Podcast appearances and mentions of dave ferguson

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Ted Coniaris, lead pastor of Community Christian Church in the greater Chicagoland area. After an intentional and extended succession process with founding pastor Dave Ferguson, Ted has stepped into the lead role during a pivotal season for the church. In this conversation, he shares what it looks like to lead through transition, clarify vision, and build a disciple-making ecosystem for the future. A transition built on trust and clarity. // Ted describes a multi-year succession process that included months of private conversations, an 18-month apprenticeship, and a highly visible transition with full support from church leadership. One of the most unique elements was launching a new vision before the transition was complete. While unconventional, this approach created immediate alignment and buy-in across the church. Because the process was prayerful, transparent, and unified, the congregation experienced less anxiety than expected, resulting in what Ted describes as a surprising sense of peace and readiness for what's next. Renovating, not rebuilding. // Ted uses the language of “renovation” to describe the church's next chapter. Community Christian Church has a rich 37-year history of helping people find their way back to God, especially those far from faith. Rather than starting from scratch, Ted is focused on building on that foundation while addressing a critical gap: what happens after people come to faith? This has led to a renewed focus on creating a clear and intentional disciple-making ecosystem. A bold, layered vision for the future. // Ted outlines a four-part vision that builds sequentially: every heart on fire, every person a pastor, every child and student equipped, and every neighborhood a thriving church. This framework begins with spiritual passion—not just participation—emphasizing that people today are searching for something deeper than casual faith. From there, the vision moves toward activating every believer in ministry, taking seriously the priesthood of all believers. The end result is a multiplying movement of disciples impacting communities at scale. Rethinking discipleship through Growth Track. // To support this vision, the church is developing a clear pathway called Growth Track, built around three movements: Alpha, Disciple, and Pastor. The goal is not just information or assimilation, but transformation and activation. Ted emphasizes helping every person identify their calling, answering the question, “Who am I called to reach?” This reframes discipleship from passive participation to active mission. Ancient practices for modern renewal. // One of the more surprising shifts has been a return to ancient spiritual disciplines. Through rhythms like “Ignite Week”—a church-wide season of prayer, fasting, and reflection—Ted is seeing increased spiritual intensity across all age groups. These rhythms create deeper roots than one-time events, shaping both individual lives and the overall culture of the church. A multiplying model through microchurches. // In addition to strengthening internal discipleship, Community Christian is expanding outward through a rapidly growing microchurch movement. With hundreds of microchurches already launched globally, the model focuses on simple, scalable principles: low control, high support, and strong coaching relationships. Rather than centralizing growth in large gatherings, this approach empowers everyday people to lead and reach others in their own contexts—creating the potential for exponential impact. The leader's soul is the strategy. // Ted closes with a powerful reminder: the most important strategy a leader has is their own spiritual health. Passion for God, integrity, and relational support are foundational. Ministry is difficult, but leaders who tend their own spiritual lives and refuse isolation will be better equipped to lead others effectively. To learn more about Community Christian Church, visit communitychristian.org. 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! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Your church is doing really well right now, and your leadership team is looking for solutions to keep momentum going! It could be time to start a new location. Maybe you have hesitated in the past few years, but you know it's time to step out in faith again and launch that next location. Portable Church has assembled a bundle of resources to help you leverage your growing momentum into a new location by sending a part of your congregation back to their neighborhood on Mission. This bundle of resources will give you a step-by-step plan to launch that new or next location, and a 5 minute readiness tool that will help you know your church is ready to do it! Click here to watch the free webinar “Launch a New Location in 150 Days or Less” and grab the bundle of resources for your church! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. Super excited to have you listening in today. GI gotta be totally honest. I asked this person to come on today to have a bit of an update conversation from a conversation we had out just over a year ago. I’m really excited for this because it’s kind of fun to follow along with this story. And this is an area that really is, applies to all of our churches and I want all of us to lean in. And so pay attention, whether you’re cutting your grass or whatever you’re doing for the next 30 minutes, it’s going to be a great conversation.Rich Birch — We’ve got Ted Coniaris with us. He is the lead pastor at a fantastic church, a multi-site church in the greater Chicagoland area called Community Christian. They have, if I’m counting correctly, seven physical locations, as well as micro churches that meet in homes throughout the week and online space, plus community freedom locations, which meet in correctional facilities across the region as well. Ted, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Ted Coniaris — Thanks, Rich. Really glad to be here. Great to see you again. We get to cross paths a few times a year, so it’s always great to connect. Appreciate the time.Rich Birch — I appreciate you you taking time to come on and and connect. Friends that are listening in, just kind of bringing you up to speed. We’ll link to the previous episode if you want to go back and and check that. But the last time we talked, you were apprenticing as the lead pastor at Community Christian under Dave Ferguson. And I think that was a year ago. And you you know there’s all the steps. I think you were step three, step four, somewhere in there. Ted Coniaris — Yeah.Rich Birch — And there was this handoff on the horizon. And now we’re on the other side of that. And so that’s part of why I wanted to get you on. Here we are a year later. Let’s talk about those things. You’re still there. So that’s a good thing.Ted Coniaris — I mean, as far as you know, this could be a fake backdrop. Who knows?Rich Birch — Yeah, true this is the… Yeah, so you know what? You were…Ted Coniaris — No, it is true.Rich Birch — It takes a lot of time. Talk to us through, you know, what’s happened since then. Talk us about that transition. Kind of bring us up to speed.Ted Coniaris — Absolutely. So as you said, we went through an 18 month apprenticeship, but before that we had about six, eight, probably eight months of conversations just Dave and I, before we went above ground with elders and everything else, maybe even a little longer than that. So it was quite a long process walking through our apprenticeship process as a church and really wanting to do that at the highest level, just like we do at every level of leadership as a church. Ted Coniaris — So that was an amazing process. Dave is an incredible leader and even better man and somebody that it was a great privilege to spend more and more time with him. He and Sue—his wife—Melissa and I spending time with them, and then John and and Lisa, his brother and his wife. We spent a lot of time together, so it was great. And then since then, May, they’re still around. They’re still a part of our church. Dave is now the CEO of Exponential, spending full time doing that.Ted Coniaris — And John is leading something called the Chicago Collective, which is a network of churches, networks of churches throughout Chicagoland, working to plant more churches, which we desperately need in Chicago area. So if you’re listening, you’re like, man, I’m thinking about planning a church in Chicago. Please reach out to me. I would love to help you do that. We desperately need more more churches here.Ted Coniaris — So since then, it’s been great. Honestly, there’s been so much change, so many things going on, but it’s truly, truly been really, really good. I think I’m tired in the right ways. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — I’m probably also tired in some of the wrong ways too… Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — …but it’s been a great it’s been a great transition.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool. You know, when we you were on last time, you were talking about really stewarding the mission of the future, while also chasing new vision, which is, is at that phase kind of easy to say, you’re like, okay, we’re looking forward to the future. Now you’re in the seat. And it’s like, you got to keep doing that. Now that you’re sitting there.,you know, what’s become clearer for you as you’ve thought about the next chapter and, and, you know, as you think about the future, what are, cause there may be some questions you’re wrestling with as you’re thinking, you know, up over to the horizon. Yeah. What are the things that are, are, are bubbling in your brain on that front?Ted Coniaris — Yeah, great question. I mean, so much has become more clear. But one of the great gifts that I felt like the Lord gave us as a church in this transition on the very front end was a real clarity and unity around our new vision as a church. It’s not so typical to launch a new vision for the church before the transition has even occurred. And I wouldn’t recommend that in other situations, but it just, the way that it went with us, this just felt like what the Lord was leading us to do.Ted Coniaris — So we actually actually launched the new vision for the church while Dave was still the lead pastor. And he stood right there beside me and in full support with our elders and everyone else. And so it was actually unique in that way. But that’s just really been confirmed. Honestly, that’s been one of the biggest things that I am grateful for through this process is just the Lord’s gift of clarity on the front end and just giving me ah real clear direction to run. Ted Coniaris — And I would say too, that there’s a big difference between a transition that’s been prayed over for years. Rich Birch — That’s good. Right, right.Ted Coniaris — It just lands differently than a transition.That’s just like been negotiated in some back room somewhere. You know, it’s like this…Rich Birch — Right. Right. Right. Yeah.Ted Coniaris — This has been prayed through and put above ground and has been a really healthy, visible process that I think resulted in the church just being wide open, saying, yeah, this feels right. This feels good. And we’re in. And so almost it’s like a a sense of exhale that I’ve been experiencing, which has surprised me…Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good.Ted Coniaris — …in the church.Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — I thought there would be more anxiety in the transition. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — But there’s really been like a quiet permission-giving that’s happened.Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good.Ted Coniaris — Almost like, you know, just the family knew the transition was healthy so they could just sort of relax into it and say, okay, what’s next?Rich Birch — Right. Right.Ted Coniaris — And in hindsight, what felt a little crazy of launching the vision now feels like if we hadn’t have done that, we would have missed a real amazing opportunity because people were really bought in right from the get-go, which has been great.Rich Birch — Well, and what, yeah, that’s great. And in hindsight, being able to look back at that moment and saying like, no, like, yeah, maybe not the kind of thing that you write in a book and say, that’s the way to do it. But it’s like, we did that. And there’s in hindsight, man, amazing to have kind of both of your endorsements on the future direction. And like, Hey, we’re excited to be going in this direction. There was a mutual support there that ended up accelerating pointing things to the future. That’s incredible. That’s great.Ted Coniaris — Yeah.Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — And so now it’s really…Go ahead. Sorry.Rich Birch — No, you go ahead. You go. Go ahead.Ted Coniaris — Okay. Yeah. Now it’s in the season where it’s how do we take that vision, that sort of north star for the future and building on their 37-year history as a church that’s been so rich and good in and move in this new direction, but also be aligned with our past.Ted Coniaris — You know, it’s not about tradition, but it is about, you know, God has been doing a unique and wonderful thing here that we want to continue in, but also kind of build on what’s next. So I felt like as a church, one of our great strengths as community, and this is really a reflection of Dave and John, is we’re a community where everyone is welcome. Like that that’s without a doubt. Anybody and everybody can walk through these doors and probably tens of thousands of people have over these last 37 years, and found their way back to God. It’s incredible. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s amazing.Ted Coniaris — I mean, when it comes to that zero to one, those people finding the Lord from a really hard spot, man, God has just used this church in such miraculous and amazing ways for so long. And we want to keep that. Like we love that about this place and just think it’s an amazing amazing strength of this community. But now we want to answer sort of the next question, which is now what? So everyone’s welcome.Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — Now what? Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — And so we want to build on that path towards what’s in the future. And the way we’re talking about it here is sort of renovating our disciple-making ecosystem, which is a big mouthful. But you know it’s renovating, and it’s a certainly a lot of you know jargon, but bear with me for a second.Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — You know, we’re renovating because we’re not starting from scratch.Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — We’ve got a great house, a great church.Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — Things are great. It’s time for a renovation. And what we’re renovating is a very clear, focused outcome, which is disciple-making. And I think that’s an area where we have not been as strong over the years. It’s like that first part of the journey. And we have a lot of evangelists here and we’re passionate. We want to keep that. But we also want to answer that that: now what? That disciple-making ecosystem. And it’s an ecosystem because not any one thing, this program doesn’t make you a disciple-making church. Rich Birch — Right, right. Ted Coniaris — Or just a good teacher doesn’t make you a disciple-making church. It’s all of these things kind of together create an environment and a path for that to happen. And so we’re just renovating all of those things with the vision, teaching, creating new rhythms as a church, and also creating a, for the first time for us at least, a clear disciple making process, which we’re we’re calling it Growth Track.Ted Coniaris — And a lot of churches use that term. But just trying to say, okay, our vision is to see every person step into their God-given calling to be a pastor. If every person is a pastor, it’s like, what if we actually took the priesthood of believers seriously? Right? And how would that change our disciple-making process if that was the end result? Rich Birch — That’s cool.Ted Coniaris — Right? I think a lot of times we can slip into being really like our disciple-making becomes more about assimilation. Or more about collecting a certain level of information or knowledge or even practice.Rich Birch — Yep. Yep.Ted Coniaris — But we’re trying to have a different output. We want to see people finding their way back to God, which has always been the core of our mission, and then released as pastors in the world and equipped to do that. Ted Coniaris — And so what’s our process for taking someone from a seeker to a pastor. We really didn’t have that. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — And so we’re in the process right now of just building all of that out, aligning all of our teams and creating just a clear answer to that, that “now what” question.Rich Birch — Yeah, love that. And, you know, that makes sense for a church of of this age. You know, people have changed, you know, what we used to call seekers or the people that were arriving, they’re different. It’s like the most obvious thing to say, but people are different today than they were 37 years ago when this ball got rolling. Rich Birch — And and what what are some of those early changes that you’ve made to renovate? What are some of those things that that do look a little bit different or are are, you know, kind of pointing in a new direction? Where where what are you learning on that that front?Ted Coniaris — Well, obviously the first one is the new vision, and I’ll just share that really, really quickly.Rich Birch — Yep.Ted Coniaris — But it’s, and they all build on each other. That’s really the the key for us. And while this is unique to Community Christian Church, it’s not a vision that’s unique to Community Christian Church. Like, I think this is really like a biblical thing, but it starts with every heart on fire.Ted Coniaris — And it talks about, when you ask the question about what’s different, I think one of the things that’s really different, people aren’t looking just for a place to blend in the background and be like, oh, this is cool.Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — You’re cool Jesus followers. I’m cool. We can be cool together. This is cool. That is, that is… Rich Birch — That’s amazing. I love it. Ted Coniaris — That is not what the next generation is looking for. Rich Birch — No.Ted Coniaris — They are looking for fire.Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — They are looking for passion. And rightfully so. Rightfully so. Thank God for that. Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — And so we want to lean into it. We don’t want to be a place where everybody’s buddies with Jesus. We want to create a place where people are consumed by him. Rich Birch — That’s good. Ted Coniaris — Just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus talked about, you know, we’re not our hearts beating or burning within us when they talk with Jesus along the road. That’s that’s the kind of community we want to be, a consumed community. And that’s the starting place for everything else. Everything else. And that’s not just emotionalism. It’s a passion for. It’s it’s a a focus on. Ted Coniaris — The second part, which builds on that, it’s not even worth going to the second part if you don’t do the first thing. The second part is every person a pastor, right? Because if you start with every person a pastor, but the heart’s not on fire, there’s not a passion and a consuming focus, you know, what kind of pastors are you raising, right?Rich Birch — Right, right.Ted Coniaris — It’s not the kind that the world needs. And so it’s every heart fire, then every person a pastor just really taking seriously the priesthood of all believers. I’m not the pastor, you know. You all are the pastors. I function as a pastor in this context, but you function as a pastor in whatever context God has placed you.Ted Coniaris — And if we could do those two things, if we can have every heart and fire and every person released into their God-given calling as a pastor, then maybe we could accomplish the third thing, which is every child and student equipped. Rich Birch — Wow. Yep.Ted Coniaris — Because that’s going to take all hands on deck. What our kids, what my kids, I have 16, 14, and 10-year-old, all boys. So please pray for us. But what what my boys are facing today, it’s like the challenges I faced have been weaponized and placed in the hands of every single kid. And yet our student and youth ministry, our kids and and student ministry, looks almost identical to what it did look like 37 years ago. Why is that? I mean, there’s different strategies, practice in those sort things.Rich Birch — That doesn’t make sense. Yeah.Ted Coniaris — But if you look at like the form even of itself, we’re like, it kind of looks the same. It looks sort of like the youth group I went to as a kid. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — And I think we need to be doing a lot more and investing more in the next generation in in relational deep ways. But it can’t happen without every heart and fire and every person being a pastor. And if we can do that, every heart of fire, every person pastor, every child and student equipped, then we can accomplish the Great Commission, right? Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — And that’s really the last part of the vision, which is every neighborhood a thriving church. Because the way you change the world is by having you know a community of Christ followers, place where Jesus is King, we’re on mission together within arm’s reach of every person on the planet.Ted Coniaris — You know that’s, that’s the plan. And so that’s what we’re targeting and going after. So that’s different. And so for us to do those things, there’s things we’re trying to change and layer in behind that. Really renovating our teaching ministry. We’re kind of going old school. We’re going back through like long series, books of the Bible, just walking through scripture, teaching people the Bible, just like the disciples on that road to Emmaus. You know, that was when Jesus opened the scriptures to them. It’s lit this fire inside of them.Ted Coniaris — I think that’s even more necessary. 37 years ago, basically a Christian culture-ish. Rich Birch — Yep.Ted Coniaris — Today, not so much. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — So nobody’s walking through the doors with like this biblical knowledge. They’re walking through the doors with nothing.Rich Birch — That’s so true, yeah.Ted Coniaris — And so, you know, we need to do that. So we’re doing that, creating rhythms in our calendar years. A lot more I could say about that. Spiritual disciplines communally, not just as individuals, feels maybe like a little spin on liturgical calendars of old. Rich Birch — Yep. Ted Coniaris — We’re embracing some of that in a new way for us.Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — And then this this Growth Track is a big part of that. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — And then there’s there’s more beyond that, but that’s just a few of the things.Rich Birch — Dude, I love it. I love I love the how those four layer on. I love the focus. I think it totally just feels right on with where you know culture’s at. Could you unpack a little bit of what you’re doing with Growth Track? What does that look like, that particular tactic in the… You know I think the idea of every person a pastor is a very compelling, that’s like a lean-in, “what did you just say?” kind of thing. Ted Coniaris — Yeah.Rich Birch — And then but what are you, you know, help us, help us understand, you know, a little bit of that, what you’re doing with Growth Track to kind of point towards that.Ted Coniaris — You mean like the mechanics of it or like just the overall strategy?Rich Birch — Yeah. How’s it work? What are you teaching there? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What, yeah, what’s, what is it?Ted Coniaris — Well, it’s all…Rich Birch — How’s it work?Ted Coniaris — Yeah, we’re getting ready to to launch it all this fall. Rich Birch — Great. Ted Coniaris — And yeah, we’re really excited about it. But essentially, it’s it’s three steps. “One. Life. Go.” is kind of how we talk about the Growth Track. And the first step is tried and true. It’s Alpha. Rich Birch — Yep. Ted Coniaris — I think Alpha is probably the single greatest tool available… Rich Birch — Sure. Sure. Ted Coniaris — …to help you know my friends and neighbors and family find their way back to God. I I love Alpha. I’m running an Alpha right now at an office with a buddy and his partners, all the partners of his business.Rich Birch — Yep. Ted Coniaris — We’re doing Alpha together over lunch. It’s amazing.Rich Birch — Love it.Ted Coniaris — So Alpha is step one.Ted Coniaris — Step two, we call disciple because disciple is both a noun and a verb. It’s who you are and it’s what you do. And so it’s, you know, we’ve used Rooted in the past as a church and Rooted is fantastic. We love Rooted. It’s been helpful to for us. But we felt like there were ways in which we wanted to adjust that to our context a little bit more… Rich Birch — Sure. Ted Coniaris — …and also have an opportunity for people to make a commitment to the church. We don’t do membership, but we do ask people to commit to belonging here. And honestly, I think that’s a big missing step in the overall discipleship of a lot of like churches like ours. Because if you don’t have a commitment, and there’s just kind of growth that happens in your life that only can happen in a committed relationship. And it’s not about you committing to me. It’s really about us committing to each other. And when we do that, it opens the door to a different layer and level of transformation in your own life.Rich Birch — Yeah, I love that.Ted Coniaris — And committing to that unity on the front end is is really important. And so we want to do that. We also do several other things a part of that, but that’s kind of a general idea. Ted Coniaris — And then the third step is pastor. That’s the goal. That’s where we’re going.Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — It’s also a noun and a verb, right? Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah. Cool.Ted Coniaris — It’s who you are and it’s what you do. Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — And this is designed to do that. So we took some learnings actually from Brian Sanders, and he has something called the Calling Lab. He does the Tampa Underground down in Florida.Ted Coniaris — He’s done some great work on that.Ted Coniaris — And it’s essentially a similar process of triangulating your true sense of calling. We want everybody in our church to be able to say, I exist to help blank find their way back to God. Rich Birch — That’s cool.Ted Coniaris — Like, who are you called to reach?Rich Birch — That’s cool.Ted Coniaris — Because what’s a starting ground for someone to be a pastor? You know, like, is it education? Is it more this, more that? Well, I think the journey of learning and growing and honing your gifting, it has to start with the calling. And I think there are so many people who just, they don’t know how to finish that sentence. Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — Even if it is your kids or your neighbors or your coworkers, have you really done the work? Have you invested to say, no, these are the people, like names and faces that I’m called to reach. And then I’m released into that context as a pastor. So when I show up to work, I want to show up. I’m the pastor of BMO Harris Bank today because that’s where I work and I’m a teller there.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah.Ted Coniaris — you know I’m the pastor of You know, my neighborhood and in Downers Grove, in my part, my north, you know, little west quadrant there. That’s what I want to show up. That’s what I want our whole church showing up as. Thousands and thousands of pastors released into every arena of life. And so a lot of churches have Growth Track, or something like it. We’re really trying to say, okay, what’s what is the unique thing that that we’re feeling Lord’s calling us to produce here? And that’s it. And so we’ve designed these steps to work together to produce that that thing in us.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s very cool.Ted Coniaris —Hope that’s helpful.Rich Birch — I love that. Oh, it’s super helpful. I love I love what you’re doing there. And that’s thanks for taking the time to unpack that. Rich Birch — Pivoting in a slightly different direction, we were together at Exponential at Dave’s event. And well, it’s not Dave’s event. I understand that. At the Exponential conference. And we were at a breakfast together. And you mentioned about some just kind of in passing some stuff that was going on at the church that was and part of it was some of this around spiritual vitality, you’re seeing that increase.Rich Birch — I’m assuming that some of these, you know, pieces of these puzzles coming together. But then you also talked about the kind of growth of your microchurch, you know, planting movement that’s connected to Community. Could you unpack that a little bit more? Tell us a little bit about, you know, that that, how does that fit into the whole story that God’s writing here?Ted Coniaris — Yeah, I think the spiritual vitality, I’ll start there. The way we talk about it a lot is it just feels like everywhere you go, the spiritual temperature is just increasing. In kids, in students, in adults, our small groups, in our services, it’s just across the board. There’s just like an increased heat or passion around our faith.Ted Coniaris — I think a part of that is is truthfully in a season of transition, there’s always an opportunity to be open to something new. And we’ve been trying to really place our focus on, well, what’s the new thing? Like, how what is the condition of your heart? Are you on fire, truly on fire? I think putting that question, that vision in front of us as a church has been refining – that in and of itself. Ted Coniaris — But we’ve also just seen, I mean, there’s so much I could speak to on this, but one of the things I’m just really excited about is what’s happening with our students right now. We talk a lot about students being the leaders of tomorrow’s church, but I’ll tell you here, they’re the leader of today’s church. Rich Birch — So true. Ted Coniaris — I mean, they are setting a tone with passion and a desire.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s very true.Ted Coniaris — Like we do our services. I’m at the Yellow Box location, right? It’s our Naperville church here. And teaching here on Sunday. And there’ll be a group of students that will just come and sit on the ground in front of the stage… Rich Birch — Right. Right. Ted Coniaris — …have their Bibles open with their notebook, taking notes. And then during worship, it’s like they’re in the pit of a concert. You know, they’re at the stage, hands up.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, it’s true.Ted Coniaris — And you’ve got a room full of thousands of adults watching this and they’re leading us. Nobody asked them to do it. Nobody told them to do that.Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — So I think some of it, I point to that. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool.Ted Coniaris — Others other parts of it is we’ve really kind of pushed our chips into the middle on some of the ancient stuff instead of new trendy stuff… Rich Birch — Yeah. Ted Coniaris — …specifically prayer and fasting.Rich Birch — Oh, that’s cool. Tell me more about that. I’d love to hear about that.Ted Coniaris — So yeah, earlier I talked about, you know, we’re embracing the calendar rhythms as a church.Rich Birch — Yep.Ted Coniaris — I really believe that, you know, rhythms are so much more powerful than events because, you know, an event is just a drop in the ocean. But if you can build some rhythms, you could actually build some roots. Rich Birch — That’s cool.Ted Coniaris — And, you know, our most valuable resources, our people, and our most valuable real estate is our calendar. And so we’ve said, you know, three times a year as sort of the calendar turns and that’s sort of the rhythm of our community. There’s sort of three seasons, there’s winter, there’s fall and there’s spring/summer. So to launch those seasons, we do what we now call an Ignite Week where we ask the whole church to commit to a full week of prayer and fasting. Rich Birch — Wow. Very cool.Ted Coniaris — And then we have intentional programming in that week to do like a full spiritual reset to say, okay, God, what are you saying to me right now? For the individual, we have like prayer and fasting guides to help guide people through that experience. For the groups, we do these discipleship conversations where we want everybody in each group to say, okay, what is God saying to me right now? And what am I doing to say yes to him?Ted Coniaris — And then for our locations, we take a break from all of our regular series stuff and we do Hearts on Fire Sunday. And we just say, okay, God, what are you doing here? What are you doing today? What are you doing right now? And it feels very different than our regular Sundays. Ted Coniaris — And then for the church as a whole, all of our locations together, we do what we call our Ignite Gathering on Saturday morning. It’s actually coming up this Saturday. And we just gather the whole church together. And what’s happened in these Ignite Gatherings is really exciting. It feels like a a catalyst for the rest of the church. Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — It’s like the church we’re going to be a year from now, we get to see in that room on Saturday morning. Rich Birch — That’s very cool.Ted Coniaris — And ah after a week of prayer and fasting, gathering the church together to worship, to break the fast together in communion, it’s it’s powerful. Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — I mean, it is powerful. The environment of that space is so different There’s such a hunger for the Lord and honestly, a true actual physical hunger after all that fasting.Rich Birch — Yes. Yes.Ted Coniaris — But it’s it’s it’s really changing the whole, as I said earlier, this ecosystem of our church. so those are some of the real important you know pieces of that ecosystem. Rich Birch — Oh, I love that. Yeah, I love that. And and um it isn’t isn’t it interesting? So we’re seeing lots of that kind of things or echoes of that across the country where, you know, there’s a there’s been a shift that, you know, we’ll probably understand better five years from now. We’ll look back and we’ll put all the pieces together and understand what God’s doing. But it does appear like, you know, the Spirit’s on the move. They say, what is that? Aslan’s on the move, right? Something is shifting in people. And you know, we’re trying to keep pick keep pick up keep up with it and do what we can to continue to steward what’s here.Rich Birch — And my experience with, you know, our our churches would have similar backgrounds, similar history. You know, we’re a heart for people who don’t, and your church has a heart for people who who don’t follow Jesus. You know, we’re trying to create a space for those folks. But though my experience has been those people are different today than they were 20 years ago. That people are coming much more, it’s like they’re farther along in the process. They’re they’re much more engaged than than um than they have been in the past. And so they’re willing to jump into the deep end of the pool on some of this stuff, maybe even more quickly than our long-term people… Ted Coniaris — Yeah, I think that’s true. Rich Birch — …because of whatever God’s doing in in their life. That’s that’s, yeah, that’s really interesting. That’s a cool thing to, you know, to be a part of, to hear you know a part of that. What about on the microchurch side? What’s happening there?Ted Coniaris — Yeah.Rich Birch — What is that? Yeah, what’s that? What’s happening with that?Ted Coniaris — So during COVID, we just sort of began dipping our toe in the water of starting microchurches under this belief that the macrochurch movement, even megachurch, doesn’t need to be at odds or in conflict with the house church and microchurch movement. Rich Birch — Yep.Ted Coniaris — Like, is there way for us to just see that as one thing instead of competing things, reaching all different kinds of people? And so we’ve just kind of dipped our toe in that. And here we are a few years later. Took us few years kind of figure out what we wanted to do. Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — We’ve been doing it for about three years now. We have you know somewhere around, i was just texted the guy for the today number because it’s growing so fast, somewhere around 350 microchurches all around the world.Rich Birch — Wow.Ted Coniaris — And it’s it’s a simple, simple, simple strategy where you’re just basically saying anybody in the world, anybody on planet Earth, feeling called the planet Earth or maybe you already have and you don’t know what to do with it. Rich Birch — Right.Ted Coniaris — And what’s interesting is that there are, I don’t know how many people, but there are a lot of people on this Earth. And a lot of people are asking that exact question and they just need someone who’s going to say, we can help you. We can help you.Rich Birch — Interesting.Ted Coniaris — We want to help you do that. We want to coach you, train you, and then set you up with a cohort of others doing the same thing to help you do it in a sustainable fashion. It’s it’s very low investment. It’s very low control, but it’s super high results.Rich Birch — Yeah. Huh.Ted Coniaris — And so it’s it’s sort of a little mind shift because a lot of times we want to have everything controlled. We want to have everybody’s theology statement. We want to have all this stuff. We want to know it’s going to be successful. We want to da-da-da-da-da. It’s like we’re not doing any of that. We obviously do teach some theology, but what we do is just keep like, what are what are these sort of ecclesiological minimums?Rich Birch — Yeah.Ted Coniaris — And how can we just center on those things… Rich Birch — Yeah. Ted Coniaris — …and launch as many people as possible and see what the Lord does? And he’s been doing some remarkable things. And I think you know our world has a giant need. We need to see millions of people find their way back to God. And a lot of us have strategies where the wild success is if we had thousands of people come and find their way back to God over decades.Ted Coniaris — This this is a strategy that could reach millions. Like I think we legitimately can see a network of these and people down the chain will have no idea kind of where it came from and they don’t need to. But I legitimately think in 10 years time, we could easily reach a million people and have a a church of a million people, but not in the traditional sense.Rich Birch — Right. Ted Coniaris — But through this.Rich Birch — Yeah. Well, I love that because, man that’s a great vision to cast. Because you can’t build enough or a big enough yellow box for all of even Chicagoland, right?Rich Birch — Like that’s just not going to, you know, you can’t.Ted Coniaris — Oh, yeah. No.Rich Birch — And and that is a, you know, it’s a just a resource intensive, you know, that’s been my life’s work. I've spent a lot of time on that. it’s not I’m not downing that, friends. Save your cards and letters. I still think that’s a piece of the puzzle. Ted Coniaris — I agree.Rich Birch — But how do we, is there a way for us to, work together to find solutions? How what how does the, I appreciate the, know, we’re not trying to be high control. We’re trying to, you know, we’re not you know we’re trying to really foster something that’s already in happening. We’re going to we’re going to get behind it, do what we can to support it. And we’re not going to try to over control. But I’m going to ask the control question. How do you, what is the kind of level of interaction that you’re, you’re finding is kind of the appropriate, it’s the, you know, not too little, not too much. Where have you found that’s like, hey, this, this is the kind of good sweet spot that that we have found so far with these, you know, 350, you know, microchurches.Ted Coniaris — Are you asking like, what’s the relational rhythm or…Rich Birch — Yeah. What is, yeah. What is the connection? What’s the relational rhythm between, or even connection between community and those 350? Like, are they, how are they, how do they relate to you and your team, your people, your volunteers, and then vice versa? What does that, you know, how does that, what’s that look like? What’s the connection there?Ted Coniaris — Yeah, it’s it’s purely coaching, training and ongoing support.Rich Birch — Yep.Ted Coniaris — And we also make it clear there’s no financial arrangement – them to us or us to them.Rich Birch — Yep.Ted Coniaris — And what we find is that just keeps the relationship very clean.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s good.Ted Coniaris — We’re here to coach, support, train, launch, walk alongside.Ted Coniaris — It’s a relational currency. Rich Birch — Yeah. Ted Coniaris — And it’s an expertise currency and a material and resource are the currencies. And so that’s really what we’re doing so when it comes to you know what is the relational controls or how do you keep tabs or you know, whatever might be behind the question for us it’s more about that thriving coaching relationship… Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Yeah. Ted Coniaris — …and that this is a journey and you know if somebody is unwilling or unable to connect, I mean, they just go do their own thing. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah.Ted Coniaris — And we’re not going to try to stop them. Rich Birch — No. Yeah.Ted Coniaris — You know, we want to be dancing with the people who want to dance. We’re not you know spending our time or energy on that. And so it’s really that that coaching system and network. That’s the key in scaling that coaching system and network is how you reach a million people.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s great. That’s a huge vision. I love that. That’s that’s super inspiring. Rich Birch — Well, Ted, this has been a great check-in and lots of good stuff. Just want to encourage you in your leadership at Community. Appreciate what you’re doing there. Thanks for letting us kind of pull back the curtain a little bit and and get a sense in there. Any kind of final words you’d have for leaders that are listening in today? You know, we’ve covered a lot of ground, but anything you know you’d you’d want to kind of remind us just as we close off today’s conversation.Ted Coniaris — Yeah. And you know, the thing that’s just sort of striking me in the moment is just to encourage the pastors who are listening in particular to, to really remember that, that the strategy is your soul. And your own passion and hunger and thirst for the Lord and your integrity and walking that out, that is the key strategy. That is the most important thing. And you can’t do that alone.Ted Coniaris — You know, a lot of times talk about leadership being lonely. I kind of have a different view. I think loneliness is a choice. And I think you can choose not to be lonely. And so I know there are people who feel discouraged and that discouragement leads to isolation and that isolation feels like loneliness and it just becomes this downward spiral. There are different choices you can make to change the direction of that.Ted Coniaris — I know a lot of people are are struggling. The ministry is hard. It’s really hard. But I think that if you can really focus on your passion, your fire, tending your flame with the Lord, it will make the work of ministry lighter. It will make the successes and failures less impactful on you. And to find to find some people who can you can really be vulnerable with, who are sharing the same kind of load that you carry, that would be if I could just say one thing to a group of, you know, 5,000 pastors, that’s probably the thing I would just say right now.Rich Birch — That’s so good.Rich Birch — So good. Well, Ted, I appreciate you coming on today. Where do we want to send people if they want to track with you or with the church? Where do we want to send them online?Ted Coniaris — Communitychristian.org, church website, probably the best place. You can find us on socials and stuff like that. I don’t really do social stuff. It’s not my thing.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah.Ted Coniaris — But you could go to the church. You can find all that. So it’s Community Christian Church in the Chicago area, and you’ll find everything.Rich Birch — That’s great. Thanks so much, Ted. Appreciate being here today, sir.Ted Coniaris — Thank you, Rich. Appreciate you too.

Our guest is DAVE FERGUSON, Chicago based CEO of Exponential, one of the largest church planting movements and networks in the world. Dave is also the founding pastor of Community Christian Church in the Chicago area, and the author of multiple books, including his most recent Multiplier. We discuss connecting, the RPM'S for your life, why multiply matters, dealing with drift, how to finish well as a leader, and so much more. Plus check out 20 Young Leaders to know about and follow. Make sure to visit http://h3leadership.com to access the full list and all the show notes. Share them with your team, repost the lists, and follow and subscribe. Thanks again to our partners for this episode: CONVOY OF HOPE - Please donate to help bring hope to those impacted by disasters 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 tornado impacts across the US, Texas Floods destruction, and 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. And GENERIS – one of the biggest challenges today is building a culture of generosity. But our friends at Generis have the proven giving strategies that will help accelerate generosity in your church, school, college or non-profit. For over 30 years Generis has helped thousands of churches and non profits develop a sustainable culture of generosity to fund their God-inspired vision. Get started at http://generis.com to schedule a conversation with one of their incredible consultants. It will be worth your time. Again, visit http://generis.com to get started. Generis has the experience and heart to inspire generosity, advance your mission, and grow your impact for the Kingdom.

Truly Significant honors Dave Ferguson, author of Multipliers and leader of Exponential. Hear Dave's story and how his family planted new churches. He is pre-occupied with the 16% mission built around the innovation curve.The innovation curve tells us that if you can get 16% of early adopters on board, they will get the other 84%.  And here's a stunner about spiritual and community capital....people that are a part of a spiritual tribe make better neighbors and better citizens. Listen to Dave riff on experimentation. "Test everything" applies to starting new churches and building communities that matter. Learn how to participate in the training to start a micro church.  Hear about the 400 micro churches started in the last four years, around the globe and 25 in Chicago. Visit www.exponential.org today to learn more. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.

The vast majority of churches are plateaued or declining, and Exponential CEO Dave Ferguson explains why most churches never grow, let alone multiply. Plus, he shares the latest trends in church planting in this special episode recorded backstage at Exponential Global Conference in Orlando. 

Confessing Sin - HCP 301On this episode of the podcast, Larry, Drew and Heidi talk about the need for active and intentional confession in the life of the Christ follower and the need for church leaders to walk in this rhythm instead of hiding in shame and secrets.Larry also mentioned the RPMS from Dave Ferguson's new book "Multipliers"Are you healthy in these areas? Relational, Physical, Mental and Spiritual.You can email us at info@healthychurchpodcast.com orTo find more information about The Healthy Church Podcast go to:http://www.healthychurchpodcast.comor find us on FaceBook!

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Dave Ferguson to talk about what it really means to become a multiplier.Dave brings decades of experience in church planting, leadership development, and movement-building, helping leaders think beyond addition and into multiplication. The conversation explores how disciple-making movements grow, why leaders have to release control, and what it looks like to equip everyday believers to lead, serve, and make disciples where they are.If you want to move from doing ministry yourself to mobilizing others for mission, this episode will help you take the next step toward multiplication.Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode: NewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the Church Planter Podcast. We're here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

What if the question "How do I grow my church?" is keeping you from actual kingdom impact? In this vision-casting conversation, Dave Ferguson - founder of Exponential and author of Multiplier - reveals why waking up asking "How do we multiply God's kingdom?" changes everything, how churches with a vision to plant 10+ churches grow 10% faster annually (while non-planting churches are plateaued), and why half the seats in his pastor peer group are now empty because of drift.Dave shares stories of movement-makers like a pastor in Zimbabwe (who helped overthrow a 30-year dictator through discipleship) and Mimi at Amazon (who planted 100 micro churches with a $0 budget). Discover the four gauges (RPMS) that could save your ministry and marriage, why 16% of multiplying churches creates a tipping point, how Community Christian handed off leadership after 18 months of apprenticeship, and what a "dream hour" is (and why Dave regrets not doing it sooner).Key Insights:03:11 - "Progressivism Is Having a Crisis of Faith"04:54 - Multiplier: Movement-Making Potential Inside Every Believer05:53 - How Discipleship Overthrew a Dictator07:01 - A Call Back to What Jesus Actually Did12:03 - Beyond the Ticket to Heaven Mentality13:24 - When the Evangelical Community Gets Sucked Into Politics14:57 - The Four Gauges That Could Save Your Ministry and Marriage 21:03 - What Is a Dream Hour? (And Why Dave Regrets Not Doing It Sooner)24:11 - Why Church Planting Is the Best Evangelistic Tool We Have27:37 - Kingdom Stewardship: Give Your Church Away, God Gives You More28:58 - Dave's Succession at Community Christian Church34:52 - God Is Kind, God Is Good, God Will Get You ThroughResources Mentioned:Multiplier: Leading Your Church to Movement by Dave FergusonExponential: https://exponential.org/⁠Dave's Substack: https://substack.com/@fergusondave - "How to Discover Your God-Given Future"Community Christian Church succession storyBulk book orders: dave@exponential.org (10+ copies)Follow Innovative Church Leaders:Website: https://innovativechurchleaders.org/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InnovativeChurchLeadersFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/InnovativeChurchLeaders/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovativechurchleadersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovative-church-leaders/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@innovativechurchleadersEric Bryant: https://ericbryant.org/Dave Ferguson: https://daveferguson.org/Exponential: https://exponential.org/Email: dave@exponential.orgPastoral Cohort with N.T. Wright: https://innovativechurchleaders.org/cohort/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-post-christian-podcast/id1509588357Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZeQIrzr2tCMyq1VdwxGNnChurches that plant 10+ churches grow 10% faster. Stop building your castle. Start multiplying God's kingdom at innovativechurchleaders.org#ChurchLeadership #ChurchPlanting #Multiplication #Exponential #KingdomOfGod #ChurchGrowth #Discipleship #Succession #PastoralCare #MovementMaking

When Pastors and Entrepreneurs Unite: Multiplication, Movement, and Missional ImaginationWhat happens when you put a pastor and an entrepreneur in a room with a whiteboard? According to Dave Ferguson, you get real solutions that push back darkness with light. Join host Justin Forman as he sits down with Dave Ferguson—co-founder of Community Christian Church in Chicago and the New Thing Network, which has helped plant 30,000 churches across 69 countries—to explore what it really takes to build a movement, why church planters and entrepreneurs are more alike than they think, and how "missional imagination" could be the missing ingredient in both the church and the marketplace.Dave shares hard-won lessons from decades of church planting, network building, and leadership development—including the leadership framework from his upcoming book Multiplier: How Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact. From the four Rs that fueled exponential growth to the RPMS dashboard that keeps leaders healthy over the long haul, this conversation is packed with frameworks entrepreneurs will immediately recognize and apply.Key Topics:Why church planters and entrepreneurs share the same wiring—and what that means for the KingdomThe "chaortic" principle: how clear vision + clear values unlock movement-level multiplicationDave's RPMS framework: the four gauges every leader must monitor daily (Relational, Physical, Mental, Spiritual)From addition to multiplication: the difference between making disciples and making disciple-makersThe "all abilities church" story—what happens when a salesman with a passion gets a pastor's blessing50 micro-expressions of church inside Amazon—and what it means for entrepreneurs in the marketplaceWhy "missional imagination" beats checklist Christianity every timeNotable Quotes:"If you put a pastor and an entrepreneur in a room with a whiteboard and a facilitator, I can't imagine you're not going to come up with real solutions to go like, hey, here's how we push back that darkness with light." – Dave Ferguson"You reproduce who you are and what you do." – Dave Ferguson"If we aim for mission, you're going to get mission and you're probably going to get some of the deepest friends that you've ever had." – Justin Forman

To kick off 2026, the Exponential Australia Church Leaders Podcast welcomes back Dave Ferguson, visionary leader of Exponential Global, for a timely conversation as we move toward our August National Gathering theme, Multiplier: It is in you. Dave shares the major leadership transition he navigated in 2025, handing the baton at Community Christian Church through an intentional apprenticeship process and stepping into his full time CEO role at Exponential. He unpacks the heartbeat behind the 16 percent mission and why church planting remains the most effective evangelistic strategy, not only for reaching people, but for human flourishing and community renewal. This episode goes deeper than strategy, confronting cultural strongholds church leaders face in the West, especially drifting into places we never intended. Dave introduces the internal gauges that protect health and integrity, and the external practices that drive genuine multiplication. He challenges leaders to shift the question from “How do I grow my church?” to the far better question: “How do we multiply God's Kingdom?” and calls the Australian church to embrace its opportunity to set the pace for multiplication in a post Christian landscape.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL WK3 - Christmas Future: In this episode of the Sacred Echo podcast, hosts Paddy McCoy, Dave Ferguson, and Andreas Beccai discuss the significance of Christmas and its connection to the book of Revelation. They explore themes of hope, inclusion, and the overarching narrative of salvation throughout scripture. The conversation delves into the contrasts of light and darkness, the importance of community, and the invitation to the kingdom of God. The hosts emphasize the beauty of the Christmas story as a revelation of Jesus and the promise of a future filled with hope and reconciliation.

Im Gespräch zwischen Florian Wüthrich und Jörg Ahlbrecht geht es um den kommenden Willow Creek Leitungskongress 2026 in Dortmund (12. - 14. Februar 2026) zum Thema «Gute Leitung braucht starke Wurzeln». Ahlbrecht spricht darüber, wie wichtig geistliche Tiefe und Verwurzelung für Leitung in Kirche und Gemeinde sind – besonders nach den Herausforderungen der letzten Jahre. Er gibt Einblicke in die inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte, das Programm und die Referierenden des Kongresses, darunter John Mark Comer, Mindy Caliguire, Martin Schleske, Dave Ferguson, André Häusling und Michael Herbst. Ausserdem erzählt er von seiner eigenen Rolle und dem anstehenden Generationenwechsel im Organisationsteam. Livenet ist Medienpartner des Willow Creek Leitungskongress 2026.Das vollständige Gespräch mit Jörg Ahlbrecht ist im aktuellen Livenet Talk zu sehen.

In this conversation, Pastors Andreas Beccai, Dave Ferguson, and Paddy McCoy delve into the darker aspects of human nature, discussing how easily one can slip into moral downfall. They explore how King David could go from a man after God's own heart, to being ok with murder and rape. The fall from temptation to sin is discussed, and as dark as it may seem at times, there is still hope to be found when you understand the heart of God who continues to chase after us, even when.

Jeg er tilgjengelig. Om vi sier det, kan så mye skje. I denne prekenen deler Dave Ferguson, en venn av Salt fra Community Christian Church, fra eget liv og fra Guds ord om å gå med Gud i hverdagen. Vi har det allerede i oss, så hvordan skal det komme ut?

Listen in on a special live recording of Crosswalk's Sacred Echo Podcast, featuring Paddy McCoy, Tim Gillespie, Dave Ferguson, and Andreas Beccai.

When you've been transformed by God's love, you can't help but want others to experience the same grace and freedom. But how do you share it without scaring them away or offending them? For most Christians, “evangelism” is an intimidating word that suggests handing out tracts to strangers or doing other awkward things. But what if there was a more organic, more authentic way to share your faith with your friends, neighbors, and coworkers? Dave Ferguson shares five simple, straightforward practices that will allow any believer to do just that. And by consistently living them out, you can affect not just individual lives but your entire neighborhood and community—one person at a time. When you've been transformed by God's love, you can't help but want others to experience the same grace and freedom. But how do you share it without scaring them away or offending them? For most Christians, “evangelism” is an intimidating word that suggests handing out tracts to strangers or doing other awkward things. But what if there was a more organic, more authentic way to share your faith with your friends, neighbors, and coworkers? Dave Ferguson shares five simple, straightforward practices that will allow any believer to do just that. And by consistently living them out, you can affect not just individual lives but your entire neighborhood and community—one person at a time.

Today's show:Jason and Alex are joined by Nuro's Dave Ferguson to unpack the Lucid–Uber–Nuro deal aiming to launch fully driverless Gravity SUVs on Uber by 2026. They dig into why off-the-shelf sensors and Nvidia's Thor chip drive costs down, how mapping 150 cities improves safety, and why lidar still matters for night and edge cases. Plus: lessons from Cruise's collapse, how regulators think about safety multiples, and why autonomy could finally make rides cheaper than owning a car.Timestamps:(00:00) Show intro…(06:23) Uber x Lucid x Nuro: why this 2026 robotaxi deal matters(09:57) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist(11:13) What the self-driving “cost stack” really looks like in 2025(14:08) Road-mapping at scale: Nuro's 150-city data collection push(15:38) Can AVs handle snow & rain? Weather rollout and Uber Black positioning(20:05) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(21:07) Show Continues…(24:24) Probabilistic vs. deterministic driving models — and the DARPA roots(30:08) Stripe Startups - Stripe Startups offers early-stage, venture-backed startups access to Stripe fee credits and more. Apply today on stripe.com/startups.(31:08) Show Continues…(35:38) Post-Cruise reality check: transparency, regulators & trustSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:(09:57) Lemon.io - Get 15% off your first 4 weeks of developer time at https://Lemon.io/twist(20:05) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(30:08) Stripe Startups - Stripe Startups offers early-stage, venture-backed startups access to Stripe fee credits and more. Apply today on stripe.com/startups.Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.comSubscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4th of September, does Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith have a fix for a system a new report says is under “considerable stress”? Great news for the teaching sector as we see a 30% rise in training enrolments. Kiwi robotics genius Dave Ferguson's company Nuro is now worth over $10 billion, and he talks to Mike about wanting to lead the way when it comes to robotaxis. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of New Zealand's brightest is looking to be a leading figure in the robotics and self-driving car game. Kiwi Dave Ferguson is one of the minds behind Nuro, a US maker of self-driving car technology – a company that just raised US$203 million in a funding round supported by Uber and Nvidia. He began his career in self-driving vehicles with Google, working as a principal engineer on the Waymo program before splitting off to begin Nuro. Self-driving cars have existed in fiction for decades, but real-life examples are a fairly new example, and although many people are sceptical about using them, Ferguson believes that will change. “I think that the safety benefits that we're going to get, the improvement in access, the sustainability, the economic benefits, the time back, like, it's going to be an incredible project,” he told Hosking. “A pretty incredible part of society long term.” “Almost everyone I've ever known who has been in a Waymo, which is the only fully self-driving vehicle ... everyone that has been in a Waymo in San Francisco absolutely loves it.” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does a multi-billion dollar self-driving startup pivot from custom autonomous delivery vehicles to L4 software licensing? Nuro co-founder/President Dave Ferguson explains their new plan, the partnership with Lucid and Uber, and why deploying the first-ever luxury robotaxi makes sense. Also, Alex Roy asks an insane question.

What does it take to build something that lasts beyond your leadership? In this powerful conversation, Tim Foot sits down with Dave Ferguson to explore how intentional succession, apprenticeship, and multiplication shape the future of the church. Drawing from his own transition at Community Christian Church and his leadership of Exponential, Dave shares the do's and don'ts of raising up new leaders, the barriers holding churches back from multiplying, and the hopeful signs of a movement led by risk-taking, permission-giving cultures. If you want to grow leaders, not just fill roles—this is the episode for you.

In today's episode, Sean sits down with Ted Coniaris and Dave Ferguson of COMMUNITY to explore healthy succession plans in church leadership. Ted, a former church planter turned lead pastor apprentice, shares his journey from Greek Orthodox roots to executive leadership. Dave, the founding pastor and now CEO of Exponential, reflects on stepping back, championing Ted, and why a leadership handoff rooted in humility, clarity, and trust works. Together, they reveal the intentional 18-month apprenticeship model they followed—complete with timelines, vision handoffs, and mutual respect. If you're navigating leadership transitions in your church, this episode is full of practical wisdom and encouragement. Welcome to Episode 138 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.

In this powerful episode of The Church Planting Podcast, Greg Nettle is joined by long-time friend and influential church leader Dave Ferguson. Dave is the founding pastor of Community Christian Church, president of Exponential, and co-founder of the global church planting network NewThing—now integrated into Exponential. The conversation covers: Dave's personal and organizational transitions, including appointing a new lead pastor at Community A deep dive into his 5-step leadership apprenticeship model (from his book Hero Maker) His global perspective on a potential revival among Gen Z, especially in the UK The explosive growth of microchurches His upcoming book Multiplier (coming March 2026) Challenges the Church must face to reach the next generation, including creating safe, peace-filled spaces for those deconstructing or new to faith A must-listen for anyone passionate about multiplication, innovation, and the future of the Church. 01:15 – Dave's leadership transition at Community Christian   04:05 – Merging NewThing into Exponential   06:40 – Dave's new role as CEO of Exponential   08:00 – Life Planning: What it is and who should do it   12:00 – 5-Step Apprenticeship Model explained   15:20 – Preview of Dave's new book: *Multiplier*   16:15 – The “Quiet Revival” among Gen Z in the UK   19:45 – US stats: A spiritual shift is happening   21:18 – Church hurt & challenges for church multiplication   23:00 – Peace as the new apologetic   24:30 – Global microchurch movement—how it started   27:00 – Story: 177+ microchurches through online training   29:00 – Why now is the time to empower global leaders   29:50 – Final encouragement & close

In this episode of "The Church Planting Podcast," hosted by Greg Nettle, president of Stadia, the discussion features Jon Ferguson, co-founding pastor of Community Christian Church and a pioneer in church multiplication. The conversation covers the benefits and challenges of team leadership in church planting, drawing from Jon's extensive experience and his co-leadership with his brother, Dave Ferguson. Key topics include the advantages of starting with a team, the importance of complementary skills within the team, and the potential pitfalls of team dynamics. The episode also delves into the concepts of micro churches and bi-vocational church planting, highlighting their growing relevance and effectiveness in the current religious landscape. Jon and Greg discuss several resources and books that have influenced their approaches, including Jon's book "Exponential" and the new "Bless" practices for community engagement, detailed in their recent publication. For listeners interested in exploring these resources, you can check out "Exponential" on Amazon and learn more about the "Bless" practices on the BLESS app's website. Episode Outline with Timestamps [00:00:19] Introduction of Jon Ferguson and his background [00:01:08] Discussion on team leadership in church planting [00:05:22] Celebrating 35 years of Community Christian Church [00:07:17] Advantages of starting church plants in teams [00:10:23] Identifying essential team roles and dynamics [00:14:45] Shift to discussing micro churches and co-vocational models [00:19:13] Discussing the potential downsides and challenges of team planting [00:23:32] Personal insights from Jon on leadership roles [00:26:53] Personal anecdotes and the importance of community engagement [00:31:35] Introduction of the Bless app for community outreach  

The world around us is rapidly changing and to reach more people, the way we evangelize and integrate them into our church communities will need to change with it. Chestly Lunday is joined by Dave Ferguson in this episode to discuss how Dave has helped Exponential, Community Christian, and NewThing adapt to innovation. They discuss the implications of what being "one church with multiple expressions" means as well as how to invest in things that are "wanting to happen."Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:DaveFerguson.orgReliant Mission: reliant.org/cppNewBreed TrainingThanks for listening to the church planter podcast. We're here to help you go where no one else is going and do what no one else is doing to reach people, no one else is reaching.Make sure to review and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast service to help us connect with more church planters.

What makes a leader truly transformative? Is it their ability to inspire trust, their alignment with purpose, or the values they live by? In this episode of Leadership is Changing, host Denis Gianoutsos is joined by leadership experts Paul Diver and Dave Ferguson to explore these fundamental questions. Paul shares his journey from law to consulting, offering practical wisdom on building trust and fostering meaningful workplace relationships. Dave reflects on his transition from being a "boss" to a leader, emphasizing the critical role of values and mentorship in shaping impactful leadership.Listen for stories and strategies that redefine how you approach leadership in today's fast-changing world.EP209: Paul Diver - Building Trust and Purpose in LeadershipFrom Law to Leadership: Paul shares how his background in law shaped his leadership approach through real-world relationshipsThe Role of Trust: Insights on building trust in workplace negotiations to drive successful outcomesPurpose and Vision: Lessons from the IAS Genesis Leadership Program on aligning purpose, vision, and strategyA Lasting Impact: Nearly 30 years of blending leadership development and employment relations to inspire changeEP212: Dave Ferguson - Values-Based Leadership in ActionBoss to Leader: Dave reflects on how mentorship transformed his leadership styleLessons from Mentors: A story of a mentor's care and respect that shaped Dave's approach to leadershipValues Matter: Contrasting inspiring leaders with result-focused bossesGlobal Insights: The importance of authenticity and cultural awareness in leadershipKey Quotes:“Trust takes time to build but can be lost in a moment—it's the foundation of all leadership." – Paul Diver"A good leader doesn't demand respect; they earn it through care and consistency." – Dave FergusonThe 10 Proven Ways to Lead and Thrive in Today's World Executive Guide Featuring 10 Key Themes and 42 Strategic Insights from Worldwide Leaders https://crm.leadingchangepartners.com/10-ways-to-lead Connect with Denis:Email: denis@leadingchangepartners.comWebsite: www.LeadingChangePartners.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/denisgianoutsos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisgianoutsos/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipischanging/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DenisGianoutsos

Join Lindsey for this episode of the Faith Together podcast to discusses how we are blessed to be a blessing with special guests, author of B.L.E.S.S., Dave Ferguson and the Director of Graduate Studies at Olivet Nazarene University, Dr. Jeff Stark. Be sure to subscribe to not miss an episode.

Get notes on this podcast here:  https://churchleaders.com/podcast/498523-lysa-terkeurst-respond-trust-broken.html Lysa TerKeurst joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to discuss how to navigate trust issues in relationships, particularly in the context of church leadership. She also addresses the topic of church hurt and shares how ministry leaders can lead with sensitivity while still maintaining healthy boundaries. Dave Ferguson joined us last week to share how church leaders can go beyond holding evangelistic events and actually build a culture of outreach in their congregations. Check out our conversation with him here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dave-ferguson-the-key-steps-to-building-a/id988990685?i=1000671498041    ► Listen on Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-churchleaders-podcast/id988990685   Visit ChurchLeaders Website: https://churchleaders.com Find ChurchLeaders on Facebook: https://facebook.com/churchleaders Follow ChurchLeaders on X: https://x.com/ChurchLead Follow ChurchLeaders on Instagram: https://instagram.com/churchlead/ Follow ChurchLeaders on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/churchleaders/   “I Want to Trust You, but I Don't: Moving Forward When You're Skeptical of Others, Afraid of What God Will Allow, and Doubtful of Your Own Discernment” by Lysa TerKeurst Check out Lysa's website Follow Lysa on Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter

Get notes on this podcast here:  https://churchleaders.com/podcast/497963-dave-ferguson-building-culture-outreach.html Dave Ferguson joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to share how church leaders can go beyond holding evangelistic events and actually build a culture of outreach in their congregations. Eric Geiger joined us last week to discuss key elements of church leadership, including mission, vision and strategy–and the importance of not confusing them with one another.  Check out our conversation with him here: https://churchleaders.com/podcast/497425-eric-geiger-values-drive-behavior.html  ► Listen on Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-churchleaders-podcast/id988990685 Visit ChurchLeaders Website: https://churchleaders.com Find ChurchLeaders on Facebook: https://facebook.com/churchleaders Follow ChurchLeaders on X: https://x.com/ChurchLead Follow ChurchLeaders on Instagram: https://instagram.com/churchlead/ Follow ChurchLeaders on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/churchleaders/   “BLESS: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World" by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson The BLESS app Community Christian Church RightNowPastorsPlus.org Check out Dave's website Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter

How do personal values and experiences shape a leader's ability to navigate change and inspire others? Join host Denis Gianoutsos as he revisits powerful conversations with Dave Ferguson, Dennis Mark, and Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva. Discover how Dave Ferguson overcame a challenging upbringing to become a values-driven leader, why Dennis Mark emphasizes staying ahead of industry trends and mastering the art of networking, and how Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva's cultural heritage and resilience have shaped her unique approach to leadership. Listeners can expect to gain deep insights into leading with purpose, adapting to rapid change, and inspiring others through authentic leadership. This compilation of past episodes promises to provide actionable wisdom and thought-provoking perspectives. Don't miss this chance to learn from three exceptional leaders—tune in and transform your leadership journey!EP212: From Quicksand to Leadership: The Dave Ferguson StoryRising from Humble Beginnings: Dave Ferguson shares how his challenging upbringing influenced his leadership journeyDefining Moments: Key experiences that shaped Dave's leadership philosophy and valuesMentorship and Legacy: The impact of mentors and the lasting legacy of values-driven leadershipEP215: Navigating the Tech Waves: Dennis Mark's Leadership JourneyFrom Tech to Boardroom: Dennis Mark's evolution from tech roles to influential board positionsAnticipating Change: Strategies for staying ahead of industry trends and adapting to new environmentsNetworking Mastery: Building and sustaining valuable professional relationships for long-term successEP221: Leading Through Disruption: Insights from Dr. Nadya ZhexembayevaA Background of Resilience: Dr. Nadya's journey from the Soviet Union to becoming a leadership expertEducational Influence: How her academic journey in the U.S. shaped her leadership approachEmbracing Change: The concept of leadership as a dynamic space inspired by her cultural heritage and experiences.Key Quotes:I don't believe in natural-born leaders, but I do believe you can be born into situations that require you to lead." - Dave Ferguson"To stay ahead of the curve, you need to project yourself forward to where the trend is heading, not just respond to yesterday's situation." - Dennis Mark"Embracing change is not just about leading others but also about constantly evolving and growing oneself." - Dr. Nadya ZhexembayevaThe 10 Ways to Lead in Today's World - FREE Executive Guide Download https://crm.leadingchangepartners.com/10-ways-to-lead Connect with Denis:Email: denis@leadingchangepartners.comWebsite: www.LeadingChangePartners.com FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/denisgianoutsos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisgianoutsos/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershipischanging/ YouTube Channel:

Summary In this episode of the Sacred Echo podcast, Tim Gillespie, Patty McCoy, and Dave Ferguson discuss their recent experiences and plans for their upcoming sermon series on the book of Philippians. They apologize for a missing podcast episode and share funny anecdotes about their busy schedules. They also talk about their Mother's Day celebrations and the importance of celebrating moms. The conversation then transitions to their new sermon series titled 'Everything is Possible' and the significance of the book of Philippians in providing positivity and encouragement. They discuss the attention economy and how Crosswalk Church is engaging with it through their content creation. Finally, they briefly touch on the themes of suffering and privilege in the book of Philippians. In this conversation, Timothy Gillespie, David Ferguson, and Paddy McCoy discuss various topics related to the book of Philippians. They touch on Paul's familiarity with the people he's writing to, the concept of soul sleep, and the different interpretations of what happens after death. They also explore the idea of preaching the gospel with different motivations and the challenges of discerning true biblical teachings. The conversation highlights the importance of studying and understanding Scripture and encourages listeners to immerse themselves in the book of Philippians. Keywords Sacred Echo podcast, missing episode, Mother's Day, sermon series, book of Philippians, positivity, attention economy, content creation, suffering, privilege, Philippians, Paul, familiarity, soul sleep, interpretations, gospel, motivations, discernment, Scripture Takeaways The hosts apologize for a missing podcast episode and share funny anecdotes about their busy schedules. They discuss their Mother's Day celebrations and the importance of celebrating moms. The hosts introduce their new sermon series titled 'Everything is Possible' and highlight the significance of the book of Philippians in providing positivity and encouragement. They talk about the attention economy and how Crosswalk Church is engaging with it through their content creation. The hosts briefly touch on the themes of suffering and privilege in the book of Philippians. Paul's letter to the Philippians is written in a more familiar and personal tone, reflecting his close relationship with the recipients. The concept of soul sleep and what happens after death is a topic of debate among different faith communities. Preaching the gospel with the wrong motivations can be problematic, but Paul encourages focusing on the message of Jesus rather than criticizing others. Discernment is important in evaluating biblical teachings and distinguishing between true Scripture and extra-biblical interpretations. Studying and understanding Scripture is crucial for developing a solid foundation of faith. Titles Apologies and Funny Anecdotes Celebrating Moms on Mother's Day Studying and Understanding Scripture Debating Soul Sleep and the Afterlife Sound Bites "I want to apologize for something before we get started. What I'm going to apologize for is we actually did a podcast on Axe 5 finishing out our experience series and it's all edited and ready to go and somebody didn't post it and I don't know who that is." "Good man, we're recording this just after Mother's Day weekend, so always good to celebrate our moms." "I think we're moving into an attention economy, right, where we've monetized people's attention. And that's actually changing the way that we're experiencing things." "He's not introducing himself, trying to gain that authority." "Paul struggles a little bit with... whether or not he wants to be around in some respects." "Paul seems a little less burdened to go fix the other guy."

Dave Ferguson is an internationally respected executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and author, in the areas of leadership and personal development. In this episode, Dave peels back the layers of what truly makes a a great leader. He's not just talking about the corner-office execs; this conversation goes into the heart and soul of leadership, pulling from the wisdom of generations and the humility required to really serve and empower others. Dave and Tony swap stories that reveal the core of leadership development—stories that reflect the shift from being a learner to a teacher, and then merging the two as a staple of good leadership. Dave covers the importance of self-education, the vitality of fostering a leadership culture within organizations, and the empowering strategy of 'leading up.' Dave emphasizes the critical role of feedback in honing one's leadership skills, the art of building confidence through genuine connections, and the ever-present need for authenticity—especially in the age of social media. This episode is packed with the kind of truths that serve as the guide for anyone looking to lead with integrity and a relentless drive for personal growth. Tune in for these powerful insights that will leave you contemplating not just how to lead, but how to live. Key highlights: Lessons in Leadership and Learning Leadership Development Developing Leaders Through Critical Feedback Building Confidence Through Authentic Leadership Connect with Dave Ferguson: Website: livingtolead.com Instagram: @askcoachdave Facebook: Dave Ferguson X: @askcoachdave Connect with Tony Whatley: Instagram: @365driven Facebook: 365 Driven LinkedIn: Tony Whatley

Dave Ferguson, VP for missionary services, joins host Steve Anderson for a conversation about the last 3 of BMM's Core Values, in the last of this three part series. Information and Registration for this summer's Revitalization Seminar, June 4-6https://www.bmm.org/news/church-revitalization-seminar

Welcome to Episode 16 of Roots Music Rambler! Join us – hosts Francesca Folinazzo (Frank) and Jason Falls (Falls) as we explore the real roots of the music we love. This week, Falls caught up with rising star Brit Taylor before a recent performance in support of her Kentucky Bluegrassed album. The Hindman, Ky., native actually took 2023's Kentucky Blue, her second album comprised of a number of strong country and Americana nongs, and rendered a bluegrass version of many of those songs with Kentucky Bluegrassed.  The bluegrass version entered the Americana Music Association charts in early March as Taylor went on the road to promote both records. Kentucky Blue was produced by Sturgill Simpson and Dave Ferguson. Taylor also previous wrote songs with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.  Frank and Falls also talk about his trip to see Taylor play which included some celebrity spotting, of sorts. They also chat about the potential break-up of Lovejoy, Falls's experience seeing Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit for the first time.  And, of course, both share their regular pickin' the grinnin' recommendations for new music.  Don't forget you can now show your support of the show with Roots Music Rambler's new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available.  Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It's a new episode of Roots Music Rambler. Notes and links: Lovejoy controversy on The Mirror Brit Taylor online Brit Taylor on Instagram Kentucky Blue on Spotify Kentucky Bluegrassed on Spotify The Americana Music Association charts (current not archived) Silas House on Wikipedia Kindred Valley on Spotify Falls's Instagram post from the Jason Isbell show Isbell's Threads post Frank commented on Joan Shelley on Spotify The Roots Music Rambler Store Roots Music Rambler on Instagram Roots Music Rambler on TikTok  Roots Music Rambler on Facebook Jason Falls on Instagram Francesca Folinazzo on Instagram Pickin' the Grinnin' Recommendations Smushie on Spotify Reilly Downes & The Acid Cowboys on Spotify Sparkle Carcass on Spotify The Waco Brothers on Spotify Jon Langford on Spotify Cabeza de Chivo on Spotify Hermanos Gutierrez on Spotify Logan Ledger on Spotify And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount! - https://gomuskox.com/rambler Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts. Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our role as leaders is to empower our church to do the work of ministry and to make the mission their own. In this episode, we're joined by Jon and Dave Ferguson to discuss the B.L.E.S.S. model for mobilizing our congregations to reach our communities.  Free Webinar: Reaching & Connecting New People in 2024 In this free webinar, ministry voices from North Point, Sun Valley Community Church, and Victory Hill Church will walk through proven strategies and best practices for creating intentional weekend services that reach and connect with new people. Register now. This Episode is Sponsored by SecureGive Giving presents challenges for growing churches. But SecureGive's 7-in-1 system makes donating easy and secure, provides in-depth analytics and management tools for your team, and integrates with your Church Management System. It's the system that scales to fit the needs of growing churches. SecureGive is offering 6 months of free software to get your church started—visit SecureGive.com/unstuck to learn more. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode336. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X/Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook.

Dave Ferguson, V.P. for Missionary Services, joins host Steve Anderson for a discussion about the Core Values of Baptist Mid-Missions and their implications on the life of the organization and the ministries of our mission family. 

Episode 8 - Tuch Takes the Lead & BJ Pontificates About 3D PrintingPMS Update - Dave Lockhart resigns!Ale Clerici clarification and bombshells!Interview with BJ Debekker of Panzer ConceptsTalking Turkey Shoot, Flying Drumstick Buddy Build, and Red Beach One Studio WWI Group BuildNew kitsJustin:Sabrekits have announced the future release of a 48th scale Avia B.135 -used by the Czech and Bulgarian air forces, they were plagued with engine troubles so were mainly relegated to training duties, although they are credited with one kill, when four of them jumped a B24 returning from the Ploiesti Raid.Eduard announced plans for a new tool P-51 B/C model for 20/24HobbyBoss will be releasing a 48th scale U-2R in December.  The decals will allow for the build up of Dragonlady.  The listing is up already on the Hobbylink Japan site, but there is no button to preorder or buy now. So stay tuned!Tuch- Das Werk 16th scale Puma-2024Stalingrad German Halftrack Crew figuresVoyages in JanuaryRare miniatures 3d printed tunic buttons and Hetzer ExhaustMiniart -champagne seller figures w/cratesAdams-Border Models Israeli Merkava Mk2 w/full interior 35th scaleBC002 Grizzly Battletank- command and conquer gameSocial Media ShoutoutsJustin - Zach Grizzle, his facade build, he his sculpting his first figure, and the story he told that brings this project closer to his heart was touching.Adams - Bjorn Jacobsen- MMUTuch - Military Figure painters assoc.  Fabrizio MariniBJ - Hoseo 9th scale Howitzer H3 ModelsDavid Hobbs and Dave Ferguson first show at the museumRiv- Stuart Goodsen Takom 1/4 ton SAS Jeep North African CampaignMake sure to stay till the end for some funny outtakes.....Opening and end music by Supernova by Arthur Vyncke https://soundcloud.com/arthurvostMusic promoted by http://www.free-stock-music.comJoin the Podcast on Facebook on The Modeling Insanity Podcast PageEmail Rob Riviezzo at robrivsmodelinginsanity@gmail.com for any comments or suggestions.

Vice President for Missionary Services, Dave Ferguson, joins host Steve Anderson for the first of a 4 part series that will publish over the next few months covering the CORE VALUES of Baptist Mid-Missions. This week we discuss Biblical Authority and Global Outreach. Download the PRAY938 App here:GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bmm.pray938.android&pli=1APPLE APP STORE: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pray938/id6450551579

Writer Dave Ferguson (The Birthday Boys, I Love You America) braves our October excursion into cinematic scare fare with a discussion of David Cronenberg's 1986 classic THE FLY starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. The Canadian auteur injects his unmistakable brand of body horror into this sci-fi fable of scientist Seth Brundle (Goldblum) whose experiments with matter transport go awry when he mistakenly teleports himself along with a single house fly. THE FLY was a well-reviewed box office hit upon release, solidifying Goldblum and Davis as a brainy (and very tall) screen couple for the '80s and unleashing Cronenberg as a sicko master for the masses. Join us as we merge with THE FLY, taking a few diversions into Vidiots, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Mel Brooks, bug digestion, Little Monsters, stress dreams, kid Halloween costumes, Axe Body Spray, the Grinch and much, much more! THE FLY is currently available to stream with subscription to Max.

Evangelism Series // Week 1 Dive deeper into the conversation of God's Lost Cause with Dave Ferguson, Aaron Barnett and Hannah Barnett. • The Need for Reviving the Lost Cause: Problem: Evangelism […]

What's the status of your organization's pipeline? With highly, skilled leaders, your organization could perform at a better level. Dave Ferguson is here to tell you how important it is for inspirational leaders to multiply leaders. Dave Ferguson is the lead pastor and co-founder of Community Christian Church, a thriving multi-site community in the Chicago area, and president of the Exponential Conference.  Find full show notes here: https://bit.ly/346daveferguson Share the love. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate it on Apple Podcasts and write a brief review. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flourishing-culture-podcast/id1060724960?mt=2   By doing so, you will help spread our podcast to more listeners, and thereby help more Christian workplaces learn to build flourishing cultures. Follow our Host, Al Lopus, on Twitter https://twitter.com/allopus  Follow our Host, Al Lopus, on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allopus/ Email our host at info@workplaces.org  

Patrick O'Connell believes the church needs to be on the move. In this episode, Patrick will share his journey of being baptized in his 30s which led him to leading a small, pastoring a church, and now serving as Global Director of New Thing. In this episode, Patrick will share what American disciples can learn from those overseas and how the scorecard for what disciples shoot for needs to change. To learn more about the podcast or access the show notes, visit www.redletterpodcast.com.Today's episode is brought to you by Red Letter Living. At its core, Red Letter Living creates resources to challenge all people to be greater disciples of Jesus. One of our integral FREE resources is a Red Letter Challenge Assessment. It only takes 7-10 minutes to complete. Are you following Jesus? Many want to be greater followers of Jesus but don't know how. So we extensively studied everything Jesus commanded of us and located five key targets to which Jesus invited His followers. The five targets are Being, Forgiving, Serving, Giving, and Going.In partnership with LifeWay Research, we created a Red Letter Challenge Assessment that will measure you according to these five targets. And the best news of all: it's free! You will get results back immediately and be presented with the following steps to help you become an even greater follower of Jesus.You can take the FREE Red Letter Challenge Assessment here. Resources mentioned in the episode: New Thing Patrick O'Connell on Missional ImaginationFREE Ebook Together, written by Dave Ferguson and Patrick O'ConnellKey insights from the episode: The church started as a movement, and it works best as a movement. – Patrick O'ConnellI get stoked about movement, and I want to see motion in the church. – Patrick O'ConnellDuring my season of despair, I had women and men who showed me the love of Jesus. - Patrick O'ConnellIt takes other committed faith-filled people to get people out of their own despair. – Zach ZehnderI see a generation who are open to following but in an authentic and honest way. – Patrick O'ConnellWe have to recapture the ethos that we are part of a movement. – Patrick O'ConnellWe need to be more about the kingdom than the castles. – Patrick O'ConnellLet's admit that the scorecard needs to be tweaked. – Patrick O'ConnellDiscipleship is the win of the current century. – Patrick O'ConnellDiscipleship is a relationship, not just cognitive. – Patrick O'ConnellThe simple question in our discipleship path is, “Are you committed to following Jesus?”. – Zach ZehnderSunday is the only place on earth left where you can experience the gifts of God. – Chris JohnsonWe've turned discipleship transactional, but it's a relationship. – Patrick O'ConnellDiscipleship is not a destination, it's a journey. – Patrick O'ConnellA church is just the outpost of the kingdom. – Patrick O'ConnellNew churches have a missional edge, they can cross boundaries that older churches can't cross. – Patrick O'ConnellWhat the 20-somethings struggle with is all the systems. – Patrick O'ConnellJesus said, “Go make disciples,” not “Go plant churches.” - Patrick O'ConnellPatrick O'Connell's Challenge: Pray and ask someone to share their story.Lead yourself (and your church) to be more like Jesus. For so many Christians, the discipleship process isn't very clear.They know they need to go to church, pray, not sin, and maybe attend a small group. While these are great things, they don't outline a clear path leading people to live more like Jesus. We'd love to introduce you to the 40-Day Red Letter Challenge.When you and your church take the challenge, you'll have a clear 40-day discipleship path that will help you master five key areas of discipleship.You can learn more about the challenge here!A Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a digital media and commercial video production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network and learn more about our other services today on HurrdatMedia.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this mashup episode, Donna Serdula and Dave Ferguson share insight into how executives need to stay savvy and active in the digital realm and the formative experiences that made them the leaders they are today. We also discuss finding the balance between executive excellence and personal well-being, different cultures' views on leadership, and the qualities of a boss versus a leader. Get inspired as Denis shares his journey of leadership and growth. Tune into this episode for practical tips and advice on adapting effectively in today's fast-paced digital world.In this episode:Why leaders need to be digitally savvy and active in the digital world How to add value to people by curating content, engaging with content, then progressing to creating your ownBeing a boss versus being a leaderMain takeaways:LinkedIn is a powerful tool for executives to shape their perceptions and engage in the digital world.Quality over quantity is rewarded on LinkedIn, and posts have a longer lifespan.The biggest difference between a boss and a leader is values.Leaders don't have to agree with what you value, but they must agree that you are a person of value.Quotes:“LinkedIn is a platform to educate, to add value, to help others, to give advice, and to inspire. That's what you should be aiming for. It's not to sell, it's not to plug, it's not to pitch. It's really a place to go and provide and help.” – Donna Serdula“I spend so much time on values-based leadership and values-based leadership coaching, because I found that to be the biggest difference. What do they value?” – Dave Ferguson“It's amazing how a person can make a difference to us as individuals.” – Denis Gianoutsos“To be a good leader, you have to be a good follower.” – Dave FergusonConnect with Denis: Email: denis@leadingchangepartners.comWebsite: http://www.leadingchangepartners.com/Leadership Is Changing Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LeadershipIsChanging/

In Dave Ferguson we trust! Visionary Leader of Exponential as well as NewThing Network and lead pastor at Community Christian in Chicago, Dave has been a huge supporter of Digital Church! In fact, Dave let us borrow B.L.E.S.S. practices to be the framework for digital missionaries! I'm continually blown away by the love and support he shows to digital ministry and digital planting. (You'll catch a bit of this at the beginning of the podcast.) Now as we're talking how to take your Digital Ministry to the Next Level, Dave and Dr. John Harris (my co-author for Sharing Jesus Online) jump on a podcast to talk about the power of a digital missionary, and the potential to have that missionary reaching into digital community to connect with a digital person. As we explore the potential of taking your digital ministry to the next level, digital missionaries are a big step towards your church reaching people the buildings aren't reaching. Looking to release a team of digital or metaverse missionaries in your church. Jump in a Leadership Network Learning Community and find out how to take your church to the next level. http://leadnet.org/dlc - keyword “Tyler” for $100 off http://leadnet.org/mlc - keyword “Stunami” for $100 off --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thechurchdigital/message

What if you could change the world without changing your daily routine? Author, Pastor, and Visionary Dave Ferguson shares a simple, yet powerful and authentic way to share your faith. Evangelism does not have to be intimidating or weird. Dave shares five intentional ways to share God's life-changing love and gracSupport the show

"What would you do in your church if they told you they wouldn't pay you? I think it would make you think differently about your call, your programs, your strategy, and your tactics." In today's episode of The City Network Podcast, Dave Ferguson talks with Robert on escaping the paradigms of large scale church planting, in order to live into Jesus' "radical genius." They talk about what it looks like to revamp evangelism, Dave's work with Exponential and New Thing Network, and the 4 R's of church planting: relationship, reproducing, residency and resources. The conversation covers church planting in the context of reaching the next generation, church health, and warning signs to pay attention to when planting a church.Dave Ferguson is the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, a multi-expression missional community that is passionate about “helping people find their way back to God.” Community has grown from a few college friends to reaching thousands of people in Chicagoland and around the world. Dave also provides visionary leadership for the international church-planting movement NewThing and is the CEO of the Exponential conference. He is an award-winning author of books that include The Big Idea, Exponential, On The Verge, Finding Your Way Back To God, Starting Over, Hero Maker and most recently B.L.E.S.S. 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World. Dave and his best friend Sue have three terrific adult kids - Amy, Josh and Caleb. Feel free to email him with questions, ideas, feedback or introductions at daveferguson@exponential.org Find more from Dave on his website: daveferguson.org, or on twitter: @daveferguson and instagram: @fergusondave.Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.Here are some resources and references mentioned in the episode: On the Verge, Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson New Thing Network The Movement SystemA Non-Anxious Presence, Mark Sayers

When you think about self-driving cars, you might imagine relaxing in the back seat while a vehicle carries you to your destination. But according to Dave Ferguson, nearly half of all car tips that Americans take don't actually need any passengers at all. That's because we spend a lot of our time driving around just to pick things up, like groceries and takeout.This week on How I Built This Lab, Dave talks with Guy about his vision of a future where many of these everyday errands could be done by robots. Dave's company, Nuro, builds autonomous vehicles that are meant to deliver goods rather than carry passengers. Already they've run pilot deliveries with big-name partners like Domino's Pizza, Uber Eats, and Kroger Grocery stores, and in the next few years, they aim to expand their service to cities all across the country. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Many would know Vince Herman as the guitarist and primary lead vocalist and songwriter of the renowned jam band, Leftover Salmon. Herman has been playing professionally since the late 80's and, Leftover Salmon aside, also formed and played in ever-evolving project group Great American Taxi. Between the two bands, Herman has recorded over 10 albums and has toured the world over, whilst simultaneously developing his festival guru persona. Sometime in 2021, Vince Herman moved from Colorado to Nashville, TN where he took on a totally new project… himself. Partnering with renowned producer Dave Ferguson, as well as a myriad of friends and session players- Herman embarked on his first ever solo album. Released November 18, 2022- “Enjoy the Ride” explores the nuances and roots of country and Americana music as Herman has known and experienced it through his life. Everything from cajun influences to bluegrass picking can be found, but it is undoubtedly all Vince Herman. Once and for all. So join us today as our host, Robert Earl Keen goes song by song with Vince Herman. Exploring the parts that make up a musical life and identity.