Center for Congregations Podcast

Propaganda joins JC and Matt to talk about how to make complex topics easier for your audience to understand. Propaganda is a rapper, spoken word artist, author, speaker and podcaster. And he knows a ton about coffee.ResourcesTerraform: Building a Better World (book)Terraform: The Sky (EP on Spotify)Terraform: The Soil (EP on Spotify)Terraform: The People (EP on Spotify)Terraform: The Possibility (EP on Spotify)Hood Politics with Prop (Podcast)

Center for Congregations staffers Rev. Shellie Riggs Jordan, Dr. JC Campbell, Dr. Terrance Bridges, Matt Burke and John James gather to talk about what they're hearing and learning from Congregations around the state of Indiana.

Dr. Christina Davis and Rev. Dr. Tim Shapiro join Dr. Bridges and Matt to talk about their new book The Formative Power of Your Congregation. We discuss the framework of the process of formation in congregations, specific stories from the work and research and how your congregation can be a place of formation. Dr. Davis is the Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Marriage and Family Therapy at Christian Theological Seminary and Rev. Shapiro is the President of the Center for Congregations.ResourcesThe Formative Power of Your Congregation (book)Dr. Christina Davis (website)Dr. Christina Davis (at CTS)The Congregational Resource Guide (website)

Melanie Preston joins JC and Matt to share her understanding of how congregations can be healthy organizations. The conversation includes how to define organizational health, the importance of paying attention to burnout, why it's important to develop boundaries and how manipulation can harm a congregation. Matt and JC talk about their experiences working with congregations and the idea of organizational health and share some resources on the topic.ResourcesThis House We Build: Lessons for Healthy Synagogues and the People Who Dwell There (book)5LQ Episode 324: The Advantage Book Breakdown (podcast)The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (book)Matter of Focus Counseling (Melanie's company)

Dr. Carlos Perkins, Associate Director of Engagement for the Lake Institute on Faith Faith and Giving joins Dr. Terrance Bridges and Matt Burke to discuss generosity. The conversation contains helpful definitions of generosity, reframing faith and giving and some practical tips.Resourceshttps://lakeinstitute.org/https://events.iu.edu/philanthropy/https://lakeinstitute.org/resources/faithful-generosity-story-shelf/https://henrinouwen.org/read/a-spirituality-of-fundraising/https://litpress.org/Products/3766/Imagining-Abundancehttps://thecrg.org/resources/Rambam_s_Ladder_A_Meditation_on_Generosity_and_Why_It_is_Necessary_to_Givehttps://thecrg.org/resources/Local_Church_Planned_Giving_Manual

Dr. William Cooke, MD. was practicing in a small rural community when a health crisis broke out. He joins Abby and Matt to talk about how various community stakeholders, including congregations, stepped up to aid those in need.ResourcesSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (organization)Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (visual aid)Canary in the Coal Mine: A Forgotten Rural Community, a Hidden Epidemic, and a Lone Doctor Battling for the Life, Health, and Soul of the People (book)Canary in the Coal Mine Facebook GroupIndiana Community Foundations (website) National Community Foundation Locator (website)

Digital marketing consultant Tim Campbell-Smith and digital marketing trainer Kaeli Sweigard join Shellie and Matt to talk about social media and congregations. This dynamic conversation will help any congregation whether they are just getting started or are social media veterans.Find Tim on the socials @timcampbellsms.Find Kaeli on the socials @kaelisweigardResourceshttps://timcampbellstrategist.com (Tim's website)https://kaelisweigard.com/ (Kaeli's website)Discipls.io (organization)Social Media for Churches: 8 Best Strategies (article)16 Inspiring Ways to Build a Community on Social Media (article)

Rev. Dr. Quincy McGhee, Senior Pastor of Lifeway Bible Fellowship and Grants Administrator for Associated Churches of Allen County, joins Abby and Matt to talk about his experiences regarding fundraising. Rev. McGhee helps to redefine how we approach needs: both our own and those in the community around us.ResourcesThe Kaleidoscope Institute (organization)Indiana Community Foundations (webpage)Council on Foundations Community Foundation Locator (webpage)

Join Center for Congregations staff Dr. JC Campbell, Dr. Terrance Bridges, Rev. Shellie Riggs Jordan and Matt Burke as they discuss their work with congregations and what we can all learn from what's happening around the state of Indiana. Dr. Campbell and Dr. Bridges both share about recent situations with congregations from which we can take hope, learning and resources.ResourcesThe Congregational Resource Guide (The CRG; web resource)Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church by Mark DeYmaz (book)How to Plant a Church: A Guide to Successful Startups (article)Building God's Way (BGW; organization)

Rev. Lisa Cole Smith, Founding Pastor and Artistic Director of Convergence Church in Alexandria, Virginia, joins JC and Matt to talk about how her congregation weaves aesthetics and the arts into the life of their congregation and community. Rev. Smith discusses the origins of their congregation, the trajectory of their ministry, and how congregations can be more intentional about their aesthetics, facilities and creativity.ResourcesVisual Arts and Worship (web resource) For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts (book)Convergence (organization)Be, Make, Do (podcast)