Monte Wilkinson is a pastor, a mentor, and one of my closest friends. I have to say that I wouldn’t be the pastor I am today without his example. He’s the lead minister at NorthEast Christian Church out in Lexington, Kentucky, and has seen a thing or two when it comes...

Volunteering at church looks different in today’s landscape. How do you navigate those waters? I had the chance to sit down with Scott Magdalein for this episode to tackle that issue. I know leaders are trying to figure out how to recruit and support their volunteers....

Podcasts have been such a valuable part of my life. From Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley to Annie F Downs and my friend Michael Hinton, I’ve been able to learn from the things they’ve shared over the years. And when I started sharing my own experiences and...

 Leadership looks like getting comfortable with growth, taking risks, and appreciating the journey along the way. And this week, we have someone who is a living, breathing example of how to live that out that well. Dan Reiland is an author, leadership coach,...

Jodi Tonarelli is my guest this week, and it's an honor to have her on the podcast.  Her background in broadcast journalism (and a lot of prayers) led her to the role of Executive Pastor at The Ridge Community Church, where Mark Weigt is the lead pastor. You can hear...

What do Notre Dame, the Coachella Valley, and John Adams have in common? Pastor Ricky Jenkins. Ricky Jenkins is the Senior Pastor of Southwest Church in Indian Wells, CA, a Gospel-Centered, Multiethnic, Intergenerational church. We had the chance to talk through what...

90% of new churches in America are small churches, and there are some important lessons we can learn from what they are doing well. Our guest, Karl Vaters, is a champion for building a healthy small church. I'm glad to have him back on the podcast. (You can take a...

Planting a church isn't easy. There are so many factors to consider, like where you'll plant the church and how to support the community you'll serve. Carl Kuhl knows a thing or two about that experience, and I'm glad to have him on the podcast this week to share his...

Everyone has opinions, and as a Pastor, I have the pleasure of hearing a lot of them, particularly regarding my teaching style.  You're not deep enough.  You talk too much sports. We want more Bible. We want less Bible. How about some Greek or Hebrew. I wish you would...

Marty Lamb is a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I first heard about Marty from my buddy, Brian Dodd and Mike Linch, both previous podcast guests (you can listen to Brian's episode here and Mike's episode here). Marty has signed some incredible talent from high...

Some of the best leadership lessons I've learned have come from conversations I've had with sports legends like Ned Yost on the podcast (you can listen here as he talks about how to build a winning team culture). But there's nothing like learning alongside a friend....

Kyle Idleman from Southeast Christian Church is my guest for this week's episode. What you may not know is that Kyle is the one who planted Real Life Church, where I am today. As we sat down, I learned a bit more about what it was like for Kyle to grow up under the...

The Kansas City Royals were a significant part of my childhood. So, imagine how excited I am to have Ned Yost on the podcast. Ned Yost was the manager of the Kansas City Royals in 2014-15 when they went to the World Series and won. Ned and I sit down and talk all...

Lance Witt joins me on the podcast this week, and we’re talking all about burnout. Burnout is an issue that I think every person, no matter their industry, has had to navigate. Lance openly shares his experience as a pastor at Saddleback and the pivotal moment when he...

Savannah Kimberlin is the Director of Research Solutions at Barna Group, and I am honored to have her as a guest on the podcast this week. Sometimes, data and statistics can be a little intimidating to people (myself included). Thankfully, there are people like...

I'm so grateful that Growmentum founders Kye Chung and Lee Coate are our guests for this week. Between the two of them, we have over 55 years of ministry experience and draw from that knowledge to help churches get on the right track to growth. Regardless of where you...

There are so many great articles and podcasts out there about how to create a healthy staff culture.  This is not one of them. I’ve had the chance to share some of the wins and some of the misses over my time in church leadership. And admittedly, some of the best...

Paul Hicks is our guest this week. He is a part of Search Ministries based in Texas, along with another Leading Simple guest, Bruce Matthews. When we think about evangelism, our minds can immediately go to planning some big event with a lot of people. But in my...

Mark and Michelle McKinney are co-pastors, parents, and the first dynamic duo we’ve had on the podcast. We had a chance to talk about the ups and downs of being a part of a church community. Michelle shared her experiences as a pastor, a pastor’s wife, and with her...

Being a pastor's kid can be anything but simple. My daughters can tell you that first hand. But I'm so proud of how they've navigated it over the years. That's why I’m excited to have my daughters Sidney and Lindsey on this week's episode. You’ll get to hear them...