place in the chink in the armor. And you’re going to ascend to the throne at the right time when the Lord wants you to. So, you know, relax. Do what the Lord’s called you to do today.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Be faithful in that.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And he’ll entrust more to you when he’s ready.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — So that’s a big deal. that it may sound ah like a contrite, a little bit Bible answer to that. But when your staff are personally in a place where they’re doing what God’s called them to do, and they’re they’re very sober-minded about that, they’re going to have more fun. That’s really important. They’re go to have more fun in ministry. It’s going to be more fulfilling and they’re going to produce more fruit.Paul Alexander — Now, how’s that work its way out with what you’re talking about? We have an annual run of strategic planning that we do, both senior staff and then at the campus level. And that we refresh that every single year. Out of that come real clear objectives where the Lord’s calling us to go. Then goals, professional goals are set around that at the campus level. And then that kind of trickles down. That all gets into review systems. There’s monthly one-on-ones where they’re talking about the performance side of things.Paul Alexander — But it’s really normal, Rich, where if you and I were working with one another and I was reporting to you, you’d say, hey, Paul, what’s going on with you and Lisa? And you’d be asking about my daughters and you’d be asking about my sons. And we’d be talking about life and marriage and family. And and what’s the Lord doing in your life? What’s he saying to you these days? You know, and you know where’s he challenging you? Where’s he encouraging you? So they’re very natural, normal, that part of things there. You’d probably pray for me actually in that meeting that one-on-one. Paul Alexander — And then we talk about, okay, how are we doing with our goals? What what are the measurables? What are the setbacks? Because there’s always setbacks. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — And what are the things that went faster than you thought they would go? And you’re finding real real traction.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — And then my your job as a supervisor would be, how do you get roadblocks out of the way for me to be successful? Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — How do you fuel things that I need fueled so I can be successful and and reach my goals? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Paul Alexander — So yeah, does that make sense? Rich Birch — That makes total sense. So I, you know, in other contexts, I’ve said results matter because the work that you do matters so much. Like and, and we, and we, we want to think about results. We want to think about fruit. What percentage of, or you know, in a round sense of the team at Sun Valley has like a number or a metric or a like they can measure, it’s not like qualitative, like, oh, things are better. It’s like, no, no, we know. I know whether this is working or not. What percentage of your people you think have a metric like that they they think about on a regular basis?Paul Alexander — All of them.Rich Birch — Love it. Tell us about that. I think this is going to be mind blowing for leaders of churches who do not think about these things. And I know, you know, there’s people out there who, who they they haven’t wrestled with this idea. Unpack that a little bit more.Paul Alexander — Yeah. So, I mean, okay. So if I say, I want my marriage to get better this year, we’ll go real personal for a second. Rich Birch — Sure.Paul Alexander — I want to get my marriage. That’s wonderful. Who doesn’t want their marriage to get better? How are you going to do that?Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — That that just doesn’t magically happen. You don’t drift towards relational intimacy with your spouse.Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — What you do is you drift apart. That’s what happens.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Absence doesn’t make the grow heart grow fonder. It makes it wander. Rich Birch — Yes. Paul Alexander — And so, you know, you’ve got to figure out, okay, how many date nights am I going to do? How much am I going to budget towards this? Are we going to do an annual retreat as a husband and a spouse together, maybe a marriage retreat? Are we going to go on vacation? What are the conversations we feel like we need to lean into? Do we need some do we need some coaching? Rich, if you’re a professional counselor, do I need to go to you and get some some input and some professional coaching? Because goodness gracious, you can see some things that I don’t see because I’m in the fray of it day in and day out. Paul Alexander — So yeah, we’ll get real tactical and say, what book are you going to read? How many of those books are you going to read? What podcast? Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Are you going listen to the unSeminary podcast? You know. What are you going to do to to grow and in your marriage this year or as a leader. And so, yeah, if you can’t measure it, then you can’t actually do it. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — And then it gets down to opinions and, you know, everybody’s got one of those. So.Rich Birch — Yeah. Alright. I imagine imagine I’m an executive pastor you meet at a conference or you’re somewhere and you’re at an airport lounge, and they’re church of a thousand people, maybe 1500 people. They’ve got 10 staff and they’re sensing that, man, there’s some misalignment, but it’s it’s at the level of like, I think there might be a problem here. I’m not entirely sure. I feel like there’s cracks starting to happen in the staff culture, but it’s not like a giant fizzer. It’s just like things just don’t feel right. What would be some of the first steps that you would suggest a leader take to try to get clarity on actually where things are at with their staff team… Paul Alexander — Yeah. Rich Birch — …you know, in the next 90 days kind of thing?Paul Alexander — Yeah, that’s a good question. Okay, so first of all, I’d say, and this may sound, I mean, play Captain Obvious for a second, don’t ignore that inclination.Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — So the Holy Spirit is is is impressing upon you, something doesn’t smell right, then it probably doesn’t smell right.Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — Don’t bury that. Don’t avoid that. Avoiding something you know you have to solve is never going to make that situation better, ever.Rich Birch — That’s so true.Paul Alexander — And so don’t avoid it. Go with that feeling. Lean into it a little bit and and begin. Why? Why do I feel this way? What is what am I sensing that needs to be solved? Because my hunch is they’re anticipating something. If they are a good intuitive leader, they’re probably anticipating something before it’s going to happen.Paul Alexander — And so structure is always a lid to growth in a church. Churches always need to restructure. This is really important. So once you get a structure, it’s not like, oh we’re going to be with this structure for the next 15 years. Rich Birch — Right. Paul Alexander — And if it’s a growing church, you’re always going to need to restructure. And that’s just normal. Get used to it.Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — It’s just part of what it is. Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — And so I think you’ve got decipher, is it a structure issue or is it a culture issue? That that’s, you know, Wwhat am I sensing that needs to be actually needs to be solved? If it’s a culture issue, where is there a violation of your culture taking place, and how do you help it get better? Maybe you haven’t defined what your culture is. Rich Birch — Right.Paul Alexander — Maybe you can’t actually really articulate it. Maybe you haven’t written it down, trained it. Maybe you have not filmed 5 to 10 minute videos for every new staff member to to onboarding to actually understand your cultural distinctives. Maybe you’ve not embedded that into your annual reviews and actually, you know at review time, you’re actually reviewing me on how we’re doing, how I’m doing with our staff culture.Paul Alexander — So maybe that’s something you need to just kind of look in the mirror and say, you know what, as a leader, I have the power to change that. And I’m going to get that better this next year. We’re going really clear about what our staff culture is. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Paul Alexander — And then we’re going embed that and train it. If it’s a structural thing, is it truly a structural thing or do you have one or two players that just aren’t playing their part? You know, you’ve got ah this wonderful body the Lord’s put together. He talks about the church being the body of Christ, this wonderful body but where we’re limping because our ankle, we got a bum ankle. And the reality is we either need to rest it, you know, so we can get it healed up. We need to maybe get some repair done to it, or we need to like reconstruct that thing. We need a new ankle. Rich Birch — Yeah.Paul Alexander — All of those are fine answers. And I think just being honest about the team that we have and everybody playing in the right place. And then structurally, you start to get into span of care and you know do we have the right number of staff? Those are real answers you can really get. When we do staffing and structure with churches at the Unstuck Group, there are real healthy benchmarks. There are real healthy financial numbers that are good benchmarks, you know. If you’re spending more than 50 cents on the dollar on your staffing, you should ask yourself why.Paul Alexander — You know, if you have more than your staffing, you’re, you know, beyond one to 75 and you’re creeping into an area that’s really unhealthy. You know, I’ve seen churches that are staffed like one full time staff member for every 30 attenders at the church.Rich Birch — Right, right.Paul Alexander — And you’re just like. It’s sad, frankly, because the Lord’s called us to so much more. And um so those are those are like the basic science side of things that need to be changed. You know, if you’re not clear about who your senior staff is, if you got, if your senior staff, like your executive staff, are making decisions about like the color of the carpet, and they’re making decisions that that are low-level decisions, then you kind of got to look in the mirror and say, boy, are we training our staff that all big decisions have to come to us? Or are we pushing decisions down and actually teaching people how to lead and make decisions? So myriad of things.Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s so good. One of, in last year’s, kind of rundown of, you know, most listened to podcasts, Amy from the Unstuck Group, hers, I think was our second most listened to podcast. And she, she dove in deep on exactly what we were just talking about their, friends. You should go back in the archives, find that episode. It will, it’ll, you know, all that structure stuff. Rich Birch — And I would say on that, particularly on structure and some of those benchmarks, I think too many of us think our church is like this precious, it’s so different than every other church out there. And and and that’s true. It is a unique body. There’s a there’s one way that that is true. But in this way, there are actually a lot of commonalities you can learn from other churches and gain wisdom from folks like Paul who have done this before and talked with lots of churches. So don’t don’t be in isolation about this, Paul. This has been an incredibly helpful. I’ve got a page of notes and other questions I wanted to ask as we were going through. Oh, I want to talk about that. Oh, I want to talk about that.Rich Birch — But I know you’ve got other things to do than be on our podcast. But as you’re thinking about the 2026, the year coming up here, what’s a question or two that you’re wrestling with that you’re thinking through? It doesn’t have to be on what we just talked about there. But just as you think about the future of Sun Valley, what are some things that you’re thinking about going into this year?Paul Alexander — Yeah, that’s a good question. I mean, we pressure we’ve deal with pressure points just like every church does, right? Frankly, the pressure points we’re dealing with, we’re going through a season of a couple of years of pretty significant growth. A lot of people needing Jesus. last This is the first time in back-to-back years we baptized more than 1500 people, you know, in back-to-back years. And so there’s a huge responsibility that our growth, our front end growth is beginning to outpace our engagement. Things like people engaging in groups and building meaningful friendships that are around God’s word or, engaging and volunteering and being the church, not just coming to church, right? And a giving, learning to be generous, generous and steward with the Lord’s entrusted to them. Kind of these markers that we see of people who are actually beginning to look like Jesus. They’re not just, you know, you know, attending church and trying to figure Jesus out a little bit.Paul Alexander — And so in a lot of ways, we need a bigger boat. We’ve got multiple campuses that are doing two services on Saturday and three services on Sunday. And we’ve, we’ve got to get some bigger rooms. And you know, the other side of it is is growth sometimes can grow faster than our ability to grow leaders. I mean, you think about your own personal leadership, Rich. I mean, how long has it taken you to become the leader you are today?Rich Birch — Right. Right. Not overnight. Not in 18 months.Paul Alexander — Yeah, your whole life.Rich Birch — Yes, exactly.Paul Alexander — Yeah, the answer is your whole life. Rich Birch — Yes.Paul Alexander — And so there’s definitely been crucible moments. My hunch is if we unpack your leadership journey, there’s been crucible moments where the Lord has ah stretched and grown you in unique ways and unique seasons because of pressure points that you went through. And so um we’re figuring out how do we accelerate leadership in in our staff?Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — And you you accelerate leadership not by by giving resources, but by constricting resources. Because leaders always figured out and grow through constriction moments. Rich Birch — That’s good.Paul Alexander — And so giving stretch assignments, all those kind of fun things. So yeah, we deal with pressure points just like everybody else does. I mean, everybody’s like, oh, I’d love to have that problem. I know you would. It’s a wonderful problem to have. It’s still a problem because we don’t want to become a lid to more people meeting Jesus in 2026. You know, by us not solving something that’s in our control to solve.Rich Birch — Yeah. In other contexts, I’ve talked about platinum problems. Those are are great problems, but they’re still problems with things we have to wrestle with. And and friends, if you’re not tracking with Sun Valley, you should be, or Paul or the Unstuck Group, these are all organizations you should be getting a chance to kind of follow along with. If people want to kind of connect with the church, get a better sense, follow along with your story, where do we want to send them online? Tell us about that. And then also Unstuck Group. I want to make sure we we send people there too.Paul Alexander — Yeah, Unstuck Group is super easy to find. Unstuckgroup.com. The listeners can email me at paul@theunstuckgroup.com. That’s the easiest way to get me, frankly. The easiest, cleanest way to get me if someone has a question or wants to follow up on something personally. I’m happy to do that, man.Rich Birch — Thanks so much, Paul. I appreciate you being here today and and really looking forward to seeing what happens in 2026 at Sun Valley. Take care, man.Paul Alexander — Yeah, glad to, man. Thanks for the invitation. Hope the conversation is helpful.

Listen now to Aaron's conversation with Dexter Van Zile, managing editor of Focus on Western Islamism at the Middle East Forum, about the statement condemning Christians who support Israel made last weekend by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem. In the statement, the Patriarchs proclaim that Christians who support Israel “mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock.” Find out what is behind this attempt to delegitimize the Jewish people and nullify their right to exist in their God given land.

Allie tackles the disturbing weekend incident at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where Black Lives Matter and anti-ICE activists stormed a worship service, shouting obscenities, terrorizing families, and disrupting prayer — while the intrusion was livestreamed and covered by Don Lemon, who was invited and knew about the planned protest. She exposes the manufactured outrage, the double standards in media narratives, and the real agenda: using toxic empathy to shield criminals, some of whom are convicted child sex offenders, while demonizing law enforcement and Christians. Allie also addresses Russell Moore's interpretation of Romans 13 and brings biblical clarity to the matter. And lastly, she responds to James Talarico's New York Times interview, criticizing his terminology of "progressive Christianity" that distorts biblical teachings on abortion, homosexuality, and government welfare. A sobering call to discern truth, reject selective empathy, and stand firm for order, sovereignty, and the gospel. Buy Allie's book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.toxicempathy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Timecodes: (00:00) Intro (03:30) Minnesota Church Protest (14:00) Left-Wing Mobs (21:00) Who Organizes These Protests? (30:55) Don Lemon (42:00) Who Is ICE Trying to Detain? (51:40) Russell Moore & Romans 13 (01:04:45) Response to James Talarico --- Today's Sponsors: Good Ranchers | To support a company that's committed to honoring America's past, present, and future, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GoodRanchers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ today. And if you subscribe to any Good Ranchers box of 100% American meat, you'll save up to $500 a year! Plus, if you use the code ALLIE, you'll get an additional $25 off your first order. We Heart Nutrition | Check out We Heart Nutrition at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WeHeartNutrition.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code ALLIE for 20% off. Re-Prev | Re-Prev supports your body in shifting out of fight-or-flight mode to a relaxed state of calm. Go to ⁠WholesomeIsBetter.com⁠ and use discount code ALLIE at checkout for 20% off your order.   Paleovalley | Small American farms. Regenerative agriculture. Transparency in food. When you choose Paleovalley, you're not just snacking — you're making a statement. Right now, you can get 15% off your first order at ⁠Paleovalley.com⁠ with code ALLIE. Range Leather | The quality is absolutely top-notch. Go ⁠RangeLeather.com/Allie⁠ to receive 15% off all Range Leather products when you visit my landing page. --- Episodes you might like:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ep 1283 | Is Tucker Carlson Right About Islam? ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000743878076⁠ Ep 1287 | Why Your Aunt Hates ICE: A Spiritual Analysis of Liberal Women ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000744895339⁠ Ep 1289 | 'Civil Rights' Were Weaponized to Crush Christians. Now the Trump Admin Is Fighting Back | Harmeet Dhillon ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000745478509⁠ Ep 1273 | Autism Fraud, Islamic Corruption & a Crucial Tennessee Election ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000739184571⁠ Ep 328 | Cancel Culture, Antifa & BLM Strike Again ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-328-cancel-culture-antifa-blm-strike-again/id1359249098?i=1000499199303⁠ --- Buy Allie's book "You're Not Enough (and That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.alliebethstuckey.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Relatable merchandise: Use promo code ALLIE10 for a discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last 30 years, the number of Americans who say they highly value patriotism, religion, community, and family has dropped dramatically. At the same time, the number of Americans who care about making more money has gone up. Phil, Kaitlyn, and Skye discuss David Brooks' new article about the culture's shift toward autonomy and away from loving attachments, and how Christians can begin rebuilding their social muscles. Sociologist and former pastor, Ryan Burge, is back to discuss why the political polarization of Christianity is hurting both the church and democracy. Also this week, why small houses are better for your soul, and monkeys are missing in St. Louis—or are they?   Holy Post Plus: Ad-Free Version of this Episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/148707266/   Bonus Interview with Ryan Burge: https://www.patreon.com/posts/148694023/   0:00 - Show Starts   3:38 - Theme Song   4:45 - Sponsor - Poncho - If you've been looking for the perfect shirt—something breathable, fits great, feels even better, and stands out in a good way—give Poncho a try. Get $10 off your first order by using this link: https://www.ponchooutdoors.com/holypost   5:12 - Sponsor - Tyndale - The Life Application Study Bible is here to give you resources to help you understand why scripture matters and how it applies today! Check it out now at: https://www.tyndale.com/sites/lasb/?utm_campaign=Bibles%20-%20NLT%20Life%20Applicati[…]ource=Holy%20Post%20Podcast&utm_medium=Microsite%20Nov%202025   7:00 - The Monkeys are Loose in St. Louis!   15:24 - David Brooks on Love   38:00 - Are You Socially Muscular?   50:33 - Sponsor - BetterHelp - This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off your first month!   51:30 -  Sponsor - PolicyGenius - Secure your family's tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Go to https://www.policygenius.com/HOLYPOST to find the right life insurance for you   52:34 - Interview   55:34 - Number of Christians Holding Steady   1:00:23 - Do Revivals Need to be Inside the Church?   1:09:38 - What is a Moderate Congregation?   1:17:50 - Evangelicalism Became Fundamentalism   1:24:00 - End Credits   Links Mentioned in News Segment: Monkeys! On the Loose! https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/us/monkeys-loose-st-louis.html   We're Living Through the Great Detachment: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/opinion/americans-marriage-loneliness-love.html   Elizabeth Oldfield on Social Muscles: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/opinion/community-housing-friendship.html   Other Resources: The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us (Why the Culture War Led to Polarization and What We Can Do About it) by Ryan Burge: https://amzn.to/4r1rbKL   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop   The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

It's the 2026 Leadership Trends Episode! Check out the Top Ten Leadership Trends for this year. This is an episode to share and discuss with your team, co-workers and boards. Make sure to visit http://h3leadership.com to access the full list and all the show notes. Thanks again to our partners for this episode: WONDER PROJECT – visit http://thewonderproject.com. An independent studio that produces premium theatrical films and television series. The mission is to entertain the world with courageous stories, inspiring hope and restoring faith in things worth believing in. Founded by established leaders from entertainment and technology, Wonder Project is dedicated to building a trusted brand, with projects like the most recent hit House of David. Get a FREE 7 day trial of Wonder Project on Prime Video at http://thewonderproject.com. And CONVOY OF HOPE – Please donate to the Jamaica hurricane relief efforts and ongoing work at http://convoyofhope.org/donate. Convoy is my trusted partner for delivering food and relief by responding to disasters in the US and all around the world. Right now, Convoy of Hope is responding to the Jamaica hurricane, Texas Floods destruction, the LA fires rebuilding efforts, providing basic needs like food, hygiene supplies, medical supplies, blankets, bedding, clothing and more. All through partnering with local Churches. Join me and please support their incredible work. To donate visit http://convoyofhope.org/donate.

In this episode, we explore some of the most intense political and global flashpoints making headlines right now — from domestic unrest to international crisis.Have a guest…our buddy WilKrey who has boots on the ground in Minneapolis (near) to give us first hand experience with what is going on in Minnesota!!!

“Did Vatican 1 go too far on papal authority and tradition?” This question opens a discussion on the balance of authority within the Church, while also addressing related topics such as the 1995 Vatican gathering on the filioque, the Orthodox perspective on the Immaculate Conception, and insights from Eastern Orthodoxy that could benefit Catholics. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 02:00 – Did Vatican 1 go too far on papal authority? 15:43 – Are you aware of a gathering in the Vatican in 1995 that clarified the teaching on the filioque? Why isn't it mentioned in online debate? 29:40 – Is there anything from EO that Catholics can learn or adopt that would be beneficial? 35:40 – Why to the Orthodox reject the Immaculate Conception? Do you think it is a stumbling block for them to convert? 41:41 – I'm Protestant and hear Catholics claim to be the one true Church but Jerusalem was under the Orthodox and that’s where the Church was founded. What’s your response? 48:30 – What are your thoughts on how the East has handled contraception? 52:30 – Why don't we see a lot of icons of St. Joseph in the eastern Churches?

Send us a textIn this episode, we sit down with AJ Dummitt, the new Global Missions Promotions Director, to discuss how partnership between North American churches and missionaries fuels the work of Global Missions. AJ Dummitt shares his ministry journey through pastoring, district missions leadership, serving Global Missions, and how his role helps strengthen the connection between the North American churches and the mission field.https://www.globalmissions.com/enroll-as-pim/

In this episode, we discuss why the church can't seem to agree, why there are so many denominations and how to traverse through the disagreements.

Join us as Senior Pastor Steve Fry discusses our identity as secure believers through the righteous example of Christ.

Brian From is joined by Pastor Derek Buikema of Orland Park Christian Reformed Church to talk about his call to ministry and what he loves most about being a pastor. Derek shares why “ordinary” churches—rooted in preaching, sacraments, and everyday faithfulness—are often where deep discipleship and quiet, life-changing ministry happens. The conversation also touches on church planting, blue-collar faith, and Derek’s surprising side passion: performing Shakespearean improv comedy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Madness increases in Minnesota; Calls for Pres Trump to invoke the 'Insurrection Act' heighten; The Trump admin advances the pursuit of GreenlandWatch VINCE Live on Rumble - Mon-Fri 10AM ET ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://rumble.com/vince⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DOJ Reportedly Investigating Tim Walz, Jacob Frey For Obstructing Law Enforcementhttps://dailycaller.com/2026/01/16/doj-reportedly-investigating-tim-walz-jacob-frey-for-obstruction/?_gl=1*7fbj06*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYxMTY2NTM0My4xNzY4NzM3MDA4*_ga_B906X4P4C5*czE3Njg3MzcwMDckbzEkZzAkdDE3Njg3MzcwMDckajYwJGwwJGgw Biden-Appointed Judge Limits ICE Tactics To Avoid ‘Retaliating' Against Minnesota Protestorshttps://dailycaller.com/2026/01/17/joe-biden-appointed-federal-judge-limits-immigration-customs-enforcement-tactics-avoid-retaliating-minnesota-protestors/?_gl=1*7fbj06*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYxMTY2NTM0My4xNzY4NzM3MDA4*_ga_B906X4P4C5*czE3Njg3MzcwMDckbzEkZzAkdDE3Njg3MzcwMDckajYwJGwwJGgw ‘This Is What You F*cking Wanted': Video Shows Pro-ICE And Anti-ICE Demonstrators Clash As Rioting Continueshttps://dailycaller.com/2026/01/17/jorge-ventura-video-shows-pro-anti-immigration-customs-enforcement-demonstrators-clash-riots/?_gl=1*12zbviw*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYxMTY2NTM0My4xNzY4NzM3MDA4*_ga_B906X4P4C5*czE3Njg3MzcwMDckbzEkZzAkdDE3Njg3MzcwMDckajYwJGwwJGgw Sponsors:Helix Sleep - https://helixsleep.com/vinceGoldbelly - https://goldbelly.com code: VinceBon Charge - https://boncharge.com code: VINCEFatty15 - https://fatty15.com/Vince Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For hundreds of years, the left has seen religion and in particular Christian churches as the enemy, and America got the latest reminder of that over the weekend when a mob disrupted a Christian worship service with the help of failed CNN anchor Don Lemon. The show explains the left's long history of anti-Christian hostility and calls for accountability. "Shepherds for Sale" author Megan Basham explains how this anti-Christian harassment is joined by steady internal subversion, and reacts to "rising star" Democrat James Talarico, a "seminarian," claiming that all religions are just as good as Christianity. Watch every episode ad-free on members.charliekirk.com! Get new merch at charliekirkstore.com!Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve says this weekend's desecration of a church in the Twin Cities proves why every single American church must have a plan to deal with demonic agitators. Then, Bob Vander Plaats joins the show to discuss the weekend's news. In Hour Two, it's another round of Ask Deace Anything, featuring questions from his audience on Facebook. TODAY'S SPONSORS: COVEPURE: https://covepure.com/?ref=151 and get up to $200 off MY PATRIOT SUPPLY: https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/pages/special-offer?hid=22&utm_source=StvDeace&utm_id=Direct&utm_medium=DB.End-PPW&utm_content=podc&utm_term=0-0&utm_campaign=Mktg_DB.End-PPW_StvDeace_podc__0-0 JASE MEDICAL: https://jasemedical.com/ and enter code “DEACE” at checkout for a discount on your order RELIEF FACTOR: VISIT https://www.relieffactor.com/ OR CALL 800-4-RELIEF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Questions about whether there's an issue with churches advertising on social media, whether it's weird if we pray along with a YouTuber, and whether Christian social media influencers are going against Matthew 6:1–2 when they film themselves doing good deeds.   What are your thoughts on churches advertising on social media? Is it weird that I often find myself praying along with a YouTuber when he ends his videos with a prayer? Are Christian social media influencers going against Matthew 6:1–2 when they film themselves doing good deeds?