Transforming Discipleship

How do you care for your soul? Mindy Caliguire, is the co-founder and President of Soul Care, a spiritual formation ministry that exists to increase “soul health” in the church. Her and her husband, Jeff have also consulted with non-profits like Salvation Army and large church networks, to reinvigorate people’s lives and souls. In this episode, Oliver Hersey and Caliguire reflect on how to take care of your soul, amidst difficult seasons in ministry, and in your own personal life. She suggested prayer, reading scripture, soul searching, silent reflection, spiritual friendship and journaling as ways to nourish your soul.She said “Journaling has been a place for me where I can be gut level honest with God, and what’s going on in my life. People who are on a discovery journal keep journals.”Sign up for a webinar with Mindy “Beating Burnout: Mental and Spiritual Health for You and Those You Lead.”  Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does healthy church leadership look like? In this episode, Oliver Hersey and Scot McKnight explore this question through the lens of good, or “tov” discipleship. He wrote A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing with his daughter, Laura Barringer. They saw mega-churches around them become toxic, and leaders of those churches make poor decisions. So they wanted to write a book, to explore why these fractures happen in the church, and how people can create a culture of tov, or goodness instead.McKnight said “Our goal was to present what the churches learned about mega-churches, and these mega-leaders from Willow Creek, Harvest Bible Chapel, and the Roman Catholic Church. We learned a lot about these situations, but we didn’t want to spend our time exposing them. I became convinced that it was about culture in churches.”Churches with tov cultures recognize, and resist toxic culture in the church. McKnight suggests that building habits of “tov” can counteract evil and toxicity in the church, and the human heart. The heart-beat of the book is a roadmap for forming church cultures, which would ultimately lead to goodness.Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can your faith become a habit in a spiritual wilderness? Jen Pollock Michel, author of A Habit Called Faith: 40 Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus argues that faith is a vital spiritual practice in the Christian life. In this conversation, Oliver Hersey and Kelsey Bowse talk to her about faith and fasting in the sacred season of Lent. She said “If we think about Lent as a season of repentance – it’s a season that we can mark out of our calendar, where we can return to consecrating ourselves to God. I think repentance and return are daily. There is something really beautiful to mark out a season of time and dedicate it to God.” For a Christian writer, living in a secular city, Toronto, CA – practicing habits of faith varies from day to day. Sometimes, it just means walking down to her office in the basement, and writing at her desk while her five children are at school. She said “it’s really nothing more fancy or complicated than that.” On other occasions, it means sharing her faith, and moral convictions at a dinner party, with a writer who happens to be a non-believer. Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you know if you’re worshiping an idol? In this episode, Oliver Hersey and Dr. Christopher Wright, author of Here Are Your Gods: Faithful Discipleship in Idolatrous Times explore this question. Idols existed in ancient cultures, and now exist in a different form: as sports stadiums, national symbols, or even as political figures (the president, or prime minister) and are meant to display what is “powerful” or “awesome.” We live in a fallen world, yet aim to live by God’s standards and values. Wright indicated that learning to “negotiate the difference” creates tension for Christians.Dr. Wright said “We want to rule our own lives. Idolatry is the very essence of self-exaltation over and above God. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. When human beings reject the authority of God, and God’s right to tell us what we may and may not do. We decide to choose that for ourselves. Then of course, we’ve begun to push God off of his throne, and exalt other things.”  He lives in London and serves as the International Ministries Director of Langham Partnership International, a ministry founded by John Stott. Dr. Wright also ministers to parishioners at All Souls Church in London and has a PhD from Cambridge University in Theology. He is also the author of The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative.You can also learn more about Dr. Wright’s recent book on Christianity Today’s website. Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can you strengthen your marriage? Nicky Gumbel, Vicar at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London, England says “there’s no marriage that can’t be improved.” In this episode, Oliver Hersey and Kelsey Bowse discuss the joys and trials of marriage with Nicky.He’s also the pioneer of Alpha, a program that started in 1977 helps people explore questions of faith in fifteen sessions. Nicky and Silla Lee started The Marriage Course in 1990, to help couples strengthen their relationships.Nicky said “Every session raises issues. There’s a session on communication. There are exercises, where you talk about how you can improve communication. There’s one on in-laws. It’s really funny. It’s really interesting and informative.” During the COVID-19 lockdown, Nicky and Pippa did the Marriage Course online at HTB, with twenty thousand people. They met when Nicky was 17, and have been married for nearly 43 years. Pippa had an operation, to treat her lung cancer in 2019. “She was in hospital for nearly two weeks with the operation. I slept on two chairs by her bed. I spent one night at home and then I decided I’d much rather be uncomfortable with her, than uncomfortable without her.”  Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can you pique interest in small groups at your church? In this episode, Oliver Hersey and Bill Search explore what it takes to invite people into small groups in 2021. For people who aren’t backed by large small group ministries – Bill suggests blooming where you’re planted. You can start by faithfully leading until you see more fruitfulness and growth for small groups in the church. Consider how Jesus inspired people, fisherman and tax collectors to follow Him. “Jesus said, `Come and see.' They went and saw the place where Jesus was staying. The time was about four o'clock in the afternoon. They stayed with Jesus the rest of the day (Jn. 1:39).”  Here’s what works for many churches across the country, when asking people to join small groups:  Ask for a short-term commitment (eight to twelve weeks)  Use a materials that speak to a felt need in the body of Christ (like Rooted, which speaks to the core essence of being a Christian)   Everybody’s doing it at your church Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is your ministry context for small groups? Depending on your church, and the cultural norms where you live, small groups will look different. In this episode, Oliver Hersey and Bill Search, contributors at smallgroups.com talk about types of small groups, and what elements make up a healthy small group.Bill said “Small groups, almost all of them have emphasis on relationships, some sort of emphasis on spiritual growth, Bible study and somewhere woven in is an outward perspective, whether it’s praying for people, or serving as a group.”For some pastors, safety is major concern in planning logistics for small group ministry. A pastor from Nairobi, Kenya said “In the evening it’s not safe for people to be out on certain streets in certain areas. So having an evening small group isn’t going to work for us. What do you recommend?”Oliver pointed to groups like Celebrate Recovery, and Alpha – for new people in the church who need a foundation for their faith. He said “We’re creating these Alpha groups – that are really discussion based groups, safe places for people to explore faith.Check out what was referenced on the podcast: Bill Search’s book Vibrant Small Groups: A 5-Step Process to Create a Ministry That Fits Your Church. Christianity Today. 2020 “Running Alpha” (website), Alpha International, updated October 3, 2019.  Celebrate Recovery’s website   Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What should the church look like today? Sean Brakey, Pastor and Elder at We Are Church argues that if you can run an Airbnb, you can probably run a church too. That’s why “simple gatherings,” the sixth core practice of We Are Church is so important for making disciples. This allows for laypeople to rise up, and serve in leadership roles. “We want to paint a picture for the church – that it can look more like Airbnb – such that we can take these godly, faithful humble Christ exalting people and they can lead in the church. So there’s an intentional simplicity.” Francis Chan started We Are Church eight years ago in San Francisco, CA and now there are 200 people involved. When asked about church planting, Sean emphasized the importance of pursuing faithfulness, rather than specific attendance numbers. His church's (that he runs alongside Rob Zabala, and Francis Chan) five values are: devoted worshipers, loving families, equipped disciple-makers, and spirit-filled missionaries and suffering sojourners.Sean said “We want every single believer to feel the weight of responsibility themselves to go and make disciples, and to be engaged in the mission."Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can celebrating Advent shape our desires this year? In part two of this conversation, Oliver Hersey talks to Dr. Paul Gutacker, Executive Director of the Brazos Fellows. They explore how celebrating Advent can bring hope to the tense atmosphere of 2020. They also explore how millenials feel about church today, and what may draw them back into the church. Paul said “I think recovering these seasons is a great idea for groups. I think inviting people, especially into Advent; inviting people in 2020 - when there's so much confusion, so much anger, so much false hope being put on any number of things that we can't put our hope in. Let't really long for a month for Christ's return. Let's look to it." Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can you create a culture of discipleship at your church? Spoiler alert: you don't need a multi-million dollar budget to do it. In this episode, Oliver Hersey talks to Sean Brakey, Pastor and Elder at "We Are Church" in San Francisco, CA. He also serves as a Director for Crazy Love Ministries. They discuss Sean's journey from being a youth pastor in Ohio, to ministering to the broken and homeless with Francis Chan on the streets of San Francisco. They also explore 5 core practices of We Are Church including devotion to scripture, meeting in homes, everyone discipled and discipling and everyone exercising their spiritual gifts.Rate Transforming Discipleship on Apple PodcastsFollow the podcast on Twitter and InstagramProduced by Kelsey Bowse, edited by Alex Carter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices