All Episodes

#220: Why Many Young Adults Are Leaving Churches of Christ (A Preview)

#219: Baptism Sundays

#218: What Churches Should Look for in Their Elders

#217: Shepherding Couples?

#216: How to Build Connection and Community in Your Church

#215: "We Feel Like Outsiders in Our Church"

#214: A Message to Abused Women and Their Church

#213: How Should Church Leaders Respond to Marital Breakdowns?

#212: Are There Other Actions That Break the Marriage Bond Besides the Ones Listed in Scripture?

#211: More on Term Limits for Church Leaders

#210: Term Limits for Church Leaders

#209: "Our Church Makes Kids a Priority!"

#208: How to Interest Your Leaders in Casting a Vision for Your Church

#207: Takeaways from the Church Things Tour

#206: Responding to Charlie Kirk's Assassination and Other Current Events

#205: Holding Accountable Those Who Cause Division

#204: Devoted to Good Works, But Not Saved by Them

#203: Baptism and the Holy Spirit

#202: Why It Is Important to Understand Grace

#201: What God Has Done and Why

#200: A Conversation about Evangelism

#199: Do We Expect Too Much of Our Ministers?

#198: My Bizarre Dream and Blast from the Past

#197: Titus 2:11-14: Its Function

#196: Titus 2:11-14: Its Focus

#195: "Keepers at Home": Does Scripture Prohibit a Christian Mother from Working Outside the Home?

#194: Why Be Moral?

#193: "Sound Doctrine" in Paul's Letter to Titus

#192: Follow-up to Steve Brannan Interview

#191: Conversation with Steve Brannan

#190: What Is a False Teacher?

#189: More on the Role of Elders

#188: The Role of Elders

#187: A Sacred Trust

#186: What Is Eternal Life?

#185: A Modest, But Noble Title

#184: "Too Hoc, Wee Wee!"

#183: Volunteerism: Obstacles to Keeping Volunteers: Burnout and Entitlement

#182: Volunteerism: Obstacles to Keeping Volunteers: Other Volunteers

#181: Volunteerism: Implement an Onboarding Process

#180: Volunteerism - Create Clear, Meaningful Wins

#179: Volunteerism - Create Low-Risk Entry Points

#178: Volunteerism - Invite Volunteers to a Mission

#177: Why Understanding We Are Saved by Grace Matters

#176: Christ-Centered or Church-Centered?

#175: Differences We Should Accept in the Body of Christ

#174: Looking for a Church Home

#173: Share Your Story

#172: Serve Them

#171: Eat with Them

#170: Listen

#169: Begin with Prayer

#168: Building Relationships with Those Who Don't Know Jesus

#167: Serve Your Community

#166: Implement a Guest Followup Strategy

#165: Give Special Attention to Your Children's Ministry

#164: Design Your Sunday Gatherings with Outsiders in Mind

#163: Give Attention to Your Digital Presence

#162: Develop an Outward Focus

#161: Coming Attractions

#160: Revealing the Vision & Next Steps

#159: How to Craft a Vision Statement

#158: How to Brainstorm Your Vision

#157: Make Sure Your Vision for the Future Meets These Tests

#156: Know the Difference between Mission and Vision

#155: Selecting a Vision Casting Team

#154: Your Church Needs a Vision!

#153: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (8)

#152: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (7)

#151: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (6)

#150: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (5)

#149: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (4)

#148: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (3)

#147: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (2)

#146: Finding Your Purpose in the Body of Christ (1)

#145: Church Health: Sunday Morning & the Worship Assembly

#144: Church Health: Change and the Willingness to Change

#143: Church Health: Outreach

#142: Church Health: Mission & Vision

#141: 2023 Church Trends (2)

#140: 2023 Church Trends (1)

#139: The Leadership Team of Your Church

#138: Best Practices of Elderships

#137: Onboarding New Elders

#136: A 5-Step Method for Appointing Elders

#135: Looking Forward: A Conversation with One of God's Shepherds

#134: More Questions from the Mailbag

#132: Questions from the Mail Bag

#133: Who Should Be Involved in the Selection of Elders?

#131: Elders and Accountability

#130: Training Elders

#129: Elders and Authority

#128: Three Duties of Elders

#127: What Is the Role of Elders?

#126: Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

#125: Measure What Really Matters

#124: What Might Be Done to Prevent Church Closures?

#123: Church Closures

#122: Recent Trends in U.S. Churches

#121: How the Pastoral Care Model of Ministry is Stunting Your Church's Growth

#120: How Do You Measure Success in Ministry?

#119: How Suffering a Heart Attack Affected One Preacher's Views of Life and Ministry

#118: Two More Important Rules for Bible Study

#117: Three Important Rules for Bible Study

#116: How Should We Study the Bible?

#115: Why Study the Bible?

#114: Are We Accepting Someone's Authority Over Us When We Submit to Them?

#113: Reach New People (Part Seven): Give Attention to Weekend Services

#112: Reach New People (Part Six): Use Facebook and Facebook Live

#111: Reach New People (Part Five): Use Social Media

#110: Reach New People (Part Four): Build Relationships

#109: Reach New People (Part Three): Identify and Serve Your Mission Field

#108: Reach New People (Part Two): Renew Your Sense of Mission

#107: Reach New People (Part One): Love One Another

#106: Why Don't We All See the Bible Alike?

#105: 1 Corinthians 14:34/1 Timothy 2:12: Do These Commands Apply to Christian Women Today, or Are They Situation-Specific?

#104: Are Christian Women Today Prohibited from Wearing Gold and Pearls?

#103: What Does It Mean for Us Today That the New Testament Letters Are Occasional Documents?

#102: The Bible Was Not Written To Us

#101: How to Make a New Start

#100: 5 Threats to Small Churches

#99: How to Cast a Vision for Your Church

#98: What Is the Role of Overseers?

#97: What Is the Role of Shepherds?

#96: What Is the Role of Elders?

#95: What Should Be Measured When Assessing Church Health and Growth?

#94: Why Track Church Health and Growth?

#93: Helping Guests Engage Beyond the Sunday Assembly (Part Two)

#92: Helping Guests Engage Beyond the Sunday Assembly (Part One)

#91: Pastor the Local Community

#90: Create Ownership

#89: Embed the Bible in Everything

#88: Get People Moving

#87: Let's Hold Fast to the Restoration Principle

#86: Let's Pursue an Anti-Sectarian Spirit

#85: Let's Commit Ourselves to Holy Living

#84: Let's Welcome Open Dialogue and Robust Debate

#83: Let's Not Bind on Others What God Has Not Bound

#82: Let's Be "People of the Book"

#81: How to Make Worship Services More Guest-Friendly

#80: Cameron John--Small Group Ministry: Be All In or Don't Do It At All (Part 2)

#79: Cameron John--10 Tips for a Successful Small Group Ministry (Part 1)

#78: Mistakes We Make When Talking with Our Religious Friends and Neighbors

#77: Rather Than Judging Others, Love Them

#76: Focus on Moving People Forward

#75: Decide to Become a Fully Hybrid Church

#74: John Royse--Elder/Minister Relations, Elder Visibility, the Role of Shepherds, and More (Part 2)

#73: John Royse--How The Hills Church Organizes Their Elders (Part 1)

#72: The First Step to Take for the Health of Your Church

#71: Worship and "Performance"/Continuing Digital Ministries When Churches Reopen

#70: What If They Don't Come Back to In-Person Worship Services?

#69: Creating Urgency for Change

#68: The First Step in the Pruning Process

#67: Do Your Ministries Need Pruning?

#66: Keeping Watch Over the Souls in Your Charge

#65: When It May Be Time to Move

#64: When It May Not Be a Good Time to Move

#63: How Independent Should Church Leaders Be?

#62: Are You Holding Your Ministers Accountable?

#61: Longevity in Ministry

#60: 4 More Principles of Effective Ministry

#59: 4 Foundational Principles of Effective Ministry

#58: 7 Questions to Confirm Your Calling

#57: 5 Reasons for Hope in 2021

#56: Keep a Daily Appointment with God

#55: Toni Holton Webb--Helping Those Who Grieve the Loss of a Loved One to Suicide

#54: Moving the Needle

#53: Mission, Vision, and Core Growth Engines

#52: Insider + Outsider Churches

#51: Is Your Church Closed to Outsiders?

#50: Six Important Components of a Church's Digital Strategy

#49: Building a Digital Strategy

#48: 3 Strategies for Reaching New People

#47: Rogue Ministries

#46: Joshua Watkins--How to Improve Your Church's Online, Digital Presence (Part 2)

#45: Joshua Watkins--How to Improve Your Church's Online, Digital Presence (Part 1)

#44: Bryce Kidwell--How To Improve Your Live Stream Worship Services (Part 2)

#43: Bryce Kidwell--How To Improve Your Live Stream Worship Services (Part 1)

#42: Patrick Odum--A Church Leader's Response to the Pandemic

#41: Eight Recommendations for Managing the Money Given to Your Church

#40: Tips for Your Church's Budget Process

#39: How to Talk About Money in Your Church

#38: How to Help Your Church Get Off Dead Center: Track Your Church's Progress (Part 5)

#37: How to Help Your Church Get Off Dead Center: Choose Core Growth Strategies (Part 4)

#36: How to Help Your Church Get Off Dead Center: Determine 5-Year Vision and 12-Month Goals (Part 3)

#35: How to Help Your Church Get Off Dead Center: Identify a Discipleship Path (Part 2)

#34: How to Help Your Church Get Off Dead Center: Clarify Your Mission (Part 1)

# 33: Opportunities Created by the Pandemic: To Equip the Church for Ministry

#32: Opportunities Created by the Pandemic: To Build Relationships

#31: Opportunities Created by the Pandemic: To Focus on Your Local Community

#30: Opportunities Created by the Pandemic: To Simplify Ministry Strategy

#29: Opportunities Created by the Pandemic: To Reset the Church's Mission, Vision, and Strategy

#28: Opportunities Created by the Pandemic: To Pay More Attention to the Church's Digital Presence

#27: Communicating in a Crisis

#26: Bill Stone--A Businessman Speaks to Church Leaders (Part 2)

#25: Bill Stone--A Businessman Speaks to Church Leaders (Part 1)

#24: Improving Church Communications

#23: How to Welcome Guests to the Sunday Assembly (Part 2)

#22: How to Welcome Guests to the Sunday Assembly (Part 1)

#21: Bryce and Susanna Kidwell--Do's and Don'ts for Church Websites (Part 2)

#20: Bryce and Susanna Kidwell--Do's and Don'ts for Church Websites (Part 1)

#19: Q and A: How to Attract More Guests to the Sunday Morning Assembly

#18: Develop a Pre-Guest Marketing Strategy

#17: Serve Your Community

#16: Encourage Christians to Invite Their Friends to Church

#15: Create a Compelling Service

#14: Design Your Sunday Assembly for Both Insiders and Outsiders

#13: How to Look Back on the Year Ending and Look Ahead to the Year Beginning

#12: How to Respond to Moral Failure in Church Leaders

#11: How to Respond to Allegations of Moral Failure

#10: How to Prevent Moral Failure in Church Leaders

#9: The Crisis of Moral Failure in Church Leaders

#8: 7 Reasons Ministers Avoid a Counseling Ministry

#7: The Value of Professional, Biblically-Based Counseling

#6: How to Find Time for the Important

#5: 7 Ways to Reach a Decision

#4: How to Identify a Long-Term Strategy

#3: Planning for the Future

#2: How to Cast a Vision for the Future

#1: How to Identify Your Mission

Introduction