The Church Lobby

An interview with Gary L. McIntosh about the principles in his new book, The Solo Pastor: Understanding and Overcoming the Challenges of Leading a Church Alone.In this episode, Karl Vaters talks with Dr. McIntosh about:The relentlessness of being a solo pastorHow influence works in the solo-pastor churchWhat expectations people have of the solo pastorOur connectedness to the congregationThe great hopefulness of solo-pastoringTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Erik Reed, a pastor in Nashville TN. This conversation is, surprisingly, based on a Twitter thread Erik wrote about how excellence in smaller churches looks different than it does in bigger churches.Karl and Erik talk aboutThe dangers of small churches trying to imitate larger churchesThe attractiveness of authenticityThe importance of investing our time and resources wiselyExamples of what small-church excellence actually looks likeInstead of pushing for the technical “wow” factor, we need to remember that people who come to a smaller church are looking for us to do the small, relational things well, so that’s where we need to put our energy.Erik Reed on Twitter: @ErikReedRead Erik Reed’s Twitter Thread on Small Church ExcellenceRead it here if you’re not on TwitterTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Dan White Jr.. the coauthor (with JR Woodward) of The Church as Movement: Starting and Sustaining Missional-Incarnational Communities.They talk about why we need a complete rethinking of how we do church, from the current, popular ways of seeing it as an institution or a series of programs, to seeing it as the movement Jesus intended it to be.Specifically, Dan builds the case for a new type of leadership he calls Polycentric Leadership.To get there, Dan and Karl discuss the primary elements of:The Church as MovementThe importance of church structureThe four stages of learningRethinking leadership and mutual submissionThese seismic shifts can feel overwhelming at first, but if we really hear what the New Testament tells us about discipleship, it can become second nature to us.Links From This Episode: The KINEO Center Website: https://www.thekineocenter.com/Dan's Website: http://danwhitejr.com/homeDan's Books: http://danwhitejr.com/booksTwitter Handle: @DanWhiteJr.To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Welcome to the first episode of The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry.In this episode, Karl talks about some of the big news coming from this ministry over the coming months, including four big reasons for the name change:Why The Church Lobby?1)     The church lobby is where the church meets and does ministry2)     It shifts the emphasis of our pastoral conversations from the stage to the floor3)     It’s a good place to take the temperature of a church’s health4)     The name is simple and descriptive (and, honestly, it was available)The church lobby is where conversations about faith and ministry happen, both as a congregation, and pastor-to-pastor. And in The Church Lobby podcast, that’s what we want to continue to do.Article link: KarlVaters.com/Introducing-Church-Lobby

Yes, you read that title right. This is the last episode of “Can This Work in a Small Church?”No, we aren’t stopping the podcast. We’re changing the name.In this special bonus episode, Karl has no guests. Instead, he talks about the following:The three big reasons we’re changing the nameWhat the new direction will look likeWhat the new name of the podcast will beIf you’d like to see the new name and logo so you’ll recognize it when it appears on your device, here’s a link to the episode article.KarlVaters.com/Final-CTWIASC

Karl Vaters interviews Darrell Stetler, a small-church pastor, father of seven, and creator of NewStart discipleship curriculum, written with the needs and strengths of small churches in mind.In this conversation, Darrell and Karl talk about the importance of discipleship in the life of the church – and as a central role in our calling as pastors.Some key topics include:The importance of helping people create discipleship habits, not just filling their heads with informationMaking sure to see discipleship as a whole, not broken into individualized piecesThe essential role that mentoring plays in discipleship – especially in the early days of someone’s walk with ChristPlus, Darrell’s way of describing new believers as infants in Christ provides a fresh insight that is especially fresh and helpful from a pastoral perspective.Links From This Episode:Get.NewStartDiscipleship.comDiscipleshipInTheHome.comSmart ReceiptsEvernoteTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews David Zahl, author of Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do about It.In this episode, Karl and David have a wide-ranging conversation about how the religious landscape has changed in our culture, but not in the ways you may have thought. According to David, we haven’t become less religious, but the objects of our worship and the rituals and rules around that worship have changed from vertical to horizontal.If you are a church leader, this episode will help you get a handle on some of the confusing shifts in attitude and behavior that may be frustrating you as you attempt to lead a congregation.In this episode, we narrow in on the subjects of:• Busyness• Parenting• Politics• Jesuslandand how each of them may be playing themselves out in disruptive but subconscious ways in our lives and congregations.MockingbirdThe MockingcastLow Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others (and Yourself)To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Alan Briggs, a pastor, the author of Staying is the New Going, the host of the Right Side Up Leadership podcast and StayForth.com. Karl and Alan talk about why geography matters in church leadership. Especially in an increasingly-mobile and increasingly-electronic world, staying planted where God put you is more important than ever for effective, incarnational ministry. Staying in a church long-term may have its challenges, but they are far outweighed by their advantages – for the church, the pastors, the pastor’s family, and the community they’re called to serve.Some important topics we cover include:• Why are American pastors especially transient, and what problems does this cause?• What does it mean to choose to be a local even if you aren’t a native?• The importance of “faithful presence”• Why sabbaticals matter, and why doing them with a plan is essentialStaying is the New GoingStayforth.comRight-Side Up Leadership PodcastTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Aron Utecht, a pastor and the host of the Good Ideas for Churches podcast. Karl and Aron talk about some of the positive trends he’s been seeing in the church and among pastors, including a refocusing on mission rather than an obsession with methods.They also talk about the value of podcasting for pastors and churches, including what question we must answer before we’re ready to ask “should I start a podcast?”Hint: sometimes the answer is “no”. In a lot of situations the best use of our limited time and energy may be to invest ourselves even deeper into the church and the surrounding community with low-tech, hands-on touches.So Aron encourages us not to get enamored with the tools and toys. Know what God has called you to do, then do it in the best way you know. If that’s a high-tech answer, fine. But if it’s old-school pastoring, which it will be for most of us, stay faithful in that.Links from This EpisodeGood Ideas for Churches podcastGoeyesup.comThe Ten Minute Bible Hour podcastFollow on Twitter @AronUtecht To get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.

Karl Vaters interviews Rick Hiemstra, a former small church pastor, now serving as the Director of Research at the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.Rick and Karl talk about a wide variety of subjects, including the Church Growth Movement, technology and how it has affected the way we approach pastoring.Some helpful insights include:What has people’s attention is what shapes them, and technology has radically altered what has our attentionHow technology has shaped people’s expectation of what to expect from their church and their pastorHow technology subconsciously changed pastors from shepherds to content producersThe important difference between “growth” and “scale”How small churches are especially suited to meet the changing needs of a world whose attention is so easily divertedAnd much more.Links from this episode:Rick.Hiemstra@theefc.caevangelicalfellowship.caAndy Crouch - The Tech-Wise FamilyJustin Earley - The Common RuleThe HTML of Cruciform Love: Toward a Theology of the InternetOnline Conversation | After Babel: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World with Andy Crouch & Jonathan HaidtTo get Bonus Content every week, click here to become a Financial Partner, or here to subscribe to the Free Weekly Newsletter.