That NAMS Podcast

"Are We Placing Something Ahead of Christ?" — Jon Shuler on Anglican Identity and the Danger of IdolatryWhere your treasure is, there your heart is also. In episode 139, Jon Shuler follows the money — and what he sees troubles him. So much of what the church spends is devoted not to mission, but to maintaining a distinctly Anglican identity. Watching the FIFA World Cup, he's struck by how sport becomes an idol for millions — and how the same thing can happen, quietly and unconsciously, with Christian identity. Shuler traces his own lifelong struggle with the question "what kind of Anglican am I?" — Catholic, evangelical, charismatic, biblical — until the Spirit brought him to the only identity that finally mattered: a man in Christ. Then he turns to the Anglican Church in North America and asks a question he admits he raises with fear and trembling: when our energy and resources go toward what is distinctly Anglican rather than what is distinctly Christian, are we verging on placing something ahead of the Lord Jesus Christ? A searching, personal, and provocative episode for every Anglican, church leader, and Great Commission Christian.

"Would Any of Them Die for Me?" — The Question That Took a Successful Rector to His KneesBy every external measure, the parish was a triumph: the largest in the diocese, 700 people every Sunday, 1,500 at Easter, a 17-person staff, decades of unbroken growth. Its rector was proud — and he had every worldly reason to be. Then, kneeling alone at the communion rail one evening in 1987, he heard the Spirit of God begin to ask him questions. How many of your new members are members only because they were born or married into it? How much did it cost to gain 17 new believing adults? How much should it cost to make a disciple? And finally, the question that took him from tears to weeping: would any of them die for me? In episode 138 of That NAMS Podcast, Jon Shuler tells this true story and sets it against fresh demographic numbers from the Anglican Church in North America — where half of all congregations have fewer than 50 people. The challenge he leaves with every leader is unforgettable: what is the return on investment for the congregation you serve? A searching, convicting, and unforgettable episode for every pastor, church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

"A Christian Not Making Another Christian May Not Yet Be aChristian" — Jon Shuler on the One Thing Worth MeasuringDescriptionBefore Jon Shuler had a PhD in church history or a degree in theology, he was a civil engineer — and in episode 137 he reaches back to a diagram from that first training to ask a question every church planter must face. Every church takes in the same resources: people, money, buildings. Every church runs an internal system. Every church produces an output. So why do the outputs differ so wildly? Shuler contrasts abrother in North India who moves men from unbelief to church-planting leadership in under a year with his own Anglican diocese, where the same path takes four years or more — and lands on a line from the great New Testament scholar Raymond Brown that the early Christians believed a Christian who was not helping to make another Christian probably was not yet a Christian. If your system isn't producing disciple-making disciples, Shuler says, the system has to change. A searching, practical, and convicting episode for every companion, church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

Part 10 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series. "We relate to the Anglican Family — we serve beyond it." — Jon Shuler on the Final Two Articles of the NAMS RuleIn episode 136, Jon Shuler brings the Rule series toward its close by covering Articles IV and V — doctrine and ecclesiastical connection. On doctrine: the faith NAMS contends for is not something any generation gets to reinvent. Drawing on Jude verse 3 and the Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888, he makes clear that when there is confusion or conflict in the church, the Holy Scriptures are the rule and ultimate standard — full stop. On ecclesiastical connection: NAMS is not owned by the Anglican family, it relates to it — and that distinction is deliberate. The society is committed to kingdom ministry, not denominational ministry, and seeks to serve and be in unity with any church, community, or network that truly submits to Christ, whatever its tradition or history. A searching and clarifying conclusion to one of the most important stretches of teaching in this series.

Part 9 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series. "We Are Not a Disembodied Community" — The Call to the 2027 NAMS Global NovenaA rule without purpose is just bureaucracy. In episode 135, Jon Shuler steps back before finishing Article III to ask the question that underlies everything: are we getting the results we desire? His honest answer is no — and that's exactly why NAMS exists. He then turns to the Global Society section of the Rule and unpacks the two gathering commitments every companion makes, including the NAMS Global Novena — a nine-day assembly of the whole family, last held in Devon in 2022, now being called for 2027. He traces the Novena back to an offhand remark by Bishop Alex Dickson in January 1995 and makes a direct appeal: start saving now, and come. A rallying and clarifying episode for every companion, every NAMS friend, and anyone who believes the church is meant to be a family of brothers, not a scattered collection of individuals.

Part 8 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series. "You May Not Leave Her in a Separate Room" — Marriage, Mission, and the NAMS CompanionAn Anglican order of married church planters is, Jon Shuler admits in episode 134, quite unique in Christian history. And that uniqueness creates a real tension: what happens when the demands of the companion calling collide with the sacred bond of marriage? Shuler is direct — a companion who runs around the world making disciples while neglecting his own wife is an unfaithful companion. Full stop. This episode unpacks two commitments from the Married Companions section of Article III: the path of spousal discipleship and the requirement that a wife not merely tolerate the calling but genuinely understand and believe in it. A searching and pastoral episode for every married companion, Anglican church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

Part 7 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series."If We Cannot Say New Churches Have Been Started, We Must Weep" - The Defining Reality of a NAMS CompanionIn episode 133, Jon Shuler returns to the acorn image from the previous week and pushes it further: an acorn planted but not germinating, a Bible study that hasn't multiplied in fifteen years, a movement smaller every year than the year before — these are not signs of faithfulness. They are tragedies. Drawing on a prayer book question from his Anglican childhood — "what is your bounded duty as a member of the church?" — Shuler weaves together the call to follow Christ, worship weekly, and work and pray and give for the spread of the kingdom, and shows how all seven commitments of Article III flow from that single foundation. He also previews the five personal spiritual disciplines every companion is called to live — to be unpacked in the next episode. A searching and clarifying listen for every NAMS companion, Anglican church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

Part 6 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series."Are You in a Great Commission Cell?" — The Question Every NAMS Companion Must AnswerEvery NAMS companion has agreed to lead or be part of a Great Commission cell. But in episode 132, Jon Shuler asks plainly: do you know what one is? Drawing on the evolution of the definition from 1994 to 2017 — and his own story of moving to Charlotte, North Carolina with three couples and a calling — Shuler shows that a Great Commission cell doesn't require a building, a program, or even a congregation. It requires two or more people praying, thinking, and preparing to plant a new community of faith in obedience to Christ's final command. Are you an ungerminated seed — a true companion waiting for the door to open? Or is the door already open and you haven't walked through it? A searching and practical episode for every companion, Anglican church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

Part 5 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series. "The Odds Are Slim to None" — Why Many Church Settings Can't Produce What NAMS RequiresJon Shuler opens episode 131 with a striking admission: even the congregation he worships in — one he has preached and taught and discipled in for years — is not a Great Commission congregation. Not even close. The problem, he argues, runs deeper than commitment. It runs through four definitions many companions have never fully internalized: a disciple, a made disciple, a missionary disciple, and a NAMS companion. Each one builds on the last — and until a companion can name the people they are discipling, and confirm those people are making disciples of others, the chain is broken. A searching and clarifying episode for every NAMS companion, Anglican church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

Part 4 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series"That's Not True" — Why Discipleship Alone Is Not the Purpose of NAMS | Anglican Church Planting PodcastMany NAMS companions have come to believe the purpose of the society is to make disciples. In episode 130, Jon Shuler says plainly: that's not true. The purpose of NAMS is to plant new Great Commission congregations — and you cannot plant what you don't understand. Turning to Article III of the 2017 NAMS Rule, Shuler unpacks what a Great Commission congregation actually is, why it is a deliberate technical term and not a denominational label, and what Jesus himself says about his disciples in nine specific passages of the New Testament. A clarifying — and challenging — episode for every companion, Anglican church planter, and Great Commission Christian.

Part 3 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order SeriesEvery Companion. Every Season. Every Location. — The Objectives That Never Stop. | Anglican Church Planting PodcastGoals have deadlines. Objectives don't. In the third installment of this series on the 2017 NAMS Rule and Customary Order, Jon Shuler moves to Article II — "Our Continuing Objectives as a Society" — and explains why the word objectives is chosen deliberately over goals. These are not targets to be achieved and checked off. They are the lifelong commitments of every NAMS companion, pursued until death or the return of the Lord. The three objectives are: remaining faithful to the whole Gospel and the values of the Kingdom of God; building the global community of NAMS companions through bases and shared Rule; and helping plant new Great Commission congregations wherever the Lord sends — or places — you. Through the real-life example of a NAMS military chaplain serving in Alaska, Shuler illustrates that church planting participation looks different for every companion, but disengagement from it is a departure from the society's core commitment. Essential listening for Anglican church planters, NAMS companions, and those exploring missionary community life and Rule of Life spirituality.

Part 2 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order Series"I Would Rather Die Than Deny It" — The Charge That Defines NAMS | Anglican Church Planting PodcastContinuing the series on the 2017 NAMS Rule and Customary Order, episode 128 turns to Article I — the NAMS Charge. On May 29, 1998, Archbishop Moses Tay gave Jon Shuler four sentences over lunch in Singapore that have shaped the New Anglican Missionary Society ever since. Shuler walks through each clause in detail: Preach and teach Jesus Christ and him crucified. Plant new churches wherever God opens the door. Always obey the Holy Spirit. Never break the Word of God. Each phrase is unpacked theologically and practically — drawing on Paul's letters to the Corinthians and Colossians, and the Gospel of John — and Shuler makes the case that a companion who has truly internalized the Charge needs no further guidance to know their calling in any circumstance. Vital listening for NAMS companions, Anglican missionaries, church planters, and anyone exploring what it means to live under a Rule of Life oriented toward the Great Commission.

Part 1 of the NAMS Rule & Customary Order SeriesWhat Does NAMS Mean by "Church," "Mission," and "Pioneering"? | Anglican Church Planting PodcastIn the opening episode of this series walking through the 2017 NAMS Rule and Customary Order, host Jon Shuler unpacks three foundational words embedded in the preamble — words that define everything the New Anglican Missionary Society does globally. What does NAMS mean by "church"? It's Apostolic Christianity as revealed in the life of the apostles and recorded in Holy Scripture. What is "mission"? The one mission Christ gave his church in Matthew 28:19 — to make disciples of all nations. And what does "pioneering" really mean for a global missionary society operating across nine countries? Jon explains three distinct ways NAMS is called to go first: where there is no church, where something of Apostolic Christianity is missing, and where an existing church is resisting the reforming work of the Holy Spirit. Essential listening for anyone interested in Anglican church planting, missionary community life, Rule of Life spirituality, or the theology of the Great Commission.

Jon begins to discuss the NAMS Rule of 2017

Jon Discusses the next steps for the NAMS Board and the NAMS Order.

Continuing the discussion of the history of the NAMS Rule, Jon shares the good news that has come from the recent global leadership 4 day retreat.

Jon continues to the story of the NAMS rule and brings us up to 2022The mission and ministry of NAMS as an order of church planters is guided and bounded by the Rule (2024), but it must be carefully interpreted in the light of it’s development in order that we do the work that God has called us to do from the beginning. This series tries to give to the Society that history in order to strengthen our faithfulness in the years ahead. 

Jon continues the discussion of the NAMS rule.The mission and ministry of NAMS as an order of church planters is guided and bounded by the Rule(2024), but it must be carefully interpreted in the light of it’s development in order that we do the work that God has called us to do from the beginning. This series tries to give to the Society that history in order to strengthen our faithfulness in the years ahead. 

Jon begins a series that will discuss The NAMS Rule: History and Practice.The mission and ministry of NAMS as an order of church planters is guided and bounded by the Rule(2024), but it must be carefully interpreted in the light of it’s development in order that we do the work that God has called us to do from the beginning. This series tries to give to the Society that history in order to strengthen our faithfulness in the years ahead. 

Jon talks about the basic duty of the follower of Christ.  

Jon ponders the outcome of a multimillion dollar Lilly grant.

Jon Shuler asks what do we do when the foundations are shaken?

A Church Planters Flow Chart. Jon shares a practical framework for thinking about, helping, and tracking new work.

Jon discusses the importance of what we need to do when challenged by events in the wider world

Are we seeing the Death of a Communion?

What is the Fruit of Our Ministry?

Jon continues to make a point about the need to reform the episcopate.

Jon shares his thoughts on reforming the episcopate.

Jon continues the conversation on the meaning and evolution of the word "bishop"

In the continuing series on definitions Jon discuses "bishop, Bishop, BISHOP"

Jon continues looking at definitions focusing this week on Presbyter or Priest?

Jon discusses the difference between a Solemn Promise & a Sacred Vow within the context of the Anglican tradition.

Without Vision... Jon discusses the reality of not understanding the need for God's Vision

This week Jon gives some background on the meaning of Reformed within the Anglican context

Jon seeks to help Define the terms Church Planter and Church Planting

Why is the act of retreat so hard for some. Jon discusses the Fear of Retreat in this weeks podcast.

Jon has a few thoughts to share about retreats while on a retreat.

Jon discusses the difference between Evangelism and Discipleship and shares the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer)

Are you a Disciple maker? Jon Challenges us to make this a reality in our lives.

In the 100th episode of That NAMS Podcast Jon focuses on the life that Jesus has called us to.

What do the numbers 1, 3, 12, 72 and 120 have to do with Discipleship? Find out as Jon talks through a few practical steps for the discipleship journey.

Jon discusses what he feels is critical missing piece of the contemporary church!This revisits a subject he discussed in episodes 11-31.

In this weeks episode Jon looks at the Ephesians 4 and the roles for ministry.

This week in the series Lent for Leaders Jon discusses how you should evaluate your role.

Jon asks "How are Leaders doing?" this lent as he continues the series

Time Talent and Treasure, Jon continues discussing Lent for Leaders

Jon begins a discussion on Lent For Leaders with a talk on Ash Wednesday

By what authority “Marks of a Great Commission Congregation”

Jon Continues his discussion on By What Authority and discusses the Anglican Way.

This week Jon continues talking about By What Authority, specifically discussing the Authoritative Mission