Ministry Deep Dive

Travis welcomes J.D. Payne to the show! Church buildings and Christian resources are everywhere in North America, but increasingly we have lost the ability to speak to our neighbors who are on the “outside” of the church The Church is exploding in other parts of the world, but we see more and more empty churches here in the United States. What gives?  Many churches in the West believe that un...

Travis welcomes Jami Staples back to the show for the second part of our conversation. Jami is the founder and CEO of The Truth Collective and in this second part of our conversation, she discusses the lies that women believe, how trauma plays into our understanding of sin, and how Jesus heals our trauma. Trauma has become the new mission field for sharing Jesus. It's a challenging and eye-opening...

Travis welcomes Jami Staples to the show, the founder and CEO of The Truth Collective . What does transformation look like? How do those in trauma come to know Jesus and be transformed by Him? What do they have to say to us? How do we experience healing as they have? Jami is one of those once-in-a-lifetime kinds of people you meet who is articulate, frank, fun, and willing to challenge the status...

Travis welcomes John Plake to the show! John is the director of Ministry Intelligence at the American Bible Society and is the editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series. John is a researcher with a pastor’s heart. He bridges the worlds of social science, business intelligence, and spiritual formation, helping Christian leaders understand how people grow in Christ. Over 32 years of full...

Travis and Michel Hendricks continue their discussion on the relational reformation that is taking place in the church. Far too often, our church models have been built on the best practices established by churches considered to be "successful" because they know how to attract a crowd. Many of these successful churches have more of a performance mentality that they have pursued in the worship serv...

Travis welcomes Michel Hendricks to the show! In the past few decades, so much of church and the Christian life has been about simply gaining information that leads us to believe and hopefully do the right things. However, as time has gone on, many Christ-followers have felt that there is more. Could there be something that we are missing? As the pandemic revealed, we are built for connection to G...

This is Jim Wilder Part 2! Travis and Jim talk about how God has divinely wired our minds for human relationships and how they form us to become more like Jesus. We often talk about becoming like Jesus and how the Bible forms us, but rarely do we talk about how our relationships form us. In fact, the Church has often unbiblically separated the message of Jesus apart from relationships and if we ar...

Travis welcomes Jim Wilder to the show! Jim is a neurotheologian who specializes in helping us become fully human Christ-followers. Travis and Jim discuss neurotheology, how the brain works, and how God has wired the truth of who He is into our brains. It's one of the most fun and informative conversations and it's sure to deepen your relationship with God and others. This is truly a must-listen!...

Travis welcomes Donald Whitney to the show! Are you having a hard time praying? Do you find yourself praying with the same old words? For the same old things? For many of us, prayer is a chore. We know that we want to do it and do it well, but don't feel like we are getting through. Or we don't feel like we are praying right: in the right ways for the right things, etc. Is there a way to get out o...

Everyone agrees it's a pretty chaotic time in our world and we need guidance. We have knowledge but lack wisdom. Who can we look to for wisdom? Who are the voices that we can trust that don't have some hidden agenda? Is there anyone from our recent past to help us in our present cultural moment? Trevin has some fascinating and powerful insights. Travis and Trevin discuss Trevin's new book on G.K....

One of the best ways to pray is to study the Scriptures, listen to Jesus, and hear the voices of those who have prayed well. Today in this Watering Wednesday, Travis explores the disciples' desire to pray and the prayer life of one amazing man of prayer, the missionary John Hyde, who will inspire you to pray more fervently for God to work in our fallen world today. Sign up for our newsletter . Hel...

Travis is joined by David Garrison of Global Gates! Jesus calls us to take the whole Gospel to the whole world and often times we think overseas, but what if is also across the street? Did you know that there are thousands of families of unreached people groups throughout North America? And did you know that they may be in your neighborhood? God calls us to reach them and David gives us a great in...

God has given us His GPS so that we might know who He is, who we are, where we are, and how God gets to us. It's about the Word of God and how we need it to engage with God. At Apollos Watered, we are biblically grounded, and we want you to be as well. With so many things swirling around us in our day, it is more important than ever that we are rooted in God's Word so that we might live lives that...

Esteban Shedd of Streetlights is on Apollos Watered! Everybody has a world they live in: rural, small town, big town, suburb, or city. Statistics have shown that our world is becoming more and more urbanized. The question then becomes: what are the best ways to reach our cities for Jesus? How can we help urban believers grow when most of the Christian material out there is most often aimed at thos...

In this 100th episode, Travis' reflects on many of the people who have come on the show and how they all come together to help you water your world for Jesus! Listen in and celebrate with us as we celebrate 100 episodes! And thank you for listening! Sign up for our newsletter . Help support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Is there a way around the racial issues in our world? Can we have a conversation without being considered racist? Is the only alternative to shut up and listen? Or is there another way? Dr. George Yancey has some ideas. In his book Beyond Racial Division (IVP, 2022), he discusses what we can actually do in our divided world to find unity. Sometimes it seems like that isn't possible. We want to lov...

This time we have a special guest host! Travis' wife, Melissa Lynn Fleming shakes things up a bit and puts Travis in the hot seat in a deep conversation. They discuss everything! What does it mean to water your world in a world that is divided, confused, and overwhelmed? How do we water our faith when it seems that everyone and everything is fighting for our attention? Melissa and Travis talk abou...

Trillia Newbell joins Travis to discuss diversity, BBQ, Tennessee, parenting, name meanings, Bed & Breakfast, places we live, music, Motown, the sin of partiality, cultures, crime TV shows, frog legs, pigs' feet, Andrew Zimmerman, French beaches, and the need for unity in the church today to increase our view of God. Along the way, they discuss her newest book, " The Big Wide Welcome Storybook...

In this second part of Travis' conversation w/Felicia Wu Song, they continue their discussion on her most recent book, Restless Devices-Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place In the Digital Age. They delve into The Freedom Project and explore the counter exercises that we can employ to stifle tech's conforming practices. They discuss counter-liturgies, social imaginaries (what stories we tell...

Travis welcomes Felicia Wu Song to the show to discuss her most recent book, Restless Devices-Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place In the Digital Age . They discuss how our technology is shaping us spiritually and our need to adopt practices that enable us to counter the effect of tech on our souls. Their conversation is informative, fun, and wide-ranging-moving from tech and the importance...

The paramount issue addressed in this discussion is the alarming absence of paternal figures within Western church life, particularly regarding their role in leading family worship within the home. Travis Michael Fleming and Nik Ripken engage in a profound dialogue that underscores the necessity for fathers to embrace their spiritual leadership, as this is deemed the most critical element missing...

Travis Michael Fleming and Nik Ripken engage in a profound discourse on the pressing topic of persecution within the Christian faith, aptly encapsulated by the notion of "the Insanity of Obedience." The primary thesis presented posits that the manner in which individuals respond to persecution is critical, particularly in contexts where the stakes are life and death, as evidenced by the harrowing...

Travis and Brett McCracken continue their conversation about the wisdom pyramid. They talk through the benefits and burdens of technology, the culture of disposable, perceptual presentism, the need for. rest and boredom, passive scrolling, the digital natives of today and other subjects such as the Amish, Starbucks, squirrels skiing, five habits for cultivating wisdom online, and counter liturgy....

On this special episode of Apollos Watered, Travis welcomes radio veteran Wayne Shepherd to the show to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Wayne's voice has been heard all around the world. He has been in Christian radio for decades working with some of the who's who of evangelical Christianity and host of First Person with Wayne Shepherd a weekly radio/podcast interview program that introduces you to...

Travis welcomes Brett McCracken to the show. Brett is a senior editor and director of communications for The Gospel Coalition . He has written for The Wall Street Journal , The Washington Post , Huffington Post , CNN.com , Christianity Today , and many other publications. A graduate of Wheaton College and UCLA (M.A. in Cinema & Media Studies), Brett lives in Santa Ana, California with his wife...