Enduring Churches Podcast with Alan and Trent

Episode 328: 7 Voices We Need to Hear   Voice of the Lord Voice of Wise Counsel Voice of our Spouse Voice Inside Voice of the Community Voice of Warning Voice of the World

Episode 327: A Word for Leaders Straight from God's Word  1 Peter 5:1-11   1. Focus on the flock God has given you. Be loyal 2. Be glad and speak well of your calling and your church. 3. Serve with your people 4.  Be humble before your church. Vs 5-6 5. Don't worry vs 7 6. Vs 8 work to protect your mind and your character 7. You're not alone in your struggle 8. God's got this

Episode 326: How Can We Call Out the Called? Preach and teach on calling Give opportunities to allow people to respond to a call Speak well of your calling Listen and Observe and Ask Look for those who are leading and others are listening to Listen to those who are wanting to volunteer for ministry Offer opportunities for exploration Have a process for training Take them with you on ministry visit...

Episode #:325 Six Money Wasters Hiring the wrong person Cutting back on missions giving Not looking for ways to use your facilities Maintaining vehicles you never use Spending money on inwardly focused ministry and not outreach Delaying maintenance

Episode 324: Avoiding Structural Damage   Questions to ask about your structure Does it work? Is it too centralized in one place? a person/pastor a deacon team or board Does it represent multiple segments of your church community? Can it accommodate growth?   Some other things to consider Get examples from effective churches Train up and empower others Allow for as many decisions to be made at the...

Episode 323: Eight Thoughts on Your Church and Prayer You can't give away what you don't own. As a leader/pastor you must be a person of prayer! Teach and preach on prayer often Offer a guided prayer time each week Offer a church-wide 40 day prayer/fasting event event Offer a single, dedicated prayer service Add a prayer wall Use a tool to encourage prayer a church had ladies make quits and people...

Episode 322:  7 Ways to Sabotage Change in Your Churc   1. Thinking your position gives you the right to make change 2. Refusing to gather input from multiple perspectives 3. Falsely assuming everyone is or should be an an early adopter of change 4. Making the wrong changes 5. Moving too fast or to slow 6. Giving up too soon 7. Praying too little

 Is Your Welcome Center Welcoming?   Don't assume your church is good at welcoming guests. Designate a welcome area and keep it highly visible. Get volunteers who will make welcoming a passion. Train your volunteers regularly. Announce your welcome area during the service. Gather only essential information. Follow up as quickly as possible.

Episode 320:  5 Thoughts About Communio Think about its frequency strategically Think about its placement in the service Think broadly in how you structure it. passive - people receive the elements active - people must perform an action to receive elements purpose - ties it to a larger focus (remembering the cost of forgiveness, forgiving others, self-examination...) Think about informal opportuni...

Episode 319: Does Your Church Have an Acts 1:8 Strategy   take a look at your yearly stats for the last 5 to 10 years.  Look for attendance trends Look for baptism trends Look for Missions giving and involvement trends Ask the hard questions Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in our local community? Are we currently doing or planning to do a gospel outreach effort in...

  more people care about your ministry than you realize more people know about your churches  strengths and its problems than you would believe the church down the street has just as many issues as your church does your congregations has something to offer God's Kingdom. God has a purpose and plan for you right now

Episode 317: Time Change: Preparing for Transitions   It seems that every doctor’s appointment I have now requires some kind of prep work and most of it is unpleasant.   If you’re not there you will be someday. Why? Because time in this world is not static and life moves on. Someone once said that all pastors are interims. From a time standpoint, that is certainly true. Because of this, we have a...

Episode 316: When Is too Much   Can You have too much women's ministry and men's ministry? Can you have too much student ministry and children's ministry?   Does it take away from the family dynamic? Does it undercut the corporate gathering? Are they taking away from evangelism? Are they creating opportunities for outreach and service? Are they a breeding ground for gossip? Do they complement one...

Episode 315: Riley Prather   Enjoy our talk with Riley Prather a church planter/pastor from Conneticut. He also works with the SEND Network of the SBC

Episode 314: Crisis Leadership   Here are what I call 5 “P”s for crisis management: 1. Preparation - have you built a collaborative team to walk with you and help you in crisis?   2. People - your leadership team, your lay leaders, your church, and your community are all affected by a crisis. How are you prepared to minister and communicate with each group?   Jeff Iorg   You cannot lead if you can...

Episode 313: 5 Mistakes In Our Preaching Plan We get tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture We get fixated on one style and one method We plan for only our voice to be heard We forget the importance of flexibility We preach at issues.

Episode 312: Why its Important for Church Leaders to have a Godly Handle on their Money   Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. So we need to ask what is it that you really love?   What gives you a sense of fulfillment? Of course we would say God - but remember in Revelation 2 Jesus commends the c...

Episode 311: Where are the Kids? Are you prepared for kids pray for families a compelling place for kids safe and clean background checks, policies and procedures technology Is your service family friendly "We want kids, but we don't want to adapt our service." make them feel wanted allow more kids into your service let kids participate Embrace families when they visit and get to know their friend...

Episode 310: Routine or Rigidity Routines are important 1. Build strong habits 2. Help us work efficiently 3. Fits in with our personalities 4. Gives us a sense of control Rigidity means we cannot flex our routine 1. When we can't meet needs of our church, because of our insistence on our schedule 2. When an change in our routine ruins our day. 3. Can lead to behavioral issues such as depression,...

Episode309: 4 Skills I Wish I Worked On Sooner Coaching How to walk with people How to encourage growth in people   Conflict Mediation How to view conflict positively How to engage properly When to get outside help   Consultation How to see things with fresh eyes How to evaluate objectively   Counseling How to listen How to help others find solutions

Episode 307: All Hat - No Cows...and Can I Retire Yet?   Thank you for helping us get to 10,000 downloads! Catch the article from Mark Dance we interacted with today1  

Episode 306: Our Interview With Keeney Dickenson on Prayer   Keeney is the pastor of FBC Crockett, TX and consultant on prayer with the Southern Baptists of Texas. You can learn more and order his new book Prayer Powered Pulpit here

Episode 305: Habits to Start in 2025   Build your own spiritual life how can you grow intentionally in 2025   Pray over the seats in the church auditorium     Make time to pray with other pastors   Build good communication pattens in the church consistent concise caring   Set aside time each week to be creative - we are created in the image of a creative God   Prioritize your marriage and family d...

Episode 304: Making Your Own traditions Christmas is a time of family traditions But sometimes you can't be with family Live too far away Grown kids have other family It's a struggle for most pastor families to put their family before the church Set date boundaries early For newly married pastors- talk through traditions you had as kids. Pick the ones you want to continue So make sure to start or...

Episode 303: How do we engage the next generation? Reaching kids and reaching students are different Gen Z & alphas Activity-based ministry is out Meaningfulness and sincerity why they matter why their spiritual lives matter Relationships still matter especially unpaid people they want to partner with you