The Reclaimed Leader Podcast

Today is part 2 of our series on investing in people over programs. And, we’re going to focus on our systems for follow-through. Systems may not sound like relational evangelism but it is – in fact, it’s the engine that moves the whole thing forward. Follow-up from guests, volunteers or prayer needs are how we actually care for others well.

When I talk with church leaders, I get a lot of questions like: what do you do for discipleship? What do you do for new members? At the heart of these questions is a desire to share best practices. But sometimes it’s a search for a magic bullet that will solve spiritual problems. Why investing in people is always more effective than programs.

It’s Holy Week (if you’re listening in real time) and there are a million things to do – and all of it vying for your time and attention. But, pastor, how is your soul this week? Are you already on empty? What if this week, you can recharge your batteries by remembering your dependence on Jesus?

Have you checked your online sermon retention? Good, me neither. But there’s an important truth about preaching – it’s not just about carefully crafted theology, but engaging delivery. Research shows that 65% of people are visual learners, but what does that mean for preaching. Easter preaching for a visually-engaged culture.

Easter may not be as big an outreach as Christmas, but the in-reach to occasional attenders is huge. Besides, it’s still a pretty big opportunity to reach people who are looking for a church. So how can we think strategically about reaching (and retaining) Easter Guests.

We’re hearing of another revival among students in Florida almost 3 years exactly from the Asbury Outpouring. Our culture may be more open to Jesus than at any other time in the last 50 years. Is your church ready for what God is doing? 5 Questions to make sure your church doesn’t miss revival.

We are in the middle of Lent. It’s a time to for Christians to go deeper, reconnect, repent, and challenge themselves to get rid of the distractions and focus on Jesus. So why are pastors so bad at it sometimes? Let’s talk about how to fix it.

Do you feel like your church’s best days are behind it? Well, what if that doesn’t have to be the case? Today we welcome Dr. Kara Powell, Executive Dir. of the Fuller Youth Institute, to discuss her book, Future-Focused Church, and how any church can take the next faithful step (which may be simpler than you think).

No matter where you are in your journey toward church health or leading change, it’s rare that you feel like you have enough resources to do it. I think that’s because it takes risk and trust to build what God’s building in us. What to do when giving lags behind growth.

We’re tackling the last Stage in the 4Ds of leading change (Discover, Discern, Decide, Deploy). And this stage is where most churches struggle. It’s not just about what you decide to do but how you implement it that makes or breaks a ministry. It’s about your plan of action.

We’re continuing our discussion of the 4D revitalization process – and today is DECIDE. Once you know who you are and who you’re trying to reach, it’s time to get the whole church to discuss how to do it. We’ll walk through a research-based, field-tested process to help you identify what to do next.

Based on your high school language classes, would you feel confident translating the gospel to that culture? Of course not. Not only because of language competence, but cultural competence. This is exactly why churches struggle to reach people. How to lean in, listen to and learn from younger generations in order to reach them with the gospel.

When it comes down to it, the biggest barrier to making change in your church is the fear of failure. Many pastors won’t take an honest look because they’re afraid it will reflect poorly on them. But, a good, honest assessment is mission critical. We’re talking about the first step in renewal: discovery.

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.