Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWho in the Church Should Hold Pastors Accountable?
Scripture gives clear qualifications for the characteristics of pastors. But who in the church should hold pastors accountable to these qualifications? Josh and Sam dive into the best practices for …
Published on 4 weeks ago
Weekly Church Attendance Patterns by Generation: 2016 to 2024
In this episode, Sam and Matt McCraw unpack weekly church attendance trends from 2016 to 2024 across four generations. While Boomers slightly increased from 27% to 28%, Gen X dropped from 24% to 22%…
Published on 1 month ago
The Johnson Amendment Reversal: Endorsing Political Candidates from the Pulpit
On this episode, Sam and Josh unpack a landmark development for churches: the Internal Revenue Service’s shift on the 1954 Johnson Amendment. In a joint court filing with two Texas churches and the …
Published on 1 month ago
Why the NLT Might Be the Best Bible You’ve Never Considered
Sam welcomes Dan Block to the Rainer on Leadership podcast. Dan is a Senior Translator for the New Living Translation. They discuss why the New Living Translation is the best choice for those seekin…
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago
Sermon Illustrations that Connect to the Bible Text (And Your Church!)
In this episode, Josh and Sam explore a fresh way to approach sermon illustrations. Instead of building a massive database with search tools and tags, consider categorizing your illustrations by typ…
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago
The Easiest (and Most Incredible) Way to Get Information from Your Guests!
Churches have long embraced technology to enhance their ministries, but the most successful churches are shifting beyond simply broadcasting information—they’re leveraging technology to create belon…
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago
The Burge Report: Is Gen Z More Religiously Engaged than Their Parents?
New religious data in the United States was released recently, and Ryan Burge joins the show with Sam to discuss the details. In 2024, Gen Z showed relatively strong religious attendance compared to…
Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago
The Limits of Pastoral Care: When Counseling Isn’t Appropriate
Pastors provide spiritual guidance, but there are times when counseling crosses into territory best handled by trained professionals. In this episode, Josh and Sam explore the limits of pastoral car…
Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago
The Top 5 Legal Issues Churches Face Today
Churches may be spiritual communities, but they operate in a legal world. And many aren’t prepared. In today’s episode, Sam interviews Ryan June of Castañeda + Heidelman LLP, and we unpack the five …
Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Ten Quiet Disrupters in American Church Life (Part 2)
Many of the disruptions in local church life are widely known. For example, most congregants and church leaders can clearly see the impact of COVID several years ago. But there have been a number of…
Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago