Every Church Flourishing by the Great Commission Association

Every Church Flourishing Episode 40 with Tammi Smorynski and Samuel Kommu

Title: How Can Churches Recognize Their Weaknesses and Do Something About Them? Tim Challies ' leadership advice. How does the church go forward from a human perspective?

The worst soda ever conceived. Absolutely disgusting. Made from a fruit banned from multiple airlines, and a fruit that shut down an entire government building just because of the smell.

"Durian fruit, when it is incredibly ripe, has a cross smell between methamphetamines, dirty socks, and rotting bodies."

Tim Challies for anyone in a leadership position:

"The apple does not fall far from the tree" applies not only to fathers and their children, but also to founders and their organizations. This is the first lesson: just as a founder's strengths will be embedded in the organization he creates, so will his weaknesses. Just as his strengths may be integral in causing that organization to rise, his weaknesses may be integral in causing it to fall. Thus, a wise leader tries to gain an awareness of his weaknesses and in some way to oppose or mitigate them, perhaps through policy, through limiting his position, or by hiring people whose strengths counter his weaknesses."

Why do churches sometimes hate the process of identifying weaknesses, and how that process can actually be helpful and encouraging.

In the Bible, Jesus Assessed Seven Churches, so we should not run from that process.

What does it feel like for members of a church to go through a significant decline?

When we focus away from the consumer mentality of church, we will recognize that it is not just the pastor's job to build people up, but the privilege of every church member.

Greatest secular equivalent to who a pastor is might just be a football coach.

From a human perspective, the church goes forward by the Holy Spirit-empowered ministry of extraordinary church members who are equipped for ministry by the pastors and leaders of the church.

What do pastors and denominational leaders not understand about church health from the inside?

Samuel Kommu from Calvary Baptist Church in Santa Clara

Tammi Smorynski from Oak Grove Baptist Church in San Jose

Every Church Flourishing Episodes 39-40 with Tammi Smorynski and Samuel Kommu and Pastor Christopher Cole. Title: Church Renewal from the Inside - Church Revitalization from the pews. Samuel Kommu from Calvary Baptist Church in Santa Clara Tammi Smorynski from Oak Grove Baptist Church in San Jose Some of the negative impacts of Church Drama. Young leaders. To be sustainable, churches need to constantly prioritize getting younger people involved in leadership. The church is a complex organism and quick fixes are rare and often ineffective in complex organisms. "I do not claim to know fashion very well. I know cereal, and I know soda." Review Vietnamese Sarspirilla Soda. Harry Alonzo Longabaugh is the Sundance Kid. Samuel Calvary Baptist Church — Santa Clara Calvary is an old and deeply rooted Silicon Valley congregation at 3137 Forbes Avenue in Santa Clara. Its story began with just 14 people gathering for prayer on August 5, 1959. A mission was formally organized two weeks later, and by 1963 it had acquired the Forbes Avenue property where it still meets today. By 1966 its membership had reached 218. RECORDING? It supported international missions, conducted Backyard Bible Schools and mission trips, shared its facilities with a Korean congregation for years, and later hosted a Persian congregation. " In 1997, the church's anniversary celebration included Dr. Mike Stewart, current GCA leader. Tammy - Oak Grove Baptist Church — San Jose Oak Grove is at 479 Blossom Hill Road in San Jose and is almost exactly the same vintage as Calvary. It was founded in 1966 as a mission of Foxworthy Baptist Church, incorporated in 1967 as Downer Avenue Baptist Church, and later became Oak Grove Baptist Church. It is currently celebrating its 60th anniversaryOak Grove explicitly identifies itself as part of the SBC, California Southern Baptist Convention, and GCA. Its connection to GCA is especially personal: church administrator Bob Bailey has "served on the Great Commission Association for many years" while also serving as Oak Grove's chairman of deacons. Topics to explore: What does revitalization feel like from inside the congregation? What's it like when somebody tells you the church you love isn't healthy? How do you honor people who gave 30, 40 or 50 years to a congregation while admitting that something must change? What makes members trust outside help? What makes them resist it? What does repentance look like corporately? How do ordinary church members become agents of renewal instead of consumers—or obstacles—to it? We've talked to pastors about ReNEW, we've talked to churches that foster other churches, and we've talked about replanting…but today we want to find out what church renewal actually feels like to the people sitting in the pews.

Every Church Flourishing 38 With Bob Bickford.

Title: Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast. Church Replanting, Church Revitalization, and Help For Struggling Churches with Bob Bickford. FIND YOUR DOTTIES. The Dangers of Soda Racism.

If you don't deal with your church's problems because you don't want people to leave, the truth is that people will leave BECAUSE you aren't dealing with your church's problems.

Put a gifted pastor in the wrong culture and that culture will eat him alive.

Culture is the hidden assumptions about the way things are.

Diagnosis is hard - how can churches know their health when they are scared to know their health? Why should church leaders embrace church diagnostics and health checks? Revitalization is largely good old pastoring.

Preach, pray, love, stay.

Help the congregation find the joy of the Lord again, and great things will happen.

How to move forward into revitalization when there is NOT unanimity.

Building trust and gaining trust before big changes are crucial for pastors and leaders.

It's not one single issue that leads to decline in churches, it's multiple things. There are older people in church replants that might start out a little bit sour, but if you befriend them, love them and pastor them well, they may turn into fruitful DOTTIES - (listen to Bob's story at the end of this episode)

What are some neglected essentials to church revitalization?

Are there backward corners of Heaven? Is soda racism allowable? How Pastor Christopher's soda prejudice has led to stomach and indigestion problems. The aftertaste is a little discouraging…

Episode 37: WHY leads to WHAT: Pastoring Change in Churches That Want Change But Resist It. HELP! My Church Isn't Growing…What Should We Do?! With Bob Bickford of the Nashville Baptist Association.

Notes:

We think if we deal with our problems, people will leave, but the truth is that if we DON'T deal with our problems, people will leave.

How attendance fluctuates in church replants and church revitalizations. Sometimes you will have a double dip when people leave because the church has changed TOO much, and other people leave because the church has NOT changed enough.

Don't shepherd not to get hurt, but embrace the suffering and embrace the conflict, because it is often a sign that a church is heading in the right direction in a church revitalization situation.

When Discipleship is deficient, it leads to focusing on the wrong things, like the administration of the church and other details. TOYOTA FIVE WHYS PRINCIPLE.

HELP DEVELOP A CULTURE OF JOY BY CELEBRATING SMALL VICTORIES AND POSITIVE THINGS. REVITALIZATION IS LARGELY GOOD OLD PASTORING.

Applying the principle of the nudge to church leadership and church revitalization.

Before we decide what we need to do about a declining church, we need to understand WHY the church is declining. The most important question to ask at the beginning of church revitalization is: WHY are we declining? The WHY is the most important issue of church decline.

Soda Review: Everybody's favorite coffee flavor: Orange. TASCO

Coffee Soda Orange Flavor review. If not toilet paper, what do Indonesians use instead of toilet paper? YOUR LEFT HAND?! Barring a clear calling from God, I would like to avoid that particular toilet adventure for now.

All about Bob Bickford:

Bob Bickford has studied and taught on church renewal for years, and also lived it out in the trenches, one church at a time. In 2012, Bob left a staff position at a large multisite church to become pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in suburban St. Louis. Through a careful process of renewal and replanting, Sherwood gave birth to a new congregation called The Groves in 2014, where Bob served for nine years.

That experience opened the door for Bob to help struggling churches on a much larger scale. As Associate Director of Replant for the North American Mission Board, he developed a national church-renewal strategy for Southern Baptist associations. He also helped create Missouri's Resound Network and has written several practical resources, including Am I a Replanter?, Pathways to Partnership, and The Associational Replanting Guide.

Today, Bob serves as Executive Director of the Nashville Baptist Association, helping churches and pastors pursue greater health, gospel faithfulness, and missional effectiveness. He and his wife live in Nashville and have three adult children and five grandchildren. Bob brings together the heart of a pastor, the experience of a replanter, and the strategic insight of someone who has walked alongside many churches at critical crossroads. Nashville Baptist Association: (https://nashvillebaptists.com/about/)

Cody Bryan and Christian Challenge Santa Cruz: https://challengeucsc.com/affiliations/

Brandon O'Sullivan at Gospel Community: https://www.gospelcommunitysc.org/leadership

How can young ministers and leaders in the church avoid controversy and offense so that they can be fruitful and flourish?

How can churches have deeper and more fruitful partnerships with parachurch ministries?

How simply making disciples creates opportunities in ministry.

"A peach is an orange sort of thing, but this bottle is a blue sort of thing…what gives?"

Episode 35 How Can Parachurch and Church Ministries Work Together?? The Kingdom of God is Not Competitive, But Cooperative.

How Can Churches Make Room for Young Leaders and Not Stifle Them? Why is it CRUCIAL for churches to make room for young leaders??

How a Bible-Believing Church Can Make Disciples and Thrive in one of the most liberal Cities in America.

College Ministry at U.C. Santa Cruz

All about Christian Challenge College Ministry

Today's episode features Pastor Brandon O'Sullivan from Gospel Community Church in Santa Cruz, California: https://www.gospelcommunitysc.org/leadership And Cody Bryan, from Christian Challenge at U.C. Santa Cruz.

Episode 35: How Can Parachurch and Church Ministries Work Together?? The Kingdom of God is Not Competitive, But Cooperative.

How Can Churches Make Room for Young Leaders and Not Stifle Them? Why is it CRUCIAL for churches to make room for young leaders??

How a Bible-Believing Church Can Make Disciples and Thrive in one of the most liberal Cities in America.

College Ministry at U.C. Santa Cruz

All about Christian Challenge College Ministry

Gospel Community Church and Christian Challenge UCSC are deeply integrated at the level of discipleship, leadership development, church membership, and ministry multiplication. Cody serves as a deacon at GCC; Brittany is active in women's discipleship; another Challenge staff member, Josh Simmons, is also a GCC deacon; and Henry Kaufman came to faith at UCSC, became part of Christian Challenge's core team, and is now a missions resident at GCC preparing for further ministry. GCC also explicitly lists Christian Challenge among the missionaries it supports financially and prayerfully.

What happens when a local church and a campus ministry genuinely see themselves as part of the same disciple-making mission?

Brandon O'Sullivan is the lead pastor and an elder of Gospel Community Church in Santa Cruz, where he oversees the church's teaching and vision. He has served in full-time ministry since 2010 and has a particular passion for developing younger leaders who can reach people far from God and eventually start new churches and ministries throughout Santa Cruz County. Brandon holds a B.A. from The Master's College, an M.A. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Educational Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Laura, originally met in Santa Cruz while serving as summer youth interns and have continued serving in ministry together.

Gospel Community Church itself began as a small church-planting group meeting in a Santa Cruz living room in May 2018.

Cody Bryan, together with his wife Brittany, directs Christian Challenge at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Cody and Brittany first encountered Christian Challenge as freshmen at Chico State, where they became friends, eventually began dating while serving together, and graduated in 2013. After marrying that summer, they immediately joined Christian Challenge full-time. They later became associate directors at Chico, helping train ten additional staff members before relocating to Santa Cruz to plant a new Christian Challenge ministry at UCSC beginning in fall 2021.

At UCSC, Christian Challenge combines campus evangelism with small-group Bible studies, weekly gatherings, one-on-one discipleship, retreats, mission opportunities, and intentional leadership development. Cody is also recognized in Southern Baptist collegiate ministry records as the campus minister at UC Santa Cruz.

How to get in touch with Jason Kovacs and Gospel Care Collective:

https://www.gospelcarecollective.com/counseling/jason-kovacs/

How Jesus in the Garden models for us the need to share our burdens, pains, and needs with other believers rather than bottle them up.

What are signs and symptoms that your anxiety or stress has gone beyond the point where you can handle it on your own?

What are some signs in a leader's life that they are close to a breakdown? What are signs that you should talk to a counselor sooner rather than later?

We want to bring the whole Word of God applied with full care to the whole being in a way that is consistent and not oppositional to where we can find truth.

How can churches and pastors make the time to adequately counsel those in the congregation who need counseling help?

We do counseling in church because God cares for His church, and counseling the hurting is a reflection of God's heart.

Counseling the wounded and hurting is like intensive, focused discipleship.

Every Church Flourishing with Jason Kovacs, 33-34.

Guest:

Jason Kovacs is not simply a biblical counselor who works with pastors, but even that is pretty special. He has also been heavily involved in church planting, pastoral ministry, adoption/orphan-care advocacy, nonprofit leadership, counseling-center development, trauma-informed care, and ministry to burned-out pastors.

Jason Kovacs is the founder and Executive Director of the Gospel Care Collective, a ministry devoted to gospel-centered, clinically-informed counseling, equipping, and consulting for individuals, pastors, families, and churches. For more than twenty years, Jason has served across a remarkably broad range of ministry settings, including church planting, nonprofit leadership, orphan and adoption advocacy, pastoral care, and biblical counseling. He previously served as a Pastor of Counseling and also founded Redemption Counseling Centers in British Columbia.

Jason earned his M.A. from Reformed Theological Seminary, is a Certified Biblical Counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors, and has specialized training in trauma and foster/adoptive family care. He currently teaches biblical counseling as an adjunct professor. His counseling interests range from marriage, parenting, anxiety, and depression to trauma, addiction, leadership struggles, and the particular pressures faced by pastors and ministry leaders.

Jason and his wife, Shawnda, have been married for more than 20 years and have five children; four of them were adopted. Today, much of his work focuses not merely on helping people survive crises, but on helping churches develop cultures of care and helping weary pastors recover a healthy identity and life rooted in Christ rather than simply pushing harder and working harder in ministry.

Quote of the episode: "After 30 years, your wife may be tired of plain old white Chase; she may want blue Chase."

"I sometimes get tired of plain old white Chase too!"

Notes:

Beginning your day with the news is bad for your mental health.

How the never-finished task of pastoring is bad for your mental health in some ways.

Spurgeon's depression and physical issues and the "Minister's fainting fits," How Spurgeon taught the pastors under his care about the emotional turmoil of pastoring.

What kinds of counseling care belong in the local church and what kinds belong with professional counselors?

The Blue Fugates of Kentucky and a Blue Torpedo Beverage from China. This is a tea-flavored soda.

If I had to pick a cult, this would be on my list of cults to pick.

Creed Bratton famously stated on The Office that he has been involved in multiple cults as both a leader and a follower, noting that "you have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader."

According to one counselor, pastors and church leaders are the most threatened and spiritually vulnerable people in the world.

There's no other job that the Bible says you will be explicitly held accountable by God for other than pastoring.

Do pastors struggle more with anxiety and depression?

"We want to be real about the fact that Christians and need good counseling"

Just a few years ago, hardly anybody in the church was talking about mental health or anxiety. Now it is more common, thankfully.

The Current Mental and Emotional Health of American Pastors and Why it Matters.

Link to Gospel Care Collective.

Today, we continue talking with Pastor Ed Compean of Shoreline Calvary Chapel Church in Morro Bay about churches helping churches and interdenominational cooperation and unity.

Tango Mango Soda Review.

It's the most honorable thing you can do to have the humility to say, "I don't know it all, and I need help."

Resources:

David Jackson - Falling in Love with Jesus Again: https://replantbootcamp.com/podcast/ep240/

Bob Bickford: Pathways to Partnership: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999418149?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

If God wants the nations to be reached, He's got it - He will fund it. Can churches of different denominations work together for the Kingdom of God?

Laying aside non-essential denominational differences for the sake of building healthy, Gospel-centric churches.

How can churches help other dying, declining, and plateauing churches, and WHY should they? The Health of a Church is Not Found in its Sanctuary Size but in the Great Commissional Mobilization of its people. Why Should Churches Foster (Help) Other Churches?

Today we interview Pastor Ed Compean, a former missionary to Nairobi, Kenya, and a current Calvary Chapel pastor in Morro Bay, California, who is helping to foster an SBC church a few towns over. Why should a pastor from a different denomination invest time, resources, and care into a church that isn't local? What's the benefit?

How is pastoring in Kenya different than pastoring in the U.S., and how is it the same?

How Calvary Chapel and Southern Baptist Churches are partnering together for church health in California.

We, as the church, want the overall Kingdom win.

4000 churches are shutting down in the US every year, and much less than that are being planted, and church plants have a low rate of success, so churches should help foster and revitalize other churches for the overall benefit of the Kingdom.

The benefits of going to Replant Lab with Mark Clifton.

When you help foster another church, your church reaps some potent benefits, including building up more and more effective leaders.

A South African soda BURSTING with incredible flavor - like a rock concert turned up to 11. Rubicon Passion Fruit Soda is AMAZING.

Is malic acid bad for you?