Episode300: 5 Coming Attractions You Don't Need to Miss   Coming attractions are a big part of a movie experience. What does the future at a movie theater hold? WELL fewer people go to the movies and most people don’t have a clue what movies are coming out in the near future. Times have shifted.   I was in Colorado perfoming a wedding this past weekend. Something really struck me. Two locations…one where a mega church once stood in what would be (in my estimation be building worth in the tens of millions of dollars). The other is a church that at one time housed maybe 250 people in an amazing location and a property worth several million. Neither church congregation even exists today. Tragic!   This story plays several times over in Colorado and all across our nation. We would be short-sighted not to pay attention to the lessons we can learn from coming attractions. I know from these two churches’ stories that the mega church died due to scandal and the other church died with a leader who had a track record of terrible leadership. - Alan   What are some of the coming attractions we must see?   1) expect a growing distrust of clergy and organizations. In many people’s minds, the larger the organization, the larger cover-ups must be.   2) Expect a need to change leadership style. Once upon a time, strong leaders led, and followers followed. Today, strong leaders build a collaborative team and lead through teams.    3) Expect unchurched people to be messy additions to your congregation. When a new family attends your church, they may have little or no church background. Do you have clear pathways to help their faith grow? People will come your way if you do.   4) Expect some churches to fail. I don’t want to see any of our churches fail, but reality tells a different story. Failure to adapt and change, failure to be outreach-minded… Most churches wait until they are too far down the death trail to get help.     All churches end - but that does not mean they failed - They are placed by God at a place in time and location on purpose for a purpose!   5) Expect buildings to get more costly. Churches should consider asking how the building use can increase. Home school co-ops, chamber of commerce meetings, business leader lunches…put your buildings to use. Busy buildings are more financially viable.

Episode 299: Serving Up Some Summer: Serving with Summer Missionaries I know its November but in order to have a summer missionary serve in your ministry, you have to start now if not earlier.   Should we have summer missionaries serve with us? Inexpensive staff Short term commitment Helps a young person learn about ministry   How to prepare Plan out the who what when why and how Who - why type of person would be best to serve with you?also how many ie 1 male or female or 2 male or 2 female What would you want them to do?  Will that be enough to keep them busy?   Be reasonable and allow for some time off and fun experiences. Set up schedule - typical is June 1 to July 30  Be prepared to explain the why to your church so that you have buy in for providing housing and other needs How will you provide their needs?  Housing, food, transportation.   How to find a summer missionary - Do 1-5 in December     Do 6-9 in January through April      Start by asking other area churches Connect with local College Campus ministries Ask your state or national denomination Develop your elevator speech Why should they come to serve with you? What will they experience? What is the time frame of service? It should sound fun! Develop marketing materials - fliers and other items with QR that leads to a website explaining your place of service. Interview potential missionaries Have them take a personality inventory ask yourself "could I deal with this person daily for 2 months?" Make a commitment to help them grow. - plan to have them do bible study with you and meet weekly During the summer plan a couple of fun activities to take them on. Send them home feeling blessed - financially, swag etc (get your church to make a big blessing bag to send with them back to school. Keep in touch. Send text or cards letting them know you are praying for them in school.

Episode 298: Our Interview With Kevin Baker of Martha Rd Baptist Church in Altus Oklahoma Kevin has served MRBC for over twenty years. Aln once pastored the church.  

Episode #294: The Irreplaceable Role of Patience   Understanding Patience   Patience is forged through difficulty Job 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully ." CSB Col 1:11–3:12. 10 Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. - CSB Jas 5:10–2 2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. - CSB 2 Ti 4:2 So often, wherever we see patience in the Bible, we see a struggle of some kind We have struggles with difficult people We have struggles with uncontrollable circumstances We have struggles with ourselves   Some helps for developing patience Press the pause button time to think and reflect intentionally Pray unceasingly giving our struggles to God Practice empathy Seek to understand others Prune your emotions what is healthy and what is unhealthy? Press on stay the course, it may take longer than you expect

Episode 293: 6 Leadership Postures for Pastoral Leadership   Shepherd servant leadership Kenneth Gangel Feeeding and Leading, Team Leadership, Henry Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership Visionary visionary leadership John Maxwell Coach transformational leadership Leighton Ford - Transforming Leadership Keith Webb- The COACH Model for Christian Leadership Clinician authentic leadership - Aubrey Malphurs - anything, he's so good! - Jim Wilder - Rare Leadership - Scazzero - The Emotionally Healthy Leader health of self and others proponent of health Strategist adaptive leadership change Tod Bolsinger - Canoeing the Mountains and more Lame Duck succession planning William Vanderbloemen

Episode292: Ten Commandements for Effective Committees/Teams   1. Thou shalt acknowledge with humility what thou bringest, and bringest not, to the table. 2. Know and understand with all thy heart the purpose of thy team or committee. 3. Thou shalt come to meetings well-prepared, lest thou fall short in contribution. 4. Participate fully in the process, for half-heartedness is a disservice to thy team. 5. Stay focused on the task at hand, letting not distractions lead thee astray. 6. Value the input of all, for wisdom is found in the multitude of voices. 7. Thou shalt communicate with honesty and clarity, fostering trust amongst thy peers. 8. Reaffirm thy action items, that all may know the path forward. 9. Support the decision of thy team or committee, even when it is not thine own. 10. Forsake not the prayer life of thy team or committee, for it is the foundation of all thy efforts.

Episode 291: 4 Reasons Your Church Struggles with Change   Episode 291: 4 Reasons Your Church Struggles with Change History: People think of their church as they did at their personal points of conversion change threatens their history change threatens their structure and control grief Fear: People are afraid they won't like the change not all change works out well the unknown is always risky Trust: People question leadership motivation more than ever before transitions and search teams people follow their closest relationships peer pressure is both positive and negative Communication: People feel like change is forced on them   Possible reactions Leaders give up on change = church declines and dies Leaders push change too fast = church rebels and maybe splits; pastor loses credibility Leaders push change alone = pastor loses credibility; most likely limits his tenure   Some thoughts: Make history your friend, not your enemy...celebrate the past. Acknowledge the emotional nature of change. Vulnerability helps. Let trustworthiness and faithfulness become your personal ambition. Over-communicate on a two-way street. Allow for feedback to your communication.

Episode 290: What is it We Do?   Trent and Alan are Associational Mission strategists...we answer the question what it is we do in that role.

Episode 289: Business Meetings Gone Wild   Have the meeting before the meeting   Have and follow your agenda what is process for new business matters   Don't take it personal   Keep by Robert's Rules of Order   Don't expect the worst.   1 Corinthians 13:4-7  4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   Don't be afraid to table an item to get more info or to meet privately   Don't be afraid to turn your business meeting into a prayer meeting.

Episode 288: Is Marketing a Dirty Word   So today we need to ask and answer 2 main questions is marketing wrong in church life? if we choose to market our church - how can we do it well?   Is it wrong to market or promote our church?  Promoting or marketing our church (in my mind ) is just getting the word out about your church including when and where it meets.  It also includes what types of ministry happen at your church.   Informing...Marketers will tell you its critical to brand loyalty...   Are we selling out to the culture if we promote or advertise our church? Ask yourself a couple of questions Who in your church is inviting people? How does your church share information about activities? -----   See also Episode 64

Episode 287: What College Football Can Teach Us About Ministry   We should have a sense of excitement and passion about our ministry and our church. Coaching is a great picture of ministry roles and responsibilities. Some weeks are pretty easy, some weeks are pretty tough. Expect the unexpected upset. Your whole church lives in a transfer portal world. People are watching! Don't forget you are surrounded by excited fans...clouds of witnesses  

Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website

Episode 285: The Patience Problem 3 Areas where our impatience can create problems... Leading Change when the process is slower than it should be when resistance is high Leading People when lay leaders move at a slower pace when disciples grow more slowly then we expect Leading ourselves when we recognize our shortcomings more than our strengths when we feel defeated   3 places our impatience flares up In leadership meetings In business meetings In our homes   3 things to do to improve patience recognize the signs of impatience in your life and ministry anxiety, anger, frustration, withdrawl... expect things to move more slowly then they should allow people to get their minds around an issue allow others to have their input press the pause button...esp in business meetings give it over easy to say, hard to do releasing our impatience in prayer is worthwhile

Epsiode 284: Endding Summer on a High Note Take a vacation Get outa dodge - sometimes the only way you can actually have a vacation is to literally get away. At least 3 days Catch up time with your family.   There is no such thing as quality time - only quantity time. Mental vacation- Invite another preacher or speaker to come to your church for a couple of Sundays. Missionaries or retired missionaries Convention staff Let your other staff speak give a young person a chance to grow Do a retreat to regather your thoughts and plan Find a local camp that will let you stay for free Go to a bed and breakfast Create a "hard stop" in your ministry between summer and fall activities. creates a natural break establishes a new launching point.

Episode 283: A Prayer and Action Plan Increase My...   Capacity   Character   Competence   Compassion

Episode282: Does Your Church Need a Safety Team   Why "Safety" over "Security"   Should you have a church safety team?   What is involved in putting a team together? training insurance   Who to have on the team and who not to have on the team. background checks interviews ongoing training   What is the responsibility of a church safety team? to keep the congregation as safe as possible from external and internal dangers or threats.

Episode 281: Unmeasured: Our Interaction with a Recent Article Read the Tithely Article Here:    

Episode 280: Can Anything Good Come From Stormy "C"s?   We learn the depth of our our faith life. prayer trust We learn perseverance We learn something about our leadership style We learn something about relationships We learn something to apply in the future We learn something we can share with another We learn something about timing   Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website  

  Episode 279: Should Your Church Have a Succession Plan   What is a succession plan? Is a succession plan possible in a small church? Should a church have a succession plan for staff? What are important things to consider? What are steps we should take?

Episode 278: Breaking Up With Some Bad Ideas That bigger is always better That addition beats multiplication That leadership equals power That present success guarantees future success That weaknesses are always exploited That busyness equals productivity That no one can do it as good as I can Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website

Episode 277: 3 Things to Do While We Take a Break This week     Episode: Ranger Danger

Episode 276: VBS Never Ends on A Friday (or Thursday)   VBS is not an end but a beginning With the Attenders 1. You should have family information  2. Follow Up with kids who make decisions  3. Follow up with unchurched families  1. By sending a thank you  2. By a phone call  3. With another invitation  4. A plan to follow up later With the Workers 1. Honest feedback is critical 2. What was successful? 3. What could have been better? 4. Where were resources well-used? 5. Where were resources wasted? With the Church 1. Thank people publicly for supporting VBS 2. Share stories that show its impact

Episode 276: 8 Areas of Continuing Improvements   The Lifeway Research Article from 2022   Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website  

Episode275: These Are the People in Your Neighborhood   Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website  

Episode 273: Mirrored Moments   Biblical example David- "you are that man"   note: not all moments are that drastic, but we wake up, hopefully come to some relaizations   Our pride has taken us on a ride. We stopped yearning for learning. We preach but we don't do outreach. We want to lead but we don't want to bleed. Our passion isn't in fashion.

Episode272: Working Outside Your Sweet Spot   When we have to do things we don't enjoy and don't do well... Self-aware - you have to know your personality social vs not social... your giftedness and skills administrative leader - management visionary leader not a strong leader... interests attending certain events... Necessity does it have to be me? does someone have the skill set? can someone else learn the skills? You can only survive this way for a time. spend a majority of your time in your areas of strength

Episode 271: Should I Go Back to School   Should I go back to School? What is your ministry and personal purpose? are you lacking something? are you looking to something? What is the support level of your family and church? What will the impact be on your family and church? How will you account for the financial impact? Where will you choose? theological alignment versus diversity location program - I called and asked questions Bachelor's Master's level - basic skills in church and  ministry or ThM - more academic degree, less on practical skills DMin - practical advanced degree to hone specific ministry skills project in ministry PhD - a research based degree Dissertation other options conferences internships mentorships certifications Pray aout the decision and seek advice from others

Episode270: Help! I'm in a Preaching Slump! Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website Why do we get into a slump? You have been in a season of extreme busyness You've been dealing with conflict in church or at home Your spiritual life isn't as vibrant You have or haven't been away from the pulpit for a while You are neglecting good sermon preparation habits You are not thinking enough of the congregation (preaching at them) How do we get out? Still yourself Fall in love with the Word of God PRAY Take a couple of weeks as a break Develop your own sermon skills...examine another preacher's methods, read books... Get input from your congregation Remember you are the vessel, God is the One at work.

Episode 269: How To Receive A Mission Team Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Plan your projects well in advance Have a well thought out list of things to do Have contacts ready Have supplies ready Make sure you know about the team coming Know their leader and know that you can trust them Know their capabilities (Construction, evangelism, children etc.) Communication is key Communicate about expectations for the church and for the mission team Communicate expectations Communicate about sleeping arrangements and meals Communicate about materials the mission team is expected to bring with them. Communicate with your church about the team coming and expect them to be involved. Plan your calendar well 6 months out - make sure you have all your projects planned make sure you have approval from your church of costs and plans 3 months out - check with team and make sure their questions are answered. 1 month out - check with all local leaders to make sure things are in place. week of - Pep rally for your church to get them excited and remind them of the expectations afterwards - evaluate

Epsiode 268: How to Call a Pastor 2024   Pastors, If you retire or leave a church in a healthy manner, you have an obligation to set up your church for success. Are the bylaws up to date, clear, and workable you must follow your bylaws Do you have an external contact for your search team. Every search team needs training   Move past the human nature side of things... Know that without guidance the tendency is to swing from extreme to extreme pastors in the past  good pastors - what did they do not good pastors - what did they do Make preaching the last element you discover about the candidate The right person is more important than the right preacher character leadership theology family emotional intelligence Use a well-stablished process, hopefully you've gotten training a clear job description a clear budget a clear list of qualities what are the non-negotiables know where to put out requests for resumes respond to everyone who sends you a direct resume Try to avoid going through resumes one at a time; set a date to go through them together Communicate communicate with your church often have your church pray for you communicate with candidates as needed communicate written and unwritten expectations avoid bringing in multiple candidates to see "who you like best" find your one candidate and interview them Bring them in at the appropriate time     Keep your search committee together for a year to serve as the mediator with your new pastor meet once a month and talk about how things are going be the first line of defense for your pastor family   Remember you are inviting a leader to fulfill the church’s vision, not your own.

Episode 267: Planning an Excellent Mission Trip Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Principle to keep in mind:  God calls every believe to be on mission! We can participate by Praying, Giving and Going   Jesus himself gave us the model in Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”   We need to be Holy Spirit powered and guided          So prayer is critical to be in tune with God through His Holy Spirit On mission we are to witness of Jesus.   Missions can look like many things and have lots of different activities, but if there is no witnessing about Jesus - then it is not a God-honoring mission trip We start local (Jerusalem)  - if you won't witness locally, then you won't on the other side of the world.  So your trip is just a vacation Judea - look for opportunities in your state and region Samaria - in our nation and to people that you might not ever feel comfortable around.  Everyone on earth is the subject of God's love!   Uttermost parts of the earth -   Planning: Connect with a good mission agency Have a local contact person to work with Make a trip there prior to taking a group - so you know what to expect and are able to prepare your group. Be flexible Know your purpose...work, evangelism, support... Don't go with an agenda etched in stone - ask what the people there need.

Episode266: Our Interview With Church Revitalization Pastor Matthew Timmons Matt is the Pastor at Norwood Heights Baptist Church in Palestine, TX Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website

Episode 265: What You Will Experience as a Pastor Article and Our Interaction with Them The article: 5 Things you will experience as a pastor   Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website

Episode 264: 7 Wrong Turns in Ministry   7 wrong turns in ministry Leading with an "I've got it all figured out" mindset. Misdiagnosing questions and disagreement as a battlefield. Failing to admit mistakes. Not valuing the time making change takes. Leading alone Just not leading Leading on empty

263: Best Advice for New Pastors   From a pastors circle group   Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website

Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Episode 262: Preaching to the 3rd Context   Two areas of exegesis: 1. The Text 2. Your Congregation 3. Culture  1. religious culture  2. outside culture Tim Keller’s Six Practices for Addressing Culture (103ff)        1. Use Accessible or Well-Explained Vocabulary 2. Employ Respected Authorities to Strengthen Your Theses 3. Demonstrate an Understanding of Doubts and Objections 4. Affirm in Order to Challenge Baseline Cultural Narratives 5. Make Gospel Offers That Push on the Culture’s Pressure Points 6. Call for Gospel Motivation

Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Episode 261: The Most Unused Spiritual Disciplines   ”Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.“ ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬   Be still and know that I am God  Psalm 46:10 We are human beings not human doings But we feel guilty if we are not going 100 miles per hour. Ask a fellow minister how they are doing and most times you will hear a litany of all they are doing or hear them say oh I’m so busy!   Dallas Willard divides the disciplines into two classes: disciplines of abstinence (solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, and sacrifice) and disciplines of engagement (study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession, and submission).   Sabbath Solitude Stillness Fasting Prayer -extended times Worship - individually and corporately

Episode 260: Love Your Congregation   Trent and Alan discuss the importance of loving your congregation.

Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Episode 259: Preparing for a Long Term Pastorate   If you want to have a pastor who sticks around for a long time- then you have to prepare for that and communicate that to the pastor   Why should you want a pastor to stick around for a long time? People don't trust a pastor until he's been there around 3 plus years A church can grow when their is security   7 Keys Pay plan for evaluations each year and opportunities for raises Christmas bonuses are expected Pastor appreciation month can be depressing if your pastor receives no encouragement - especially monetarily Vacation protect their vacation time hold them accountable to use their vacation time ( all of it ) Sabbatical set up a system of sabbatical time that is available at every 5 years  give them a month away to study a topic and to refresh Education and growth opportunities Send them to conferences Encourage involvement in pastor support groups outside of the church Support and encourage your pastor publicly Pray for your pastor regularly

Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Episode 258: What Can I Do While out of a Ministry Position? 1.Get involved in a healthy church and let that church family get close to you 2.spend more time with your family 3.Serve without an angle 4.Take time to reflect            Selah - pause and reflect 1. what is God teaching me now? 2. what has God taught me in the past? 3. How am I better equipped because of what I have learned? 5.Get a clearer picture of yourself - take assessments 6. Keep learning   -take a class at a local college - Remember that most churches are looking for a co-vocational minister.  Make yourself more hireable.        Read lots - fill your toolbox 7.Learn new skills  8.Connect with pastors 9.Consider hybrid types of ministries  10.Trust God  Remember that God doesn't waste anything - so your time in the  interim is not wasted time.  God will use this.  Look at this time as a time of investment!

We had some audio issues on our new episode, enjoy this look back at a an episode from the fall of 2020. Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Episode257:A Look Back at the Rule of Good Starts (episode 80) A good start requires pre-planning. Free energy Practice a ministry, run through the highs and lows of what you expect. COVID has revealed this is a weakness in our culture. Rate of change/marketing A good start requires intentional effort. Mindset If we don’t care about the start, it's harder to care about the results. Not moving too fast or too slow A good start sets the right tone. Out front making adjustments to keep you there Prepares you to be in a hold out versus a catch up position. A good start sets you up to go the distance. You still have the majority of the work to do It’s easier to embrace pain out front than in the back. The good news bad starts are hard to recover from, but not impossible. Pray more!

Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website   Episode 256:What Can a Pastorless Church Do?   Lay leaders carry a heavy burden in this time. If you are a pastor, keep a link to this available for your lay leaders.   Refocus on church's purpose - move from internal focus to external focus Know the why the church exists. Take some time to find out who we are.  What is our gifting and calling - be specific? Where is our ministry field? When is now - not waiting.   Stay focused on the basics Dedicate yourselves to small groups and discipleship. Keep a spirit of prayer and expectation in worship. Listen to your key servers: Now is a perfect time to have listening sessions with different groups in your church such as teachers, parents, staff, worship team etc. Listen to your community.   Set a good direction:   Maintain a resource list of people who can help you. Determine if you need an interim. Make sure you know your organizational process for calling a pastor (bylaws) and have a good process of operations. Audit your facilities and finances  in preparation for a new pastor. Plan to support your new pastor. - know what you can pay a new pastor.

Episode 255: Trent and Dana on their Voice of the Martyrs Trip We recently took  a group to Voice of the Martyrs in Bartlesville, OK VOM supports persecuted Christians in hostile and restricted nations around the world. persecution.com   Interdenominational   They focus on the following 4 areas: Persecution Response They support families of martyred Believers for as long as needed Bibles to the Nations Owning a Bible is illegal in many nations. Voice of the Martyrs believes that every Believer deserves to have a Bible in their own language Front-line Ministry VOM seeks to connect with the local churches in each nation where they are supporting the persecuted Fellowship of Believers Our brothers and sisters need us to pray for them to know they are not alone   We heard from several front-line workers (Jonathan, Allen, Josh) who shared stories with us about the brothers and sisters, and they asked us to tell their stories to Believers when we came back home. The pastors who wept when the VOM team prayed for them at the end of the meeting The Believers in Central Asia who do not yet have Bible in their heart language because the publisher will not allow VOM to smuggle them into the country The pastor who rides his bicycle into villages where the gospel has not been preached. Sometimes people respond and accept Jesus. Sometimes the people beat him. But he gets up and rides his bicycle to the next village.   Download the VOM App and read their books, watch their videos, listen to their VOM Radio podcast, pray for the persecuted, and much more.   Sign up to receive their free monthly magazine.

Episode 254: Care 4 Pastors   Care 4 Pastors Conference in Austin Texas care4pastors.com greatcommandment.net   Hosts     Great Commandment Network                   Guidestone   Speakers were Mark Dance Ronnie Floyd David Kinnaman   David Kinnaman owner and CEO of Barna research -  Resilient Disciples Are our pastors actually part of the body of the local church or is it just a day job? We are responsible for everything but control nothing Glenn Packiam   The Resilient Pastor book   Whole life Discipleship Faith Relationships Wellness Vocation or calling Finances Only 9% are resilient in these areas - according to Barna How do we integrate authenticity into whole life discipleship     Mark Dance - Start to Finish Book      Talked about the need for Sabbath  = STOP Gift to receive command to obey Proven Plan that works Person to love - Jesus     Affinity group - issues keeping churches from moving forward Prayerlessness - Developing a prayer group to undergird your pastor isolation - expectations -   G6 pastor and wives marriage retreat - for free

Episode 253: 7 Ways to Help Your Marriage Through Ministry (with Rachelle Small)   Talking about the Good things in ministry, not just the problems. Timing of when you talk about things Encouraging each other's spiritual growth Learning how to difficult conversation Speaking posotively about your spouse in public Supporting your ministry spouse in her ministry efforts Maintaining open communication when ministry is interfering with home

Episode 252: Looking Forward to 2024   Contact Alan: [email protected] Contact Trent: [email protected] Facebook Website