The Ministry Collaborative Podcast

Program Associate Ryan Bonfiglio shares his recent blog post about the impulse to stockpile, the pull of nostalgia, and what we lessons might learn from Exodus 16. Read the blog post.

TMC Program Staff Adam Borneman, Beth Daniel, and Jennifer Watley Maxell speak with Rev. Dr. Leah Jackson ( McAfee School of Theology , Ray of Hope Christian Church ) about Sarah Coakley’s call for theological and spiritual depth, why faith can’t be walled off from politics and public life, and the practices of resistance a younger generation is looking for in the church. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Associate Jennifer Watley Maxell speaks with Elizabeth Lynn , Andrew Yeager , and Marthame Sanders about testimony and the power of telling our own stories; why even the most polished AI work still needs a human fingerprint; and what a grandmother’s banana pudding teaches about passing on faith. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Associate Jennifer Watley Maxell speaks with Elizabeth Lynn , Andrew Yeager , and Marthame Sanders about what we lose as we read and speak less; whether the church can be a backstop amid a cacophony of competing voices; and why word and image, story and embodiment, belong together in forming moral people. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Mark Ramsey, Jennifer Watley Maxell, and Beth Daniel speak with Kyle Bender about leading in a world that changes faster than we can adapt, where pastoral care ends and therapy begins, and why compassion may be the church’s most important gift to this moment. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Beth Daniel, Adam Mixon, and Adam Borneman continue their conversation with the Rev. Katie Nakamura Rengers ( St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Honolulu about her recent blog post for TMC, the importance of welcoming questions, and why we need to be able to recognize when Jesus is in our midst. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Adam Mixon, Adam Borneman, and Beth Daniel speak with the Rev. Katie Nakamura Rengers ( St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Honolulu about her recent blog post for TMC, the Spirit's disrupting and surprising presence, and how she is finding God at work both inside and outside the Church. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Adam Borneman, Ryan Bonfiglio, and Jennifer Watley Maxell continue their conversation with Heather Brown about creating spaces of trust, cultivating good listening practices, and the balance between artfulness and authenticity. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Jennifer Watley Maxell, Ryan Bonfiglio, and Adam Borneman speak with Heather Brown about crafting spaces for storytelling, the importance and challenge of connecting our stories of faith with Jesus, and why genuine can be better than slick. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Mark Ramsey, Adam Mixon, and Beth Daniel continue their conversation on certainty, delving into the connections between my story, the story of the community, and God's story. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Mark Ramsey, Adam Mixon, and Beth Daniel speak about Ryan Burge's recent post on faith and uncertainty, the give and take between apologetics and relationships, and the importance of remembering that God is durable. Episode Transcript.

TMC Staff Adam Mixon and Jennifer Watley Maxell continue a conversation with the Rev. Carla Jones Brown ( Oxford Presbyterian Church , Philadelphia) about what it is that gives life; the connection between creativity, hope, and resurrection; and the importance of the "great cloud of witnesses". Episode Transcript.

TMC Staff Jennifer Watley Maxell, Adam Mixon, and Mark Ramsey speak with the Rev. Carla Jones Brown ( Oxford Presbyterian Church , Philadelphia) about the toxicity of nostalgia, the difference between change and loss, and how the church is uniquely positioned to bring healing to our pained times. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Adam Borneman, Adam Mixon, Beth Daniel, and Mark Ramsey speak about the critical importance of context, the powerful fear of loss, and the persistent joys and good news of ministry. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Adam Mixon, Adam Borneman, Beth Daniel, and Mark Ramsey speak about the importance of thinking God-sized thoughts; the critical role of contextual exegesis; and what the Church can learn from Fannie Lou Hamer, Karl Barth, and Reinhold Niebuhr. Read Mark's blog post, "The Choice of Faithfulness Today". Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Mark Ramsey, Jennifer Watley Maxell, Adam Borneman, and Beth Daniel speak about the latest data from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, the pull between formation and consumerism, and the need for collaboration. Listen to the recent conversation with Scott Thuma and Allison Norton. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Adam Borneman, Jennifer Watley Maxell, Mark Ramsey, and Beth Daniel speak about the promises and pitfalls of digital technology for churches, its personal and communal impacts, and how the church is uniquely equipped for such a time as this. Read Adam Borneman's blog post One Thing the Thief Wants to “Steal, Kill, and Destroy” in Every Congregation. Read Adam Borneman's b...

TMC Staff Mark Ramsey and Jennifer Watley Maxell continue their conversation with the Rev. Dr. Reggie Blount ( Oikos Institute for Social Impact , Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary ) about partnering with those outside church's doors, the importance of seeing social impact as an act of discipleship, and the critical difference between theologies of ownership and stewardship. Episode Tra...

TMC Staff Mark Ramsey and Jennifer Watley Maxell speak with the Rev. Dr. Reggie Blount ( Oikos Institute for Social Impact , Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary ) about the spiritual yearnings of young people, the importance of knowing them personally, and our unhelpful tendency to "pastor adults and program youth". Episode Transcript.

Executive Director Mark Ramsey speaks with Drs.  Allison Norton and Scott Thumma ( Hartford Institute for Religion Research ) about the latest results from their five-year study into congregational life from the pandemic and beyond, including what the data says - and doesn't - about rising church membership, the mixed news about church finances, and the importance of adapting to new realities....

TMC Program Staff Adam Mixon and Adam Borneman continue their conversation with the Rev. Sherrad Hayes ( Union Baptist Church, West Point, GA ) about the disruption of the Gospel, learning not to see efficiency as the goal, and the importance of fostering genuine encounters with the risen Christ. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Adam Borneman and Adam Mixon speak with the Rev. Sherrad Hayes ( Union Baptist Church, West Point, GA ) about the "long game" of spiritual transformation, the difference between the immediate and the urgent, and the importance of our core identity in Christ. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Jennifer Watley Maxell and Adam Borneman follow up our earlier conversation about facilitation, discussing Jesus' model of letting silence linger; understanding that information itself is not transformative; and how learning to move toward tension together can be productive and faithful. Listen to the earlier episode on facilitation. ⁠Contact TMC Staff about Facilitation Trai...

TMC Program Staff Adam Borneman, Jennifer Watley Maxell, and Mark Ramsey talk with Elizabeth Lynn ( Shifting Ground ) about creating space for deeper reflection, alignment vs. agreement, and why facilitation is a critical tool for all areas of ministry. Contact TMC Staff about Facilitation Training. Episode Transcript.

TMC Program Staff Ryan Bonfiglio, Adam Mixon, Mark Ramsey, and Adam Borneman discuss the April data from the ⁠Hartford Center for Religion Research⁠ on church attendance trends, as well as what it might - and most certainly doesn't - tell us about ministry today. ⁠Read the April, 2026, Report⁠ Episode Transcript.