In the latest Craft & Character podcast, Steve Carter talks with Fellowship Church Monrovia senior pastor Albert Tate about how preaching racial reconciliation is an act of spiritual formation. “Racism was discipled into the church,” he says, “and it must now be discipled out of the church.” As church leaders, we cannot avoid this conversation, and Albert offers great wisdom and insight. Who is Albert Tate? Albert Tate is the founding pastor of Fellowship Church Monrovia, a gospel-centered, multiethnic, intergenerational church that has established a solid foothold for life transformation to the glory and honor of Christ. Albert is passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ both to the local church and the global community. Blending the power of storytelling with a good sense of humor, Albert enjoys illustrating God’s amazing grace and love in church, academic, and conference settings. Albert and his wife LaRosa have 4 beautiful children. Albert serves on the Board of Trustees for Azusa Pacific University, the Museum of the Bible, and Stadia Church Planting. He was recently published in Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. You can hear the latest from Albert on The Albert Tate Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For most pastors, there has never been a year filled with more turmoil, tension, criticism, and anxiety than 2020. Our congregations were divided by politics, masks, in-person gatherings, and the appropriate reactions to racism in our country. Pastors struggled with preaching through cameras to invisible congregations while making impossible decisions, where any choice would disrupt half the church. 2020 was filled with leadership anxiety, and many of us were never fully equipped to manage it well. In this episode of Craft & Character, author and pastor Steve Cuss talks with Steve Carter about his book Managing Leadership Anxiety. They review what anxiety actually is and how to best take care of your personal struggles while shepherding your congregation through worry and anxiety. Who is Steve Cuss? Steve Cuss grew up in Perth, Western Australia, and came to the United States to study theology. He and his wife Lisa have two sons and a daughter. Steve holds a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel Christian Seminary and is a spiritual care professional in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. Since 2005, Steve has served as Lead Pastor of Discovery Christian Church in Broomfield, Colorado. DCC is an innovative and entrepreneurial church that intentionally welcomes spiritual seekers and skeptics and is passionate about partnerships that break the local and global poverty cycle. Steve previously served at a megachurch in Las Vegas, as a chaplain at a level-one trauma hospital, on a ranch for struggling teens, and as a youth minister in the Appalachian region. His passion is to help leaders notice, name, and move through the pressures and anxieties inside them and around them to encounter the grace of God in deeper ways and build healthy team cultures. When Steve is not working, you can find him laughing with his family, knee-deep in a trout stream, or trying a guitar he cannot afford at a local music store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the latest Craft & Character podcast, Steve Carter talks with Eastside Christian Church senior pastor Gene Appel about effective leadership through preaching. Gene is an incredible mix of strategic leader and kind pastor, and he leads with integrity. He refers to this mix of strategy as “directional leadership” and explains that his goal of shepherding his congregation influences both his message preparation and his sermon calendar. Gene’s clarity of mission plays a key role in moving the church forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter interviews Western Theological Seminary pastoral care professor Dr. Chuck DeGroat about narcissism in the local church. Chuck explains the narcissism spectrum and discusses how pastors can demonstrate characteristics that lead to unhealthy and toxic narcissistic actions. This might be the most important Craft & Character podcast to date. If you’re a church or ministry leader, Chuck’s wisdom will help you recognize and combat unhealthy narcissism within yourself, your ministry, and Church culture as a whole. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For over a decade, Carlos Whittaker was one of the leading worship voices in the church, but he began to feel a stirring toward preaching and teaching. A little over 4 years ago, he took that brave step and hasn’t looked back. In this latest Craft & Character episode, Steve Carter asks Carlos about the process of obedience to move into the communicator’s space and the keys that Carlos uses for effective storytelling. His comments are pure gold for anyone desiring to master this craft. Finally, Steve and Carlos discuss the importance of consecrating your day and how doing this regularly prepares Carlos for what God has in store for him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this latest Craft & Character podcast, Steve Carter interviews New Testament scholar Scot McKnight and author Laura Barringer about their latest book, A Church Called Tov. Scot and Laura unpack the stories of abuse at Willow Creek, Harvest, and the SBC that led them to write these words. This is a different kind of episode than we have ever done—but we feel it is paramount to talk honestly as pastors, preachers, and teachers about our burden to do whatever we can to create cultures of goodness and not abuse. This episode will teach you about the Hebrew word “tov” and how we can bring “tov” to the pulpit and to our churches. It will also move you to consider what a pastor is truly called to be in this day and age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Steve Carter interviews Pastor Derwin Gray about the importance of personal discipleship, intimacy with Christ, and helping people truly discover what the gospel is all about. Derwin dives into everything from discipleship vs. leadership in the Bible, and how the church has forsaken one for the other, to the most pastoral and compelling way one can experience deep intimacy (or “into-me-you-see”) with Christ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Steve Carter talks with AJ Sherrill about his process for crafting messages and six the values that drive each talk he creates to be a transformative preacher. These six (character, identity, cultivation, authenticity, confidence, and teachable) will help your posture be open to all God wants to do within you and through you. One of the highlights of this episode is hearing AJ’s honesty regarding what he must say no to in order to truly live the life God desires for him. We also talk about AJ's latest book, The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Craft & Character podcast Steve Carter interviews Tara Beth Leach, Senior Pastor at First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena (“PazNaz”) in Southern California. Tara Beth discusses her prep process, how she invites the pastoral and the prophetic to intersect, the importance of preaching live via video during this COVID season, and the critical spiritual exercises that help her character lead the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Craft & Character episode, Steve talks with Megan Fate Marshman, an incredible teacher, pastor, and author of Meant for Good. Megan shares how she started preaching, the art of storytelling, the importance of pacing, and key spiritual practices that are crucial for her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices