The Church in Action Podcast

During August we’re sharing some of your favorite episodes on the Church in Action program. This week, we’re resharing one of our most popular episodes, a conversation with Jahdiel Perez of Villanova University on CS Lewis and his masterful writing.  Perez helps us understand why Lewis has impacted so many believers in comparison to other modern Christian writers, and details how we can trace that...

During August we’re sharing some of your favorite episodes on the Church in Action program. This week, we’re resharing a conversation on how to become more like Jesus by practicing rest.  Brittany Feldott - Pastoral Associate at Cape Cod Church in Massachusetts - shared her experience in practicing biblical Sabbath and avoiding hurry. This conversation is especially geared towards those of us who...

During August we’re sharing some of your favorite episodes on the Church in Action program. This week, we’re starting off with one of our more popular talks with Vision New England President, Charles Galda, on research from more than 100 New England ministry leaders, who shared what they believe God is exposing in the Church and how we should respond. 

Creating a church culture of making disciples can feel daunting - that's why we invited Pastor Rob O'Neal, senior pastor of Valley Community Baptist Church in Avon, CT, to share how his church has shifted their culture to focus more on making disciples.  Pastor Rob walks through how and why his church went from striving to pull congregants into programs and creating a specific feeling fo...

Rev. Dr. Steve Macchia  shares how Leadership Transformations helps ministry leaders form godly habits of soul care and rest, letting God disciple them as they disciple others! Rev.  Macchia is the founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple Making at Gordon-Conwell, and author of 16 books. To learn more about Leadership Transformations, click he...

Rev. Dr. Steve Macchia shares how and why he began Leadership Transformations - a ministry created to  transform leaders - helping them form habits of soul care and rest! Rev.  Macchia is the founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple Making at Gordon-Conwell, and author of 16 books. To learn more about Leadership Transformations, click here !

Dr. Tim Ponzani, Regional President & Executive Minister of Converge Northeast, and a Vision New England Director and Board Member, shares how Converge Northeast is equipping churches to better make disciples, by moving past old methodology (like programs) towards life-giving practices that bring godly transformation!  To learn more about Converge Northeast, click here !

Rev. Esau Vance, of Mt. Olive Pentecostal Church in Worcester, MA, grew up in the deep south during the 1950's as a Black man, where he and his family had to live with and navigate the injustice of racism.  Now, as a pastor, he sits down with us to reflect on how this injustice has impacted him and those he loves, and how the American Church can lovingly pursue racial reconciliation and heali...

Pastor Barry Kang, senior pastor of Symphony Church in Boston, shares more of his insight on the spiritual practices, specifically sharing how Western culture and ideology has impacted the American Church, teaching us to turn elsewhere for our spiritual formation.  To learn more about Symphony Church, click here !

Pastor Barry Kang, senior pastor of Symphony Church in Boston, continues our exploration of the spiritual disciplines, specifically when it comes to trusting God (and by extension, our Church family) with our spiritual formation. To learn more about Symphony Church, click here !

Rev. Dr. Moreen Hughes, Associate Pastor and Minister to Women at Concord Baptist Church in Milton, MA, sits down with us to discuss her recent book, "A Woman's Journey With God: Engaging in the Spiritual Disciplines." We dive into how the spiritual practices have impacted her, and how we can implement these practices in a way that is tailored to our unique needs in our spiritual fo...

Heidi and Rich Joy of Breathe Ministries share how ministry leaders can better engage in spiritual practices that create a sustainable foundation for their service, and how elders and church family can better support their ministry leaders!    To learn more about Breathe Ministries, click here !

Heidi and Rich Joy of Breathe Ministries lead pastoral retreats, providing coaching and spiritual direction for both pastors and pastoral couples, and know what it's like to lead as a pastoral couple themselves! In this episode, Heidi and Rich share common issues they see pastors and pastoral couples facing, and how ministry leaders can better engage in spiritual practices that create a susta...

Dr. Carrie Tibbles - Harvard professor of Emergency Medicine, and attending physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - walks us through the mechanical workings of prayer and fasting, sharing how quiet prayer has impacted her spiritual formation in the midst of a busy schedule! To learn more about the Renovaré  Institute, click here . 

Brittany Feldott - Pastoral Associate at Cape Cod Church in Massachusetts  - shares her experience in practicing biblical Sabbath and avoiding hurry. Join us as we discuss everything from God's true heart for rest (especially for the "workaholic") to simple definitions of hurry and Sabbath.  To learn more about Cape Cod Church, click here ! To see the Bible Project video on Sabbath...

Bishop Lawrence Ward is the Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Church in Massachusetts, and serves on the Board of VNE! In this episode, we discuss reframing our view of work to align with scripture, and how we can treat our daily work as a spiritual discipline. To learn more about Abundant Life Church, click here !

Rev. Dr. Bryan Wilkerson of Grace Chapel walks us through how God transforms us through the practice of silence and solitude, re-training us to respond to situations in a godly way. Learn more about Grace Chapel here !

We continue exploring the spiritual discipline of reading and studying scripture with Rev. Dr. Barbara Headley, Senior Pastor of Zion Community Baptist Church in Massachusetts. To learn more about Zion Community Baptist Church, click here !

Rev. Dr. Barbara Headley, Senior Pastor of Zion Community Baptist Church in Massachusetts, shares her insight on the spiritual discipline of reading and studying God's Word in part 1 of this conversation. To learn more about Zion Community Baptist Church, click here !

Becca Mowrey, Worship Director of Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, CT, dives deeper into the spiritual discipline of worship and celebration in the second half of our conversation, exploring everything from pushing away consumeristic mentalities to engaging in worship when you're not "feeling it."   To learn more about Walnut Hill Community Church, click here !

Becca Mowrey, Worship Director of Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, CT, shares how she navigates the discipline of worship (both personally and as a leader), offering advice on approaching worship as intimacy without distraction.  To learn more about Walnut Hill Community Church, click here !

Rev. Dr. J. Anthony Lloyd, Senior Pastor of Greater Framingham Community Church, shares how the spiritual disciplines form us into healthy disciples, along with why some are neglected, how he personally has approached the disciplines, and practical tips on building these disciplines into our churches without becoming legalistic.  To learn more about Greater Framingham Community Church, click here...

What comes to mind when you hear the word “submission”? For most of us, our initial reaction is typically negative. Yet God's word reveres submission and service in His Kingdom. Rev. Cindy Cabral of The Lively Stones Christian Center addresses the beliefs and actions that have twisted the discipline of submission and service. She takes us back to God’s true intentions for their impact in our...

Confession isn’t a practice discussed widely in evangelical circles. Yet, James 5 :16 tells us to “confess [our] sins to each other.” So what does that look like? Bishop Andrew Williams of the Anglican Diocese of New England points us to scripture’s presentation of confession, detailing its power to move us from a place of shame and isolation to healing and loving community.  Want to learn more ab...

Community may not be the first practice that comes to mind when we think about becoming a disciple, but scripture makes it clear: we NEED community to make disciples.  Pastor Justin Kendrick of Vox Church joins us to talk about why the spiritual discipline of fellowship is vital, and how to nurture authentic community through the lens of his book, “The Sacred Us.”  To order Pastor Kendrick's...