Leading and Thriving in the Church

In the fifth and final episode of our third season, Prince talks with Cynthia Hale, the founding and senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia.

Discussion topics include:

- How Cynthia's leadership has changed over 38 years at Ray of Hope

- Cultivating other leaders

- Practices to sustain health and wellbeing in ministry

- And more!

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In the fourth episode of our third season, Prince talks with Gary Simpson, the senior minister of Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York.

Discussion topics include:

- How preaching differs from other forms of communication

- Finding your authentic voice

- Can preaching be taught?

- And more!

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In the third episode of our third season, Prince talks with Reggie Blount, who serves as the Murray H. Leiffer Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership and Culture and director of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Discussion topics include:

- What pastors need to understand about learning and formation

- Being innovative in developing curriculum

- The seven spiritual yearnings of young people

- Technology and Christian education

- And more!

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In the second episode of our third season, Prince talks with John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Professor of Worship, Theology, and Congregational Ministry Studies at Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary.

Discussion topics include:
- How worship leaders can balance maintaining tradition and being innovative
- Creating opportunities for pastors and musicians to learn together
- Involving youth in worship
- And more!

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode here.

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In the first episode of our third season, Prince talks with Peter T. Cha, director of the Thriving Immigrant Congregations Initiative (TICI) and professor of practical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. 

Discussion topics include: 

- Misconceptions about immigrant congregations

- Building healthy intergenerational relationships in the church

- Challenging churches to embrace younger generations

- And more!

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode here.

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In the final episode of our second season, Prince talks with Anna Carter Florence, the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

Discussion topics include: 

- What theatre and preaching have in common 

- Why storytelling is central to preaching 

- Entering scripture “verbs-first” 

- Practices for growing as a preacher and theologian 

- And more!

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode at https://alban.org/2024/05/09/anna-carter-florence-living-with-the-text/

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In this episode, Prince talks with Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois.

Discussion topics include: 

- Adapting to different leadership contexts 

- Thriving in times of unrest 

- The importance of love and justice in Christian leadership 

- How leaders can take care of themselves 

- And more! 

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode at https://alban.org/2024/05/02/otis-moss-iii-thriving-in-turbulent-times/

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In this episode, Prince talks with David Armijo, Chief of Programs at Hispanic Access Foundation. As Chief of Programs, David oversees Hispanic Access Foundation’s health, conservation, federal internship (MANO) and special initiatives.

Discussion topics include: 

- Managing conflict on teams 

- Having courageous conversations with volunteers 

- Hallmarks of strong teams 

- Practical strategies for team communication 

- And more! 

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode at https://alban.org/2024/04/25/david-armijo-invest-in-your-people/

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In this episode, Prince talks with Nicole Martin, Chief Impact Officer at Christianity Today. She is also the founder and executive director of Soulfire International Ministries, which accelerates thriving for pastors, churches and younger leaders.

Discussion topics include:  

- The role of emotional intelligence in effective leadership 

- Defining “leadership” in a Christian context 

- Surrendering Western notions of power and control 

- Advice for those seeking mentors 

- How to maintain energy and enthusiasm 

- And more! 

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode at https://alban.org/2024/04/18/nicole-martin-reframing-power/

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

In this episode, Prince talks with David P. King, Karen Lake Buttrey Director of Lake Institute on Faith & Giving as well as Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies within the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. As an American religious historian, his research interests broadly include exploring the practices of 20th- and 21st-century American and global faith communities as well as more specifically investigating how the religious identity of faith-based nonprofits shapes their motivations, rhetoric and practice. 

In this conversation, Prince and David discuss:

- Post-COVID giving trends in congregations 

- What churches with strong stewardship cultures have in common 

- Why pastors need to understand money and stewardship

- And more!

Find show notes and the transcript for this episode at alban.org/2024/04/11/david-p-king-reimagining-giving-traditions/

Sign up for Prince’s weekly reflections and resources in the Alban Weekly at alban.org. 

Rate, review and subscribe to “Leading and Thriving in the Church” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.