RE: CHURCH

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.

How are humans distinct from artificial intelligence? What are the tradeoffs for using AI? Is it appropriate to use AI tools in sermon or teaching preparation? Do we owe AI politeness? According to IBM.com, “Artificial intelligence is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities.” In this podcast, Marshall Fant III discusses the usefulness of artificial intelligence to pastors with Marshall Fant IV, pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in Rock Hill, SC.

Discouragement, burnout, church conflict, marriage, children, bitterness, hurts in ministry—these are reasons men leave the ministry. How can a church better serve pastors and their families? In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses this topic with Charles Smith, deacon of pastor relations at Harvest Baptist Church in Rock Hill, SC, during Marshall Fant’s years of pastoring there. What began as accountability for not working all the time evolved into accountability in many areas: consistency in personal devotions, battling against ungodly thoughts, compromising situations, financial integrity, family harmony, eating and exercise, sharing the Gospel, and making personal visits. Speaking of the benefit weekly accountability was to him, Marshall Fant says, “If we are honest as pastors, we realize that if we lose our wives and families, we have lost our ministry.”

When crisis strikes your community, what are the priorities? As the pastor, how did you shepherd your church family? How did you reach out to the community? In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses with Dan Smetana the effects of Hurricane Helene on his North Carolina community of Arden located 10 miles south of Asheville, where he pastors Cornerstone Baptist Church. Speaking of the lessons he learned, Pastor Smetana says, “I don’t have to have a good understanding of the future in order to shepherd the people for the future. All I have to do is bring the Word of God to bear on where we are now and trust that the Lord is leading us each step of the way.”

What one word captures the emphasis of the theologically rich book of Romans? Romans is all about righteousness—the righteousness obtained with the greatest display of God's righteousness (chapters 1–11) and righteousness practiced (chapters 12–16). In this concluding episode of RE:CHURCH’s “Preparing to Preach” series, Marshall Fant discusses the book of Romans with Mark Minnick, senior pastor for 35 years of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, SC. Speaking of the benefit of preaching through Romans early in his ministry, Pastor Minnick says, “That series, unbeknownst to me, established a foundation in our church theologically and expositionally, and raised our people’s level of expectation for what happens in our services with the Scripture.”

What book makes us more certain of the truths and facts of the Gospel but also challenges us to pursue our own sanctification? The Gospel of Luke! While the narrative material is easy to preach and holds people’s interest, the kingdom of God and repentance are two theological challenges of the book. In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses the book of Luke with Mike Harding, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Troy in Troy, MI, for almost 40 years. Reflecting on how he nearly died of COVID in 2021, Pastor Harding says, “Preaching in my older years through books like this gives me great confidence that I know the Lord and, more importantly, the Lord knows me because I don’t want to hear, ‘Depart from Me, I never knew you.’”

Where do you turn in your New Testament to preach a book that is all about Jesus Christ? To Revelation! Despite the challenges of knowing when to interpret the text literally or figuratively and working through the chronology of eschatological events such as the tribulation and millennium, Revelation presents Jesus in all His power, majesty, and glory. To preach God’s grace after the heaviness of 14 chapters of judgment startles people. In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant discusses Revelation with Jerry Jacquot, pastor of Kingsway Baptist Church in Lake Wylie, SC. Speaking of how rich Revelation has been for him, Pastor Jacquot says, “I’ve never been more blessed than these past two years in my preaching ministry. It has been an incredible in-depth study on what God has awaiting both believers and unbelievers.”

Why preach an overview of a challenging book? Ben Smith, pastor of Vacaville Bible Church in Vacaville, CA, preached through Isaiah in 10 messages. In this episode of RE:CHURCH, Marshall Fant and Pastor Smith discuss the way he worked through this challenging but rewarding book. Speaking of how studying Isaiah at the beginning of his pastoral ministry significantly deepened his study and understanding of Scripture, Pastor Smith says, “It is a good discipline to learn some brevity and the ability to preach a passage from a higher altitude. Scripture has meaning at every altitude.”