Podcast appearances and mentions of george bullard

Follow world-record breaking explorer George Bullard on a world-first kayak from Greenland to Scotland across one of the most dangerous stretches of water on the planet. No one thought they could do it. Most people assumed they would die trying – and they nearly did, more than once. But, despite the odds, over six weeks, George and his expedition partner Ollie Hicks, crossed 1,200-miles of open ocean from the edge of the Greenland Ice Cap to Iceland, then on to the Faroe Islands, and from there to the north Scottish shore. Paddling through the night, sleeping out in the sinister dark of the polar ocean, battling storms, exhaustion and raging seas – this is the story of the most dangerous kayak expedition ever undertaken. But it's more than that too. Three hundred years ago a mysterious figure in a strange shaped canoe washed up on the coast of Aberdeen, in northeast Scotland. He was alive, barely. No one knew who he was, where he came from, what language he spoke, and he died a few days later before anyone could find out. Since then, the myth of the ‘Finmen' has continued to grow. The historical records describe his clothing as similar to what we now know as hailing from Inuit culture. But it seemed impossible. Did a Greenlandic fisherman cross the North Atlantic Ocean, 300 years ago, on nothing more than a seal-skin canoe? By undertaking this journey, George and Ollie set out to unearth the truth behind the mystery. If they could do it, perhaps the myth was true. Get ready for the Voyage of the Finmen. Highlights include: Kayak across one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world, a section of the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland, known as the ‘Devil's Dancefloor' because of the size of the waves and storms Paddle through the midnight sun from Greenland to Iceland, and then 450-miles around the crocodile teeth of the rugged fjords and soaring cliffs of North Icelandic coastline, camping out on wild beaches along the way Listen to one of the craziest rescue and survival stories you will ever hear Find out what happens when George and Ollie are hit by an enormous hurricane 60- miles off the Scottish coast Be inspired by George's love and enthusiasm for the outdoors and adventure. He is one of the UK's most sought-after motivational speakers and will fire you up to embark on your next adventure wherever that may be. Who's the Guest? George Bullard is a world record-breaking explorer, endurance athlete and motivational speaker. He is on a mission to rewild humans. He believes that through the outdoors we can change lives. To date he has covered more than 2,000 miles on foot in the polar regions (including the longest unsupported polar journey in history, at just age 19) and completed countless extraordinary expeditions around the world. George is passionate about encouraging others to climb their own Everest physically, mentally and emotionally. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @georgebullardexplorer. Book him for motivational talks at www.georgebullard.co.uk Looking for inspiration for your next trip? George's adventure travel company www.igoadventures.com curates one-of-a-kind adventures with purpose, for those looking for exceptional in nature. They are affordable, amazing and hand-crafted by one of the world's greatest adventurers. Thank you to Juggernaut Wines for sponsoring this episode. This is the adventurer's wine of choice, harnessing the power of nature to infuse every drop with the gritty spirit of the wild Californian coast. Follow them on Instagram @juggernautwines www.juggernautwines.com The Armchair Explorer podcast is produced and hosted by award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar. Follow the show on Instagram & Facebook @armchairexplorerpodcast. www.armchair-explorer.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each year, the Gospel reading for the Sunday after Easter is the story of “doubting Thomas.” The other readings, however, emphasize living in a community. Jonathan and Seth discuss why living in community can be so formative, why communities matter, and what the contemporary church might learn from the early Jesus-following movement. They discuss a framework called “The Life Cycle and Stages of Congregation Development” by George Bullard, which can be found here. We're immensely thankful you're with us; we don't take it for granted!

Electronics power the modern world, but they come at a high environmental and energy cost. E-waste a serious problem as many of the elements in modern electronics cannot be easily recycled. Is there a way to produce electronics that are more environmentally friendly? Is it possible to make a circuit board or more simply even a transistor that doesn't rely on silicon? Can you imagine a Silicon Valley without actual silicon? Its possible to make recyclable electronics without silicon and instead relying only on carbon and cellulose. How can you get away from the use of chemicals or high heat in circuit fabrication? Nicholas X. Williams, George Bullard, Nathaniel Brooke, Michael J. Therien, Aaron D. Franklin. Printable and recyclable carbon electronics using crystalline nanocellulose dielectrics. Nature Electronics, 2021; DOI: 10.1038/s41928-021-00574-0 Shiheng Lu, Brittany N. Smith, Hope Meikle, Michael J. Therien, Aaron D. Franklin. All-Carbon Thin-Film Transistors Using Water-Only Printing. Nano Letters, 2023; 23 (6): 2100 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c04196

Today's episode of Paddling the Blue features Olly Hicks.  His accomplishments include rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to England after 124 days at sea, and at the time he did it, he was also the youngest to row any ocean solo.  Olly also made the first row across the Tasman Sea from Tasmania to New Zealand, through 96 days alone on the notoriously wild southern ocean.  If you caught episode 68 with Patrick Winterton, you heard Olly's name there where we discussed the 200 mile crossing from the Shetland Islands to Norway in memory of the World War Two Shetland Bus Operation. Following the Shetland Bus, Olly and George Bullard pulled off an incredible trip from Greenland to Scotland.   Enjoy today's episode with Olly Hicks! Connect: Ollyhicks.com Learn: In the wake of the Finmen (Kotatat website) Voyage of the Finmen (Red Bull movie)

Got with George on a quick update for his highly anticipated show in Traverse City Michigan. Last year this show saw over 160 competitors and was run flawlessly. This year he's added USS Worlds and twice the sponsorships! It's set to continue to lead the way in promotions this year in the US!

In the mind of a mad man! Come inside the head of George Bullard as he breaks down his thinking for the biggest amateur strongman event in the world! This years event 2022 also incudes USS Pro Worlds and George breakdown the changes at the show this year and all the events both amateur and pro! We also chat a bit about the strongman community and whatever other tangent we found ourselves on....George and I could go on forever!

The Advance Leadership Podcast is for leaders by leaders.  Advancing church leaders from all over South Carolina chat about insights and lessons they have learned in leadership that have impacted the advancement of the Great Commission in their context.  This episode features insights from George Bullard, Associational Ministry Strategist for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association about church vision and strategy.This South Carolina Baptist Convention resource is made possible through the Cooperative Program giving of South Carolina Baptist churches. For more information, visit www.scbaptist.org.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sits down with Bedjriha Jazic, Director of Lutheran Services, and Ryan Dupree, International Minister with First Baptist Church Columbia, to discuss ministry partnership opportunities among the Refugee Resettlement efforts in Columbia, South Carolina. Thank you for listening in, and we hope you'll consider stepping into this ministry opportunity.  

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, I, Chris Reinolds, and George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sat down with Sam Smithson, Alice Drive Baptist Church's Bishopville Campus Minister, and Travis Pruden, Discipleship Pastor, to discuss how the bold steps that they're taking to reach a new community with the love of Christ.   We hope you'll walk away from our conversation with them with a similar boldness to start a conversation with someone that can change their life. 

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, and Chris Reinolds sat down with Jacque Wenger and Nathan McCarthy to discuss how churches can better communicate biblical truths about financial stewardship.  Take some time and consider how God may be leading you to speak with your congregation about these essential matters. 

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, and Chris Reinolds hear from Angela McNeal (Heart4Schools), Allison Caldwell (Shandon Baptist Church), and Jamie Rogers (Baptist Collegiate Ministry of South Carolina), three individuals who are incredibly passionate about ministries to international teachers and students. These ministries to internationals are happening right here in Columbia, SC, and they're having an impact across the globe because God is bringing the nations to our city. Take some time and listen in and learn how you, or your church, can make a global impact for Jesus just a few miles from your front door.   Websites Mentioned: LoveCola.org Heart4Schools.org CarolinaBCM.org https://youtu.be/pjT3cL16ebQ

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, I, Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor at Discovery Church, and George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sat down with Cathy Locklear to celebrate and hear about her many years of service with the Columbia Metro Baptist Association here in Columbia, South Carolina as she is preparing for a new and exciting stage in her life.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, I, Chris Reinolds and George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sat down with Rabbi Andy Meyerson to discuss the formation of a Messianic Jewish Congregation here in Columbia, South Carolina, and his desire to see churches partnering together to reach Jewish peoples with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sat down with Ryan Burge, author of the newly released book The Nones to discuss the reality that the nones will be the largest religious group in the United States in the next decade and the implications this has for the church.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, I, Chris Reinolds and George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sat down with three Columbia South Carolina Church Musicians to talk about the past, the present, and the future of church worship through music.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, I, Chris Reinolds and George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, sat down with Craig Bailey, Pastor at First Baptist Church of Winnsboro, to hear how they are building bridges in their community despite the struggles of the pandemic.

Follow world-record breaking explorer George Bullard on a world-first kayak from Greenland to Scotland across one of the most dangerous stretches of water on the planet. No one thought they could do it. Most people assumed they would die trying – and they nearly did, more than once. But, despite the odds, over six weeks, George and his expedition partner Ollie Hicks, crossed 1,200-miles of open ocean from the edge of the Greenland Ice Cap to Iceland, then on to the Faroe Islands, and from there to the north Scottish shore. Paddling through the night, sleeping out in the sinister dark of the polar ocean, battling storms, exhaustion and raging seas – this is the story of the most dangerous kayak expedition ever undertaken. But it’s more than that too. Three hundred years ago a mysterious figure in a strange shaped canoe washed up on the coast of Aberdeen, in northeast Scotland. He was alive, barely. No one knew who he was, where he came from, what language he spoke, and he died a few days later before anyone could find out. Since then, the myth of the ‘Finmen’ has continued to grow. The historical records describe his clothing as similar to what we now know as hailing from Inuit culture. But it seemed impossible. Did a Greenlandic fisherman cross the North Atlantic Ocean, 300 years ago, on nothing more than a seal-skin canoe? By undertaking this journey, George and Ollie set out to unearth the truth behind the mystery. If they could do it, perhaps the myth was true. Get ready for the Voyage of the Finmen. Highlights include:· Kayak across one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world, a section of the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland, known as the ‘Devil’s Dancefloor’ because of the size of the waves and storms· Paddle through the midnight sun from Greenland to Iceland, and then 450-miles around the crocodile teeth of the rugged fjords and soaring cliffs of North Icelandic coastline, camping out on wild beaches along the way· Listen to one of the craziest rescue and survival stories you will ever hear· Find out what happens when George and Ollie are hit by an enormous hurricane 60-miles off the Scottish coast· Be inspired by George’s love and enthusiasm for the outdoors and adventure. He is one of the UK’s most sought-after motivational speakers and will fire you up to embark on your next adventure wherever that may beWho’s the Guest?George Bullard is a world record-breaking explorer, endurance athlete and motivational speaker. To date he has covered more than 2,000 miles on foot in the polar regions (including the longest unsupported polar journey in history, at just age 19) and completed countless extraordinary expeditions around the world. George is passionate about encouraging others to climb their own Everest physically, mentally and emotionally @georgebullardexplorer / www.georgebullard.co.ukLooking for inspiration for your next trip? George’s adventure travel company www.igoadventures.com curates one-of-a-kind adventures with purpose, for those looking for exceptional experiences in nature. They are affordable, amazing and hand-crafted by one of the world’s greatest adventurers. Thank you to Juggernaut Wines for sponsoring this episode. Harnessing the power of nature with every drop. @juggernautwines / www.juggernautwines.comThe Armchair Explorer podcast is produced and hosted by award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar. Follow the show on Instagram & Facebook @armchairexplorerpodcast. www.armchair-explorer.com Episode image (c) Emma Hall, courtesy of George Bullard

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, I, Chris Reinolds and Julia Bell, CMBA Communications Director, are having a conversation with Columbia Metro Baptist Association Executive Director, George Bullard, to Discuss the Congregational Grants that the CMBA is offering for our family churches in their journey of missional ministry. 

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, Dr. George Bullard, Executive Director of the CMBA, and Dr. Andre Rogers, Pastor at Concord Fellowship Baptist Church have a candid conversation with a panel of state & community leaders from the Columbia Metro to address the anxiety that exists in the African-American community surrounding the Coronavirus vaccine.  Let’s listen in to this essential conversation.

Trace talks with George Bullard, legendary world record breaking explorer, motivational speaker & all round larrikin talks mental health, re-wilding humans & takes us through some of the details on his adventures, what he has learned and the tool kit that allows him to have gratitude!

George Bullard is a world record Explorer.To date, he has covered more than 2,000 miles on foot in the polar regions and completed countless expeditions around the world. On today's podcast, we talk about his world record kayak from Greenland to Scotland as well as his search for Shackleton's flask lost more than a hundred years ago. This episode comes with a warning! As we talk about the struggles of going to the loo in a sea kayak in some detail. As well as, a funny story of a poo rainbow in the arctic circle. So enough of the waffling I am delighted to introduce George Bullard to the show.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-modern-adventurer/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

  SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, George Bullard, Executive Director, Julia Bell, Communication Director, and Chris Reinolds, local CMBA pastor, consider the positives we’re seeing in churches as a result of the pandemic. https://youtu.be/AK40D2aCyXs

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. Our hosts for this week are George Bullard, Executive Director of the Columbia Metro Baptist Association, and Chris Reinolds lead Pastor at Killian Baptist Church. This week, we had the opportunity to talk with George Russ and Kevin Cabe from the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association. We were able to hear how God is using a $30,000 gift from the family of churches located in and around the Columbia Metro, in South Carolina, to transform lives for His glory through the ministry of brothers and sisters in Christ living in New York City. 

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. Our hosts for this week are George Bullard, Executive Director of the Columbia Metro Baptist Association, and Chris Reinolds lead Pastor at Killian Baptist Church. This week, spending some time with J Thompson, Pastor at Cedar Creek Baptist Church, and Vice Moderator on the CMBA Visionary Leadership Community, and Bill Wright, Associate Pastor at Temple Baptist Church and Moderator on the Visionary Leadership Community.  Today, we’re taking some time to appreciate the ongoing work of the supporting ministry of the CMBA.   

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The One Priority Podcast is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. This week, we’re sitting down to explore the covenantal relationship that exists with churches and their association. In order to help us do that George Bullard, our Executive Director, and David Waganer, one of our One Priority Mobilizers, are sharing about the Covenant Congregational Pilgrimage of the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.

George Bullard is a world record breaking explorer, endurance athlete and speaker. He believes that through the outdoors we can change lives. His mission is to rewild humans. To date, he has covered almost 2,000 miles on foot in the polar regions, spending more than 26,000 hours in isolation. If you believe Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, that makes him a master of remote, hostile environments. I speak to George about what drives him to take on these challenges, the tips he's learnt along the way and we hear the tragic story of an accident on an expedition in 2011.

He's swum, sailed, kayaked and walked across giant swathes of the globe in aid of scientific research or just plain adventure.Water-To-Go For Clean Drinking Water BPA-free and based on technology developed for NASA. The filter removes 99.99% of all contaminants. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/actionpacked)

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, Strategic Leadership Coach and Executive Director with the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor, at Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is Chris Hanley, Pastor at Sandy Level Baptist Church in Blythewood, SC. Sandy Level is a 250-year-old church with a passion for building community connections to show and share the love of Jesus.

  SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, Strategic Leadership Coach and Executive Director with the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is Bill Crews, Pastor at Grace Church in Columbia, SC. GraceChurch is a gospel-centric church with a passion for discipleship. Their goal is to build relationships with people from Oliver Gospel Mission to the University of South Carolina to introduce people to Jesus Christ.

The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, Strategic Leadership Coach and Executive Director with the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is Don Brock, Pastor at Gateway Baptist Church in Irmo, South Carolina.  Gateway began as a vision of Eau Claire Baptist Church to reach the fast-growing Irmo community.  From 1975 to today, Gateway exists to reach the unreached that God has placed around them.  Over four decades later, they’ve planted five churches, sent hundreds to national and international mission fields, and become a leading-edge church in reaching people for Jesus. 

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Host for this week’s episode are George Bullard, Executive Director for the CMBA and Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor at Killian Baptist Church. Joining us this week is Dr. Valerie Carter Smith, Executive Director of the WMU of Virginia of the Baptist General Association of Virginia.  In her life thus far, Dr. Smith has been a wife, a mother, a widow, a teacher, a missionary, an orphan, a sister, and a leader.  But in the midst of all of those things, since the age of nine, she has been a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.  Dr. Smith’s life is a beautiful picture of how, in the hands of God, that which is broken can be made new, and more beautiful.

Just how do you push your body to the extreme? During our Value of Adventure month, join our panel of explorers in delving into the psychological and physical endurance and stamina needed for extraordinary explorations. In conversation with The Assembly curator Lucy Hyslop, meet three young explorers and motivational speakers: George Bullard, a world record-breaking explorer, endurance athlete and partner at IGO Adventures; Ironman and Ultra runner Marina Ranger; and adventurer and Guinness world record holder Jamie Sparks. George has covered almost 2,000 miles on foot in the polar regions and completed countless expeditions around the world, guiding 350 people of all age groups remote and hostile areas. At 14 George was part of a team to swim the English Channel, circumnavigate Barbados and New York’s Manhattan Island and latterly, swim the length of Lake Zurich. At this time he was ranked #1 in the UK for Tetrathlon. After leaving school George spent 2 months on the Antarctic archipelago of South Georgia followed by George’s largest polar expedition to date. At the age of 19 he achieved a feat that explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the world’s greatest living explorer, described as ‘genuinely ground-breaking’, completing the world’s longest fully unsupported polar journey of all time. George returned from a world first kayaking expedition from Greenland to Scotland trying to uncover an ancient myth and returned from a 1.5 month trip walking the ice road in Canada in preparation for this trip. He also runs a company called IGO Adventures, which created a series of adventures in the middle of nowhere. Marina Ranger was 22 when she completed her first ultra marathon, running 250km in 7 days across the Kalahari desert in South Africa with a week's supply of food and kit on her back. Now 28, having completed 20+ ultra marathons, 2 x half Ironmans, 2 x full Ironmans and 1 x long distance triathlon where she represented GBR, it is safe to say she has a full time job fulfilling her love and passion for endurance sports in the hours outside of her career in business operations for a property company. Marina believes that everyone has the capability to push beyond their perceived boundaries and with hard work and dedication they can achieve great things beyond their expectations. As much as she loves pushing her body to limits, she hopes she can encourage others to too... Jamie holds the Guinness world record, alongside his friend Luke Birch, for the youngest pair to row across any ocean. Rowing for 54 days, surviving off dehydrated food and desalinated water, they raised a record total for Breast Cancer Care. The following year he captained a crew, which became the fastest four men crew to row unsupported across the Indian ocean. Now motivating all generations across the globe with his stories, and inspiring them to take action themselves.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play           The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Host for this week’s episode are George Bullard, Executive Director for the CMBA and Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor at Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is Danny Nicholson with the Connie Maxwell Children’s home to talk with us about a new pilot program that’s being launched for churches interested in ministering in Foster Care.     

 SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Executive Director of the  Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor at Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is Robert Grant, one of the new Ministry Mobilizers with the CMBA. With more than 40 years of ministry experience, Robert is uniquely equipped to help local churches in a variety of administrative needs. From bylaws to staff compensation, to church dissolution assistance; Robert loves assisting the church through the details of what can sometimes be a confusing process.      

Welcome to the Columbia Metro Connection, a podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation.      The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, Strategic Leadership Coach and Executive Director with the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is David Waganer, one of the new Ministry Mobilizers with the CMBA who specializes in stewardship education, interim education for churches, and church opportunities during conflict.  David’s vast knowledge and experience have given him the ability to look at most church situations and boil them down to the root issues at hand so a church can resolve the congregational speed bumps and continue down the road of Kingdom Growth.    

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play       The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Executive Director of the  Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  This week, we have an opportunity to sit down with Mary Ann Sibley from MatterSpark, where they make people matter.  Mary Ann regularly engages with churches and other non-profits to help them engage people with excellence to keep them coming back time and time again.  At MatterSpark, they are constantly striving to see people win and excel in leadership, customer service, and volunteer engagement.  Therefore, we are really excited to sit down and hear from Mary Ann about all the insights that she has on this essential ministry.    

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play      The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Executive Director of the  Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  All week we’ve featured the Baptist Collegiate Ministry in an attempt to draw attention to the great kingdom-work that is taking place in our area and to help you see the need to get involved in that work.  For today's podcast, we’re going to hear from three special guests as they discuss their work among college Students.  Let’s listen in as Jamie Rogers sits down with Billy Judge, Rob Nicholes, and Raj Aluri.    

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play       The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Executive Director of the  Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  In today’s podcast, we’ll hear from Jamie Rogers as he gives some practical steps to a room full of pastors about how the church can get involved in the lives of students.  One major emphasis in his talk is on how we, the church, can reach the next group of international leaders by simply taking one night a month and having an international student in our home.  Let’s listen in as Jamie shares his passion with us.  

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play       The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Executive Director of the  Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  For today’s podcast, we’re going to listen in on George Wright, Pastor at Shandon Baptist Church, as he gives his testimony to the work of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry in his life and calling to go into the dark places of the world and BE the light of the gospel.  

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play       The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  Joining us this week is Brenda Sheets, a member of St. Andrews Baptist Church who felt God’s call to begin participating in medical missions in Central America.  Whether local or abroad, the work of a missionary is vital to the unreached people of the world.  Without the beautiful feet of those willing to carry the gospel into the dark places of this world, there are millions that would go out into eternity without ever hearing the hope that they can have in Jesus Christ.  We’re thankful for the many people like Brenda who inspire and encourage us to think of new ways to engage people with the gospel.    

  SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play     The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.   Joining us this week is Cathy Lockear, Community Impact Ministry Mobilizer with the Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  Cathy assists churches in the association that are seeking ways to impact their local communities through missions.  This week, we look forward to discussing how Her investment into the local church over the past 20 years has given her unique insights on how to partner mission-minded churches with ministry opportunities in their local context.  

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.    Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.    Joining us this week is Jamie Rogers, new Baptist Collegiate Ministry Director in Columbia, South Carolina.  His work spans four colleges in and around the Columbia Metro Area, where he seeks to build relationships in order to disciple and share the hope of the gospel with the people he meets.  

The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  This week, we have a special sponsor in Bill Roop from Upstate Digital Sign Sales. Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  This week's podcast we’re going to listen in as three pastors share their experience and method of gaining traction in a dying church.  Starting something new is difficult in most churches, but it is especially difficult in a church that has experienced a prolonged decline.  Let’s listen in as Bob Morgan, Daniel Schrall, and me, Chris Reinolds, share how we started gaining traction in our individual contexts.  

The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  This week, we have a special sponsor in Bill Roop from Upstate Digital Sign Sales. Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  I’m Chris Reinolds, Certified Church Consultant & Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.  This week's podcast is special because we get to listen in on a panel discussion on various approaches to church planting in a metropolitan area.  From the inner city to the middle of nowhere to everything in between there are multiple models on planting a church.  This panel covers what they did and the one essential component for reaching any community.   The panel is made up of Ant Frederick from Midtown-Two Noth, Brian Thomas from NorthStar Christian Center, Greg Dowey from FRESH Church, and Erik Estep from Village Church. We hope their story helps encourage you as you consider the ways God would have you to continue spreading the gospel in your context.

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association and Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.   Joining us this week is Brian Thomas, Pastor at NorthStar Christian Center, a church that is passionate about ordinary people doing extraordinary thing through the power of God.   Highlights   When we put ourselves out there the needs that people have seem to snowball and that allows us to share the love of Jesus with them.   We want to hear exactly what God wants us to do, therefore we wait until we hear clearly from him.   I never saw myself as a church planter, but the Lord has brought us an opportunity and we want to be a very good steward of that gift.   You need to listen to the voice of God to hear what your church might be like in the future.   Resources: Email: Brian Thomas

    SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association and Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.   This week, we have a special podcast, with George Bullard, highlighting the exciting church planting movement that’s taking place here in Columbia, SC.   Highlights   When we had 50 members meeting for corporate worship, we were ready to start another church out of that.   There is an idea that a church has to be successful before it can plant a church.  But the truth is that your church needs to be significant in God’s kingdom and have to be willing to surrender to God’s leadership to plant a church.   If you want to grow spiritually, start a new church.  You’ll fully understand Act 2 - that everyone has a job to do within the church.   First-time guests are worth their weight in gold and you treat those guests like pearls of great value   A successful church plant requires a core group of people with a Christ-centered faith.   Starting churches isn’t an arithmetic situation, it’s a geometric one.   Instead of a church using money to build that new building, they decide to use that money to build the first unit building for a new church.   Resources: Email: GeorgeBullard@ColumbiaMetro.org

Welcome back to the Columbia Metro Connection, a podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation.   SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association and Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.   Joining us this week is Ryan Dupree, international minister at First Baptist Columbia and multiethnic consultant with the South Carolina Baptist Convention.  Through Ryan’s ministry, local churches in and around Columbia, are learning how they can better connect with the international community whom God has placed around them.   Highlights   “The Church” still has some ways to go to understand that we really are a global society.   The plight of the refugee is beginning to open the eyes of the local church that there is a great need for gospel saturation in our communities.   The political climate has polluted the perception of the healthy aspects of immigration.   70% of the local businesses, in the Columbia Metro area, are owned by foreigners.   Internationals like to talk to people and share their story and culture. By simply asking questions about them, it can open the door for a deeper conversation.   Regardless of background, we all experience the same growing pains as human beings (family, marital, and child-rearing issues).   Contact: Email: ryandupree@fbccolac.com

Welcome back to the Columbia Metro Connection, a podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation.   SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association and Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.   Joining us this week is Alan Cross, a missional strategist, President of Community Development Initiatives, and voice at the Evangelical Immigration Table.  Alan’s ministry focus is helping to connect people's orthodoxy with tangible orthopraxy, in that he seeks to help communities, churches, businesses, organizations, and individuals grow and develop in ways that facilitate human flourishing by developing creative partnerships to bring spiritual, social, and economic transformation to communities around the world.   Highlights   The context for ministry in America is heavily affected by this conflict of race, ethnicity, and who’s from where; so it seems like planting the cross [of Jesus Christ] somewhere in the middle of that is a pretty good way from people to hear about Jesus.   The big question that I had to come to grips with was how do we turn away from inside ourselves to our neighbors of different backgrounds and cultures.   When you talk about immigrants and refugees there is a tendency to frame your view on the view of your favorite political commentator.  The question is, “What does the Bible say?” There is a difference between the role of the church and the role of the state.  As Christ-followers we must understand our role in the issue of immigration is to represent the heart of God to the state. The caravan immigrants are coming with the intention of claiming asylum, which is a legal way of coming to the United States. As Christ followers, the church should be welcoming the stranger and the sojourner. I'm against immigration, but once they're here, as the church, what should we do? Resources: Twitter:  @AlanLCross Email:  Across@cdionline.org

Welcome back to the Columbia Metro Connection, a podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation.   SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 family churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association.  JayWill Wilson, Teaching Pastor at Generation Church and  I’m Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church.   Joining us this week is Will Plitt, Executive Director at Christ Together, a ministry that is passionate about connecting faithful leaders with passionate churches so that the whole world might come to hear the good news of the gospel message. Christ Together pursues its mission by unleashing decentralized groups of Christians unified in their pursuit of the mission of God within their circle of influence.   Highlights   What would it take for us (the church) to reach every man, woman, and child in the United States? We have to rethink the way we engage the culture with the gospel.  Sometimes I think we've turned the living waters of the gospel into the frozen waters The church in North America has been largely focused on "just give me the app." The church isn't so much a relevancy issue as it is an accessibility issue. Four Powerful Questions:  What does God want?  What would that look like?  What is the cost? How does your church measure success? Does our scorecard for success match up with God's?  

Welcome back to the Columbia Metro Connection, a podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation. SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 partner churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.  This week, we have a special sponsor in the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions, Strategic Leadership Coach and Lead Missiologist at Columbia Metro Baptist Association. And I’m Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor a Killian Baptist Church. Joining us this week is Tom Carringer demographic and psychographic researcher and Clay Smith, Lead Pastor, at Alice Drive Baptist Church in Sumter, SC. Together they’ll share with us the importance of the 30,000-foot view of demographics, the 10,000-foot view of psychographic/lifestyle, and how to use that information as a catalyst to help your church connect with the households in your context. Highlights: Demographic data shows you general information about a people group within specific parameters while psychographics reveals the individual interests, passions, and dreams that those people groups have.   Psychographic data helps you figure out who is going to be most receptive to your message by matching those people with the existing church body in your context. Understanding the lifestyle profile of your church helps you to comprehend how God has uniquely gifted the body of believers in your context to reach the community surrounding you.   When you understand who you are as a church, it affects how you do the work of the ministry.  It makes you more efficient at the unique work that God has called you to do.   Knowing the psychographic and demographic data helps us to know, not just who we’re good at reaching, but also who we are not good at reaching.   Before we received the data about our church, we had a “poor church” mentality.  After getting the psychographic and demographic data, we realized that we weren’t a “poor church,”  but we were financially blessed and could do more to minister to people in our context. Lifestyle profiles allow us to have a laser focus on a local level.   Resources Contact George Bullard with Columbia Metro Baptist Association Contact Tom Carringer Contact Clay Smith - AliceDrive.org or wcsmith@adbc.org

SUBSCRIBE:  iTunes| RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 partner churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.   Hosts for this week’s episode are George Bullard, the Director of Missions at Columbia Metro Baptist Association, Strategic Leadership Coach, Lead Missiologist, and Virtuoso of all things church-related. JayWill Wilson, Teaching Pastor at Generation Church, Urban Missionary, and Radio Host at Urban City Radio and I’m Chris Reinolds, Lead Pastor of Killian Baptist Church, Founder of ChrisReinolds.com.       This week’s episode features Antony “Ant” Frederick, Campus Pastor at Midtown Fellowship:  Two Notch.  Midtown Fellowship: Two Notch is a smaller membership church located near the heart of downtown Columbia, South Carolina.  They desire to move out beyond the walls of the church and engage the urban community surrounding them by building real and intentional relationships.   Highlights:   People are suffering without hope, and God began to grow a burden to reach people in the Two Notch area.   Urban ministry is about building relationships with the people who are there and building trust with them.   In tough neighborhoods, there is a lack of trust, and the church must be present than just a weekend, a month, or a year.  There must be an ongoing presence among the people in the community.   Sometimes it’s a barrier for people to come onto the church grounds.  Often the church has to go and show the love of Jesus on the turf of the people.   The phrase “How can I pray for you” has opened up tons of door for us to reach our community.   A food desert is when a people group don’t have fresh produce nearby.   We want our church to be a hub for the betterment of our community.  We want to connect our community to resources that’ll help them thrive.   Resources:   Facebook Twitter Midtown Two Notch Antony “Ant” Frederick, Campus Pastor at Midtown Fellowship:  Two Notch.   

       Welcome to the Columbia Metro Connection, a podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation.        The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 partner churches that support the ministry of the CMBA.        This first podcast features George Bullard providing an initial overview of Starting and Strengthening Congregations priority of the CMBA.        To receive an e-mail notification with a link to each podcast when posted, complete this concise form: https://goo.gl/forms/saBhAh8Q379XcdPU2 or Subscribe on your favorite podcasting app (iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, or TuneIn).   Co-hosts for Podcasts: JayWill Wilson of Generation Church(Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) Chris Reinolds of Killian Baptist Church(Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) George Bullard the CMBA Director (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)   Tentative Future Podcasts: January 23rd: John Daugherty of OperationInasmuch.org on a compassion revolution. February 13th: Tommy Hutto of Crooked Run Baptist Church sharing Our Family Stories on a smaller membership church and missional engagement. February 27th: Greg Atkinson of Worship Impressions on the Secrets of a Secret Shopper. Highlights: My strong desire is that all congregations will be captured by God’s empowering vision for them and continually journey towards their full Kingdom potential. - George Bullard   At the end of the day, we are just sick people who need the same medicine that we are passing out. - JayWill Wilson   A congregation is a spiritual organism. It is a living, breathing, moving, dynamic, ever-changing organism. And, an association is also a spiritual organism and closest in character and nature to that of congregations. - George Bullard   The synergy of [our association to church relationship] allows for greater Kingdom progress among the fellowship area of the association and throughout our nation and the world. - George Bullard   Too often even associations, like churches, simply try to keep busy doing many good things. But I believe the urgency of the good news of Jesus Christ would have us focus on Gospel essentials. - George Bullard Empowering congregations to be more vital and vibrant missional communities is what we want to seek to accentuate. - George Bullard Columbia Metro Baptist Association Focus: Empowering Congregations - Focus on the vitality and vibrancy of congregations Multiplying Congregations - Planting new congregations strategically situated for the lost, the unchurched, the de-churched, and the underchurched. Transforming Congregations - Helping existing congregations soar to new heights. Developing Leadership - Developing leaders in the Richland County area. Impacting Communities - Helping more congregations to more often get outside their church buildings and engage in a Compassion Revolution that offers the opportunity to engage in good works in ways that the Good News can be authentically shared. Collegiate Ministry - Connecting churches with those students of higher education. Missional Partnership - Resourcing congregations to do ministry beyond the fellowship area of our association. Vision Tuesdays Beginning in January - January 16th, 2018 Guest Speaker: John Daugherty, executive director, Operation Inasmuch at www.operationinasmuch.org February 20th, 2018 Guest Speaker: Greg Atkinson of Worship Impressions at www.worshipimpressions.com. Show Transcript: Topic: Starting and Strengthening Congregations Welcome to the Columbia Metro Connection. A podcast where you can go to get valuable, relevant, and quality resources for you and your congregation. The Columbia Metro Connection is sponsored and supported by the Columbia Metro Baptist Association and the almost 100 partner churches that support the ministry of the CMBA. Hosts for this week’s episode are: George Bullard, the Director of Missions for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association, strategic leadership coach, lead missiologist, and virtuoso of all things church-related. Jay Will Wilson, teaching pastor at Generation Church, urban missionary, and radio host at Urban City Radio. And I’m Chris Reinolds, lead pastor at Killian Baptist Church and founder of StrategicSherpherding.com. We want to welcome you to the flagship episode of the Columbia Metro Connection: the place to go to get Kingdom resources for you and your congregation. (Laughter) CR: Well, personally, I cannot express how excited I am to be able to sit down with you guys and do this show. I know that’s something we’ve been talking about since somewhere in October. And, George, I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to be a part of it. GB: Glad to do so. JW: Yeah, I think this is a great opportunity for not just for us to get together and fellowship but for our fellowships to get together and get to know each other and just talk about different ministries. CR: Absolutely JW: So, I think this is a great opportunity. GB: Well, I think it is too. Of all the people I could’ve gotten together with, you know, you two are one of them. (Laughter) CR: Oh, good, thanks. JW: I don’t know if that’s a compliment or… GB: Well, I do want to tell you though. My vision for this podcast is that we could provide timely, helpful information for pastors, staff persons and lay leaders in our congregations. My strong desire is that all congregations will be captured by God’s empowering vision for them and continually journey towards their full Kingdom potential. CR: Mmhmm GB: You know, time is the most precious commodity of the 21st century. All of us would like to have more money. But, the reality is that time is more precious than money. So, these approximately 20 - 22-minute podcasts are intended to help leaders learn something positive that will enhance their ministry by investing just a few minutes. The medium of podcasts means that they can learn wherever they are if their schedule doesn’t allow them time with others in a face to face setting. CR: I agree wholeheartedly. One of the.. one of the most discouraging realities that I think that pastors face is the isolation that comes whenever you’re sitting in the Senior chair and, so, having some kind of resource, um, that speaks directly to pastors and be able to help them, um, as they are seeking to do ministry out in the field. Um, I think, I think it is incredibly beneficial. JW: Yeah, and it will give us a chance to reveal the fact that we aren’t perfect. Sometimes we are looked at as the people to give all of the answers. CR: Right JW: All the solutions. And at the end of the day, we are just sick people who need the same medicine that we are passing out. CR: Absolutely. That is exactly the case. Which is why I’m excited and thrilled to be partnered up with what you’re doing George within the Columbia Metro area. Now, for our listeners who may be new to the Columbia Metro area, George is our newly elected… now, I’m gonna make sure I get this right because it is a long one… Associational Director of Missions for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association. JW: Now, I bet you can’t say that five times fast. CR: Yeah, I don’t think I can say that. JW: So, George, when did you come on? GB: Well, you know, guys, time flies when you’re having fun or when you’re in the center of God’s will for your life and you generally love what you do. I actually started way back on July the 1st of last year. So, I’ve been in this role for more than six months as we are sitting now together taping this podcast. CR: Now, your role as far as your perception of the role of Director of Missions is a little bit of a different take. And, when you were elected, one of the things you did was you delivered a speech that really highlighted each one of those differences. So, for this first episode, we’d like to take some time to interview you so that people can hear the different approach to your methodology. GB: I must admit, guys, that I think I do have a different perspective on the role of the Baptist association. For one thing, I grew up in the home of an Associational Director of Missions. My father, three times in his life, served as an Associational Director of Missions. But, along the way, one of my mentors was a really funny guy named Russell Bennett who was also a person who understood deeply associationalism and would carry the title of Missiologist. Someone who knows about missions and the kind of things we need to be doing. He had a statement that went something like this: You know, there are churches and there are associations. Then, the ungodly are not so and those are our state conventions and Southern Baptist national agencies. But, here’s what he meant: A congregation is a spiritual organism. It is a living, breathing, moving, dynamic, ever-changing organism. And, an association is also a spiritual organism and closest in character and nature to that of congregations. But, a state convention and national agencies are organizations. Their role is an important one of programs, projects, and events but they do not have a primary family or solution or wisdom relationship with congregations. Their relationship is more of “acquaintance.” I know a few churches are friends. I have a few churches I know pretty well and they’re more into the broad scale, deep scope and they are more about providing information and knowledge and not really getting to the point of full wisdom that you get when you sense, you know, smell, taste or hear congregations. JW: So, now, George, some people may interpret that in a way that you’re not meaning. Uh, you’re not saying that there’s something wrong with the state and national convention, right? GB: Well, not in theory. Now, I know some state conventions and national agencies that are a little weird from time to time.. (Laughter) GB: But, no, state conventions and national agencies are very important as a part of an integrated strategy to fulfill The Great Commission and the spirit of The Great Commandment. No part of our three-dimensional denominational structure is better than the other. Each, at their best, and that’s a very important phrase, at their best, has a unique and distinct role that contributes to the work of God’s Kingdom. CR: Yeah, I think that that’s an accurate assessment and one of the things that you mentioned, in your speech that you gave, is that associations are really the foundation for the primary missional and fellowship relationship of churches with one another in the fulfillment of The Great Commission and the spirit of The Great Commandment. Now, if you could explain a little bit about what that means whenever you talk about that associations are the foundation for primary missional and fellowship relationships of churches in their desire to be obedient to Jesus’s command. GB: Alright, using that phrase I introduced just a minute ago because associations are at their best closest in character and nature to congregations and closest geographically, they have a 24/7, 365, that means every day of the week, every week of the year, they have a close relationship with congregations. They can experience a full and deep relationship. Did you know that churches actually join and are members of a local Baptist association but churches only affiliate with their state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. The relationship is totally different. That is why we call associations a family, solutions, and wisdom relationship. CR: Now, if I could, I have a little bit of a follow up from what you just said there. A couple months ago, I was able to attend a conference you’ve been doing for, I guess, several years now. It’s called the Congregational Champions Retreat and, in that retreat, you talk about some of these things. And, specifically, you mention the importance of building a familial style or atmosphere among the churches where we begin to rely on one another for strength and encouragement, support and even some ideas. Now, this is really counterintuitive from my experiences in associations. Is this sort of the direction that you desire to see our local association to go towards? GB: It certainly is, Chris. Churches and associations, again, I may be overusing this phrase but I think it is important to say--at their best and we are striving to be at our best in the Columbia Metro Baptist Association, have an interdependent relationship with one another. The synergy of such a relationship allows for greater Kingdom progress among the fellowship area of the association and throughout our nation and the world. JW: Now, in your speech when you were elected last summer, one of the last statements you made was “We can stay busy or we can stay focused on Gospel essentials.” Can you please explain that statement? GB: Sure. Yeah, you know it is very easy for us, as Baptists, to stay busy. In fact, the humorist Will Rogers used to say that he was tired of his taxes paying for roads to be built for Baptists to tear down going to meetings. (Laughter) GB: So, ugh, too often even associations, like churches, simply try to keep busy doing many good things. But I believe the urgency of the good news of Jesus Christ would have us focus on Gospel essentials. You know, what’s the main thing and keeping the main thing the main thing. Additionally, from a human and business perspective, did you know that, over the years, the North American society has taken a word that, for 300 or 400 years, was a singular word, the word “priority,” and turned it into a plural word, priorities. When they made it a plural word, that diluted our focus. CR: Absolutely. GB: And, I’m trying to lead our association to have what I call “Our One Priority.” The way I start it is “Starting and strengthening congregations to serve as vital and vibrant missional communities.” Things that we’ve been doing that do not fit that priority we’re, quite frankly, going to try to eliminate unless there’s some key reason to keep doing them. Empowering congregations to be more vital and vibrant missional communities is what we want to seek to accentuate. JW: Now, that sounds like a great idea. What are our strategies to fill our one priority? GB: We're trying to play out and roll out some strategies. And, right now, we are saying that there are seven that we are going to focus on. Um, so, it is a little bit of a long list but let me start moving into to it here. First is what we call “Empowering Congregations.” This is sort of foundational for us where we are focusing on the vitality and vibrancy of our congregations. We consider this our key, beginning strategy. Second, is Multiplying Congregations. Again, my family was involved a lot in planting new congregations and new congregations strategically situated for the lost, the unchurched, the de-churched, and the under-churched are one of the best methods of evangelism and new member recruitment. So, our associational fellowship area is expected to increase in population by 200,000 people in less than 25 years. Many new congregational expressions and evangelism efforts are gonna be needed in our context. A third one, we call “Transforming Congregations.” It’s a what I’ve spent most of my last 40 years devoting myself to under a rubric I call “Faith Soaring Congregations.” So, many of our congregations in our association need from just staying busy to where they are soaring with faith. Fourth is “Developing Leadership.” We have a particularly unique situation in the Columbia Metro Baptist Association in that, when you consider the population in our primary core county, Richland County, we are a majority minority demographically. JW: Yes. GB: So, we need mature, motivated, and insightful leadership that is multicultural and helps create an intercultural leadership base for our diverse setting. CR: Now, all of this information is a lot to chew on. Especially for our listeners who are just hearing this information for the first time. Um, and, I know you’ve given many talks and had many conversations so we want to make sure that they know that, um, all of this information will be available in the show notes also with links so they can check out that information as well. But, those are just four of them, I think you said, seven of the strategies— GB: I did. CR: Now, that’s more than what most associations are doing— JW: Yes. CR: or will do in probably their lifetime. How can we accomplish that and how can there still be more things? GB: The good news about that, and maybe the unfortunate news about that is that our association is a five talent association. God has given us a lot of resources and abilities and availability so to do any less than three more beyond the first four, uh, it is kind of like turning our back on God. And, we can’t do that. So, I really do need to add three of what I call “Supporting Strategies.” And, so, if I could, the fifth one is what I call “Impacting Communities.” We must help more congregations to more often get outside their church buildings and engage in a Compassion Revolution that offers the opportunity to engage in good works in ways that the Good News can be authentically shared. CR: I like that Compassion Revolution. That’s good. JW: Yeah, I like that. GB: Well, we have a guy coming in January, that we will talk about in a minute, that will talk about the Compassion Revolution. CR: Oh, okay. GB: Ah, sixth, is “Collegiate Ministry.” If you think about it, including the residential and commuter students, our associational area has close to 50,000 people enrolled in higher education. That’s actually an increase from around 35,000 people just about 15 years ago. Already one-fourth of our congregations are involved with these students and their campuses. We must continue to focus on this strategy. So, there is a final one and that’s the seventh and we call it “Missional Partnerships.” This involves what our congregations do beyond the fellowship area of our association. We are a resourcing association. We need to do our part to impact the nation and our world with the unconditional love of God through Jesus Christ. JW: That’s awesome. When do we get started with this? I mean, I want my congregation to be part of this. How can we get plugged into it? CR: Well, I have to say, Jay Will, our congregation here at Killian, we’ve already begun benefitting from this transforming congregations strategy because we are doing a church revitalization here so I suspect that I’m probably not the only one already started benefitting from it and I’m sure there are others as well. GB: Right you are, Chris. You know, you already are benefitting and we’ve had some time to be together at conferences and individually to help you move forward at Killian and you’re doing a great job. We appreciate it. CR: Thank you. GB: And it honors our Lord. But, what you’ve experienced this far, I hope, is only the beginning. The best really is yet to come. We’ll be introducing new parts of these seven strategies every month during 2018. One avenue to do this is what we’re going to be calling “Vision Tuesdays.” These will take place eight times per year, generally on the third Tuesday of the month. And, if you want more information about it, I urge people to already go to our website at ColumbiaMetro.org to see about these Vision Tuesdays and what we will be offering. JW: This is a lot of information and my head is kind of spinning by now. I really hope that more churches get involved. That my church will get involved. I hope God will really use this for such a big challenge, um, it’s going to be great! GB: Jay Will and Chris, it is certainly my hope that we will follow God’s lead into the mission field all around us. CR: I hope to curb you guys’ enthusiasm as we seek to progress forward and discuss all those various ways in which we can engage the mission field that is around us but, at this point, we’ve run out of time for this initial episode of our podcast. JW: Now, one last thing. George, do you have anything—Do you know anything about our future podcasts? GB: Well, I kind of alluded to it a little while ago. When we have our first Vision Tuesday, on January the 16th, our guest speaker will be John Daugherty of Operation In As Much that can be found online at OperationInAsMuch.org. He’ll be speaking about how we go about creating a Compassion Revolution through ministry engagements in our diverse communities and neighborhoods throughout our association. And, we will be piloting some of the things he’ll be suggesting to us in the Fall of 2018 and hopefully having a full-blown Compassion Revolution experience in the Spring of 2019.  By the way, a little trivia here, reservations are going to be required for that Vision Tuesday because we are going to be having a free lunch provided by the Southern Mutual Church Insurance Company. JW: So, don’t show up if you haven’t reserved… (laughter) GB: That’s right. But, see our website for more information or connect with our Facebook page would be the thing to do. CR: Alright, well, our time really is up but if you’re interested in connecting with any of us through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, be sure to check out the show notes from today’s episode and all the applicable links will be there. Also, if you’ve found this podcast helpful to you or your ministry, could you please go over to iTunes and leave a review and a rating so that we can get the word out about what God is doing in the Columbia Metro area. Until next time, from all of us at the Columbia Metro Connection, we thank you for listening and urge you to share this podcast with everyone you know. It’s the good news about the Good News in the Columbia Metro Baptist Association. Music: www.bensound.com  

George Bullard (@georgebullardexplorer) is an explorer and world record holder. In 2008, at the age of just 19, George embarked on an expedition with Alex Hibbert to break the world record for the longest unsupported journey in a Polar region. After 113 days, hauling 200 kilos of equipment George and Alex covered 1,374miles to set a new world record. Their journey took them from the south-east corner of Greenland to the north-west coast of Greenland and back again. George has been pushing himself beyond the limits of human endurance for over a decade. His challenges have included swimming the English Channel, as well as cycling 2,500 miles from London to Greece. In 2016, George and his expedition partner Oly Hicks completed a world first by kayaking from Greenland to Scotland, which was a journey of 1,200 miles. They spent between 17-20 and hours a day paddling and had to sleep in their double kayak to complete the journey. In this podcast we talk about George's numerous adventures, his mindset, his motivation, the setbacks and the challenges he faced. We also talk about his expedition challenge company www.igoadventures.com

Olly Hicks and George Bullard kayaked from Greenland to Scotland. Their 22 ft tandem sea kayak was customized to allow them to lay flat in the cockpits and rest during the long crossings. From Greenland they paddled to Iceland then made their way along its northern coast before starting the 4 day and 4 night […] The post Kayaking from Greenland to Scotland with Olly Hicks : TPZ 134 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone.

“The Life Cycle of a Congregation” Every church, just like every community, has a life cycle and stages of development. From birth to growth through maturity and beyond, knowing where your church is its normal life cycle is essential for a pastor and congregation. No one has identified and described the life cycle and stages of development of a church better than George Bullard. His model and original writing on the topic have been effectively used by pastors, churches, church planters, consultants and coaches to plant and grow churches across North America. George Bullard is one of the most respected and experienced church consultants and coaches in the U.S. For four decades, he has used his insight and experience of working with pastors, churches, communities and denominations to help leaders move strategically forward in the work of the Kingdom. Listen Now