In this episode, Dave is joined by Greg Oraham, the Lead Pastor at Foothills Church in Seneca, SC. 

* Greg tells Dave about growing up in Palm Beach Gardens Florida and opening his own business selling alarm systems (2:00).

* Greg shares that he had never opened a Bible until he was 23 years old (8:30) and tells the story of how he began going to church while going through premarital counseling before marrying his wife. 

* Dave asks Greg how they ended up in Seneca and Greg shares more about his family. (13:00)

* Greg explains how he first got involved in street ministry in Florida and felt called to ministry shortly after moving to South Carolina.  (17:00)

* Dave asks Greg about the people Foothills tends to reach and Greg talks about their passion to reach those that no other church wanted (24:00). 

* Greg talks about the generosity Foothills has experienced, allowing them to pay off all of their debts and how they are hoping to use their resources for good.(32:00)

* Greg shares the incredible story of having heart surgery 10 years ago, how that experience led him to improve his nutrition and fitness, and how he is helping other pastors and leaders do the same through PastorFit.

To learn more about Greg, Foothills and PastorFit visit their websites below or find him on social media @pastorfit and @gregoraham

Foothills Church

PastorFit.com

For more from Dave and Generis be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com

If you would like a copy of Dave’s new book Pastor Legacy Life Plan, email Dave at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Nic Gibson, the Senior Pastor of High Point Church in Madison, WI. 

* Nic tells Dave about his early years growing up in upstate New York, how he begged his parents to send him to summer camp where he met Jesus and learned what the Christian community could be like. 

* Nic shares his college journey, going to Seminary, and how he was hired to work at a church in Panama City Beach, Florida. 

* Nic explains the impact that experience had on him and the helpful lesson he learned there (11:00). 

* Dave asks Nic how he got to Madison and Nic talks about the 6-month process and his encouragement to pastoral candidates to not get offended by the process (13:00).

* Nic talks about what’s distinctive about High Point and shares about taking a chance during the pandemic and the generosity they experienced in that time. 

* Nic explains, “When you’re bold and courageous there is a latency of people who want to do something inspiring and they gather to you and rally.”

* Dave and Nic discuss the context of Madison and the diversity of politics in their Church (26:00).

* Dave asks Nic about the charter schools they helped set up and how they seek to address issues of equity (30:00)

To learn more about Nic and High Point Church visit their website here.

* Find the Engage and Equip Podcast here

* Nic’s book "Substance: Becoming oaks of righteousness in a world of vapor.”  is available here.

For more from Dave and Generis be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com

If you would like a copy of Dave’s new book Pastor Legacy Life Plan email Dave  at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Chuck Carter the Lead Pastor of Family Church in Central Florida. Family Church is a multi-site 

* Chuck talks about his family growing up including the many children his parents fostered over the years. 

*   11:20- Chuck shares about his father’s pest control business after college while leading music and youth at a small church before starting Seminary on his lunch break. 

*  24:00- Dave asks about the context of Family Church’s locations and Chuck talks about the very different contexts of each community they are located in and their philosophy. “Neighborhood Churches speaking the neighborhood language.”

* 26:00- Chuck shares how their ministry has changed during the pandemic season and how they are going to come out of the pandemic with a different paradigm. “We are not going to be a church with small groups but a church of small groups.”

* 31:00 -Chuck lays out his advice for pastors right now.

* 33:00- Dave asks Chuck what he is hopeful for and he shares his hope for a reset. 

* 34:00- Chuck says about the uniqueness of Family Church, “ We want to be a church for our community and not a slice of our community and because of that we want to look like our community.”

* 40:00- Dave is joined by Brad Leeper for some closing thoughts.

To learn more about Chuck and Family Church be sure to visit their website at ourfamily.church

For more from Dave and Generis be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com

If you would like a copy of Dave’s new book Pastor Legacy Life Plan email Dave  at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Dr. Matt Carter the lead pastor of Sagemont Church in Houston, Texas.  

* Matt shares about growing up in the small town of Athens, TX and getting into Texas A&M by the skin of his teeth despite his average High School years (4:00).

* Dave asks about his time at A&M and Matt talks about the impact that Breakaway Bible study had on his life.

* Matt tells the story of planting Austin Stone Community Church with Chris Tomlin, their decision to locate in downtown Austin, the events that led to them having hundreds of college students attending overnight and the journey to being the much more diverse church that it is today (9:00). 

* Dave asks Matt about leaving Austin to go back to Houston to be lead Pastor at Sagemont Church. Matt shares about sensing God was leading him to do something else and the unique window of time that allow for that move (15:00).

* Matt discusses the very different context of the congregation at Sagemont vs. Austin Stone and how those differences play out in the emphasis of their ministry (20:00).

* Dave and Matt discuss the challenges of coming to Sagemont during the pandemic season and Matt shares how he has learned to be patient and lead out of humility and relationship first (28:00).

To learn more about Matt and Sagemont Church be sure to visit their website at www.sagemontchurch.org you can find Matt’s book Steal Away Home as well as Matt’s other books here.

For more from Dave and Generis be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com

If you would like a copy of Dave’s new book Pastor Legacy Life Plan email Dave  at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Jason Esposito, Lead Pastor at CrossWay Church in the Milwaukee area. 

* 1:20- Dave asks Jason about his upbringing and Jason shares about his Italian immigrant family and growing up in New Jersey. 

* 5:00- Jason talks about his struggles in school early on and his journey to Anderson University in Indiana where a Bible study changed his trajectory. 

* 18:00- Jason explains how he came to CrossWay, the context of the Germantown area, and the intentionality of their ministries in the city. 

* 23:00- Jason shares about his research in linguistic anthropology and how preaching shapes the given culture of a church. 

*  “One of the ways the culture has changed at CrossWay has been through intentional preaching for cultural transformation and moving the church in a way that we thought God was directing it.”

* 27:00- Dave asks Jason what he is hopeful for coming out of the pandemic and Jason talks about not wasting the pain of this season. 

* 33:00- Jim Sheppard of Generis joins Dave for some closing thoughts.

To learn more about Jason and CrossWay Church visit their website here and be sure to keep an eye out for Jason’s book on preaching for cultural change out in 2021. 

For more from Dave and Generis be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com

If you would like a copy of Dave’s new book Pastor Legacy Life Plan email Dave  at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Dr. Bob Roberts Jr. Senior Global Pastor of Northwood Church. Bob is also the founder of GlocalNet, a ministry dedicated to mobilizing the church for transformation in the public square and co-founder of Multi-Faith Neighbors Network (MFNN), a multifaith organization committed to creating international religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships. 

* Bob shares about starting Northwood Church 34 years ago

* Bob talks about founding GlocalNet which has started over 300 churches and the work they do to teach people how to engage nations and their involvement with issues of human rights, religious freedom, and persecution.

* 3:00- Dave asks Bob about growing up in East Texas and Bob talks about moving many times, going with his dad to seminary, and explains how the tribal context of his childhood prepared him for the work he does now.

* 9:00- Bob wonders if I didn’t really become a Christian at 33 when the question was posed to him, “When will Jesus be enough for you?”

* 12:20-   Bob explains how he stopped thinking as a pastor and started thinking like a missionary saying,  “A pastor asks the question how’s my church, a missionary asks how’s my city?”

* 23:00- Bob shares the story of how he ended up working in Vietnam, how that led to him working in Afghanistan after 9/11 and building bridges with Muslims across the world.

To learn more about Bob you can visit his website bobrobertsjr.com there you can find more about the work Bob does as well as his Podcast Bold Love.

To learn more about Northwood Church you can visit their site at northwoodchurch.org.

For more from Dave be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com/dave-travis

To learn more about the Senior Pastor call mentioned in this episode contact Linda Stanley at [email protected] and mention “Invitation to Senior Pastor Call” in the subject.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Bryan Carter. Bryan is the Senior Pastor of Concord Church in Dallas, TX, where he has served as pastor for seventeen years.

* 3:45- Bryan talks about growing up with two older brothers, his disciplined father, and the ministries his parents had a heart for. 

* 7:00- Bryan explains how he went to college to become a teacher planning to be bi-vocational because he hadn’t seen many pastors with full-time ministry jobs.

* 13:00- Bryan shares about the summer he graduated college, got married, moved to Dallas, and started teaching.  He explains the challenges but also how he and his wife Stephanie were both named Teacher of the Year at their respective schools. 

* 17:40- Bryan talks about his early days at Concord, the importance of being open to God’s own plan for your life, and how he just started serving wherever he could. 

* 19:00- Bryan talks about how Dr. Bailey went about the succession process and eventually asked him to be his successor. 

* 22:30- Dave and Bryan talk about the DNA of Concord and Bryan talks about building on the solid foundation that is already settled.

* 25:30- Dave asks Bryan to share about his Live Instagram Prayer time and Bryan talks about the impact of that. 

* 28:45- Bryan shares his advice to other pastors and he talks about loving the people,  teaching the word and having a plan.

To learn more about Bryan and Concord Church visit their website concorddallas.org

To learn more about the EK Bailey Preaching Conference visit the website ekbpc.com the 2022 conference will be held July 11th- 14th.

For more from Dave be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com/dave-travis

To learn more about the Senior Pastor call mentioned in this episode contact Linda Stanley at [email protected] and mention “Invitation to Senior Pastor Call” in the subject.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Beth Nelson. Beth is the lead pastor of Prairie Heights Community Church in West Fargo, North Dakota. 

* (3:45) Beth talks about being invited to Prairie Heights after college by a friend. 

* (11:00) Dave asks Beth about the community Prairie Heights serves 

* (14:00) Beth explains how she went from working for an engineering firm after college to becoming lead pastor. 

* (20:00) Dave and Beth discuss the volunteer culture at Prairie Heights, inviting people in to use their gifts and talents and their focus on being mission driven. 

* (27:00) Discussing COVID and the opportunity it gave them Beth explains, “It’s not about attendance, it’s about engagement.”

* (29:00) Dave asks what advice Beth has for other pastors and she talks about her journey saying “one yes at a time” as well as why and when it’s okay to get out side of the box. 

* (37:00) Brad Leeper joins Dave for some closing thoughts.

To Learn more about Beth and Prairie Heights Community Church visit their website at prairieheights.com

For more from Dave be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com/dave-travis

To learn more about the Senior Pastor call mentioned in this episode contact Linda Stanley at [email protected] and mention “Invitation to Senior Pastor Call” in the subject. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Rich Villodas of New Life Fellowship in Elmhurst, Queens.  Rich speaks about being raised in Brooklyn, New York, and the trauma as well as the joys he experienced during that time. 

Dave asks Rich about his high school years and Rich shares about his basketball days and being a chronic underperformer in school (6:00). Rich also talks about becoming an avid reader after becoming a Christian and how he ended up at Nyack College. 

Rich explains what is distinctive about New Life (18:00). He talks about being located in the most diverse zip code in the world, the story of their unique building, their values, and their community development arm.

Rich shares his advice for other pastors (28:30), the importance of creating space to slow down and be with God, and what he tells those who ask for advice about racial justice and reconciliation (31:00). 

To learn more about Rich, New Life Fellowship and his book The Deeply Formed Life follow the links below. 

https://www.richvillodas.com/

https://newlife.nyc/

For more from Dave be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com/dave-travis

To learn more about the Senior Pastor call mentioned in this episode contact Linda Stanley at [email protected] and mention “Invitation to Senior Pastor Call” in the subject. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com

In this episode, Dave is joined by Tyrone Barnette of Peace Baptist Church. Tyrone shares about his life growing up in Roxboro, North Carolina a town he compares to Mayberry. He also talks about his struggles during his college years and how God changed his life in that time (6:15). Dave asks about Tyrone’s journey to Atlanta and founding Peace, as well as his family now (9:20).  

Tyrone talks about the unique demographic changes and the community context in which Peace is located in Dekalb County, Georgia (15:00). 

Dave asks Tyrone what makes Peace Baptist Church distinctive (12:20) and he shares about the focus on ministering to the community and the many ways they are reaching out. Tyrone and Dave reminisce on a trip they took together many years ago to Leesburg Florida and how that time influenced Tyrone’s work (13:30). 

Tyrone shares an important lesson he had to learn (25:00) as well as his advice to young pastors (30:00) to take care of themselves. Tyrone discusses his hope that the church can become the example in all of the chaos of today’s world (32:20).

Dave is joined by Brad Leeper for some closing thoughts. 

To Learn more about Tyrone and Peace Baptist church you can visit their website  peacebaptistchurch.org

You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For more from Dave be sure to subscribe to the Church Leader Insider Newsletter at churchleaderinsider.substack.com and visit  generis.com/dave-travis

To learn more about the Senior Pastor call mentioned in this episode contact Linda Stanley at [email protected] and mention “Invitation to Senior Pastor Call” in the subject. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com