The Christian Leader Podcast

USMB recently hosted a live webinar where we addressed the topic of the perceived leadership gap in our churches today. Statistics show that pastors are getting older, enrollment in ministry majors is on the decline, and our culture at large is dismissive of careers in the local church. With this truth in our USMB churches and other denominations around the country, how we can address this issue now and start preparing the emerging generation of leaders?

On this final episode of 2023, we hear from Kyle Goings, Wendell Loewen, and Joanna Chapa to discuss this growing concern. The presenters share a wealth of stats and background that led to this decline, what trends they're currently witnessing, and some initial steps we can take to better prepare leaders for TODAY--not just the future. 

This is a very interesting and crucial time to be involved in Christian higher education. In our denomination, we have two colleges we support that teach within the USMB Confession of Faith, and this week we talk with the two presidents leading these institutions. 

Dr. David Janzen is in his third year as the president of Tabor College, while Dr. André Stephens is in his second year as president of Fresno Pacific University. Since they started their positions around the same time and their schools are similar in many ways, these men are often linked together as leaders of our MB education initiatives. 

We cover a lot of ground in this episode. Both presidents share encouraging updates about the spiritual climates on their campuses, plus what they're currently working on to prepare future leaders of the church. Issues surrounding the cost of college and student loan debt are also high on their minds, and they share how both Fresno and Tabor are actually more affordable than you might think. 

Preparing young Christian leaders should be a crucial goal for all of us in the MB family, so be encouraged by these stories and remember to pray for Dr. Stephens and Dr. Janzen as they lead our education institutions. 

Our MB faith tradition is full of incredible stories and faithful heroes. In this week's episode, Peggy Goertzen (the director of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies) shares insight and introduces us to some of the first MB leaders established in the U.S.

She shares two particularly interesting and noteworthy stories of how early MB pastors took huge risks to start a school for black children in North Carolina (at a time when this was unheard of!), plus early and important outreach to the Comanche tribes in Oklahoma. 

We have a rich history to be proud of, and these stories highlight the common thread of our ongoing efforts to care for others while sharing the Gospel. 

If there's one single issue MBs are known for, it might be the idea of peacemaking. While that may still be true today, our official and documented views on peace and war have shifted in recent history. Our denominational leaders reworded Article 13 of our USMB Confession of Faith ten years ago now, with a strategic shift away from addressing only violence and war and instead broadening what it looks like to live a life of peace. 

On this week's episode, we talk with Larry Nikkel, who was chair of the USMB Board of Faith and Life at the time of this change. Larry shares how this shift came about, what kinds of impact the change had on our churches, and what it looks like to be a peacemaker today. 

Sadly, headlines of war around the world are very common today, and division among friends and family members is likely more common now than it was ten years ago. So how can we be agents of peace in our churches, families, and other relationships? Larry has some thought-provoking questions and advice to share that we would all be wise to consider. 

Tim and Donna Sullivan have served in USMB leadership for 30+ years. As they are both in the process of transitioning into retirement, we take time in this episode to hear them reflect on our denomination and the southern district specifically. What has changed over the years, what opportunities are they currently excited about, and does anything make them nervous in this season of ministry? Why are denominations important, and how can we continue to work together to serve and mutually benefit each other? They also share thoughts on succession and how to work together as husband/wife ministry partners. 

Tim and Donna have served well, and their heart for ministry will encourage you as they share stories from their ministry.

Pastor Terry Hunt has served as a leader on the USMB national level for several decades now. As he prepares for retirement from one of these roles, Terry reflects on his tenure as the Eastern District minister, which included major growth in the district; a name change; and the addition of several Ethiopian, Hispanic, and Congolese immigrant churches. 

Terry chose the timing of this transition strategically so he can serve and encourage future leaders. His focus and dedication to succession is a wise model for all leaders to follow, and Terry encourages us to move forward with prayer and faith in God that He will continue to provide quality leadership across the USMB family. 

Enjoy hearing these reflections and encourgements from Pastor Terry, and join us in praying for all of the areas of USMB where new leadership will be needed in this new season of ministry. 

If we're honest, many of us don't really know what to do with the Old Testament. We know it's important, but some of the stories are hard for us to understand in our modern American evangelical context. 

In this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Tim Geddert about his new book "The Beginning of the Story: Understanding the Old Testament in the Story of Scripture." Tim taught New Testament courses at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary for 37 years. Although Tim has focused on the New Testament in his career, his new book tackles common questions and misconceptions that Christians have about the Old Testament. 

He says properly understanding the Old Testament is crucial for understanding the New Testament and Jesus' teachings. Tim discusses several challenging aspects of the Old Testament, such as violence and war, Old Testament law, and the reward/punishment narrative. He emphasizes the importance of reading the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus and the New Testament writers. 

We hope today's episode and Tim's book will be helpful tools to better understand the Old Testament as an essential part of the biblical story.

Every successful church, ministry, or business needs to do the hard work of getting to know and serving its local community. Jason Quiring & Drew Pankratz are doing just that in Saratoga Springs, Utah where evangelical Christians are in a significant minority compared to the hugely influencial Latter-Day Saints churches around them. Jason, Drew, and the other leaders of Greenhouse Community Church are very intentional in how they invest in their local community, and the language they use--and don't use--as part of their ministry efforts. 

As the North American culture continues to become increasingly post-Christian, we can all learn lessons from Jason and Drew and their "slow/fast" approach to befriend their neighbors, earn their trust, and establish relationships where conversations about faith are more effective. 

Jon Fiester and Abby Giwojna know their neighborhood well--and it can be a rough neighborhood. Renewal MB Church in Rapid City, South Dakota is located in a part of town known for drugs, gang activity, and (frankly) a lack of hope. While planting a church in this type of community brings a set of challenges, it also brings unique opportunities. 

In this week's LEAD Pods, Jon and Abby share how they "live missionally" in their community day-to-day by intentionally working alongside police officers, offering free coffee to teenagers, and being ok with a broken foosball table. Your community likely doesn't look like theirs, but their dedication to knowing and loving their neighbors is something we can all learn from! 

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here and.... well, everywhere. Technologies like Chat GPT have evolved rapidly, and nearly every week we see headlines of new ways AI is being used in virtually every industry. 

So how does this affect the church? Are there tools that can help pastors be more effective? What are the moral issues we need to wrestle with? How much can we rely on these tools before it starts to be too much? 

As you'll hear in this episode, AI isn't a pastor. We still have a relationship with Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so we are uniquely positioned to lead our churches in ways machines never could. Still, it's also possible AI could help us with some elements of our work that could make us more effective.  

We dive into this crazy new world with some help from Jason Moore, one of the leading voices in the early days of AI in the church.