In June of 2018 Jonny and I had a conversation with Brandon Patterson, who was then the Pastor at the church in Plains, GA attended by a well known former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter.

Brandon was newly married and 24 years old at the time, and while talk of pastoring a presidential family was interesting, the HEART of this small church pastor was palpable. 

With the death of President Carter this week, I asked Brandon for permission to re-release this almost six-year-old episode - and he was gracious to grant it. There's a TON of encouragement in here, and yet it also gives a glimpse into the priorities of a man who once was president.

After more than one year... here is a new episode! So I took a little time off...

This is a short one with the intention of more to come!

What a blast to use my podcast to introduce Rick Warren to a church planter who hasn't even launched his first public service yet!

Willie Johnson is with REDEFINE CHURCH in St. Louis MO. Rick's project these days is FinishingTheTask.com.

I asked Rick to coach Willie, from his perspective as a church planter who has handed off his church to the next guy - with Willie and his team yet to launch their very first service.

Willie would never ask this, so let me ask this for him - would you like to bless this new church plant?! Why not give them a one-time, or recurring gift as they get started? I love promoting what others are doing! Full disclosure - my church is forming a partnership and has sent thousands of dollars to Redefine Church, and I welcome you, if God so leads, to bless them also. They are a church plant with the Christian & Missionary Alliance!

Enjoy this church planting coaching session!

Greg Atkinson was on the 200churches Podcast 10 years ago! Way back in July of 2013 he joined us, when we were only six months old as a podcast - and now, ten years later he is back for the fourth or fifth time - with a great episode about something so fundamental to our Christian life, that we almost miss it: KINDNESS.

Check out Greg's book: The Secret Power of Kindness - 10 Keys to Unlocking Your Capacity to Change the World.

Check out Greg at GregAtkinson.com where you can find his other resources including coaching and consulting, his First Impressions Conference info, and more!

Thanks for helping us encourage so many pastors Greg!

Jeff talks with Sam Rainer, Pastor of West Bradenton Baptist Church in Florida, the President of Church Answers, and the author of the new book - The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church.

Sam is a great example of a 200church pastor who refuses to imagine a limit on his impact based on the size of his church. This is an encouraging conversation! Sam and his father Thom are co-hosts of the Rainer On Leadership Podcast - check it out. Their podcast is also on YouTube.

Thom Rainer is the co-host with his son Sam of the Rainer On Leadership Podcast, and the founder of ChurchAnswers.com and ChurchAnswers.University.

Thom is a research guy and a data guy and has studied the church for many years. He has written many books which you can see listed HERE. Thom and Jeff spoke about Thom's book, Pray and Go, which releases in June 2023, and about ChatGPT and pastors, and Thom's ministry membership site, Church Answers.

We talked about the HopeInitiative.com which helps church leaders change the culture of their church to reflect the heart of God for lost people.

For information about Church Answers University and questions about potential partial scholarships, contact [email protected]

Robby Angle is the CEO of Trueface.org and joins Jeff today to talk about what he and his team are doing with Trueface, about his life and background, and about how Trueface is resourcing churches with training in best practices for discipleship.

As Jeff said on the podcast, Trueface.org is offering some great training for you and your small group leadership, so you should definitely check it out!

Check out Robby's new book - The Cure For Groups - How to lead a small group people will talk about the rest of their lives!

And check out these other Trueface-related episodes:

Episode 61 with John Lynch - How Not To Impress God As A Pastor

Episode 64 with John Lynch - The Pastor's Secret To Breaking Sin's Power

Episode 304 with John Lynch - A Truckload of Pastoral Encouragement and Hope

Episode 239 with Steve Mason -  What Authors and Small Church Pastors Dream of - A Story of Radical Life Change

Pastor Tony is the pastor of Nicholasville United Methodist Church in Nicholasville Kentucky. You are in for a real treat with a humble, godly, 200church pastor from Kentucky. Enjoy!

Check out Tony' book, Jesus, The Four Gospels in Politics HERE!

David Wentz was a pastor for 38 years, originally an Engineer by vocation, and now an author and equipper of pastors around the world. Lots of kids and grandkids (I've forgotten how many!)

David and I speak for a bit about the revival at Asbury, and revivals in general - quite interesting to me. But we talk mostly about the ability of the church to thrive outside of a building - meeting with God in living rooms.

You can check out David's books here!

A HELLO Video from David is here

And His Website is HERE!

She's still writing the 1 Peter volume of the New International Commentary on the New Testament. She is on the NIV Translation Team. She has written three commentaries on Matthew and one on Philippians, as well as a book called Scripture As Communication, a book on biblical hermeneutics.

We talk about 1 Peter's content, but also what happens from the time you get the assignment to write a commentary on a book of the Bible, until it's actually published and on the shelf!

Check out Jeannine's books here.

Check out the Stetzer Church Leaders Podcast with Karl Vaters HERE!

On the eve of Saddleback's ouster from the Southern Baptist Convention, Rick Warren marched through a long conversation with me and Jonny. Rick talks about that in this episode. It's obvious he's not happy about it, but as always he remains gracious.

Undaunted by rejection, Rick is focused on his new calling, as the leader of FTT, Finishing The Task. He is pushing ahead to see what we in the Christian and Missionary Alliance call Great Commission Completion!

Rick recently finished his pastoral ministry of 43 years at Saddleback.  I (Jeff) was at his conference in 1997, when I was 34 and he was 43.  At that time Saddleback was 17 years old and 13,000 in attendance. They would more than double in the next 25 years.

You can find everything Rick is up to, with all the links, at PastorRick.com!

Rick is a teacher, coach, and adviser of pastors - you will get A LOT out of this episode! Enjoy!