Today on Church Leadership Radar, Ted Rhoades sits in for Todd with three stories worth your attention as you head into the weekend:

• Sports Gambling as a Pastoral Crisis — Legal sports betting is now in most states and quietly spreading through congregations. Gambling addiction stays invisible longer than other addictions, and most church pastoral care systems weren't built for it. Worth getting your team ready before it lands in your lap.
• Carey Nieuwhof on 20 Years After Burnout — Part two of an important series. Hard-won perspective on building a sustainable life and ministry. Especially timely heading into summer.
• Ministry FOMO — The comparison trap doesn't just hit senior leaders. It hits worship directors, children's directors, executive pastors. The comparison trap is an equal-opportunity thief — and the antidote is leaning hard into your specific, God-given lane.

The Bright Spot: Churches launching micro-enterprise programs that help low-income community members start their own businesses — hundreds of graduates, millions in new small business activity. Mission you can measure.

Today's Takeaway: What do you already have that you haven't fully invested in?

Source Links:

• Sports Gambling & Pastoral Care — National Council on Problem Gambling (Churches)
• Carey Nieuwhof — Burnout Series
• Ministry FOMO — Carey Nieuwhof

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Today on Church Leadership Radar, Ted Rhoades covers three stories that matter for ministry leaders:

• Layton Ford Ministries & the Next Generation: Billy Graham's grandson joins the board — what it signals about building for longevity, not just legacy. The question for your team: How are you actively involving the next generation in leadership decisions?
• Five Compensation Issues Churches Get Wrong: A practical look at housing allowances, payroll tax exemptions, and compliance questions that trip up even well-run churches. Essential reading for executive pastors, operations directors, and finance teams.
• Saying No to Good Things: Staff burnout and mission drift rarely happen because someone said yes to something bad. It happens when leaders say yes to too many good things. The inability to say no is sometimes mistaken for faithfulness — it's not. It's a capacity problem wearing a spiritual costume.

Bright Spot: 291 Texas Baptist students commissioned as summer missionaries heading across the U.S. and around the world. The next generation is still saying yes.

Takeaway: Inspired by Carey Nieuwhof: "Stop running from the hard conversation. That conversation you've been avoiding is the one that will change everything." Is there a conversation on your team that's been waiting too long?

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Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership — Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Today's Stories:

Sources & Further Reading:

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Also check out the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.

Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership.

Today's Topics:

• Protecting Worship Services: Multiple state legislatures are moving to toughen legal penalties for disrupting church services, following a protest at a Minnesota church. Is your church prepared legally?
• Daystar Family Rift: The memorial service for Joni Lamb drew significant tributes — but her son Jonathan's absence signals a visible family dispute over control of the network she built. A powerful reminder about succession planning.
• Churches & AI: Can churches approach AI more thoughtfully than they approached social media? Most church teams use AI tools but few have defined their posture on it.
• Bright Spot: A small West Texas church went from 5 baptisms/year to 20+ after their pastor got serious about vision clarity.

Takeaway: Does your organization have a documented succession plan — not "we'd figure it out" but an actual written plan? If not, that's your next important leadership conversation.

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Happy Memorial Day! On today's episode, Ted Rhoades covers three pieces worth your time on a reflective Monday.

Today's Stories:

• Self-Control as the Backstop — Dan Reiland writes that self-control isn't the caboose of the Fruit of the Spirit — it's the backstop. Without it, every other leadership virtue has a leak.
• What I'd Do Less Of — Chuck Lawless shares 12 things he'd do less often if starting over — a Memorial Day reflection on habits that cost vs. serve.
• Discipleship Pathways That Actually Work — The Unstuck Group on why most churches have a discipleship pathway and why most aren't working. The gap between attendance and genuine spiritual formation is one of the most urgent conversations right now.
• The Bright Spot: Ben's Heart Ministry — Norma Brown lost her son Ben to veteran suicide and built a ministry in his honor. This Memorial Day, they launched a 22-day challenge representing the estimated 22 veterans who die by suicide every day.

Source Links:

• Dan Reiland: Self-Control Is Not the Caboose
• Chuck Lawless: 12 Things I Would Do Less Often
• The Unstuck Group: Discipleship Pathways
• Ben's Heart Ministry

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This week on the Church Leadership Radar Ministry Week in Review, Ted Rhoades covers the stories and trends that matter most for church leaders heading into the weekend.

This week's stories:

• Pastor Ezra Jin & Zion Church (Beijing): A Wall Street Journal front-page profile on the pastor who refused to let authorities install surveillance cameras in his congregation — and was arrested for it. President Trump is reportedly planning to raise his case with Xi Jinping.
• The Boomer Wealth Transfer: New research on how Baby Boomers averaging just 1.4 church services/month signals a seismic financial shift — and what the $124 trillion generational wealth transfer means for your church's budget and strategy. Plus: why Gen Z showing up is the underreported story of the decade.
• AI & Spiritual Guidance: 50% of American Christians say they trust AI for spiritual guidance. What does that mean for your church's ministry approach?
• The Big Picture: Gallup data shows only 27% of Americans rate pastors high on honesty and ethics. How the trust deficit and the AI trend are connected — and what the irreplaceable local church offers that no algorithm can.
• Bright Spot — Baptize the World: 650+ churches in dozens of countries are participating in a synchronized global baptism event on Pentecost Sunday (May 24). The Church at its absolute best.

Source Links:

• Wall Street Journal — Pastor Ezra Jin / Zion Church profile
• Church Leaders — "Aftershock: Most Pastors Are Rebuilding on Cracked Ground and Don't Know It"
• Gallup — Honesty & Ethics in Professions survey
• Baptize the World — Global Pentecost Sunday Baptism Event

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Today on Church Leadership Radar: A church governance lawsuit involving McLean Bible Church and David Platt gets a second life after a Virginia appeals court revives the case. New research finds roughly half of US Christians turn to AI for spiritual guidance — and what that means for the local church. A veteran ministry professor's honest look back at 14 years of pastoral ministry and what he'd do differently. Plus: a coalition of churches in Paducah, Kentucky hits a $3.25 million capital campaign goal for a food pantry and emergency shelter.

Stories covered:

• McLean Bible Church governance lawsuit — Virginia appeals court revives case involving David Platt
• New research: ~50% of US Christians trust AI spiritual guidance (at least somewhat)
• Ministry professor reflects on 14 years of pastoral ministry — more prayer, evangelism, and leader development
• Paducah, KY churches hit $3.25M capital campaign goal for food pantry and 48-bed emergency shelter

Stay connected:

• Subscribe to the Church Leadership Radar newsletter at churchleadershipradar.com
• Check out the Healthy Church Staff Podcast

Thursday's radar covers three stories worth your attention today:

SBC Abuse Prevention Leader Calls for Cross-Denominational Collaboration — Jeff Dalrymple, chair of the SBC's Abuse Reform and Implementation Task Force, is urging churches to work together ahead of the Annual Meeting in Orlando. Whether or not you're Southern Baptist, this signals a broader shift in how accountability structures are being built across the church.

Can Virality Create Revival? — A Gen Z evangelist with a massive social media following is asking the honest question: does reach produce lasting transformation, or just audiences? Many church leaders are starting to sit with this same reckoning about their own platforms.

King Josiah and the Question Leaders Need to Hear — A brief reflection on one of the greatest leaders in Jewish history circles around a single question: Are you still leading the way you started?

Bright Spot: Two new "Sensational Church" congregations — designed for neuro-diverse children and their families — have launched in Australia and South Africa, just six months after the founding congregation's first service. Forty to fifty percent of attenders are families who had never been to church before.

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On today's Church Leadership Radar: A pastor imprisoned in China for refusing government surveillance, a missionary doctor who contracted Ebola serving in the DRC, a sobering Gallup survey on pastoral trust, and a church in Indianapolis doing something inspiring with a closed university campus.

Stories covered:

• Pastor Ezra Jin — Beijing pastor imprisoned for refusing government surveillance cameras in his church (Wall Street Journal)
• Dr. Peter Stafford — Christian surgeon evacuated to Germany after contracting Ebola while serving at a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Gallup survey: Only 27% of Americans rate pastors high on honesty and ethics — below politicians, accountants, and mechanics
• Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis purchases former Martin University campus for $3.5M to create a community impact center

Takeaway: Trust isn't rebuilt through better marketing. It's rebuilt through consistency — showing up when things are hard, handling money with integrity, treating people well whether anyone's watching or not.

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Healthy Church Staff Podcast: healthychurchstaff.com

Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership — hosted by Ted Rhoades, in for Todd today.

In this episode:

• Cracked Financial Ground: Baby Boomers now average just 1.4 services/month, and $124 trillion in wealth is transferring to the next generation. What does this mean for your church model — and what Gen Z data offers real hope?
• AI & Bible Study: Christians are turning to AI chatbots for spiritual direction and pastoral guidance. The discipleship gap this creates belongs on your radar.
• Sunday Service Times: Solid data on what churches across the country are doing with service times — and why gut instinct isn't enough.
• Good News — Baptize the World: 650+ churches from dozens of countries are joining a global synchronized baptism on Pentecost Sunday, May 24. Five days left to join!

Source links:

• Church Leadership Radar Newsletter
• Healthy Church Staff Podcast

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