The 95 Podcast: Conversations for Small-Church Pastors

What happens after Easter matters. In this episode, Vick Green shares a practical approach to follow-up and discipleship for small and mid-size churches: clarify vision, build a “multiplication vehicle,” start with a few leaders, and aim for the 16% tipping point. When vision is clear, it begins to shape decisions, focus energy, and help leaders say no to what doesn’t move the mission forward. Vic...

Dr. Bridget Trammell is a Christian counselor, speaker, and bestselling author of Trigger Warning: A Faith-Based Playbook for Healing from Trauma, Control, and the Lies that Broke You . Drawing from her personal journey through religious trauma, domestic violence, and emotional abuse, along with years of clinical experience, she helps individuals understand trauma, reclaim their identity, and find...

This Podcast was previously released June 24, 2025: John Finkelde has over 40 years of experience in ministry. He has done it all when it comes to leading a healthy church. As lead pastor at C3 Church Hepburn Heights, Perth, Australia, John led the church through a generational renewal that saw it grow, while also planting a new church every three years and moving to a purpose-built, multi-million...

Today's conversation was previously aired on May 13, 2025. In this episode, Dale talks with Bob Hamp from Think Differently Academy about one of the most common assumptions pastors carry: “It must be my fault.” Together, we unpack the crucial difference between fault and responsibility, showing how fault leads to shame while responsibility creates freedom. Bob explains why many leaders take o...

With 13 years of working in and alongside ministry, Shelby Black is the co-founder of Bellwether, an AI-powered platform built specifically for ministry leaders. Shelby brings both personal conviction and operational experience to the conversation around AI in the church. Her work with Bellwether started from a simple belief: no one should feel forgotten by their church. That conviction is now the...

Dale Sellers and Joseph Bennett talk with Lynne Roberts from RightNow Media about how small and mid-size churches can resource families, strengthen small groups, train volunteers with built-in accountability, and care for pastors’ souls through curated conferences and practical leader tools. Lynne Roberts serves on the Customer Success team as a Senior Account Consultant at RightNow Media. She wor...

Dustin Dozier serves as a Teaching Pastor and Director of Next Steps at Upstate Church in South Carolina, a ten-location church reaching nearly 6,000 people each week. He coaches and consults with church leaders who want to build healthy churches that grow through meaningful relationships and deep community. Dustin is the founder of The Connected Church Co. and the #1 Amazon bestselling author of...

Dale and Joseph interview Brittany Nelson about digital natives vs digital immigrants, why children’s ministry matters, volunteer recruitment that works, and practical ways churches can partner with parents to disciple kids at home. This is a great conversation on leading kids ministry in a digital world—bridging digital natives and digital immigrants, improving volunteer recruitment, and building...

Dale Sellers and Joseph Bennett talk with former lead pastor Michael Hidalgo about why pastoral rest is a crisis-level need, how real sabbaticals differ from a leave of absence, and how his ministry Menuah helps small churches create practical, sustainable sabbatical plans—including pulpit supply, congregational care, and re-entry.  Michael has over 25 years experience in local church ministry as...

Dale Sellers and Joseph Bennett talk with airline pilot, pastor, and leadership strategist Michael McFadden about “flying in front of the plane”—leading proactively instead of reactively. Michael shares the cockpit disciplines behind preparation, checklists, margins, turbulence, accountability, and Spirit-led decision-making for pastors and church leaders. Michael K. McFadden, also known as Pilot...

In Podcast 335, Dale Sellers interviews pastor and author Ramfis Moulier about how approval addiction and ministry overwork can damage marriages, families, and intimacy with God—and what it takes to heal and lead from presence, not performance. They also discuss the hidden cost of “doing ministry” for approval. Ramfis shares how a legalistic church culture, unrealistic expectations, and the intoxi...

Dan Reiland is a coach, consultant, author, husband, father and grandfather. He brings decades of local church leadership experience to his current ministry endeavors that focus on helping leaders excel. Dan has served the local church for more than forty years including at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia where he partnered with Kevin Myers for 24 years as the Executive Pastor. He previou...

Doug Bullock directs the aftercare at the Retreat at Church Creek , a ministry that serves pastors, encouraging them to live well and finish strong. Simultaneously, he has been pursuing his doctorate in pastoral re?rement.  After graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary, Doug previously served as the Lead Pastor of Eastern Hills Bible Church in Manlius, NY.  Upon retiring from that ministry, he...

Pastors can do “good hard” ministry without destroying their soul or family. Lance Witt shares his story leaving Saddleback Church, the dangers of approval addiction, and practical rhythms like Sabbath, boundaries, and feedback that build healthy leadership. Lance has been leading churches and organizations for 40+ years.  He was the lead pastor for 3 different churches and then spent 7 years as a...

Vick Green (MDiv, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) is a pastor, coach, and consultant. He is the CEO of Replicate Ministries, a ministry that trains thousands of churches each year to create their unique disciple-making culture, vision, and strategy. Vick lives in the Nashville area with his wife, Sophie, and their three kids: Barrett, Lenna, and Allie Sage. What happens after Easter matt...

In this fourth installment of the Easter Prep Series, Dale Sellers and Joseph Bennett talk about why prayer cannot be an afterthought for small and mid-size churches. They share a practical “team huddle” rhythm that motivates volunteers, aligns everyone around the mission, and builds expectancy for what God can do. They also outline a simple four-part “Pray for Easter” guide that helps churches pr...

In Episode 329 of the 95 Podcast, Dale Sellers and Joseph Bennett interview lead pastor Kevin Robinson about building a repeatable sermon prep system, getting weeks ahead, using feedback between services, and setting boundaries so ministry does not sabotage marriage and family life. Pastor Kevin and his wife Katie met in a small group at Foothills in 2011. Today, they are happily married with thre...

Discover how to prepare your church for Easter with strategic communication, not just activity. Leah Norton from Fish Hook shares how to reach new people authentically, avoid overproduction, and create meaningful connections that last beyond Easter Sunday on today's podcast. Leah shepherds and stewards Fishhook and their churches with compassion and personal care. She is a nurturer, encourage...

In this practical episode of the 95 Podcast, Dale and Joseph sit down with volunteer expert Mary Ann Sibley to kick off a five-part series on preparing churches for Easter. Mary Ann shares her powerful testimony of being served in a church parking lot by a smiling volunteer that ultimately led to her salvation. Our discussion reveals why the service truly starts before people enter the building. T...

Josh is the Counseling Manager and a counselor at CCEF. He holds a master of arts in biblical counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and is working on his doctorate of education in biblical counseling from SEBTS. He is ordained by North Wake Baptist Church in Wake Forest, NC. Prior to CCEF, Josh served as a pastor at FBC Afton in Afton, NY, for over seven years. He is pa...

Derek has pastored Grace Church in Erie, PA since 1995 and is the author of the book Untapped Church and host of the podcast Reinventing Church . His passion is building up and equipping leaders to walk in their God-given calling. Derek also founded two other organizations: ServErie that has mobilized thousands of volunteers to serve their community, and the Grace Leadership Institute to train the...

Dave Miller, who served as a Worship and Creative Arts Pastor at churches in Las Vegas, Central KY, and Western MI has also spent the last fifteen years on the go helping churches on a variety of topics from strategy to technology and facility redesign. He’s most passionate, however, about helping young leaders take their healthiest first steps into ministry. He’s an avid cyclist, Cincinnati Reds...

In this episode of the 95 Podcast, Dale Sellers welcomes back his friend Karl Vaters for their fifth or sixth conversation together. Recording in early 2026, they dive deep into the critical topics of pastoral succession, retirement transitions, and the future of small church ministry. Karl shares insights from his recent seven-week world tour, including stops in Malaysia, Switzerland, Germany, Au...

In this compelling episode of the 95 Podcast, Dale Sellers sits down with Amy Anderson of The Unstuck Group to discuss critical topics facing church leaders today. Fresh from leading The Unstuck Group through the unexpected loss of founder Tony Morgan, Amy shares profound insights on succession planning, navigating grief while leading, and the importance of knowing when to pass the torch. The conv...

Brandon Robbins is a pastor and YouTube content creator whose channel has more than 320,000 subscribers and 32 million views. He is a #girldad with two beautiful daughters and an amazing wife, LeeAnn. When he isn’t leading his church or making videos, Brandon loves to read, travel, and search for the world’s best hot sauce. Brandon joins Dale on today's 95Podcast to discuss his latest book, T...