
Those Who Serve The Lord
Those Who Serve the Lord is a podcast of Apollos Watered: The Center for Discipleship & Cultural Apologetics, dedicated to forming whole lives for God’s whole mission through God’s whole church—what we call missioholism.
Are you tired of all the division, media hype, and shallow answers? Do you long for clarity, renewal, and hope in an increasingly disorienting cultural landscape?
Are you burdened for your church, your family, or your calling, and wondering why the strategies that once brought growth and fruitfulness now seem to fall flat?
Are you yearning for fresh vision, deeper passion, and renewed purpose?
There is a way forward.
In a world fractured by half-truths and half-lived faith, Those Who Serve the Lord calls pastors, leaders, and everyday believers to embody the new humanity of the new creation—mind, heart, body, and soul—for the renewal of all things.
Get ready for theologically rich, culturally grounded conversations that are both profound and practical—never dry, never detached.
Join Travis Michael Fleming—pastor, public theologian, and cultural apologist—as he walks alongside you to help you live out your calling. Because your faith matters, your work is not in vain, and the Lord is with you every step of the way.
Latest episodes

Dec 23, 2022 • 56min
#141 | Escaping Enemy Mode, Pt. 2 | Jim Wilder
The second part of our conversation w/Jim Wilder about his newest book, "Escaping Enemy Mode." How do we really love our enemies? What does enemy mode look like? More of that and more on today's Apollos Watered! Help to water thirsty souls around the world by partnering with Apollos Watered and transform your world today!Learn more about Life Model Works.If you want to learn more about neurotheology check out our previous conversations: #140: Jim Wilder, Escaping Enemy Mode, Pt. 1#107: Jim Wilder, God on the Brain, Pt. 1#108: Jim Wilder, God on the Brain, Pt. 2#109: Michel Hendricks-Relational Reformation, Pt. 1#110: Michel Hendricks-Relational Reformation, Pt. 2#120 Marcus Warner: Our Walk, Wounds, and Warfare, Pt. 1#121 Marcus Warner: Our Walk, Wounds, and Warfare, Pt. 2Check out Jim's books.Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.

Dec 16, 2022 • 53min
#140 | Escaping Enemy Mode, Pt. 1 | Jim Wilder
We welcome neurotheologian Jim Wilder back to the show to discuss his newest book, Escaping Enemy Mode. What are the signs of spiritual maturity? Jim believes that it is the ability to endure suffering well, but it also means loving our enemies. How do we do that when we seemingly have enemies everywhere? How do we stand for truth and love them without giving away our convictions? You must listen in to find out! Learn more about Life Model Works.If you want to learn more about neurotheology check out our previous conversations: #107: Jim Wilder, God on the Brain, Pt. 1#108: Jim Wilder, God on the Brain, Pt. 2#109: Michel Hendricks-Relational Reformation, Pt. 1#110: Michel Hendricks-Relational Reformation, Pt. 2#120 Marcus Warner: Our Walk, Wounds, and Warfare, Pt. 1#121 Marcus Warner: Our Walk, Wounds, and Warfare, Pt. 2Check out Jim's books.Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Water thirsty sounds around the world by partnering with Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Dec 13, 2022 • 20min
#139 | A Well-Watered Life | Joseph's Faith
During the Christmas season, Mary often gets a lot of press, but Joseph's faith often gets overlooked. But was his faith less than hers? You might even say that he had more faith to trust than Mary did. Her too personified a generosity of spirit that we can do well to emulate. But how? Listen in and find out!Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Dec 9, 2022 • 50min
#138 | Life, C.S. Lewis, and Stories of Sharing the Gospel, Pt. 2 | Jerry Root
Travis welcomes Jerry Root to the show in this second half of our conversation. In this conversation, Jerry narrows in on evangelism, loving all people, meeting people where they are, C.S. Lewis, and some practical tools for sharing the Gospel in our modern world. It's a conversation that will feed your soul. Learn more about Jerry. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Dec 6, 2022 • 13min
#137 | A Well-Watered Life | Mary's Generosity
The Christmas season is a time of generosity and one of the greatest examples of generosity is found in Mary, the mother of Jesus. She personified generosity, but not in the financial sense. She was generous in the sense of giving up herself, her reputation, and her status in the immediate moment, to serve and fulfill the purpose of God. Her life is a lesson for us in generosity and service. But how? That's what we are talking bout today on Apollos Watered. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Dec 2, 2022 • 47min
#136 | Life, C.S. Lewis, and Stories of Sharing the Gospel, Pt. 1 | Jerry Root
C.S. Lewis has had a huge influence on so many people. He was a man that so many still read and influenced their walk with Jesus. Travis welcomes Jerry Root to the show! Jerry is a renaissance man, one of the people you want to sit down with and have a cup of coffee, and simply soak up the wisdom. We talk about Christ, culture, Christianity, C.S. Lewis, and practical tools for sharing the Gospel in our modern world. It's a conversation that will feed your soul. Learn more about Jerry. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!Takeaways: Travis Michael Fleming and Jerry Root explore the profound influence of C.S. Lewis on contemporary evangelism and the Christian faith. The dialogue emphasizes the essential role of storytelling and imagination in effective evangelism, as exemplified by Lewis's literary works. Jerry Root articulates the necessity of addressing profound existential questions as a means to engage others in spiritual discussions. Both speakers highlight the importance of community and shared inquiry in nurturing faith and understanding in the context of evangelism. The conversation sheds light on how C.S. Lewis's writings provide a vocabulary for articulating deep spiritual longings and existential questions. Travis and Jerry reflect on personal experiences that illustrate the transformative power of listening and asking meaningful questions in evangelistic conversations.

Nov 29, 2022 • 11min
#135 | A Well-Watered Life | Your Story of Generosity
We love a good story and each one of us has the Divine Author weaving it together for our good. My story. Your story. Our story. God has woven our stories together to transform lives around the world. None of us can do it by ourselves. We need one another. That's why we want to have stories of generosity of supporting the work of God so that others' lives might be changed and their stories reflect God's peace, purpose, and presence. Listen in as Travis shares how we can continue to partner to water thirsty souls worldwide. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Nov 25, 2022 • 1h 1min
#134 | Redemption & LGBTQ: Becoming A Man of God, Pt. 2 | John Hannigan
In this second part of our conversation w/John Hannigan, Executive Director of Celebrate Kids. In our previous conversation, we learned his story—how he grew up in the church and struggled with same-sex attraction and sought help but found none. In his late teens, he was done fighting his desires and urges and decided to pursue the life he desired away from God. But God wasn't done with John, and pursued him and brought him back to Himself. Today we’re shifting gears in our conversation, moving from John’s story, to how that story has equipped him as a dad and a ministry leader to help parents deal with difficult issues. How do we approach education and entertainment, how do we tell a story of sin and redemption to our kids? How do we as parents help our kids to become what God intends them to be? How do we reach out to that friend or family member in love while still holding to the truth of Scripture?John’s story forces us to confront whether or not we are really ready to love our neighbors. It also provides us with a unique insight into how to approach these thorny issues. This is a conversation about desire, pain, freedom, identity, and hope. The first part: #132 | Redemption & LGBTQ: Becoming A Man of God, Pt. 1 | John HanniganLearn more about Celebrate Kids.More on LBGTQ+: #44 | Posh, Pleasures, & Pain: The Life of a Social Media Influencer Turned Christ, Pt. 1 | Sandra Poenar#45 | Posh, Pleasures, & Pain: The Life of a Social Media Influencer Turned Christ, Pt. 2 | Sandra Poenar#78 | Love Thy Body, Pt. 1 | Nancy Pearcey#79 | Love Thy Body, Pt. 2 | Nancy Pearcey#83 | What God Says About Our Bodies? | Sam AllberryLearn more about Celebrate Kids.Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Nov 22, 2022 • 36min
#133 | A Well-Watered Life | The Flemings & The Missioholistic Approach to Renewing The Church in the West
Join this week's episode as Wayne Stender, our podcast producer, interviews Travis and Melissa Fleming about their story and the Apollos Watered Missioholistic approach to faith. There are so many issues that are facing Christians and the church today that it seems overwhelming. Church members are tired, some have deconstructed and left the faith altogether and pastors are burning out. What's the solution? Better yet, what is the problem? How did we get here? Why is the church in the West in the mess it's in right now? Having served in a variety of contexts with different cultures and in churches of various sizes, the Flemings have seen and experienced the pitfalls of our modern Western church firsthand and have a better path forward-the missioholistic approach. This is a fascinating and behind-the-scenes, firsthand look at the mission and heartbeat of Apollos Watered. It's a conversation about passion and the hope of renewal for the church going forward, to not just survive, but thrive!Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Nov 18, 2022 • 1h 1min
#132 | Redemption & LGBTQ: Becoming A Man of God, Pt. 1 | John Hannigan
Travis welcomes John Hannigan to the show. John is the Executive Director of Celebrate Kids, a ministry dedicated to offering peace to anxious students, extending hope to depressed teens, and providing encouragement to discouraged moms and dads who want the best for their children. John is a unique, fun, larger-than-life personality that has God's grace written all over his life. John's story is one that bears hearing. He knows firsthand the brokenness of life and the failures of the church in helping navigate the brokenness. As a result, he left the church behind and went off to pursue a life away from God (and becoming a drag queen in the process) but God wasn't done with him. John's story is one of great pain and sorrow but one of even greater hope, joy, and redemption. Before Celebrate Kids, John served businesses and families for over twenty years. Married to his best friend, Melissa, and father to four wonderful kids, he is filled with a zest for life and making God's kingdom known all over the world, whether he is leading mission trips to Puerto Rico, serving families in his local church, guiding strategy and vision sessions with his clients, or taking his family on a spontaneous trip while keeping everyone laughing, John glorifies God each day by using the talents and gifts he has been given. The second part: #134 | Redemption & LGBTQ: Becoming A Man of God, Pt. 2 | John HanniganLearn more about Celebrate Kids.More on LGBTQ+: #44 | Posh, Pleasures, & Pain: The Life of a Social Media Influencer Turned Christ, Pt. 1 | Sandra Poenar#45 | Posh, Pleasures, & Pain: The Life of a Social Media Influencer Turned Christ, Pt. 2 | Sandra Poenar#79 | Love Thy Body, Pt. 2 | Nancy Pearcey#83 | What God Says About Our Bodies? | Sam AllberrySign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter.Check out our YouTube channel.Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!