Engage Church Network

In this edition of Pastor’s Notes, Dr. Darrell Gwaltney shares a practical approach to navigating difficult conversations with people who believe differently. By listening well, asking thoughtful questions, and finding common ground, pastors and leaders can move beyond win-or-lose conversations toward greater understanding and healthier relationships.

In this edition of Pastor’s Notes, Mike Glenn explores the wave of cultural and generational change reshaping the church and what it means for pastors and ministry leaders. Rather than fearing what’s ahead, Mike encourages leaders to embrace new opportunities for ministry, equip people to use their gifts, and release ministry back into the hands of the congregation. The church may look different i...

How do you know if your church is actually making disciples? Lifeway Research writer Aaron Earls joins Mike Glenn to unpack what the data reveals about discipleship, church health, and Gen Z, and how pastors can use research to better understand the people they're called to reach.

What’s the difference between being welcomed at church and actually belonging? Stephanie Prince, Connections Minister at The Church at Station Hill, joins Mike Glenn to talk about helping people move from guests to active members of the church family. Drawing from her own unexpected call to ministry and her research on belonging, Stephanie shares why people need to be known, missed, and needed, an...

Clay Stauffer, Senior Minister of Woodmont Christian Church, joins Mike Glenn to talk about leading through political polarization, disagreement, and cultural division. They discuss what it means to pastor a “purple church,” why humility and emotional intelligence matter, and how Christians can model a better way of living together in a divided world.

What could happen if churches stopped working in isolation and started seeing themselves as one body? Melanie Wise, Executive Director of Together Nashville, joins Mike Glenn to talk about church unity, pastoral loneliness, collaboration, and what God is doing across Nashville to bring churches and leaders together.

Will Acuff, co-founder of Corner to Corner and Kingdom Founders, joins Mike Glenn to talk about the untapped gifts sitting in our churches. They explore what happens when believers connect their faith with the skills they use every day, why relief is only the beginning, and how churches can equip people to create real transformation in their communities. Plus, Will shares the personal story behind...

In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with church planting specialist Lewis McMullen to discuss why understanding your neighborhood is essential for effective ministry. Together, they explore how demographics, community engagement, and a missionary mindset can help pastors stop guessing what people need and start reaching the people God has placed around them.

In this edition of Pastor’s Notes, Matt Pearson, pastor of Clearview Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee, breaks down these two approaches to interpreting Scripture and offers a simple way to remember the difference. He also explains how exegesis relates to expository preaching, the role of topical preaching, and the danger of making a passage say something it was never intended to say.

For generations, pastors preached to people who already knew the Bible. Today, many people walk into church with little or no biblical foundation. In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with New Testament scholar, former pastor, and former Belmont University dean Darrell Gwaltney to discuss what it means to faithfully communicate an unchanging gospel in a rapidly changing culture. Together, they ex...

Most churches ask people to join the church. What if we've been asking the wrong question? In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with Conduit Church pastor Darren Tyler to discuss why the church was never meant to be the mission, but the vehicle for God's mission. Together, they explore how churches can move beyond attendance and programs to equip everyday believers to live on mission.

Many believers assume God's calling begins when they leave their career behind. Gerald Cook's story suggests the opposite. Mike Glenn sits down with Gerald, a bi-vocational pastor, global sales training manager, and nationally recognized dog trainer, to explore how God used decades in business, discipleship, and everyday life to prepare him for pastoral ministry. Together they discuss wh...

Most pastors don't burn out because they work hard. They burn out because they believe the ministry depends on them. Mike Glenn sits down with Matt Pearson, Senior Pastor of ClearView Baptist Church, to explore how learning to truly know his people transformed the way he leads, preaches, and develops leaders. Together they discuss why the pastor's primary role isn't to do all the mi...

Most pastoral transitions fail because the outgoing leader never truly let go and the incoming leader never truly prepared. Sam Landrith spent more than a year working alongside his predecessor before stepping into the lead role at Thompson Station Church -- and the church barely felt the change. Mike Glenn talks with Sam about what it actually takes to raise up leaders instead of volunteers, why...

What happens when both people in a marriage are called to lead? Greg and Susan Jones have spent decades building something most ministry couples never figure out: a genuine partnership where complementary gifts multiply the work instead of dividing it. Mike Glenn sits down with the President and First Lady of Belmont University to talk about shared leadership, what the next generation is actually...

Excellence in ministry and excellence in craft don't have to compete. Composer and conductor David Hamilton has spent three decades serving his local church while writing for Disney, Broadway, and Dolly Parton's touring show. Mike Glenn talks with him about what it looks like to bring your full gifting into both the professional world and the local body -- and why the church is better wh...

In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with Adam Comer and Sarah Keel from S2L Recovery to discuss why Christ-centered addiction recovery works differently than secular approaches. They challenge the brain disease model, discuss identity in Christ versus identifying as "an addict," and explore how the church can reclaim its role in recovery ministry.

Thirty-one years of neighborhood ministry has taught David Jordan one thing: the church has to go where people are, not wait for people to come. Mike Glenn talks with the CEO of Agape Memphis about embedding ministry in communities, the complexity of poverty, and what long-term commitment actually looks like on the ground.

Large group teaching has its place. But transformation? That happens one relationship at a time. Mike Glenn and Dave Bachman from Campus Navigators dig into why Gen Z is spiritually hungry but institutionally skeptical -- and how personal discipleship becomes the bridge that programs alone can never build.

Business leaders are some of the most underutilized ministry assets in any congregation. Mike Glenn talks with C12 Chairman Dewey Greene about his journey from corporate success to spiritual calling -- and how pastors can help marketplace leaders discover that their work isn't separate from ministry. It is ministry.

Where do people spend 90,000 hours of their lives? At work. Mike Glenn sits down with Matthew Yates from Corporate Chaplains of America to challenge the assumption that church ministry and the corporate world operate in separate silos -- and why solving that divide may be one of the most important things a pastor can do right now.

In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with Jamie Heard, founder of Faithfully Restored, to explore how profound loss became the foundation for ministry that reaches hundreds of grieving women across the country. Jamie shares her journey through losing her father to suicide and her son William at age two, and how community showed up in ways that revealed what the body of Christ truly looks like.

In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with Wayne Howell and Jeffrey Caruth from Franktown Open Hearts, a ministry that started with one man's obedience in a deer stand 29 years ago. Wayne shares how God called him from disobedience to serve kids in Franklin, Tennessee, while Jeffrey explains why successful businessmen are stepping into this work.

In this episode, Mike Glenn sits down with Curt Campbell of Men of Valor to talk about the power of discipleship, mentorship, and second chances. Curt shares how Men of Valor walks with men during and after incarceration, helping them rebuild their lives through structure, community, and faith. This conversation goes beyond prison ministry and explores what real transformation looks like when peop...

Scott Harris joins Mike Glenn for a conversation about why the mission of the Church cannot be confined to a building. Drawing from decades of ministry leadership and his work with Mission Increase, Scott shares why churches must learn to release people into ministry beyond the four walls and recognize that Kingdom work often happens in businesses, nonprofits, and communities around the world. As...