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 qualificatio…
6 months, 3 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 increa…
6 months, 3 weeks 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 j…
7 months 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 Livi…
7 months 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 tag…
7 months, 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 informa…
7 months, 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 …
7 months, 1 week 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 episod…
7 months, 1 week 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 …
7 months, 2 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 …
7 months, 2 weeks ago