In Part 2 of EP13, Jeremy and Dods continue the conversation with Chad Karger, the founder of BetterDays. In this particular conversation Chad discusses many of the struggles and challenges that pastors face in the midst of wilderness experiences with others. How do we pastor, care, and lead people through times of crisis and and unfamiliar terrain? Being called to gospel mission means following Jesus into situations that are beyond our control and learning to trust God along the way.

In Part 1 of EP13, Jeremy and Dods sit down with the founder of BetterDays, Chad Karger. In this episode Chad tells the story of how BetterDays began and how the heart of caring for ministry leaders was formed into the DNA. Chad currently lives in Franklin, TN and serves as a porter with Porter’s Call.

In this episode Dods and Jeremy sit down with Al Johnson, lead pastor of the Well CommunityChurch in San Antonio, TX. Al has served Jesus in a number of contexts throughout his life, from a missionary in Africa to church planting in the US. Listen as Al shares some of the most difficult things he’s faced in ministry, and here’s a little hint, it wasn’t the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

In this episode Dods and Jeremy sit down with Justin Hyde. Justin has served as the founding/lead pastor of Redeemer Church in Brenham, TX for nearly 14 years. He has recently transitioned off of staff of Redeemer and joined the team of BetterDays counselors. In this podcast, Justin shares shares some of the things he’s learned about doing the slow, long work of pastoral ministry in a small town context. He also shares some rich insight on what has sustained him through the years of struggle and some hard moments, while resting and trusting God with the uncertainty of the future.

In this episode Dods and Jeremy sit down with worship leader, songwriter, pastor, husband, and father, Robbie Seay. On top of being a long time friend and partner with BetterDays, Robbie has served in a number of ministry contexts and worn a variety of ministry hats. He is known in many circles as a singer/songwriter and worship leader, in other circles as a pastor, and at home has a husband and dad. Listen to the conversation as Robbie shares some of the struggles he’s faced through the years, lessons learned along the way, and answers the question on everyone’s mind, “Did the song Here Come Better Days come before or after the formation of the ministry, Here Come BetterDays?”

Redefine success. Be faithful. Slow down. Life as a bi-vocational ministry family is filled with all kinds of challenges. In this episode, Jeremy and Dods sit down with Joe and Sherrell Ogletree. Joe & Sherrell are in the early years of planting Image Church in Cypress, TX. Listen as they share the struggles that come with balancing family, ministry, and a full time job and what God is teaching them along the way. 

In the final episode of season one, BetterDays executive director Jeremy McQuown reflects on the past season and and expounds upon the quote, “Ministry is a pilgrimage through the wilderness.” We are reminded in this Advent season that the wilderness is often where God meets us.

Bryant Lee serves as the lead pastor and planter of Higher Expectations Church in Humble, TX. In this episode, Jeremy and Dods join Bryant in a discussion about how he has come face to face with his own limitations in ministry and how God met him in the middle of nowhere to start the process of reorienting him to a true identity as a son of God. 

Dods and Jeremy sit down with Matt & Heather Rule. Matt serves as the lead pastor of Church Project North County and Heather is a biblical counselor with Marriage Revolution. Listen as they discuss their own wilderness journey in ministry and how they experienced the grace of God work in their marriage through the wilderness experiences they’ve faced.  

Narcissism is a strong word that gets thrown quite a bit these days when talking about particular church leaders and situations. Jeremy and Dods sit down with Josh Berger, LPC who is the director of Alethia Counseling in Houston, TX. In this conversation, Josh defines narcissism while helping us to recognize signs of narcissistic tendencies. He also offers some suggestions on how to move forward when caught in the wake of narcissistic leadership.