This episode explores one of the most neglected areas of Christian leadership: the emotional life of the leader. Bruce and Charles examine how God created us to feel, why emotions are essential for spiritual growth, and how suppressing them leads to burnout, false identity, and spiritual stagnation.

Drawing from Scripture, the life of Jesus, and insights from emotionally healthy spirituality, they walk through:

• The theology of emotions

• How the false self forms

• The identity temptations in Jesus’ wilderness experience

• The concept of differentiation and why leaders need it

• Four practices that help leaders live from their true self in Christ

Listeners will walk away with clarity, hope, and practical tools for integrating emotional maturity with spiritual leadership.

Key Scriptures:

• Genesis 1

• Matthew 3–4

• Luke 4

• John 17

Resources Mentioned:

• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Scazzero)

• The Cry of the Soul (Allender & Longman)

Reflective Question:

Where is God inviting you to move from your false self into your true self?

Coaching & Next Steps:

If you'd like support in your leadership journey, Bruce and Charles offer leadership training, spiritual life coaching, and organizational consulting:

• coachingcardia.com

• charlesrusselltraining.com

• charlesrussellministries.com

Is your church perfectly designed to produce the results it’s producing—even if it’s not producing disciples? In this powerful episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell unpack the 10 major barriers that keep churches from making disciples.

Discover why many churches unintentionally form consumers instead of disciples, and what pastors and leaders can do to shift the culture toward spiritual formation, relational discipleship, and genuine transformation.

Whether you’re a pastor, ministry leader, coach, or someone passionate about raising up mature followers of Jesus, this episode will bring clarity, conviction, and a roadmap for change.

You’ll Learn:

• The 10 barriers that block disciple making in churches

• Why discipleship fails when it’s optional

• How low expectations shape weak spiritual cultures

• Why pastors must shift from performers to equippers

• Why discipleship can’t be a program—it must be a culture

• How churches can break free from “quick results thinking”

• How to lead slow, relational, transformational disciple-making

This Thanksgiving, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell invite you to slow down and partake in a feast for the soul. In this holiday episode, we explore the Disciplines of Engagement—the practices that anchor us in the presence of Jesus and move us beyond striving, busyness, and cultural expectations.

Together, we unpack themes of:

• Abiding vs. striving

• Resting vs. performing

• Presence vs. pace

• Intimacy vs. impressing

• Following the crucified Jesus, not the Americanized one

• Gratitude as spiritual recalibration

• Engagement as the pathway to emotionally healthy discipleship

Through Scripture, pastoral insight, and coaching application, Bruce and Charles guide you into a deeper, slower, more Spirit-led way of living this holiday season.

Work with a leadership coach:

charlesrussellministries.com

charlesrusselltraining.com

coachingcardia.com

Every leader leaves a mark—but what kind of mark are you leaving? In this powerful episode of The Five Gifts Podcast, hosts Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell unpack what true influence looks like for Spirit-filled leaders. Drawing from biblical principles, leadership theory, and years of ministry experience, they reveal how God shapes a leader’s credibility, trustworthiness, and vision to reflect His nature.

Discover how your character becomes the foundation of credibility, how trust multiplies your reach, and how God’s vision—not your ambition—creates lasting impact. You’ll also learn why influence isn’t about control or charisma, but about forming Christ in others through faithful example and service.

If you’re ready to grow as a leader who shapes people and cultures for the Kingdom, this episode will challenge, inspire, and equip you.

👉 Subscribe to The Five Gifts Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

👉 Learn more about leadership coaching from Bruce and Charles at:

• coachingcardia.com

• charlesrussellministries.com

• charlesrusselltraining.com

True spiritual leadership does not begin with strategy. It begins with surrender.

In this episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell uncover the divine process God uses to shape leaders from the inside out. If you have ever wondered why God takes His time developing you, or why your journey includes difficulty, waiting seasons, and stretching moments, this conversation will bring clarity and confidence.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why being matters before doing

• How God uses life experiences, wounds, and seasons to shape leaders

• The danger and redemption of the “dark side” in leaders

• Jesus’ four-part leadership development process

• Why God tests leaders before releasing them

• The hallmarks of a leader shaped by the Spirit

You are not behind. You are being formed.

Trust the Architect.

Too many leaders rise without ever reproducing themselves. The real test of leadership is not what you build, it is who you build.

In this powerful episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell unpack a complete, biblical, and practical blueprint for multiplying leaders. You will learn why leadership development is not optional, how Jesus modeled it, and what it takes to build a culture where leaders grow, thrive, and multiply.

We explore:

• Why organizations do not have a leadership shortage, they have a development shortage

• The biblical definition of Christian leadership

• How Jesus recruited, selected, trained, and deployed leaders

• The heart issues that keep leaders from empowering others

• How to build a leadership culture that outlasts you

If you want to stop doing ministry alone, break bottlenecks, and leave a kingdom legacy, this episode is for you.

Lead from Revelation, not Ambition.

In this episode, we break down how spiritual leaders receive vision, not manufacture it.

Vision is not ambition. Vision is revelation. When God speaks, we listen and obey.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why human-driven vision leads to burnout and confusion

• The 8 counterfeit sources of “vision” leaders must avoid

• How God actually reveals vision to His people

• The rhythms leaders must build to hear God clearly

• How to communicate vision without hype or manipulation

• How to help your people hear God for themselves

If you are a pastor, founder, CEO, entrepreneur, team leader, or church planter… this conversation matters.

Charles Russell and Bruce Ritter explore the leadership gift for the Marketplace. Many believers feel a strong leadership calling but struggle to see how it fits in the local church. This episode reframes leadership as a sacred ministry in the marketplace – where vision, creativity, and stewardship advance the Kingdom of God.

In this episode:

• Why the Church needs vision-casting leaders, not just teachers

• How leadership and management work together in the Kingdom

• How pastors can affirm, bless, and commission marketplace believers

• Practical ways to lead by the Spirit at work every day

Whether you lead a business, a ministry, or a team, this conversation will remind you that your leadership is not secular – it’s sacred.

Listen now and rediscover your calling to lead with faith, purpose, and Spirit-led wisdom.

Episode Title: Exegeting Your Audience: Preaching for Spiritual Formation

Preaching isn’t just about communicating truth—it’s about shaping lives by the power of the Spirit. In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore how preachers can exegete both the text and their audience, ensuring messages are Bible-based, Spirit-energized, verdict-demanding, and audience-connected.

They draw on insights from the Fivefold gifts to show how Apostolic, Prophetic, Evangelistic, Pastoral, and Teaching leadership all contribute to preaching that transforms. Along the way, they share stories, humor, and practical takeaways for Pentecostal-Charismatic leaders.

Ready to grow as a preacher and leader? Explore coaching and resources at:

What if your sermon wasn’t just a message, but a moment where God’s voice broke into people’s lives? And what if, beyond inspiration, it equipped them with clear steps to live out their faith on Monday morning? That’s the beauty of prophetic and teaching gifts working together in preaching—hearing God’s voice and applying it with clarity. In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, hosts Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore 15 best practices for preaching and six key questions that uncover God’s intended message from the text.

In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore the heart of effective preaching. Together they unpack 15 practical best practices from seasoned preachers—covering everything from sermon openings, transitions, illustrations, and applications—and then dive into six essential questions that reveal God’s intended message in Scripture.

This conversation will help you:

• Five Gifts Podcast & Resources: fivegifts.org

• Coaching Cardia: coachingcardia.com

• Charles Russell Ministries: charlesrussellministries.com

• Charles Russell Training: charlesrusselltraining.com