How does a church’s pulpit committee vet multiple pastoral candidates and narrow down its recommendation to one candidate for the entire church to consider? How does the committee keep the church informed of progress while maintaining confidentiality?  In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses the function of pulpit committees with Kerry Baggett and Art Springer, chairman and member respectively of the pulpit committee of Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, SC. Kerry Baggett shares this encouragement for pastoral candidates, “For any pastor out there, the maturity you bring to the table—your spiritual maturity, your love for the Lord, your desire to want what God wants—is what will help keep you calm, knowing that you are wanting what God wants.”

Artificial intelligence, a rapidly changing but powerful tool, is changing how we live, much like automobiles did. In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses with David Shumate his article, “An AI ‘Interview’ with C. H. Spurgeon,” published in the January/February 2025 issue of Frontline. Using well-crafted prompts and Anthropic's Claude, Dr. Shumate “interviewed” Spurgeon. What is the difference between a plausible answer and an accurate answer? What is a hallucination? How essential is fact-checking a quotation? Dr. Shumate, Academic Dean at International Baptist College and Seminary in Chandler, AZ, gives this advice about AI: “Treat it more as a brainstorming partner rather than an authority.”

How can church leadership plan for a pastoral change? What makes a pastoral transition successful? In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Doug and Ben DeMar share with Marshall Fant the story of the pastoral transition at Salem Bible Church in Salem, OH. As the founding pastor with 45 years of pastoral experience, Doug DeMar passed the baton to his son Ben DeMar after a five-year transition. Speaking of one lesson he learned during that process, Pastor Ben DeMar says, “You are not in the lead until you are in the lead.” His father says, “The primary thing is the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, not a man. We are servants, unprofitable at best. We want to follow His leading.”

What are the predominant worldviews in your community? How can you more effectively reach people from different cultural perspectives? In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses with Greg Baker three questions to ask a person to learn his or her basis for determining truth, dominant view of God, and dominant fear. Greg Baker serves as pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Liberty, UT, and president of the Sego Lily Foundation, which creates and provides resources for evangelizing Mormons. Speaking of how posturing himself as a learner has helped him, Pastor Greg says, "When you start asking these questions, it doesn't diminish your burden for those people; it increases it."

What leadership style does God expect of leaders? Following Christ’s example means we lead through serving. In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses this topic with Ken Collier, friend, preacher, mentor, and the voice of many characters on The Adventures of Patch the Pirate. Ken Collier has spent 56 years employed by The Wilds, living out what it means to lead by serving. He has also co-authored Biblical Leadership: Becoming a Different Kind of Leader. Speaking of his desire to hear God’s “Well done thou good and faithful servant,” Ken Collier says, “The man or woman who dies with the dirtiest towel wins.”

Serving in a small ministry can magnify the isolation of a pastor and his wife. How can a pastor’s wife make wise decisions about ministry involvement and also benefit from the “one anothers” of the body of Christ? Whom can she tap for wisdom in her role? In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses this topic with Crystal Joos. Her husband, Taigen, has served as senior pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Dover, NH, since 2007.

When does a man whom God has called to ministry stop ministering? How can he use his next season of life to help a church without a pastor? In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses with Jonathan Edwards how God has used him for 50 years in Utah in church planting, pastoring, and, most recently, church revitalization. Jonathan Edwards has served with Northwest Baptist Missions since 1975. His advice when reflecting on the only three eternal things in this world—God, His Word, and the human soul—is simple: “Invest in things that will last forever.”

How can a pulpit committee wisely use a doctrinal statement, questionnaires, video calls, and a weekend visit as part of the process of calling a new senior pastor to a church? What considerations should the pulpit committee give to the candidate’s family, to the church he is leaving, and to learning his positions and thoughts about areas important to the church? In this RE:CHURCH episode, Marshall Fant discusses with Caleb Phelps five key areas in which a pulpit committee can thoughtfully interact with the pastoral candidate. Pastor Caleb has served as senior pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, SC, since 2023.

Churches benefit from developing a missions philosophy, but why form a missions committee? What are the benefits? Are there any challenges? In this episode, Marshall Fant discusses this topic with Taigen Joos, senior pastor since 2007 of Heritage Baptist Church in Dover, NH. He relates that the biggest blessing is having others who carry the load of filtering requests and making recommendations on whether to support new missionaries.

What can we do about the shortage of laborers? What is God’s plan for putting laborers into the harvest? Is it enough to preach the Word faithfully? In this episode, Marshall Fant discusses with Jeff Estes what one church is doing to invest in the next generation and be part of the solution to the labor shortage. Jeff Estes pastors in Nampa, ID, at Fellowship Baptist Church, a church plant begun in 2002.