Exponential NEXT Podcast

Church planters often lack funds, people, time, but one thing they are rarely short on is vision. In the words of Andy Stanley they have a clear mental picture of what could be and what should be. While church planters rarely lack vision, they often struggle to infect others around them with that vision, so they can be as invested in the new church as the planter is.

In this episode, Andrew Estes, from Nexus: Church Planting & Leader Care, joins us to share some basic fundamentals for discerning and disseminating your church’s vision.

“Future church planters that persuasively bring the gospel into secularity will move beyond the arrogance of theological posturing toward the humility of simple belief,” writes Jeff Christopherson. “In the new religious economy brought about through secularity, few are asking the question, “What is truth?” Increasingly, the deep question within people’s hearts is, “What will make my … Future Characteristics of the Church Episode 5: A Different Fidelity Read More »

“Future church planters that persuasively bring the gospel into secularity will move beyond the arrogance of theological posturing toward the humility of simple belief,” writes Jeff Christopherson. “In the new religious economy brought about through secularity, few are asking the question, “What is truth?” Increasingly, the deep question within people’s hearts is, “What will make my life work? What can fix me?” And this is the spiritual intersection for a church planting team to powerfully reveal the beauty of the Kingdom of God. After all, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (I Corinthians 4:20). Read more here.

Join Jessie Cruickshank and Jeff Christopherson as they have a conversation with Dr. Richard Blackaby.

This webinar series, hosted by Jeff Christopherson and Jessie Cruickshank, is designed to lean into the future and shed light on what church planting looks like in 2021 and beyond. What paradigm shifts and best practices do we need to come to grips with to advance God’s Kingdom around the corner?

What is missing from many of our efforts and strategies? Doing it Together! We are all very familiar with the Great Commission and the challenge to “Go.” There has been much taught on the Great Commandment and the need to go with “Love.” But it is the last part of Jesus’ mission – which was … Practical Multiplication Episode 17: Go, Love, Together Read More »

What is missing from many of our efforts and strategies? Doing it Together! We are all very familiar with the Great Commission and the challenge to “Go.” There has been much taught on the Great Commandment and the need to go with “Love.” But it is the last part of Jesus’ mission – which was Jesus’ final prayer – that we have forgotten. It’s the Great Collaboration – that we are to go in love Together!

If the last year has taught us anything, it’s the truth of that statement, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” All of us have had to innovate in really unexpected ways. However, there was a desperate need for innovation before COVID hit and once we get on the other side of it, there will be … Podcast – Kingdom Innovation for a Brave New World Read More »

If the last year has taught us anything, it’s the truth of that statement, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” All of us have had to innovate in really unexpected ways. However, there was a desperate need for innovation before COVID hit and once we get on the other side of it, there will be even more need. So what does it look like to create a culture of innovation in your church and what are some of the essential practices? That’s where we’ll be focusing our time during this our together.

“Whether you’re ready or not, the most predictable thing about life today is that our culture will change at a rate that is hard to keep up with, no matter who you are,” writes Paul. Read more here.

Join Daniel Yang & Jessie Cruickshank as they interview Aubrey Sampson on how to find hope in the midst of suffering. Summary from The Louder Song: Listening for Hope in the Midst of Lament, by Aubrey Sampson: When you’re in the midst of suffering, you want answers for the unanswerable, resolutions to the unresolvable. You want to tie up … Frontlines Episode 24 – Two Leadership Essentials for this Season: Grief and Lament Read More »

Join Daniel Yang & Jessie Cruickshank as they interview Aubrey Sampson on how to find hope in the midst of suffering.

Summary from The Louder Song: Listening for Hope in the Midst of Lament, by Aubrey Sampson:

When you’re in the midst of suffering, you want answers for the unanswerable, resolutions to the unresolvable. You want to tie up pain in a pretty little package and hide it under the bed, taking it out only when you feel strong enough to face it. But grief won’t be contained. Grief disobeys. Grief explodes. In one breath, you may be able to say that God’s got this and all will be well. In the next, you might descend into fatalism. No pretending. Here, you are raw before God, an open wound.

There is a pathway through this suffering. It’s not easy, but God will use it to lead you toward healing. This path is called lament. Lament leads us between the “Already” and the “Not Yet”. Lament minds the gap between current hopelessness and coming hope. Lament anticipates new creation but also acknowledges the painful reality of now. Lament recognizes the existence of evil and suffering – without any sugarcoating – while simultaneously declaring that suffering will not have the final say.

In the midst of your darkest times, you will discover that lament leads you back to a place of hope – not because lamenting does anything magical, but because God sings a louder song than suffering ever could, a song of renewal and restoration.

Join us for Episode 5 featuring special guests Alan Hirsch and Rich Robinson with co-hosts Rob Wegner and Brian Phipps! Jesus has provided the organization to unleash more—found in the five-fold gifting of APEST (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers). We need to help people see the Church as Jesus does.