The Reclaimed Leader Podcast

The church you have now, is a product of decisions made long ago. Some have been good, and some bad. Like compounding interest over time. Likewise, the church you hope to become will be the result of decisions you make today. How to start making good decision investments right now.

Okay, the tree is either on the curb or back in the box, and the New Year’s confetti all swept up. And even though you may be tired, it’s time to think about 2026. What if you could be energized, excited, and make real progress in just 30 days? Today, we’ll talk about two practical ways to do it.

Well it’s almost Christmas and almost the end of 2025. As we close another year of the podcast, we’ll take a look back at some of our conversations this year and 3 ways to be proactive about revival in 2026.

Last week we started a conversation with John Terech, on how to build flourishing churches. We looked at the first two measures of health: identity and risk-taking, and now we’ll continue the conversation with the next four. What does it look like to be a flourishing church?

If church health is the target, how do you know you’re hitting it? It only happens through intentional evaluation. But what do you evaluate? We welcome John Terech to the podcast in a two-part series on how to measure church flourishing. What does it actually look like?

We’re in part 2 of our series about growing a healthy church. Today we’re getting real practical on how to start moving your church toward health. Most people think it’s vision. But, research says it’s about process. If you have a good process, that’s 90% of the battle.

Growing a healthy church isn’t just about numbers. In fact, if you focus on numbers, you may up further away than when you started. It’s about discipleship and faithfulness to the mission. So, how do you cultivate health no matter what size your church is.

Are you a dreamer? Is your head in the clouds as you wonder about what could be? Or, do you have so many ideas that you’re overwhelmed and never put them into action? Or, are you stuck wondering how to move the ball down the field with a vision? Then this episode is for you. 4 strategies to turn dreams into action.

Leading a church is really hard. Leading church renewal is even harder. Why? Because the status quo is incredibly powerful. And, it’s easy to lose your joy in the process of leading change. We talk about loving the church with these mental resets.

Church growth can be a controversial topic – and understandably so. But the bottom line is that we do want to reach as deep and far and wide as we can with the gospel. And it starts with the visitors who come. Today we talk about how to identify the barriers to visitor engagement and how to make it better.

Everyone’s talking about it, research is eagerly reporting it, and even churches that haven’t been growing are seeing it. Gen Z is going to church. But, what does it all mean? What is the data telling us? And, how does it apply to your ministry context. We’ll take a look under the hood at the Gen Z Awakening.

What if you go all in, and do all the things to renew your church, spend precious resources, and it doesn’t work like you hoped? But... what if it’s working even better than you imagined (but in a way you didn’t see coming)? That’s the story of the last year at Covenant Presbyterian church as we welcome back Pastor David Kling to tell us all about it.

If you play baseball professionally, you always have a batting coach. It’s not because you’re not good, but because you want to be as good as possible. When it comes to ministry, however, we know we need help but don’t know what kind of help we need. Today we talk about the 4 different voices you might need to help you lead change.

Have you have been intimidated by leading change or renewal efforst in your church? Or do you ever struggle with fear or doubt and it keeps you from taking action? Then, pastor, this episode is for you. Here are 5 Tips to win the battle in your renewal journey.

Have you been avoiding problems in your church? Or, have you been overwhelmed by what it would take to lead adaptive change in a church that’s feeling a bit stuck? Well, the good news is that you can lead adaptive change quickly and effectively if you have the right posture and process.

Have you or your church been struggling with an outdated pastoral care model? I know for many church people, they expect the pastor to do it all. Yet even though you may feel it needs a change, you may not know where to start. Today we talk about how to pivot and help congregational care become more of a team sport.

It’s been a really tough season of ministry – and in our world. You may be feeling the stress and pressure of leadership so much, it feels like you’re sinking. But it doesn’t have to be this way. What if the answer is to be more thoughtful about how you invest relationally? We’re looking at 6 essential questions to frame relational investment.

I know it’s ministry launch season, but what if you feel pretty burned out already? Between summer busyness, ministry and personal challenges you may feel like you’re limping into September instead of launching. Here’s how to recognize what's going on inside of you, and some ideas on what to do about it.

Every year around this time, people are looking for routine. What’s my new routine going to be with kids, school, work, church, everything? So, it’s important that churches help them engage in their faith. Here are 5 things our churches do to maximize engagement between now and Christmas.

I hate to say it, but September is right around the corner. Maybe you’re procrastinating, trying to squeeze the last drop of summer before the grind (that’s a good thing). But, when you do start looking at the Fall, we’ve put together a short list of things to help you prioritize and prepare your ministry.

We get a lot of questions about what kind of resources (sound gear, worship resources, giving, newsletters, sermons, you name it). So, we thought we’d put together a short list of apps, software, and gear we’re currently using in our churches. Here’s our 2025 (not exhaustive) list.

If you haven’t made a bad hire, you haven’t hired many people. But, how do we minimize the risk? How do you make sure the who, the what, and the why are in alignment? How do you get the word out? What are you looking for? Today we talk about 4 tips to hire better.

Sometimes the hardest thing when you’re leading church revitalization is to help the congregation imagine what they’ve never seen. The truth is, if they’ve never seen it, they probably won’t buy into it. 6 Ways to Spark your church’s imagination – and help them move forward.

When you lead change, there will be resistance. And, for the most part, it’s not much fun to endure. In fact it’s why many leaders don’t lead change unless they have to. But, what if it’s the resistance to change that actually brings the best out of you, and helps move the mission forward.

Do you remember being a college student? It’s a season of life-changing decisions. What if your church (without any new programs) could help them make a decision for Christ? Today we talk with Allison Stump, Assoc. Area Director for Athletes InterVarsity about how she’s seeing Gen Z students coming to faith (and why).