Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership. Today's episode covers:

• Survey: Half of U.S. Churches Plan to Celebrate America's 250th — New data shows roughly half of U.S. churches plan to incorporate national themes into summer worship, revealing a gap between stated theology and Sunday morning practice.
• A Fellowship That Pays $85,000 to Help Nonprofits Use AI — A fully-funded, 12-month fellowship places AI-skilled early-career talent inside mission-driven nonprofits (including churches) to build real AI capacity from the inside.
• Nine Personality Types Shaping Your Staff Team — A breakdown of nine personality types that show up in church staffing, and how understanding them changes your hiring conversations.
• The Bright Spot: A ship ministry making regular runs to remote Pacific islands, bringing the Gospel to communities with no other access.

Takeaway: July 4th is two weeks away. Get your team together this week — even a 20-minute conversation — and decide where your church lands on national themes in worship. Own it intentionally.

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Today on Church Leadership Radar: A major conference postponed after a sudden health crisis. Why some churches seem permanently wired for conflict. And five conversations every church leadership team should be having about artificial intelligence.

In this episode:

Source Links:

Also in today's report:

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Today on Church Leadership Radar, Ted covers three important stories for church leaders:

• Trey's Law: A federal bill to void non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse settlements has passed the U.S. Senate unanimously. Named after Trey Carlock, who experienced abuse at a Christian summer camp, was silenced by an NDA, and later died by suicide. Three more states passed their own versions this year. Churches need to revisit how they handle abuse disclosures and settlements — transparency is increasingly the only defensible path.
• Ministry Leaders & AI: New research shows only 13% of ministry leaders don't use AI at all. Brainstorming, biblical research, and graphic design lead usage. The share using AI to write or edit messages jumped to 24% (up from 12% two years ago). 71% still feel cautious about AI — a sign of healthy discernment.
• When Your Staff Member Goes Viral: A growing challenge as staff members build personal online followings that rival the church's reach. Questions around content ownership, team loyalty, and brand direction. Most church handbooks don't address this yet — write those policies before you need them.

Good News: A soccer ministry in Medellín, Colombia, started in the 1980s by a seminary professor who moved his family there during the height of cartel violence. Over 35 years, it has served 45,000+ youth, turned former gang members into coaches, and operates in 38 locations. With the World Cup approaching, a reminder that the Church often gets there first, stays longest, and goes deepest.

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Today on Church Leadership Radar: a pastor's public apology that's turning heads, a staffing situation every church needs a plan for, and a reframe on summer ministry that might change how you lead through July.

• Greg Locke's Public Apology — Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church issued a public apology to pastor Daniel Adams, sharing how the recent death of his son Evan opened his heart to reconciliation.
• When Your Staff Has a Bigger Following Than Your Church — A practical framework for addressing the growing trend of staff members building personal social media platforms that rival the church's official reach.
• Stop Apologizing for Summer — A reframe on treating summer as a spiritually productive season instead of a holding pattern.
• Good News: Josh Hart's Championship Moment — The New York Knicks won their first NBA championship since 1973, and guard Josh Hart used the moment to give glory to God in front of millions.

• Ministry Magazine
• ChurchLeaders.com

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Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership — hosted by Ted Rhoades (Todd's AI twin brother).

In today's episode:

• 🏕️ Virginia Tent Collapse Tragedy: A church in Moneta, VA was celebrating its 20th anniversary with an outdoor tent service when a severe storm caused the tent to collapse — one person died, dozens injured. The pastor's public response is a model for leading through tragedy. Takeaway: Does your team have an emergency plan before your next outdoor gathering?
• 📚 Leadership Development Done Right: The Unstuck Group published a new framework today — the best leadership development doesn't start with a curriculum, it starts with giving someone something real to lead. If your pipeline feels stuck, this is worth a read.
• 🚪 Why Staff Keeps Leaving: It's rarely about pay. A piece making the rounds breaks down the real drivers — culture, clarity, and whether people feel actually led. Key question: "What makes staying hard?"
• 🎉 Good News: First Baptist Dallas broke ground on a new permanent sanctuary — two years after a devastating fire destroyed their 135-year-old worship center. That's resilience.

Source Links:

• The Unstuck Group — Leadership Development Framework
• Virginia tent collapse coverage (WDBJ7)
• First Baptist Dallas groundbreaking

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It's Saturday, and Ted Rhoades is filling in for Todd with a look back at everything that mattered in church leadership this week.

This week's stories:

• The SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando: Willy Rice elected new SBC president, and messengers pass a constitutional amendment restricting the title of pastor to men (74.66% margin) — with a second vote required at the 2027 meeting
• Barna Group research: 1 in 3 Americans now trusts AI as much as a pastor or clergy member for spiritual guidance
• A church in Ocean City, MD faces $1,000/day fines for operating an indoor homeless shelter in violation of city zoning ordinances
• Northview Church (Indiana, 12+ locations) terminates senior pastor CJ Johnson following a law firm investigation — unanimous action by all executive pastors and elder board
• Bright Spot: Bible translators complete the New Testament for the Notsee people of Papua New Guinea — after 39 years of work

Source Links:

• Southern Baptist Convention — sbc.net
• Barna Group Research — barna.com
• Northview Church — northviewchurch.us
• Vintage Church

Links:

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Today on Church Leadership Radar: Northview Church fires senior pastor CJ Johnson after a law firm investigation and unanimous elder board action, an update on the SBC women pastors constitutional amendment vote, and a timely resource on elder board micromanagement from Chemistry Staffing.

Stories & Links:

• Northview Church Fires Senior Pastor CJ Johnson After Leadership Culture Investigation — Indianapolis Star
• SBC Women Pastors Constitutional Amendment Passes 74.66% — Heads to 2027 for Final Ratification — Christianity Today
• When Elder Board Micromanagement Suffocates Your Ministry Staff (And How to Fix It) — Chemistry Staffing

Also: NFL rookie's public baptism headlines Cleveland for Christ citywide worship event.

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Check out Todd's podcast: The Healthy Church Staff Podcast

Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership — Thursday, June 11, 2026.

In today's episode:

• 1 in 3 Americans trust AI as much as a pastor — New Barna research reveals a major trust signal about spiritual guidance, technology, and what people are really searching for.
• Church fined $1,000/day for sheltering homeless people — A church in Ocean City, Maryland is fighting zoning violations to keep its indoor homeless shelter open. What leaders running outreach programs need to know.
• 5 unusual reasons pastors get let go — Thom Rainer's team compiled a list that's both funny and sobering. None involve moral failure — but every leader will recognize these situations.
• Bright Spot: 39 years of faithfulness — A translation team finishes the New Testament for the Notsi people of Papua New Guinea (pop. ~3,800). Their first Scripture ever.

Source Links:

• Barna: AI for Spiritual Guidance Research
• AP News: Ocean City Church Fined for Homeless Shelter
• Thom Rainer: Five Unusual Reasons Pastors Are Fired
• Wycliffe: New Testament for Notsi People

Subscribe to the Church Leadership Radar newsletter: churchleadershipradar.com

Also listen to: Healthy Church Staff Podcast

SBC Makes History, Church Accountability Done Right, and AI Ethics Every Church Needs to Hear

Today's episode covers three stories that every church leader should be tracking:

The Bright Spot: The IMB missionary pipeline has grown 500% in recent years. 63 new missionaries commissioned at the SBC meeting in Orlando. A new generation running toward the Great Commission.

Source Links:

Subscribe to the Church Leadership Radar newsletter: churchleadershipradar.com

Healthy Church Staff Podcast: healthychurchstaff.com

Today on Church Leadership Radar, Ted Rhoades fills in for Todd with three stories shaping church leadership right now:

• SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando: Former SBC president Jack Graham calls the denomination's sexual abuse crisis a "reckless hoax" — survivors and advocates respond. What this moment reveals about how large evangelical institutions handle accountability.
• Mark Driscoll & Trinity Church Scottsdale: Driscoll sends a mass email to 15,000-member congregation accusing a former staff leader of attempting a church split and threatening legal action. A familiar pattern — and what it signals about leadership culture.
• AI Data Privacy in Churches: A question most church teams haven't asked: where does your most sensitive data go when you use AI tools for meetings, emails, and follow-up? Pastoral counseling notes, prayer requests, giving records — shared in trust.

The Bright Spot: A brand-new congregation built specifically for the Deaf community launches its first gathering — complete with baptisms and worship music engineered to be felt through vibration.

This Week's Challenge: Before adding the next AI tool to your workflow, take 30 minutes as a team and ask: Do we have a data policy? Do we know where our information goes? Do we know what these platforms do with what we give them?

Source Links:

• SBC Annual Meeting Coverage — Baptist Press
• Mark Driscoll / Trinity Church Scottsdale — Christian Post
• Church AI Data Privacy Discussion

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