DiscoverLEAD Pods
LEAD Pods
Claim Ownership

LEAD Pods

Author: USMB

Subscribed: 3Played: 61
Share

Description

LEAD Pods are the official USMB podcast devoted to leadership development and spiritual growth for Mennonite Brethren churches.
100 Episodes
Reverse
This week Matt talks with Scott Thomas, the new interim USMB Church Planting Mobilizer. Scott shares his extensive experience in church planting, having been involved with literally hundreds of church plants across the U.S. during his time with Acts 29 and serving as a lead pastor for 17 years. Scott passionately discusses the importance of continually planting new churches and why it's a crucial strategy for both spreading the gospel AND revitalizing existing churches. Scott emphasizes that every USMB church, no matter its size or resources, can get involved in church planting efforts through prayer, finances, sending out members to plant, and more. With his decades of experience and wisdom, Scott casts a vision for the USMB conference to multiply disciple-making churches. 
We all work hard for our paychecks, and sometimes it can feel like our income falls short of our financial needs--maybe especially for those of us employed by a local church. That may be true, but today our guest Brian Kluth has an important reminder to share. God, not our day job, is our primary provider. Our salary is one way God provides, but it's not the only one. There are many ways God chooses to bless those who say yes to His calling on their lives, and it's up to us to trust Him to ultimately bring provisions. Brian is far from a prosperity gospel teacher. Instead, his years of experience as a pastor, financial expert, and missionary provide story after story of how God has surpassed each of his needs. His teaching has helpful reminders for all of us, both for practical financial day-to-day decisions, as well as a God-centered mindset that reminds us where to place our trust.Brian will be one of the featured speakers at our convention this summer, so get to know Brian now, and sign up to join us this July in Omaha! 
Like it or not, most ministries require a budget. And even if they don't, Jesus was clear that His followers needed to have an appropriate and God-honoring view of money. As church leaders, how can we realistically encourage and grow our generosity? What steps can we take to earn our congregation's (and our community's) trust so they can be confident their offerings are used appropriately? How can we model generosity to our churches, and just how transparent do we need to be?This week we're joined by the self-proclaimed "Generosity Monk," Dr. Gary Hoag. Gary is one of our featured speakers at our upcoming convention in July, and he has devoted his career to increasing generosity and teaching healthy giving practices to church leaders around the world. Today he shares practical advice and insightful wisdom that we would be wise to consider in our local churches. 
According to recent research, the number of Americans with a biblical worldview continues to decline. In our world where secular culture boosts the ideas of self-authority and subjective truth, how can believers stay anchored to Jesus and the Bible? How can we help our kids navigate this new world, and how can we guard ourselves against competing worldviews? Natasha Crain is this week's guest, and her popular books, blogs, and podcasts are all about this topic. How can we wrestle with truth without losing our faith, and does Christianity really stand up to academic scrutiny? Natasha shares the latest stats and trends, and also encourages us to hold on to prayer and trust in God's supernatural work to lead and guide us in today's culture.
Many people would agree that our relationship with our spouse is among the most important things in life, likely second only to our relationship with Jesus. If the Church believes that, why aren't there more resources for marriage ministry in our local churches? What are some of the biggest issues facing couples today, and how can church leaders help build strong marriages that last? Nathan Ensz is the lead pastor of Kingwood Bible Church in Salem, Oregon, and he has created a marriage retreat with sessions designed to strengthen and encourage the modern marriage relationship. In this episode, Nathan shares details about his teaching, but also has insight on how we as church leaders can talk about relationships in a way that doesn't exclude the singles in our churches. 
As we launch into a new year, we're continuing our theme from December of what our denomination can do to better prepare a new generation of leaders in our MB churches. This week, Dr. Quentin Kinnison and Dr. Darren Duerksen from Fresno Pacific University share details about their Bridge to Ministry Pathway that makes it easier for students to earn a master's degree in ministry.Plus, Quentin and Darren share their desire to equip Gen Z and Millennials to lead and use their talents to serve the local church. Since they work with college students every day, they also share insight into Gen Z's motivations and goals and how church leaders may be able to utilize young leaders for a new season of ministry. 
USMB recently hosted a live webinar where we addressed the topic of the perceived leadership gap in our churches today. Statistics show that pastors are getting older, enrollment in ministry majors is on the decline, and our culture at large is dismissive of careers in the local church. With this truth in our USMB churches and other denominations around the country, how we can address this issue now and start preparing the emerging generation of leaders?On this final episode of 2023, we hear from Kyle Goings, Wendell Loewen, and Joanna Chapa to discuss this growing concern. The presenters share a wealth of stats and background that led to this decline, what trends they're currently witnessing, and some initial steps we can take to better prepare leaders for TODAY--not just the future. 
This is a very interesting and crucial time to be involved in Christian higher education. In our denomination, we have two colleges we support that teach within the USMB Confession of Faith, and this week we talk with the two presidents leading these institutions. Dr. David Janzen is in his third year as the president of Tabor College, while Dr. André Stephens is in his second year as president of Fresno Pacific University. Since they started their positions around the same time and their schools are similar in many ways, these men are often linked together as leaders of our MB education initiatives. We cover a lot of ground in this episode. Both presidents share encouraging updates about the spiritual climates on their campuses, plus what they're currently working on to prepare future leaders of the church. Issues surrounding the cost of college and student loan debt are also high on their minds, and they share how both Fresno and Tabor are actually more affordable than you might think. Preparing young Christian leaders should be a crucial goal for all of us in the MB family, so be encouraged by these stories and remember to pray for Dr. Stephens and Dr. Janzen as they lead our education institutions. 
Our MB faith tradition is full of incredible stories and faithful heroes. In this week's episode, Peggy Goertzen (the director of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies) shares insight and introduces us to some of the first MB leaders established in the U.S.She shares two particularly interesting and noteworthy stories of how early MB pastors took huge risks to start a school for black children in North Carolina (at a time when this was unheard of!), plus early and important outreach to the Comanche tribes in Oklahoma. We have a rich history to be proud of, and these stories highlight the common thread of our ongoing efforts to care for others while sharing the Gospel. 
If there's one single issue MBs are known for, it might be the idea of peacemaking. While that may still be true today, our official and documented views on peace and war have shifted in recent history. Our denominational leaders reworded Article 13 of our USMB Confession of Faith ten years ago now, with a strategic shift away from addressing only violence and war and instead broadening what it looks like to live a life of peace. On this week's episode, we talk with Larry Nikkel, who was chair of the USMB Board of Faith and Life at the time of this change. Larry shares how this shift came about, what kinds of impact the change had on our churches, and what it looks like to be a peacemaker today. Sadly, headlines of war around the world are very common today, and division among friends and family members is likely more common now than it was ten years ago. So how can we be agents of peace in our churches, families, and other relationships? Larry has some thought-provoking questions and advice to share that we would all be wise to consider. 
Tim and Donna Sullivan have served in USMB leadership for 30+ years. As they are both in the process of transitioning into retirement, we take time in this episode to hear them reflect on our denomination and the southern district specifically. What has changed over the years, what opportunities are they currently excited about, and does anything make them nervous in this season of ministry? Why are denominations important, and how can we continue to work together to serve and mutually benefit each other? They also share thoughts on succession and how to work together as husband/wife ministry partners. Tim and Donna have served well, and their heart for ministry will encourage you as they share stories from their ministry.
Pastor Terry Hunt has served as a leader on the USMB national level for several decades now. As he prepares for retirement from one of these roles, Terry reflects on his tenure as the Eastern District minister, which included major growth in the district; a name change; and the addition of several Ethiopian, Hispanic, and Congolese immigrant churches. Terry chose the timing of this transition strategically so he can serve and encourage future leaders. His focus and dedication to succession is a wise model for all leaders to follow, and Terry encourages us to move forward with prayer and faith in God that He will continue to provide quality leadership across the USMB family. Enjoy hearing these reflections and encourgements from Pastor Terry, and join us in praying for all of the areas of USMB where new leadership will be needed in this new season of ministry. 
If we're honest, many of us don't really know what to do with the Old Testament. We know it's important, but some of the stories are hard for us to understand in our modern American evangelical context. In this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Tim Geddert about his new book "The Beginning of the Story: Understanding the Old Testament in the Story of Scripture." Tim taught New Testament courses at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary for 37 years. Although Tim has focused on the New Testament in his career, his new book tackles common questions and misconceptions that Christians have about the Old Testament. He says properly understanding the Old Testament is crucial for understanding the New Testament and Jesus' teachings. Tim discusses several challenging aspects of the Old Testament, such as violence and war, Old Testament law, and the reward/punishment narrative. He emphasizes the importance of reading the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus and the New Testament writers. We hope today's episode and Tim's book will be helpful tools to better understand the Old Testament as an essential part of the biblical story.
Every successful church, ministry, or business needs to do the hard work of getting to know and serving its local community. Jason Quiring & Drew Pankratz are doing just that in Saratoga Springs, Utah where evangelical Christians are in a significant minority compared to the hugely influencial Latter-Day Saints churches around them. Jason, Drew, and the other leaders of Greenhouse Community Church are very intentional in how they invest in their local community, and the language they use--and don't use--as part of their ministry efforts. As the North American culture continues to become increasingly post-Christian, we can all learn lessons from Jason and Drew and their "slow/fast" approach to befriend their neighbors, earn their trust, and establish relationships where conversations about faith are more effective. 
Jon Fiester and Abby Giwojna know their neighborhood well--and it can be a rough neighborhood. Renewal MB Church in Rapid City, South Dakota is located in a part of town known for drugs, gang activity, and (frankly) a lack of hope. While planting a church in this type of community brings a set of challenges, it also brings unique opportunities. In this week's LEAD Pods, Jon and Abby share how they "live missionally" in their community day-to-day by intentionally working alongside police officers, offering free coffee to teenagers, and being ok with a broken foosball table. Your community likely doesn't look like theirs, but their dedication to knowing and loving their neighbors is something we can all learn from! 
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here and.... well, everywhere. Technologies like Chat GPT have evolved rapidly, and nearly every week we see headlines of new ways AI is being used in virtually every industry. So how does this affect the church? Are there tools that can help pastors be more effective? What are the moral issues we need to wrestle with? How much can we rely on these tools before it starts to be too much? As you'll hear in this episode, AI isn't a pastor. We still have a relationship with Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so we are uniquely positioned to lead our churches in ways machines never could. Still, it's also possible AI could help us with some elements of our work that could make us more effective.  We dive into this crazy new world with some help from Jason Moore, one of the leading voices in the early days of AI in the church. 
Most U.S. churches were forced to develop at least some type of online ministry during the COVID shutdown. Now that we're past that stage, how should we think about our online presence? Does online church "count," or are we just giving our congregations excuses to be lazy? Are there times when online church might be more beneficial than in-person worship? What new tools do we need to keep an eye on, and how can we develop those strategies? Today we're talking with Alan George, a pioneer in the online church space. Alan was the online pastor for Life.Church for more than a decade, and he has really helpful insight for how we should view online ministry, regardless of the size of your church staff or budget. 
After decades of planning and a few failed attempts, Ridgepoint Church recently launched their first church plant--with a path and strategy that no one expected. On today's episode, we hear SouthLife pastor Kevin Friedberg and Andy Owen from Ridgepoint share the story of how this new church came to be, with pieces fitting together from literally around the world to benefit an underserved community in Wichita. 
So many people in our culture today struggle with anxiety and depression. Addictions and temptations related to pornography are also incredibly common. Since Christians are humans too, these struggles and addictions are often found within the walls of the church, and even some of the best Christian leaders in the world wrestle with these issues.We want to make one thing really clear in this episode: Whatever your role or title is, there is hope, encouragement, and light within reach for you if you're facing any of these struggles. Hiding and ignoring these issues often make them worse, and you were never meant to face this alone. On this episode, Pastor Brad Burkholder openly shares his story of overcoming depression and pornography and re-discovering a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. After years of struggle, Brad has a pretty incredible testimony of discovering a newfound desire for Jesus and freedom from the bondage of depression and anxiety. You're not alone, and we hope Brad's hope-filled transparency encourages and inspires you.  
The war in Ukraine has been continuing for over a year now, and there continues to be a lot of darkness in the midst of so much destruction. It's also true that our friends in MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) have been directly involved with providing aid and resources to help those affected with material, emotional and spiritual support.On this week's episode, we're joined by three ladies directly involved with MCC's relief and peacemaking efforts. Ann Graber Hershberger (MCC's executive director), Pastor Yvette Ngale (MCC U.S. board member) and Anna Rubel (MCC staff member from Ukraine) have firsthand insight and stories to share about what's happening on the ground in Ukraine, how MCC is helping, and what we can do to help provide for and support those affected the most from the ongoing war. Learn more about MCC's efforts in Ukraine here: https://mcc.org/stories/crisis-ukraine
loading
Comments 
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store