Churchmen Podcast

This discussion challenges us to look at faithful pastoral ministry by examining the balance between public preaching and private shepherding. We're reminded that while powerful preaching from the pulpit is essential and commanded in Scripture, it cannot stand alone as the totality of pastoral care. The shepherd-sheep metaphor woven throughout Scripture reveals a deeply personal relationship where the shepherd doesn't merely point to the pasture but walks alongside each sheep, attending to individual needs, wounds, and struggles. 

What transforms biblical teaching from mere information into life-changing truth? Jerry Wragg, Lance Quinn, and Brian Arnold explore the often-overlooked art of preaching implications—the practice of drawing out how Scripture confronts and transforms our hearts. We discover that true preaching doesn't stop at explaining what a passage means; it must press forward to show us how that truth exposes our hidden motives, challenges our worldly thinking, and renovates our inner lives. Drawing from passages like Hebrews 4:12, which speaks of God's Word piercing to our thoughts and intentions, we're reminded that the Spirit works through preachers who have first wrestled with how the text implicates their own hearts. When we sit under preaching that targets the heart—not just the mind or behavior—we experience the sanctifying grace that comes from having our consciences either burdened by conviction or affirmed in righteousness. This approach to God's Word creates mature believers who understand not just what the Bible says, but how it searches us, humbles us, and ultimately conforms us to Christ's image through ongoing heart-level transformation.

This conversation explores an often overlooked dimension of church leadership: the mutual care and shepherding that leaders must provide for one another. Drawing from biblical examples like Peter's restoration in John 20, Paul's care for Epaphroditus, and Christ's own model with the apostles, we're reminded that pastors and elders aren't exempt from the struggles of life—they're sheep who need shepherding, too. The discussion challenges us to consider how the busyness of ministry can create dangerous distance between leaders, leading to isolation precisely when camaraderie is most needed. We learn that true spiritual maturity in leadership isn't found in appearing to have it all together, but in the humility to walk through trials alongside brothers who understand the unique pressures of shepherding God's flock. The conversation emphasizes that relationships among leaders aren't optional luxuries but essential investments that strengthen the entire church body. When leaders intentionally spend time together—whether studying Scripture, praying through personal struggles, or simply being present in one another's lives—they model for the congregation what it means to bear one another's burdens. This mutual ministry prevents the relational suicide of isolation and creates the kind of earned trust that allows for genuine help in times of crisis. Ultimately, we're called to see these relationships as sanctifying graces that God uses to shape us into more Christ-like shepherds.

What does true pastoral wisdom look like, and how do we cultivate it in our lives? This conversation challenges us to move beyond surface-level spiritual consumption and embrace the work of applying Scripture to life. Drawing from Colossians 1:28-29 and Philippians 4:8-9, Jerry Wragg and Lance Quinn remind us that wisdom isn't merely accumulating biblical knowledge—it's the practiced ability to apply God's principles in ways that achieve His intended purposes. The discussion reveals how genuine discernment grows through consistent practice, not just repeated concepts. We're invited to examine whether we're settling for quick, articulate answers that lack depth, or whether we're willing to ponder deeply and practice carefully the truths we encounter. The call is clear: wisdom requires breadth of experience, humility to acknowledge our limitations, sobriety about our influence, and self-control to speak only what we truly understand. Are we conditioned to seek ear candy, or are we committed to the hard work of meditation, application, and transformation that produces genuine spiritual maturity?

In this episode, Jerry Wragg and Lance Quinn discuss the importance of mentoring young men. They look back on the the influence of John MacArthur in their own lives, and they fondly recall the ways he personally invested in them.  The New Testament describes how men should be raised up in the midst of a flock, in the midst of friendship, and under faithful leadership. Young men learn from godly men exemplifying what it means to be a pastor. It shapes the way they think about ministry.  Because of John's influence, Jerry and Lance have endeavored to carry those things into the next generation. It should be a continued chain. This baton gets passed down from generation to generation of faithful men, and that's something we don't want to lose.

There is a decline of pastoring in pastoral ministry today. Men have begun to view God's call on their life almost exclusively as being tied to the roll of preaching. As a result, there has been a decline in the shepherding of sheep and the caring of souls. In this episode, Jerry Wragg, Lance Quinn and Brian Arnold discuss where this view came from, where it leads in a man's ministry, and how we protect ourselves from this view of pastoral ministry.

Dr. Brad Klassen and Dr. Matt Waymeyer join Jerry Wragg and Lance Quinn. Their discussion centers around the various views of biblicism with the goal of coming to a biblical definition.

Dr. Brad Klassen joins Jerry Wragg and Lance Quinn. Their discussion centers around the various views of biblicism with the goal of coming to a biblical definition.

In this episode, Jerry, Lance and Daron discuss how ministry teams can cultivate camaraderie while maintaining distinction. Every man has been given gifts, but every leader is not the same. If a leader wants everyone to be like him, then there's a problem. Church leadership teams ought to celebrate individuality while balancing it with the idea that though we are different, we are one body in Christ. 

What are the main components that make up healthy camaraderie among brothers in a church leadership context? And what is the fruit? How do we measure that our camaraderie is healthy? How do we know if it's biblical and honors the Lord? In this episode, Jerry Wragg and Lance Quinn answer those questions.

Pastor Jerry and Pastor Daron unpack some key biblical truths to keep us encouraged during difficult, confusing times. 

In this episode, Pastors Jerry and Daron encourage shepherds and leaders to be ever watchful in their lives. The devil is seeking to devour, and he would happily find an "innocent" foothold somewhere in your thoughts - where a small entitlement, or perhaps a little discontentment, or the possible tinge of satisfaction as your hard work is finally being rewarded by increased influence... his options are many, and we are mere men. But the scriptures give us the armor and our Savior gives us the means to keep it effective. Here's how to watch out so that you are not devoured like so many others before and around you.

During this (or any) crisis, around every corner lurks another reason for even strong churchmen to slip into unhelpful speculation, worry, doubt and anxiety. And with every decision or situation, your responses will either provide a biblical salve or a stumbling block.  In this episode, Pastors Jerry and Daron help us regain and maintain altitude by exposing some bad habits that weigh us down, targeting flawed thinking that blurs our navigation, and leveling biblical answers and perspective for our own hearts and those who rely on us to lead. Bonus: Pastor Jerry, recommended this beloved book toward the end of the episode: Trusting God by Jerry Bridges (1988).

This time, Pastor Daron takes a deeper look at a chapter of Pastor Jerry's book, Courageous Churchmen, called Leaders God Resists to get to the bottom of detecting a dangerous character flaw - insecurity. This is a critical discussion about a threat that's worse than a mere crack in a man's armor. On the surface, it may seem hard to detect. However, with the right upgrades to your radar, you will be able to target the facade that hides a desperate fear of man and leadership-crippling pride at every level. 

Satan is all about taking down the church, but when personal holiness is well-disciplined, he only has one tactic left. He will try to make your ministry as ineffective as possible. He will send wolves into your flock, and one to your home. When the wolves are outside, your ministry will be either helped or hindered by your wife's response to the trials that arise in your ministry. Your leadership will either strengthen her against temptation or weaken her resolve.  This is probably going to be only part 1... we'll see.

You want to be useful. Don't let yourself be blinded and your ministry's usefulness decline into obscurity. 

It was never intended for you to get through your ministry years alone. But cultivating and retaining strong relationships with fellow leaders remains one of the most difficult things a man in ministry can do. Pastor Daron asks Pastor Jerry's perspective on one of the most dynamic types of relationships a leader can and must have.

Some leaders have come to believe that you can be an academic and call yourself a Shepherd. Or you can be a preacher without stepping foot into the pasture. They meant well at the start with motives couched in good-natured intentions and wrapped in lofty theological desires. But on further inspection, we often find serious ties to the fear of man and a distaste for discomfort. The results of these can be devastating, and the cost is a snuffed lampstand. On this episode, Pastor Jerry and Daron ask Dr. George Zemek to tell us how the role of the shepherd became splintered, and how to make sure you won't deviate from the mission - feeding His sheep. Dr. Zemek is a pastor on staff at Grace Immanuel Bible Church in Jupiter, FL, and a professor at The Expositor's Seminary. 

Pastor Jerry Wragg and Daron Roberts look at developing leaders. Specifically what to look for, what to watch out for, and how to best encourage a hesitator.  

As shepherds, it can seem like every one of our decisions, admonitions, words of encouragement, methods, sermons, leadership decisions, personality, home life, and just about everything else is constantly under ungracious scrutiny by others. Criticism is a daily encounter from nearly every angle and quite commonly from people who are unqualified to make such judgments.  It's made that much harder when the loudest critiques come from within your own leadership team. It's made worse when men cannot agree, sometimes resulting in relationships damaged by sinful responses. This episode is aimed right at the heart of conflict at the leadership level. The scripture is our guide to the way God has asked us to humbly accept criticism, and shepherd our hearts together with others when they disagree with us. 

Pastors Jerry and Daron attempt to assemble a Q.A. of NT Apostles to help us reveal a critical gap in the nuanced and volatile topic of social justice reform.   The podcast is now available on Stitcher, iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and of course, our website.      

Ministry is messy. The sheep bite! The grassy valleys you envisioned can be scarce, and shepherding often isn't living up to the expectations. You had unquenchable vigor in the barracks, but then the war rages on and you seem to be losing ground. How can you keep focussed when even your own heart is busy manufacturing all manner of distractions, bent on betraying you and the ministry? Meanwhile, that other pastor across town (the one who doesn't study as hard as you do) is achieving results with just "a few small tweaks to his program".  You have unmet desires (with some good motives attached), unrealized expectations, and your trajectory appears tethered by the inadequacies in your resources, your model, your circumstances, other people, and finally yourself... all of it leading to one place - the Slough of Despond.  But what does God think about all that? Is your ministry philosophy really off-target? Is your methodology underbaked? Are your circumstances really to blame? Or did you simply forget who the church really belongs to? Pastors Jerry Wragg and Daron Roberts have a conversation on the heels of the Churchmen Conference. After 3 years of hearing men discuss what endangers their flocks from within, it has become clear that the issue of discouragement at the leadership level must be addressed. Pastor Jerry and Pastor Daron deep-dive this topic, and let a figurative panel discussion of New Testament Apostles deliver answers to our hearts on this critical topic straight from the Word of God.