Reinventing Church

How do you share your faith at work without hiding it or forcing it? Brittany Bilowus works in a cubicle at Erie Insurance. Before that she worked the front office of a dental practice. Same person at both desks. She joins Derek Sanford and Danielle Hartland to show what it looks like to bring Jesus into a workplace that sets its own terms. 

Derek opens with the history. The church has always had two ways to lose its witness: blend in like a chameleon, or wall itself off in a fortress. He walks through the Church of the East in China, American fundamentalism after the Scopes trial, and Abraham Kuyper, who said there isn't a square inch of human life that Christ doesn't claim. Then John 17, where Jesus sends his people into the world, and Jeremiah 29, where God tells exiles in Babylon to settle in, seek the good of the city, and pray for it. 

Then Brittany. She prays in her car on the way to work. She stopped her day, with her office manager's permission, to pray with a coworker who was hurting, and she wrote that coworker's name on the floor of Grace Harborcreek before the flooring went down. Four years after Brittany left that job, the woman lost her husband and told Brittany she had given her life to Christ. Brittany also talks about losing her hearing, being mad at God, and the coworkers who came back to ask how she was getting through it. 

This week's experiment: Every workday this week, before you walk in, ask God, "Who is today for?" Write down the name that comes to mind. Before Friday, do one small thing for one of those people: send a text, ask a question, or listen five minutes longer than you normally would. If you have five names on a list by Friday, you did it. 

Show notes, resources and the full transcript: https://dereksanford.com/sharing-faith-at-work/ 

Get The Ordinary Altar, Derek's weekly newsletter: https://dereksanford.com 

What if your church's next leaders are already sitting in the room on Sunday? Shane Stacey of Clarity House joins Derek Sanford and Danielle Hartland to talk about leadership development in the church, how Jesus raised up leaders, and the church we hope to see: one that raises its own. 

Plus: the Christmas Eve idea Danielle pitched fifteen years ago that froze the whole room, and that we've done every year since. 

Derek starts with the history. Jesus appointed the twelve "so that they might be with him" before he ever sent them out. The early church passed leadership hand to hand, from John to Polycarp to Irenaeus. About ten men from Augustine's household became bishops. Methodist circuit riders trained young preachers on horseback and grew from 2.5 percent of American church members to 34 percent by 1850. Then leadership training moved back into the classroom, and the church borrowed the pipeline from business. 

Shane names where that's left us: more leadership content than ever, and leaders still at the top of every church's list of needs. He walks through what apprenticeship requires (proximity, practice, productive failure, personalized feedback and progressive responsibility), why most of what we call training is really orientation, and why the best future leaders are probably already sitting in your congregation. 

This week's experiment: Before Sunday, pick one meeting or task already on your calendar, invite one person to come with you, and spend five minutes afterward asking what they noticed. 

Show notes, resources and the full transcript: https://dereksanford.com/church-leadership-development/ 

Clarity House: https://clarityhouse.us 

Get The Ordinary Altar, Derek's weekly newsletter: https://dereksanford.com

What counts as church? If you've heard "nature is my church" or "my coffee group is my church," this one's for you. 

(Also, this is not a sleep podcast. Huberman we are not.) 

Derek traces the word from Jesus' ekklesia, through the scattered believers of Acts and the house churches a pagan critic mocked, to the Reformation, John Wesley's field preaching, and the attractional model most of us grew up in. Then Derek and Danielle meet Amanda Maphis, the first of this season's everyday influencers. 

For five years Amanda has advocated for her husband after a car accident left him disabled. When she took Grace Church's Handcrafted Calling class, her two words were "advocating opportunities." She was a little disappointed. Then one afternoon, putting groceries away, she heard a news story about a new governor's advisory commission and thought, "I could totally do that."

In this episode: 

• Why ekklesia named a people long before "church" named a building 
• The unnamed believers who planted the church in Antioch (Acts 11) 
• How the word "parish" started out as an exile's address (1 Peter) 
• The volunteer who couldn't stand up on Volunteer Sunday, and what our scoreboards miss 
• What Amanda did when strangers asked what qualified her 
• Why "the only Jesus someone sees" is smaller and more doable than it sounds 

Your one-week experiment: By Monday night, write your parish down in one sentence: the place or group of people where you spend your week. Under it, write the name of one person in it. Before Saturday, give that person one more degree of patience, listening, or kindness than you gave them last week. 

Links & resources: 

• Show notes and full transcript: https://dereksanford.com/what-counts-as-church/ 
• Watch Amanda Maphis's full interview: https://youtu.be/CWDrZa_83eM
• Get The Ordinary Altar, Derek's weekly email: https://dereksanford.com

Is the Sunday sermon carrying more of your church's discipleship than it was ever meant to? 

Season 4 of Reinventing Church starts with the practice most churches build their whole week around. Derek traces preaching from Nehemiah's wooden platform to the modern weekend experience, and Dave Rhodes of Clarity House joins Derek and Danielle to talk about what a sermon that trains people actually looks like. 

This season, we're going looking for evidence that a better way already exists. Every other week, Dave Rhodes or Shane Stacey helps us rethink one core church practice. In between, you'll hear from everyday influencers, ordinary people bringing their faith into their workplace, neighborhood and friendships. 

In this episode: 

• Why Scripture makes preaching central but never sufficient 
• What Luther did after discovering his parishes couldn't recite the Lord's Prayer 
• George Whitefield's "rope of sand" and the moment sermons shifted from formation to decision 
• Dave's "say it, see it, try it, tie it" model, borrowed from coaching soccer 
• A two-minute change any church can make after the sermon this Sunday 

Your one-week experiment: After the next sermon you hear, take two minutes before you leave. Write one sentence for each question: What is God saying to me? What am I going to do about it this week? Put the second sentence where you'll see it on Wednesday.

Links & resources: 

• Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB6NR8YPZETl2eSJnjTzsTth_sccfJFXQ&si=MiueutcJG-ssLGj9 
• Clarity House: https://clarityhouse.us 
• Get The Ordinary Altar, Derek's weekly email: https://dereksanford.com 

In this bonus episode, you'll hear snippets from interviews with real people who have walked through our "Handcrafted" training, discovered their two-word God-given calling, and are in the process of learning what that means wherever they live, work, learn, and play. 

In this bonus episode, we are sharing part two of Pastor Derek's sermon to Grace Church on what it means to be a "Dream Disciple" in our specific context at Grace Church. This sermon will give you a deeper glimpse into our overall vision as we continue to reinvent church. 

In this bonus episode, we are sharing part one of Pastor Derek's sermon to Grace Church on what it means to be a "Dream Disciple" in our specific context at Grace Church. This sermon will give you a good look at the practical discipleship principles and markers we are calling each person to as we continue to reinvent church. 

In this bonus episode, we sit down with Dr John Dickson, host of the podcast "Undeceptions," to talk about the state of the church in America and evangelism today. We also take some live Q&A with a studio audience.

In Episode 40, Derek and Danielle unpack their top leadership “mic drop” moments of the season and turn them into simple, actionable practices for pastors. They also pull back the curtain on essential systems, a unique cultural moment of spiritual hunger, and a practical tool for planning meaningful half-day personal retreats.

In this episode, we explore how churches can shift from event-driven ministry to environments where real discipleship happens. Hear from Shane Stacey, Andrew Silbert, and Sarah Burtt as they unpack practical ways to design worship spaces, mid-size trainings, and small groups that actually produce transformation.