Ep. 115 - Choosing the Opposite: Radical Leadership Lessons with Tammy Melchien
Description
In this episode of The Church Planting Podcast, Greg Nettle sits down with longtime friend and teaching pastor Tammy Melchien. Tammy has served at Community Christian Church in Chicagoland for over two decades and is releasing her first book, Choosing the Opposite, in October 2025.
Tammy reflects on her journey as a church planter in urban Chicago, the unique challenges of being a single woman in ministry, and the joy of seeing lives transformed in a transient, young professional community. She shares the origin story and key insights from her book—rooted in the Sermon on the Mount—and how following Jesus often means doing the opposite of what feels natural.
Together, they discuss:
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Collaborative sermon prep and teaching team leadership
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Why Choosing the Opposite emerged out of pandemic-era frustration
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How church leaders can love radically, lead humbly, and create margin for hearing God
📖 Preorder Choosing the Opposite (available October 7, 2025)
01:16 - Church planting in Chicago
02:29 - Challenges as a single woman planter
04:21 - High turnover in urban ministry
06:07 - Joys of urban church planting
06:32 - Tammy’s new book: *Choosing the Opposite*
08:08 - COVID, conflict, and the failure of discipleship
09:44 - The Seinfeld inspiration for the book title
11:14 - Beatitudes and thinking upside down
12:20 - Loving radically in hard ministry moments
15:24 - Vulnerability and secure leadership
17:05 - Judgment, grace, and honoring others’ journeys
20:34 - Hearing from Jesus: margin & intentionality
24:11 - Encouragement for single church planters
25:58 - Why spiritual intimacy matters most
27:07 - Book release details & closing
United States
