Every Church Flourishing by the Great Commission Association

"They don't need you to bandaid their gaping wound; they need you to be present in their grief." Dr. Michael Stewart, the head of California's Great Commission Association of Churches, and podcast host Dr. Chase Thompson interview Dr. Chris Smith, a former missionary and current leader of the Great Commission Training Institution, an online ministry training school, and Pastor Grant Combs, the pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Seaside, California. We are talking about relationships in the church. How can pastors and leaders cultivate deep friendships inside the church, and how can pastors protect their families well inside the church? The advantage of having great deacons. How can introverts in the church manage over-peopling? How can pastors and church leaders make deep friends that are safe to confide in?

Dr. Chris Smith: "If I'm not in a good place, if I'm not serving and ministering from the overflow of what God is doing in my life, and that includes the community of others and the love that I have for others, then it's not going to be real. And it's not going to be a place where we can truly see God work in a miraculous way that we have that genuine community that's around us."

Podcast by the Great Commission Association. GCASBC.Net - NEW WEBSITE. If you are a pastor looking for a team - a family - we want to hear from you! In the second half of the podcast, we talk deeply about grief, and how to help those who are grieving.

Liquid Death Cereal Criminal Fruity Pebbles flavor. Upcoming: Cheerwine and Irn-Bru, the soda "Made in Scotland from Girders". But not tonight because caffeine. "You think you're about to be in Heaven, but then the aftertaste kicks in, and you realize you are in soda purgatory."

"They don't need you to bandaid their gaping wound; they need you to be present in their grief."

We know about Good Friday...What about Saturday? What happened on that Silent Saturday as the disciples stewed in their hopelessness? They weren't waiting for anything, because it really appeared that they did NOT believe Jesus would be coming back on Sunday. Indeed, the only reason the women went to the graveside is that they needed to embalm and prepare His body for permanent burial, and they couldn't do that the day He died, because the Sabbath began that evening, and they didn't have time, and they couldn't work on the Sabbath. Like the despairing disciples on the day before Jesus' resurrection, many of us are in the reality of grieving bewilderment. The reality of living in a very long, extended Friday, and a seemingly silent Saturday. We are believers in Christ. We trust Him. We look to Him. We believe His resurrection, but grief screams loudly in our lives. Sometimes - often - it is the only sound we can hear. Maybe we've lost a child, maybe we've lost a spouse. Maybe we are overwhelmed by injustice in the world, or more likely, a terrible injustice in our own life, and like MLK, we begin to doubt. Our heart begins to slide away and become cold. We stare at the walls like the disciples did on Silent Saturday in deep and utter despair.

Our focus today is on relationships in the church and the loneliness epidemic among pastors and church leaders. Hosted by Dr. Chase Thompson and Dr. Mike Stewart with guests Dr. Chris Smith of the Great Commission Training Institution, and Lighthouse Baptist pastor Grant Combs.

In today's roundtable, we discuss relationships in the church, and hit on some very important questions: Can pastors have deep friendships with church members? How are deep-rooted friendships made? There is a combination of factors that work together to keep pastors isolated…how can pastors and church leaders guard against that?

We will also talk about the loneliness epidemic among pastors, and how most pastors, who are generally men, and don't admit their problems and pains easily, usually just hero-up and pretend like everything is fine when they are starved for deep friendships and relationships. Finally, we will close out with a delicious soda review AND give you a top ten list of best quotes on the Resurrection of Jesus that YOU can use in your Easter sermon this week!

This week we continue our talk with counselor Immanuel Marsh about burnout, and helping church leaders and pastors stay healthy spiritually and emotionally. Can pastors have deep friendships with people in their churches? How do leaders cover up their burnout? What are signs burnout is imminent? ALSO: Top online apologetics YouTube channels, how to defend your faiht during Easter season and a review of the mysteriously appearing Inca Kola - which got an astounding score!

We have a great discussion today on a sneaky enemy of church leaders, a potentially delicious soda to review, a resource for church leaders that sells for $60, and we will tell you how to get it for free, AND, we will review the top 5 books on the resurrection of Jesus to get you ready for resurrection day - Easter - and also throw in a couple of bonuses.

"I've known that pastors kind of play things close to the vest in general.But I didn't realize how isolating that was. I thought that was just kind of part of the gig. That's just what you do."

Should pastors be more private with church members, or more vulnurable and authentic?

"I like to be me all the time, for better or worse. I don't want to have to look respectable to the congregation and then be dying

on the inside. or, you know, that's just my philosophy of ministry."

"There's an unhealthy way to do it also, where you don't have any personal boundaries, but my bent is that openness is better."

"I don't think anybody is particularly helped by me looking like I have it all together. And so, but it varies. There are those congregations who will eat you alive if they have personal information, but I just, I don't know if I worry about that."

"It is fatiguing. It is emotionally hard to try to put on a face,

a front, and to act like you're some sort of a different person."

Would you like to listen to a podcast that features hosts with a combined six decades of church pastoral experience talking about church ministry and church health? A podcast that gives you practical tips for church renewal and church growth while also encouraging you and exhorting you in your role as a church leader or church pastor? A show that goes over the latest news and statistics in church life with cutting edge stastitical analysis on the latest trends impacting followers of Christ? A podcast that also includes the following conversation:

"I think you would be an excellent X-Man." "Thank you, in fact, I got myself a pair of metal Wolverine claws for Christmas!

Then have we got a show for you! Almost certainly, the ONLY podcast in the world that fits that bill is the Every Church Flourishing podcast, where we interweave about 80 percent joyful, helpful, wise and edifying content with about 20 percent

Should U.S. churches and the North American Mission Board of Southern Baptists consider planting and funding more churches in California?

66 percent of the tech workers in Silicon Valley were born outside the United States.

Is California a terrible place to try and evangelize? Should other, more Christian states, simply not worry about the so called Left Coast?

California is NOT a wasteland - the Body of Christ is alive and well in California. However, in some parts of California, like the Bay Area, you can still live in the United States and essentially be almost like a missionary to unreached peoples.

Tips for churches that are struggling. #1 Don't try to do this alone.

Contact the GCA MAT team and Pastor Christopher for help with California Church renewal: https://www.gcasbc.org/contact

Whether you're in California or Cambodia, we want to equip you with everything you need to see your church flourishing.

We review an Austrian soda we can't pronounce properly and conclude, "I think this would be a brisk refreshing drink for any biblically faithful Victorian British pastor." "I concur, I think Spurgeon would have enjoyed this." However, regarding another infamous soda, would we drink it if we were in the desert about to die of dehydration?? "I am pretty sure that dirt tastes better than ranch soda."

"I think you would be an excellent X-Man." "Thank you, in fact, I got myself a pair of metal Wolverine claws for Christmas!"

Superintendent of schools, "No way!" "Do you sing and dance like Hugh Jackman?"

"No, he is an incredibly talented man!"

What are the biggest challenges teachers face right now in early childhood education?

The power of teachers praying for their students and their student's families.

Best places to eat in and around Central California/Monterey Bay/Salinas

What is the hardest thing about being a teacher right now? The answer will surprise you (unless you are a teacher!)

Closing discussion: You find a MILDLY magical ring one day, and it gives you one SLIGHT power. Not a superpower, not even a medium power…just a very, slight power. What mediocrepower would YOU choose?

Episode 6 of the Every Church Flourishing Podcast features Pastor Chris Cole and Dr. Chase A. Thompson interviewing Dr. Se J. Won the Director of Mission Operations for California's Great Commission Association.

Here's some random shownotes, quotes and a list of the resources we discussed. Check out www.EveryChurchFlourishing.com for a transcript!

You Ain't Got This - I Need Help. Learning from failure. Needing God for everything - even the practical things like leaky faucets. The dangers of trying to succeed with sheer effort in ministry. There are 400 Pastor Kims listening to this podcast! "There's many dead people that I've read that have helped me, but these are the mentors that are still alive."

There are a lot of pastors out there who are lone rangers. Can pastors not be friends with people at their churches? Togetherness and partnership in ministry are not the only keys but are HUGE keys to avoiding ministry horror stories.

Sometimes you just have to go out and find a seasoned leader and say, "Hey! You're going to mentor me!"

Would you rather take a cruise with a bunch of prominent pastors, or worship leaders, Prominent Christian authors, denominational leaders, or Christian singers/entertainers?

Pastor Se J.: "Worship is the missing element in many of our churches…if we don't prioritize worship, which I believe is the precursor to prayer, then we're all dry…something's off, and you're not connecting with God at the right frequency. Worship is crucial for me because that is how I connect with God."

God doesn't need our worship, but He does deserve our worship.

"Some of my best friends are pastors, and some of the most annoying people I've ever known are pastors."

Will the willy-nilly soda stealer in the GCA offices ever be unmasked and brought to justice?

Resources Mentioned:

Daniel Henderson: Old Paths, New Power - an excellent prayer book

Jim Cymbala: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire - a book that SHOWS the impact of a church that abides and prays intentionally.

Paul Miller: A Praying Life, Connecting with God in a Distracted World - Highly recommended by Pastor Chris Cole.

About Dr. Se J. Won: Oversees the systems, processes, and logistics that support mission work. Dr. Won ensures that operations run smoothly and efficiently— from project coordination to administrative support. His role enables our mission teams to serve with clarity, structure, and excellence.

On today's episode, we interview Great Commission Association Dr. Michael Stewart, the second longest serving director of missions in the entire United States, and we talk to him about church planting on the West Coast...should Christians invest more money into planting churches in California, given the crazy costs of housing? We also discuss taking care of pastors, spiritual formation among church leaders, and why a church would want to join an association.

We discuss artificial intelligence and the church, and one of the best tools that pastors and leaders can use without cheating or letting the machines take over.

We also review the fiery fizzy soda that never plays it safe, AKA "The Baptist Beer!"

From the show:

This here is Old Jamaica ginger beer. And it says that it's made with authentic root ginger. Nice. Right? Authentic root ginger. It also says this isn't just a drink, This is a lifestyle. Okay. Wow. Now, I don't know what that means, but it says it's spices, it's boldness, it's fiery fizz, it's taste that doesn't play it safe. And it's asking, do you play safe? Not always. Not always, right? Yeah. Apparently, we're going to be taking quite a chance drinking this. Now, this is made in the UK. Okay.Despite its Jamaica name. I'm surprised to hear that, honestly. Yeah, it's manufactured in the UK, but it's closely made with the authentic thing, real root ginger.

Big Churches are Growing, Small Churches are Shrinking. Is this good? Literally rich churches are, on average, getting richer, and poor churches are, on average, getting poorer, budget-wise.

Trends in the church, diagnostics, growth. The Walmartization of the Church. Rich getting richer, poor getting poorer - big churches are growing, and smaller churches are, by and large, plateaued and shrinking.

The trend in the U.S. of senior citizens going to church less, and how the church should mobilize its seniors to ministry and not just forget about them, or bench them. Why older people coming to church less is dangerous to the overall health of the church, how to run older people off, and why it is a terrible idea to do so. "The Church is not the NFL - these church members who are older still have a ton of value to contribute to the church." The story of Ms. Eulyne Fulton - the Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle of Valley Baptist Church. A perennial all-star and MVP, even in her 80s. "If you lead the church like you can live without seniors, you will." - Chase

The encouraging revitalization story of a church - First Baptist of Nipoma - that was down to six senior adult ladies, and a few years later is now thriving with a large youth group and tons of baptisms. HOW did it happen??

"Here's some good news: We believe in a God who brought His Son out of the grave. The hope of church renewal is not found in the perfection of human methods or our own strengths or our own wisdom, but the same God who's resurrection power is at work within the lives of the people who are inside our churches. That resurrection power that took us from spiritual death to spiritual life is at work in our churches to this day, and I believe that God wants to see our church to come to not only a place of surviving but thriving, and growth and missional engagement so that we can see the world and the communities around us transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ through that power. That is our hope here on the Every Church Flourishing podcast." - Chris Cole.

Dandelion and Burdock Soda. Ben Shaws Dandelion & Burdock is a classic, traditional British carbonated soft drink made from infusions of dandelion and burdock roots, offering a unique, slightly sweet, earthy, and licorice-like flavor.

Why did Ben Shaw make a tea out of two different flowering weeds? Dandelion tea doesn't taste nearly as good as Milo's sweet tea…how will Ben Shaw's Dandelion and Burdock Soda taste? (Surprisingly good, it turns out!) "It definitely has that sort of herbally flavor, but I feel like I'm drinking purple." "The sucralose and the saccharine are doing some heavy-lifting here." "I'm going to assume our upcoming review of Bacon soda - which we have - will not be suitable for our vegan and vegetarian friends." "I'm going to ask my friend Dr. Google, "Can Vegans drink Coke Zero?" (The astonishing answer awaits you in this episode!) "It doesn't have the bite I look for. I want a little bit of burn…it wakes you up, shakes you up…but this goes down smooth."

Church growth statistics analysis and discussion. Small church vs. Big church - enemies or potential partners?

How to keep your church seniors engaged, thriving, and coming to church.

Turnaround church - How FBC Nipomo went from a church of six senior ladies over 55 to a thriving church of 70 or so on a Sunday morning, and baptized 18 souls last year.

Resource for church revitalization: Diary of David Brainerd. "Ministry has tons of wins and tons of losses"

This week's episode features discussion of diagnostic ways of measuring a church's health. How can you take the pulse and vitals of your church? What are the signs of health and warning signs? How can you know whether or not your church is healthy?

Chase and Chris became senior pastors in their 20s and were clueless.

Lester's Fixins Peanut butter soda - 2 Spurgeons from Chris, 2.5 Spurgeons from Chase. + Is Tab the WORST Soda ever??

Chris Cole, "Jesus' first miracle was at a party, and after His resurrection, when He shows up with His disciples, He even makes them breakfast, and throughout His ministry you see Him eating with the Pharisees and the tax collectors, so try and get people to come over to your house and [feed them] and use that time to do some listening."

Jordan Raynor - Redeeming Your Time. https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Your-Time-Principles-Purposeful/dp/0593193075