Leadership expert Tod Bolsinger and conflict specialist Markus Watson discuss the importance of healthy conflict in leadership and personal growth. They share insights on staying engaged, asking questions, and navigating conflict to foster understanding and progress. They give an example of a church grappling with change and the tension between their existing community and their changing neighborhood. Overall, the episode highlights the value of addressing conflict for growth and progress.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Jay Kim is lead pastor at Westgate Church in the Silicon Valley, and author of a new study on Colossians titled, One Jesus, One People.Syncretism refers to the blending of two belief systems.  In this episode, Jay Kim and Markus Watson discuss syncretism in terms of  its subtle effects on the church today and how to shed those syncretistic tendencies in our faith and ministry.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Jay Kim is lead pastor at Westgate Church in the Silicon Valley, and author of a new study on Colossians titled, One Jesus, One People.The book of Colossians was written to address what many scholars refer to as “the Colossian heresy.”The Colossian heresy involved syncretism, which refers to a blending of beliefs, ideas, theologies.  The Gospel was being mixed with other ideas and that’s what Paul was addressing.Christian nationalism is an example of modern-day syncretism.Jay Kim describes the connection between what Paul says in Colossians and Plato’s allegory of The Cave.Too often we think our programs are the main thing.  But they are only shadows.According to Jay Kim, if we think our programs will change lives, we are pinning all our hopes and dreams on the “shadows” and not the reality.Jay Kim discusses the role of Onesimus in Colossians—and marginalized voices in general—in helping churches grow into who they are called to be.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Jay Kim:Website - jaykimthinks.comBooks and resources mentioned:One Jesus, One People, by Jay KimCanoeing the Mountains, by Tod BolsingerClick HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss a quote from Scot McKnight. The quote challenges the notion that leaders ought to control and asserts, instead, that leaders, particularly pastors, are actually followers of Jesus. Bolsinger emphasizes the importance of biblical leadership, rooted in self-sacrifice, care, and a focus on mission. He highlights the need to move away from dysfunctional patterns of leadership and instead raise up models of leadership that honor Jesus and reflect God's desire for the world. Ultimately, leadership is seen as a function, not a title, with leaders taking personal responsibility and inviting others to join in following Jesus and fulfilling His mission on Earth.Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss this quote from Scot McKnight in Episode 92: Against a Culture of Abuse."We are not leaders of others; we are followers of Jesus. 'Join us in following Jesus,' is the pastor's call."Ep. 92 is a conversation inspired by Scot Mcknight's and Laura Barringer's book, A Church Called Tov.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Angie Ward is director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Denver Seminary and the author of Uncharted Leadership: 20 Case Studies to Help Ministry Leaders Adapt to Uncertainty.What if you’ve got a problem and you cannot for the life of you find a solution.  You also can’t find a book that tells you what to do.  And you can’t find an expert to take care of the problem for you.That's what's called an adaptive challenge and churches are full of adaptive challenges.  And that’s what we’re talking about in this episode with Angie Ward.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Angie Ward is director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Denver Seminary and the author of Uncharted Leadership: 20 Case Studies to Help Ministry Leaders Adapt to Uncertainty.Adaptive challenges are the kinds of challenges no one has faced before and for which there are no experts.According to Angie Ward, a technical challenge is a challenge for which there is a clear path or solution.When there is a gap between espoused values and actual values, that is likely an adaptive challenge.Angie Ward points out that unresolved conflict or work avoidance in a church or organization can be an adaptive challenge.Angie Ward stresses that emotions can shift a challenge to become more of an adaptive challenge.Every change changes everything.Adaptive leadership involves both managing people’s distress and giving the work back to the people.According to Angie Ward, humility is the most important posture we need to take when navigating adaptive challenges.We lead out of who we are, not just what we do.When leading adaptively, Angie Ward says that process matters more than outcome.Emotional health is key to good leadership.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Angie Ward:Website – www.angiewardphd.comThe Big C Church PodcastBooks mentioned:Uncharted Leadership, by Angie WardEmotionally Healthy Spirituality, by Peter ScazzeroClick HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson talk about the importance of relationship in ministry leadership. They discuss how leaders can fall into the trap of narcissism when they lack deep relationships, leading to a sense of loneliness that they try to fill with success or power. They also explore how relationship is at the heart of adaptive leadership, as leaders must accompany people through change and transformation. The conversation emphasizes the need for healthy relationships both on an individual level and within larger systems, as they are crucial for healing brokenness and nourishing community.Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss this quote from Chuck DeGroat in Episode 82: Narcissism and Spiritual Leadership."“The story of God is the story of relationship. From the very beginning, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit create human beings in and for relationship. And I think our brokenness is brokenness in and around relationship."Ep. 82 is a conversation inspired by Chuck DeGroat's book, When Narcissism Comes to Church.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!E.K. Strawser is a co-vocational pastor of Ma Ke Alo o in Honolulu and the author of Centering Discipleship: A Pathway for Multiplying Spectators into Mature Disciples.We've got a lot of discipleship programs in our churches.  But how effective are they?  Are they leading to real transformation in people's lives?  In this episode, E.K. Strawser discuss how churches can cultivate real transformation in their people's lives.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:E.K. Strawser is a co-vocational pastor of Ma Ke Alo o in Honolulu and the author of Centering Discipleship: A Pathway for Multiplying Spectators into Mature Disciples.Discipleship, according to E.K. Strawser, is imitating Jesus so that our spiritual confidence increases and our social competence as Christians increases.Discipleship without mission is discipleship without Christ.Discipleship has to be local.When discipleship is peripheral in a church, three things tend to be true:Resources and energy are poured primarily into a weekly teaching time.People are being moved to a weekly worship service.Leadership has a vision for the church (as opposed to a vision for the community).But when discipleship is central in a church, these three things tend to be true:Resources and energy are poured into imitation, providing tools and pathways to help people enter a life of discipleship.People are being moved to the community around them.Leadership has a vision for renewal in their local community.E.K. Strawser describes what centered discipleship looks like in her church.In looking for leaders in E.K. Strawser’s church, they look for “a discipled disciple-maker who has a heart for the community around them and have identified a space of mission and who are inviting others to do this with them.”Mission-oriented discipleship requires lots of experimentation.E.K. Strawser says that every discipleship pathway ought to look different in every community and neighborhood, but all of them should reflect the likeness of Christ.Churches need to look for certain developing marks of maturity in the people engaged in their discipleship pathways in order to know that the pathway they have chosen is actually working.Four marks of spiritual maturity:Character – Are people actually becoming more like Jesus?Christlike theology – Are we actually borrowing from Jesus how to think about God and the world?Christlike wisdom – Are we becoming people who can navigate the complexities of life well together?Being sent – We understand that we are a people sent by God into the world.As leaders who long to lead people into deep discipleship, our first job is to love the people God has entrusted to us.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:E.K. Strawser:Website – www.centeringdiscipleship.comV3 MovementBooks mentioned:Centering Discipleship, by E.K. StrawserChurch Leadership InstituteClick HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!1In this episode Markus Watson and Tod Bolsinger discuss the challenges faced by ministry leaders in times of change. They discuss a quote from Kurt Fredrickson that highlights how churches were previously overprogrammed and under-discipled. Tod Bolsinger emphasizes the need for adaptive thinking and creative approaches to discipleship, moving away from traditional programming and towards a mission-focused, community-centered approach. They explore the purpose of discipleship as formation for the sake of mission and the need to reframe our understanding of discipleship in light of these changing times.Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss this quote from Kurt Fredrickson in Episode 103: Willingness to Adapt: The Church After Covid."Churches pre-Covid were over-programmed and under-discipled."Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!We live in a world in which it is so easy to demonize and dehumanize people who are not like us.  Or we categorize people and forget their humanity.But that’s the exact opposite of what Jesus did.  Jesus humanized people.  He treated every human being as a beloved child of God.  Jesus treated every individual he encountered as a person.That’s what we're discussing in this conversation with Paul Louis Metzger, the author of More Than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Paul Louis Metzger is professor of Christian theology and theology of culture at Multnomah University and Seminary and the author of More Than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture.We have a tendency in our society to turn people into things.The issue of treating people as things has become very personal for Paul Louis Metzger ever since his son suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident several years ago.Personhood, according to Paul Louis Metzger, has to do with inviolability, unfathomability, and unrepeatability.Attributing personhood to one another is a matter of seeking to affirm an individual’s agency, showing them respect, listening to them, and being present with them.Paul Louis Metzger reflects on the way those with Down’s Syndrome are often thought of as having a lower quality of life, when the opposite often seems to be true.  And, yet, the value of their personhood is frequently in question.Markus Watson reflects on the ways churches tend to “thingify” people, both inside and outside the church.When we talk about people, communities, and families as giving units, that’s the language of commodification.People consume, but people should not be reduced to patterns of consumption.Paul Louis Metzger unpacks the Prodigal Son story as a way of thinking about treating people as persons.“When we gain a sense of our significance and worth—not because of how big our church is or how well-known we are or whatever the case might be, how many books we sell, how many this or how many that—but because we are loved.  We exist because we are loved.  That frees pastors up to evangelize better.  To be better shepherds.  They’re not going to be hired hands or wolves in sheep’s clothing.”RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:New Wine InstituteUncommon Good, Uncommon God (Patheos blog)Books mentioned:More Than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture, by Paul Louis MetzgerThe Way of Chuang Tzu, by Thomas MertonBeyond Thingification: Helping Your Church Engage in God’s Mission, by Markus WatsonLife of the Beloved, by Henri NouwenSharing Faith, by Thomas GroomeClick HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Send me a text! I’d love to know what you're thinking!In this episode, Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss the influence of the Enlightenment and individualism on middle-class white individuals, and how this impacts their understanding of faith and community. They emphasize the importance of engaging with different perspectives and reading the Bible in community with people who are not like us in order to break free from these cultural norms and develop a more holistic understanding of spirituality and leadership.Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss this quote from Tom Sine in Episode 118: Forecasting and Innovation.“I think a lot of us in Western culture have allowed the Enlightenment and a very individualistic way of life to become normative, particularly for middle-class white folks.” Ep. 118 is a conversation inspired by Tom Sine and Dwight Friesen's book, 2020s Foresight.Click HERE to get my FREE online course, BECOMING LEADERS OF SHALOM.

Jennifer Holberg, a Professor and Chair of the English Department at Calvin University, discusses how storytelling shapes our spiritual lives. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing the diverse narratives within church communities and how storytelling can empower individuals. Holberg believes that the stories we tell ourselves influence our identities and that church narratives offer hope and belonging. She urges pastors to create spaces for sharing personal stories, highlighting their impact on leadership and spiritual growth.