AVAIL Podcast

Can you pursue a career in the entertainment industry without compromising your faith? In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, Afro-Latina actress Yvonne Senat Jones shares her journey from being a pastor's kid to booking roles on major networks and starring alongside Jennifer Lopez in The Mother. Yvonne discusses the importance of setting boundaries early, navigating rejection by separating your wo...

What happens when your life falls apart and you're left with only fragments? In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, author and pastor Tullian Tchividjian opens up about his public crash and the deep, uncomfortable work of recovery that followed. Discussing his new multi-sensory book, Fragments of Freedom, Tullian explains how hitting rock bottom transformed his theological understanding of grace in...

Leading a church in a small town comes with unique challenges—from navigating "mom and pop" mindsets to feeling overlooked for bigger opportunities. In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, Pastor Johnny Moore of Family Worship Center shares his 32-year journey of planting and growing a thriving church in rural Cairo, Georgia. Drawing from his book Homegrown, Pastor Johnny unpacks the importance of u...

Leadership often stalls at the level of internal formation, not external strategy. In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, Mark and Julie Appleyard, founders of Anothen Global, explore how unresolved inner dynamics shape decision-making, identity, and long-term impact. Drawing from Julie’s The Boardroom of the Inner Man and their global work with leaders, they offer a clear framework for understandi...

Why do so many leaders cast bold vision yet struggle to produce real change? In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, global leadership expert Dr. Sam Adeyemi explains why transformation often fails—not because leaders lack passion, but because they overlook the deeper programming that drives behavior. Drawing from decades of leadership coaching and his book SHIFTS, Adeyemi shows how what leaders con...

Leadership today is louder than ever. In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, Bishop Darryl Wootton shares the conviction behind his book Shh: How to Lead with Quiet in a World of Loud. Drawing from decades of pastoral leadership and oversight of hundreds of churches, he explains why disciplined quiet is not weakness but strategic strength. From learning to pause before reacting, to resisting the ec...

Curiosity is one of the most overlooked disciplines in leadership. In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, we sit down with Noah Alsamman, digital media associate for Four Rivers Media and contributor to the AVAIL Journal, to explore what he calls the Galileo Effect: When Faithful Conviction Collides with Institutional Resistance. Drawing from history, Scripture, and personal experience, Noah explai...

What does it take to lead for the long haul without losing your soul? In this episode of the AVAIL Podcast, we sit down with pastor and author Brian Zahnd to discuss the inner life of leadership: fear, rejection, spiritual drift, and why formation matters more than platform. If you’re carrying the weight of fear-based leadership and craving a deeper center, this conversation offers clarity and cou...

Pastors carry far more than most leaders realize, and a church’s health often depends on what its team cannot see. In this episode of the AVAIL Podcast, global leadership consultant Sam Chand reveals why pastors aren’t limited by calling but by the support systems surrounding them. He offers a candid look at the weight pastors shoulder and why teams often misunderstand the person behind the role....

Momentum is often celebrated, but leadership is more frequently tested when outcomes remain unclear. In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, director and producer Brent McCorkle offers a candid look at leading within uncertainty, exploring the tension between vision, risk, and surrendering results. Reflecting on the unexpected impact of I Can Only Imagine and the long-resisted path to I Can Only Ima...

Why do so many leaders carry a vision for years… but never see it become reality? In this episode of the AVAIL Podcast, we have an honest conversation with Chris Sonksen, author, CEO, and founder of Church Boom, about what actually stops forward momentum—especially for pastors and leaders with real responsibility, limited bandwidth, and high expectations. Together, they explore why passion isn’t e...

What happens when everything you’ve built comes crashing down? In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, pastor and author Tullian Tchividjian—grandson of Billy Graham and lead pastor of The Sanctuary in Jupiter, Florida—opens up about the fall that shattered his ministry, his identity, and his life. Through the pain came redemption, and through the wreckage, grace. Drawing from his book Carnage and G...

What if the real barrier to growth in your church or organization isn’t strategy, but the culture beneath it? On this episode of the AVAIL Podcast, Pastor Johnny Moore talks candidly about the hidden patterns that stall momentum—and the kind of spiritual and structural shifts leaders must make to move forward. It’s a clear-eyed, practical conversation for anyone who senses their team is working ha...

In a cultural moment filled with noise, division, and leadership fatigue, Pastor David Osborne offers a grounded and prophetic vision for what it means to lead well. In this episode of the AVAIL Podcast, he unpacks why modern leaders must become “salt, light, and mud”—bringing clarity, preserving what matters, and entering the hard places others avoid. With decades of ministry experience and a fre...

What if your burnout was really an invitation to begin again? In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, Keller Williams Operating Partner and author Dana Gentry shares how a moment of exhaustion on a South Carolina beach became the birthplace of her book Restore. With refreshing honesty, Dana opens up about hearing God’s whisper to “restore,” and how that word reshaped her approach to time, talent, an...

What happens when leadership stops chasing numbers and starts pursuing love? In this episode of the AVAIL podcast, CEO and author Ernie Tai shares the heart behind Christian Impossible: The Jesus Way to Lead. Drawing from decades in business, Ernie reveals how success in God’s Kingdom looks nothing like the world’s scorecard. From redefining metrics to re-centering on relationship, his insights wi...

What if slowing down was the most radical thing you could do? In this powerful episode of the AVAIL podcast, Pastor Kevin Taylor of Journey Church shares the heart behind his new book, Daily Rebellion. From soul-care retreats to his battle with cancer, Kevin opens up about how rest, silence, and gratitude are acts of holy defiance in a world obsessed with hustle. This conversation will help you re...

What if the Church became the heartbeat of its community again? In this inspiring episode, Pastor Kevin Foster of LifeBridge Community Church in Fresno, CA, shares the vision behind Run to the Brokenness—a call for churches to move from attractional to missional living. Kevin reveals how his congregation turned crisis into opportunity, feeding thousands, creating jobs, and partnering with their ci...

In this powerful conversation, Pastor Reina Olmeda—CEO of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, or NHCLC, and a leading mental health advocate—shares why mental wellness must be a priority for pastors and leaders. Drawing from her experience as a pastor and mental health expert, Reina unpacks the hidden struggles leaders face, the dangers of burnout, and the cultural stigmas that...

What does it take to lead well through one of the most delicate seasons in a church’s life—pastoral succession? In this candid conversation, Pastor Josh Surratt of Seacoast Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC, shares his unlikely journey from reluctant leader to embracing the role his father once held. Josh unpacks the principles that made their father-to-son transition healthy, the cultural shifts that su...

From the NFL to prison to pastoring one of Atlanta’s most dynamic churches, Mayo Sowell’s story is pure redemption and grit. In this inspiring conversation, the founder of LIIV Atlanta and Blank Canvas Creative Co. shares how God transformed his life, called him back to the city he once left, and why reaching “the least of these” drives his mission. He also reveals what he learned from spending se...

What happens when you fully surrender to God’s calling—no matter the cost? In this inspiring conversation, Pastor Chris Binion, lead pastor of Encounter Church in Rockwall, TX, and first-time author of YES!!!, shares his journey of embracing Kingdom assignments with unwavering faith. From navigating leadership transitions to discerning between good opportunities and God-given missions, Chris revea...

Stories have the power to shape hearts, stir emotions, and lead people to encounter Jesus in new ways. On this episode of the AVAIL Podcast, Brennan McPherson, President of The Salvation Poem Project and director of Light of the World, shares how his team is bringing the story of Christ to life through 2D animation. Discover why they chose to tell the gospel through the eyes of John, how creative...

What if your greatest struggle became the key to someone else’s freedom? In this raw and redemptive conversation, pastor and author Dr. David Espinoza, Jr. opens up about his decades-long battle with pornography addiction—and how the grace of God, the 12-step model, and the courage of his wife changed everything. From early exposure at age seven to helping other leaders find healing, David’s story...

What if the key to transforming your city wasn’t fixing what’s broken—but uncovering what’s already good? In this compelling episode of the AVAIL podcast, Meghan Killingsworth—co-pastor of First United Methodist Church of Sanford—introduces us to the power of asset-based community development (ABCD). Rooted in the belief that God declared creation “very good,” Meghan unpacks why real ministry does...