A Church Board Leadership Podcast

 

Church boards. They are one of the common realities of local bodies of believers around the world. Regardless of size, theology, or governance structures, formal church leadership plays a key role in the relative health or even un-health of local churches. Even your church.

Some churches are heavy on the paid pastor influence and light on the volunteer elder or deacon influence. Others are church-board dominant in leadership style and pastors become an extension of the will of that board. Still others have no paid pastor and all leadership is voluntary.

Some churches have clear written expectations of their pastor and their boards. Some may know those expectations. Others will learn over time what the role actually entails. While the criteria and qualifications of Elders and Deacons are clear in Scripture, the actual roles and expectations of those who inhabit such titles are often not so clear.

Further, there is often very little time spent cultivating and equipping board members and other formal leadership within the church. Even as the qualifications may be clear, what skill sets are needed or need to be cultivated?

The understandable tyranny of the urgent in the life of most churches tends to shape our roles, our board meetings, and our engrained habits of what it means to be a leader in our local churches. And then there is the politics—no church is exempt—that can often throw off even the most intentional church leadership even if only commanding an inordinate amount of time and energy managing expectations.

The privilege, struggle, and opportunity are all very real. Jump into this timely conversation as we talk through these subjects—and many more—together.

Ep 16: Serving Alone
Ep 16: Serving Alone
In this episode: 00:00 - Introduction 02:04 - Today’s Guests 06:48 - What Does It Mean to Feel “Alone” In a ...
00:49:35
July 23, 2024
Mini-Series: Positivity in Grace
Mini-Series: Positivity in Grace
In this episode, Pastor John Lowder and Dr. Bryan Walker welcome our special guest, Dr. Sam Vinton. As a vibrant 9...
00:28:33
April 15, 2024
Mini-Series: Emphasis In Grace
Mini-Series: Emphasis In Grace
In this episode we welcome back Pastor John Lowder, the lead pastor of Frontline Bible Church in Byron Center, MI,...
00:32:54
April 01, 2024
Mini-Series: Answers In Grace
Mini-Series: Answers In Grace
In this episode, Bryan welcomes two guests to the podcast: Pastor John Lowder and Pastor Rick Owlsley.  Pastor Jo...
00:38:59
March 20, 2024
Mini-Series: Freedom in Grace
Mini-Series: Freedom in Grace
In this episode, we have the honor of welcoming not one, but two guests to the podcast: Pastor John Lowder and Pas...
00:28:27
March 04, 2024
Ep 15: More Than a Pastor's Wife
Ep 15: More Than a Pastor's Wife
In this episode, our special guests Ami Walker and Kaylee Johnson dive into their roles within the church themselv...
00:49:35
November 28, 2023
Ep 14: Church Health & Political Complexity
Ep 14: Church Health & Political Comple...
It’s not news to anyone that the last several years have been incredibly tense and complex when it comes to the ...
00:58:20
November 07, 2023
Ep 13: Spiritual Discipline for Church Leaders
Ep 13: Spiritual Discipline for Church ...
Today, Brett and Bryan welcome Dr. Matt Loverin to the podcast to talk about spiritual discipline for church leade...
00:47:18
October 11, 2023
Ep 12: Loneliness in Pastoral Ministry
Ep 12: Loneliness in Pastoral Ministry
Today in the studio we have Bryan, Brett, and our special guests, Pastor Jim Shemaria from Celebration Bible Churc...
00:49:55
September 05, 2023
Ep 11: Balancing Pastoral Leadership and Family
Ep 11: Balancing Pastoral Leadership an...
Bryan and Brett are together in the studio today with special guest, Pastor John Lowder of Frontline Bible Church....
00:51:59
July 21, 2023
Ep 10: Evaluating Church Leadership
Ep 10: Evaluating Church Leadership
Churches often wait to evaluate their leadership until something goes wrong. But proactive church leadership evalu...
00:44:05
June 19, 2023
Ep 9: Stagnant Ministries
Ep 9: Stagnant Ministries
Have you ever felt like your church was stagnant? Like some of the vibrancy had been lost? You’re not alone. Es...
00:45:58
May 30, 2023
Ep 8: Board Development in the Local Church
Ep 8: Board Development in the Local Ch...
Today, for the first time ever, the Thriving Church Leadership podcast has the pleasure of welcoming a pastor as o...
00:45:12
April 24, 2023
Ep 7: Board Member Development
Ep 7: Board Member Development
Many church board members feel unequipped for their important role as spiritual leaders. They want to use their G...
00:43:56
April 04, 2023
Ep 6: A Dose of Medicine to Encourage Church Health
Ep 6: A Dose of Medicine to Encourage C...
In this episode, Dr. Scott Paskewicz joins Brett Elder and Dr. Bryan Walker to continue a dialogue about chur...
00:28:23
February 01, 2023
Ep 5: Changing Church Ministry Paradigms
Ep 5: Changing Church Ministry Paradigm...
Changing Church Ministry Paradigms with special guest Scott Paskiewicz.
00:36:08
January 11, 2023
Ep 4: Strategy and Church - Thriving Church Leadership
Ep 4: Strategy and Church - Thriving Ch...
Message from Brett Elder & Bryan Walker on September 29, 2022
00:47:02
September 29, 2022
Ep 3: The Boardroom Agenda Part 2 - Thriving Church Leadership
Ep 3: The Boardroom Agenda Part 2 - Thr...
Message from Brett Elder & Bryan Walker on August 29, 2022
00:27:02
August 29, 2022
Ep 2: The Board Room Agenda - Thriving Church Leadership
Ep 2: The Board Room Agenda - Thriving ...
Message from Brett Elder & Bryan Walker on July 29, 2022
00:32:41
July 29, 2022
Ep 1: The Problem And Opportunity of Church Leadership - Thriving Church Leadership
Ep 1: The Problem And Opportunity of Ch...
In this inaugural episode of the Thriving Church Leadership podcast series, we hear the heart of Bryan Walker, the...
00:38:27
June 29, 2022
Welcome to Thriving Church Leadership - Thriving Church Leadership
Welcome to Thriving Church Leadership -...
A first look at Thriving Church Leadership: A church board leadership podcast. Church boards: they are one of the...
00:02:20
June 01, 2022

More Resources

Check out these transcribed summaries of each Thriving Church Leadership episode

Episode 16: Serving Alone

In today’s episode, Bryan Walker and Brett Elder have the privilege of interviewing Pastor Troy Sergey and Pastor Trent Boedecker on the topic of “Serving Alone”. They sit down to talk about some of the challenges of serving alone, as well as how board members can...

In Grace Mini-Series: Emphasis in Grace

In this episode we welcome back Pastor John Lowder, the lead pastor of Frontline Bible Church in Byron Center, MI, and the Director of Pastoral Care at the Grace Gospel Fellowship, to help us interview today’s guest, Pastor Dave Cannon. Pastor Dave Cannon has spent...