The KC Underground Podcast

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian and Cory are joined by Stephen Castellow, a disciple-making practitioner who lives at the intersection of movement and prayer. Together, they continue the conversation on extraordinary prayer.

We feel the tension that we talk about prayer, we teach it, we even build structures around it, but still wonder if we’re actually becoming people of prayer. Stephen invites us to consider moving beyond tools and strategies into a life of abiding, where prayer is not something we perform, but the place we are formed.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian and Cory begin a new season focused on extraordinary prayer—returning to the first phase of the Disciple-Maker Pathway with fresh urgency and a deeply personal invitation. Rather than offering quick answers, they open up their own journeys of conviction, hunger, and surrender, asking what it really means to become people of prayer.

This conversation sets the tone for a broader learning journey, inviting listeners to rediscover prayer not as a practice to master, but as a life to enter. As we look ahead to a national prayer summit in Kansas City, September 18th - 19th, and a season of learning from others, the invitation is this: come with curiosity, humility, and a desire to be formed—“Lord, teach us to pray.”

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian and Cory wrap up their series on the Disciple-Maker Pathway by exploring what is formed in us in the phase of multiplication. They reflect on the surprising mix of joy, loss, and resilience that comes with releasing others, and how multiplication forces a deeper surrender, letting go of control, pride, and the need to be “the one.”

Drawing from personal stories, Scripture, and the lived reality of pursuing an audacious vision for citywide gospel flourishing, we highlight how this phase forms a deeper dependence on Jesus, a renewed imagination for what God is doing, and a commitment to keep pressing forward even when growth feels slow or unseen.

This conversation invites you to embrace the tension and beauty of multiplication, trusting that as we release, God is forming something far greater than we could build on our own.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian and BrianJames explore a challenging idea: God gives promises, and God gives commands—and confusing the two can shape the entire direction of our lives. Reflecting on the story of Abraham and their own experiences in ministry and leadership, they wrestle with the tension between believing what God will do and trying to make it happen ourselves.

They invite us back to a slower, more grounded posture of faithfulness: listening for what God is asking today, trusting Him with what only He can accomplish, and learning to abide rather than produce. The result is not passivity, but a deeper participation in the work God is already doing.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian and BrianJames McMahon continue their conversation on experience, imagination, and hope, moving from framework into practice. Together, they explore why transformation so often stalls, namely, because people lack the experiences needed to imagine a different way of life. They unpack how real change happens when we go beyond just explanation, and into embodied moments that create new possibilities.

This episode brings the conversation into the practical rhythms of life, like exploring the importance of slowing down, breaking leadership into micro-skills, building imagination at the right pace, and creating environments where people can actually experience the life we’re inviting them into. The question for this episode is: where are we cultivating the kinds of experiences that lead to real hope and lasting transformation?

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian is joined by BrianJames McMahon for a conversation that moves beneath strategy and into formation. Together, they explore the relationship between experience, imagination, and hope, and why so many efforts toward disciple-making and microchurch life stall when imagination has not first been cultivated. The conversation revolves around the idea that we cannot hope for what we cannot imagine, and we cannot imagine what we have not experienced.

Drawing from lived moments, theological insight, and the everyday challenges of movemental leadership, this conversation invites us to reconsider how change actually happens. Rather than trying to convince or compel, they point toward the slow, intentional work of creating experiences and reflecting on them, allowing imagination to grow and hope to take root.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian sits down with Jerry from the E-2 Hub to continue reflecting on the recent Microchurch Conference and what God is doing through disciple-makers in diverse and often transient contexts. Jerry shares his story of encountering Jesus through the ordinary faithfulness of his uncle, and how that moment reshaped his understanding of calling and ministry.

As a military chaplain, Jerry reflects on the shift from trying to force ministry into familiar forms to embracing a simpler, relational way of joining Jesus—leading to multiplying communities in unexpected places. He also shares how the KC Underground family has provided grounding across constant change, and encourages listeners to stay attentive to the Holy Spirit, trusting that simple obedience can have far-reaching impact.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian sits down with Morgan Greer during the recent Microchurch Conference to reflect on what stood out while gathering with microchurch leaders and networks from across the country and around the world. Morgan shares how hearing diverse stories of disciple-making, welcoming the stranger, and experimenting with new expressions of mission reminded him of the freedom and beauty of following Jesus in creative, contextual ways.

He also reflects on moving through fear and hostility toward genuine hospitality, what it means to stay present to the work of the Holy Spirit, and how ordinary faithfulness in places like juvenile detention centers can become a meaningful witness to the kingdom. Morgan encourages listeners to keep listening to Jesus, keep experimenting, and keep taking simple steps of obedience toward the people and places God is putting on their hearts.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian sits down with Bre Wiebe during the recent Microchurch Conference in Tampa, Florida to reflect on what she learned alongside hundreds of leaders exploring the theme of hospitality. Bre shared how the call to “call the party” and create space at the table is reshaping her vision for welcoming neighbors, loving the stranger, and practicing everyday hospitality in her own home and neighborhood.

She also reflected on the courage required to step out in faith, whether inviting people to the table, welcoming the work of the Holy Spirit in gatherings, or moving past fear to engage the people God places around us. Bre encourages listeners to rediscover the power of simple hospitality and to take one step toward welcoming the stranger in their own everyday lives.

In this episode of the KC Underground podcast, Brian sits down with Chris and Renee Renshaw during the recent Microchurch Conference in Tampa, Florida to reflect on what they’re hearing and experiencing alongside hundreds of leaders exploring the theme of hospitality. Chris and Renee share insights about welcoming God into everyday life, practicing hospitality within marriage and community, and discovering how simple acts of presence can create spaces of belonging in places like Raytown.

They also reflect on what it means to stay faithful in the rhythms of disciple-making, learning to show grace to yourself in the process, and how creating “living room” spaces in a city can open new pathways for connection, community, and mission.