The Christian Leader Podcast

Here's an amazing stat you may not expect: A billion dollar disaster now occurs in the U.S. every  18 days . Between tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, thousands of people across the country are left with significant needs after unforeseen disasters, and many have to completely rebuild their homes and their lives.  Luckily, Mennonite Disaster Service has...

In light of the upcoming retirement of Don Morris, Aaron Box was recently announced as the new USMB national director (effective July 1). Aaron has been an MB pastor for many years and was active on the USMB Leadership Board, but many of you likely don't know Aaron yet. As he prepares to transition into this new role, we wanted to take some time for you to get to know Aaron's history and...

Brian Harris is back on LEAD Pods this week discussing his new role as the southern district minister. After previously serving as the church planting mobilizer, Brian now acts as a "pastor to the pastors" by providing support, coordination, and advocacy across the southern district of MB churches.  In this interview, Brian shares insights from his first few months of meeting with church...

Don Morris has served in MB leadership for decades, most recently as USMB national director. As he prepares for retirement, this week we look back on Don's career as he reflects on the joys and challenges facing our denomination. Much has changed in church leadership and in American culture, but our MB family of churches has also grown and expanded so much with guidance from Don's leader...

You likely know the names and some details about your grandparents, but can you list all eight of your  great -grandparents? Most Americans can't, and although we may not have had very close relationships to them, there is a lot of value in "generational storytelling" where we can learn from our family history and be proud of where we came from.  On this episode, we talk with author...

As we inch closer to summertime, we're also preparing for our biennial USMB pastors' conference and national convention coming to Omaha this July. On this episode we're joined by Kelsey Ensz and Daniel Rodriguez who both serve on the planning committee for the convention. They both share stories of how past conventions have been helpful to their ministries and provide some details o...

We made it to 100 episodes! Wahoo! Thank you for listening over the past four years. Today Matt talks with the entire USMB staff as we look back and reflect on our favorite episodes, go through some fun trivia, and share details about a $100 prize giveaway for the listeners. The USMB staff also shares a bit about their hearts behind the ministry, and we look ahead to what the next 100 episodes may...

This week Matt talks with Scott Thomas, the new interim USMB Church Planting Mobilizer. Scott shares his extensive experience in church planting, having been involved with literally hundreds of church plants across the U.S. during his time with Acts 29 and serving as a lead pastor for 17 years. Scott passionately discusses the importance of continually planting new churches and why it's a cru...

We all work hard for our paychecks, and sometimes it can feel like our income falls short of our financial needs--maybe especially for those of us employed by a local church. That may be true, but today our guest Brian Kluth has an important reminder to share.  God, not our day job, is our primary provider. Our salary is one way God provides, but it's not the only one. There are  many  ways G...

Like it or not, most ministries require a budget. And even if they don't, Jesus was clear that His followers needed to have an appropriate and God-honoring view of money. As church leaders, how can we realistically encourage and grow our generosity? What steps can we take to earn our congregation's (and our community's) trust so they can be confident their offerings are used appropr...

According to recent research, the number of Americans with a biblical worldview continues to decline. In our world where secular culture boosts the ideas of self-authority and subjective truth, how can believers stay anchored to Jesus and the Bible? How can we help our kids navigate this new world, and how can we guard ourselves against competing worldviews?  Natasha Crain is this week's gues...

Many people would agree that our relationship with our spouse is among the most important things in life, likely second only to our relationship with Jesus. If the Church believes that, why aren't there more resources for marriage ministry in our local churches? What are some of the biggest issues facing couples today, and how can church leaders help build strong marriages that last?  Nathan...

As we launch into a new year, we're continuing our theme from December of what our denomination can do to better prepare a new generation of leaders in our MB churches. This week, Dr. Quentin Kinnison and Dr. Darren Duerksen from Fresno Pacific University share details about their Bridge to Ministry Pathway that makes it easier for students to earn a master's degree in ministry. Plus, Qu...

USMB recently hosted a live webinar where we addressed the topic of the perceived leadership gap in our churches today. Statistics show that pastors are getting older, enrollment in ministry majors is on the decline, and our culture at large is dismissive of careers in the local church. With this truth in our USMB churches and other denominations around the country, how we can address this issue n...

This is a very interesting and crucial time to be involved in Christian higher education. In our denomination, we have two colleges we support that teach within the USMB Confession of Faith, and this week we talk with the two presidents leading these institutions.  Dr. David Janzen is in his third year as the president of Tabor College, while Dr. André Stephens is in his second year as president o...

Our MB faith tradition is full of incredible stories and faithful heroes. In this week's episode, Peggy Goertzen (the director of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies) shares insight and introduces us to some of the first MB leaders established in the U.S. She shares two particularly interesting and noteworthy stories of how early MB pastors took huge risks to start a school for black ch...

If there's one single issue MBs are known for, it might be the idea of peacemaking. While that may still be true today, our official and documented views on peace and war have shifted in recent history. Our denominational leaders reworded Article 13 of our USMB Confession of Faith ten years ago now, with a strategic shift away from addressing only violence and war and instead broadening what...

Tim and Donna Sullivan have served in USMB leadership for 30+ years. As they are both in the process of transitioning into retirement, we take time in this episode to hear them reflect on our denomination and the southern district specifically. What has changed over the years, what opportunities are they currently excited about, and does anything make them nervous in this season of ministry? Why a...

Pastor Terry Hunt has served as a leader on the USMB national level for several decades now. As he prepares for retirement from one of these roles, Terry reflects on his tenure as the Eastern District minister, which included major growth in the district; a name change; and the addition of several Ethiopian, Hispanic, and Congolese immigrant churches.  Terry chose the timing of this transition str...

If we're honest, many of us don't really know what to do with the Old Testament. We know it's important, but some of the stories are hard for us to understand in our modern American evangelical context.  In this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Tim Geddert about his new book "The Beginning of the Story: Understanding the Old Testament in the Story of Scripture." Tim t...

Every successful church, ministry, or business needs to do the hard work of getting to know and serving its local community. Jason Quiring & Drew Pankratz are doing just that in Saratoga Springs, Utah where evangelical Christians are in a significant minority compared to the hugely influencial Latter-Day Saints churches around them. Jason, Drew, and the other leaders of Greenhouse Community Ch...

Jon Fiester and Abby Giwojna know their neighborhood well--and it can be a rough neighborhood. Renewal MB Church in Rapid City, South Dakota is located in a part of town known for drugs, gang activity, and (frankly) a lack of hope. While planting a church in this type of community brings a set of challenges, it also brings unique opportunities.  In this week's LEAD Pods, Jon and Abby share ho...

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here and.... well, everywhere. Technologies like Chat GPT have evolved rapidly, and nearly every week we see headlines of new ways AI is being used in virtually every industry.  So how does this affect the church? Are there tools that can help pastors be more effective? What are the moral issues we need to wrestle with? How much can we rely on these tools...

Most U.S. churches were forced to develop at least  some type of online ministry during the COVID shutdown. Now that we're past that stage, how should we think about our online presence? Does online church "count," or are we just giving our congregations excuses to be lazy? Are there times when online church might be  more  beneficial than in-person worship? What new tools do we nee...

After decades of planning and a few failed attempts, Ridgepoint Church recently launched their first church plant--with a path and strategy that no one expected. On today's episode, we hear SouthLife pastor Kevin Friedberg and Andy Owen from Ridgepoint share the story of how this new church came to be, with pieces fitting together from literally around the world to benefit an underserved comm...