Jonathan Pokluda believes that good teachers are exceptional listeners. As the lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, TX, he’s intentional about checking the pulse of his people. Every Friday he hosts a Q&A session on Instagram Live, often with his wife and kids in the car. Of the 2,000-ish questions that pour in weekly, he tackles 50-100 of them. Inquiries come from people of all ages一boomers to Gen Z, and span all topics: sex, marriage, faith, divorce, friendship, you name it. At 3 pm every Thursday, a small group of people from his church listen to his full sermon, then offer honest feedback.

Jonathan’s humility to listen fuels his courage to speak on raw issues, like his recent series: The 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia. Underneath his creative teaching approach to framing a talk is a 7-part outline, which he unpacks with Steve Carter in this episode:

EPISODE LINKS

Jonathan’s books: Outdated, Welcome to Adulting, Welcoming the Future Church

Harris Creek Baptist Church: www.harriscreek.org

jonathanpokluda.com

@jpokluda

@harriscreek

@steveryancarter

@craft_character