The Reclaimed Leader Podcast

Welcome to Episode 463. You've sat in that meeting — everyone staring at each other, nobody wants to say the "dumb" idea out loud. Creativity isn't a personality trait some leaders have and others don't. It's a process. Today we walk through practical tools to get better ideas out of your team, faster.

Welcome to Episode 462. Ever throw a new program at a problem and watch it not work — again? Maybe you're solving the wrong kind of problem. Today we unpack the difference between technical problems and adaptive challenges, and give you 4 simple tips to use right away to figure it out.

Last week we talked about your welcome ministry for new guests. Now, what do you do to follow up? How do you engage them in the life of the church? This is where even some of the most welcoming churches tend to struggle because they don’t have an assimilation strategy. Guest follow up and assimilation.

Yes, most first-time guests decide if their coming back in the first 7 minutes. Is helping them feel welcome still an afterthought in your church? Are you looking to launch a guest services team or welcome ministry but don’t know where to start? Or are you trying to take what you have and make it better or different? Here’s a few strategic tips to make it all happen.

As we head into the Fall Ministry season, we’re REPLAYING a wonderful conversation we had a couple years ago with Greg Atkinson. Greg is the author of Secrets of a Secret Shopper: Reaching and Keeping Church Guests, and an expert on helping churches level-up their hospitality game.

Back to School. Back to Football. Back to Church. The Fall season always feels like a reset after the rhythm of summer. And, it’s a time when people in your community are looking to engage with (or discover) church again. So, what can you do to make sure you’re ready? Here are 10 quick tips to maximize your fall ministry.

As we head into the Fall Ministry season, we’re REPLAYING a wonderful conversation we had a couple years ago with Karl Vaters. Karl is a small church expert and has incredible wisdom for all of us pastors as we think about what it means to not just be a successful church but a healthy one.

Last week, talked about accountable conversations. Today, we’re going to unpack this idea a bit more since our ability to navigate these conversations is mission critical. The joy and fear of accountable conversations part 2.

Welcome to Episode 455. Okay, I’ll admit it. In an effort to avoid conflict and keep the peace I’ll avoid hard conversations with volunteer or paid staff. Instead of holding them accountable, I’ll just hope it gets better. The problem, it rarely does. And, when I do address it it’s much harder. Today we talk about the joy and fear of accountable conversations.

What would it look like for your church to go all-in to reach people with the gospel? What would it look like to put all your chips in the middle and say: we’re going to spend whatever capital we have to really take a swing? We are re-playing our conversation w/ Rev. Langdon Palmer as he shares his experience in risking it all for the sake of the kingdom.

I know it’s July, but now’s the time to start thinking about the Fall. There’s enough time to procrastinate a little, but also to plan a little. Here are 4 Questions to get your started.

Great leadership doesn’t happen accidentally. It takes great intention and vision. In this episode, Jesse walks us through 4 leadership phrases you can adopt to help you lead better.

A few episodes back, we touched on investing in People v. Programs. And according to Dan Reiland, we maybe need to go a bit deeper on this. He thinks this is just the tip of the iceberg to the biggest blind spot in pastoral ministry.

Last week we talked about how to face change that you didn’t ask for in ministry. Today, we’re talking about facing the change you did ask for. About a year ago we made some decisions (some controversial) to be intentional about reaching the next generation. One year later we’ll unpack how we did.

. It’s one thing to deal with the consequences of change that you initiate or are intentional about. But, what about the change you didn’t ask for? It can be disorienting, draining, and discouraging. So let’s spend some time re-framing it in a more helpful way.

Last week we talked about how many denominations are reporting that there are hardly any young leaders stepping into congregational ministry. We’re talking with pastors Goodie Bell and David Kling about the Pastoral Leadership Crisis in the U.S. and what a group of Presbyterians are doing about it.

Many denominations are reporting that there are hardly any young leaders stepping into congregational ministry. Research from LifeWay says that the average age of pastors is 55. We’re talking with Jonathan LaBarge abou the Pastoral Leadership Crisis in the U.S. and what we can do about it.

Are you heading into the summer on fumes? What if I told you that you can get REAL REST, AND a detailed strategic ministry plan by Labor Day Weekend. It’s not as hard as you think. With just a little planning you can do both. Rest AND forward ministry movement this summer.

Today we welcome back Doug Schaupp for part 2 of our conversation on relational evangelism. Last week we learned about the 5 thresholds of faith, and today we talk about how to “break the huddle” and apply the threshold model to how we do church together. Like the woman and the well, it’s about meeting people where they are and taking them to Jesus.

You’re preaching convincing sermons and you have great programs: so why aren’t you seeing more people in your community come to faith in Jesus? Well, maybe it’s because we’re making assumptions about where they are in their journey. Today we welcome Doug Schaupp to the podcast to talk about a model of evangelism that actually connects to where people really are – 5 thresholds of evangelism

Between war, hantavirus, economic struggle, famine: doomscrolling and hate-scrolling have become the norm. What is this doing to us as pastors? What is this doing to our church members? How do we take seriously our mission to reach the world with the gospel, if we have so much anger toward it?

What if every Christian adult, took the time to invest in 1-2 young people’s lives? What if church could become not only a generational welcome mat, but a generational launch pad? Today we talk about some challenging stats and practical steps to get young adult ministry going.

Sometimes we just need to grab a cup of coffee and talk church – that’s what Jesse and I are doing today as we discuss Lifeway’s 12 trends of 2026, in order to spark some ideas and reflect on how to best communicate with the people we’re trying to reach. Grab your coffee and join us today on the RL

Sometimes we just need to grab a cup of coffee and talk church – that’s what Jesse and I are doing today as we continue our conversation on Lifeway’s 12 trends of 2026, hopefully, it sparks some ideas on how to best communicate with the people we’re trying to reach. Grab your coffee and join us!

Welcome to episode 439. How do church leaders get so stuck? I think it’s because we are all so bound by routines. Routines aren’t bad, but they can easily become ruts. So, how do we re-kindle the passion of God’s mission? Maybe, by talking to a church planter. Today we talk with Luke Parker on church planting and more.