We're Kerry and Becky Holton, a husband and wife ministry team who advocate for the wellness of the church, its leaders, and its future. On this podcast, we simply share with you the things we're thinking on. The goal? To help us all continue to grow in the areas of life, spirituality, theology, church and mental health. Join us each week, as we write about church wellness in the Growing Steady Newsletter and expand on those conversations in this podcast. Keep growing, friends!
In this episode Kerry and Becky discuss two of the eight predicted trends itemized in Carey Nieuwhof's blogpost: "Future Church: 8 Church Trends to Watch in 2023." They have to do with the decline of the Boomer generation in church and the openness to spirituality of members of Gen Z.
Who should be on the leadership team of a church? In our experience, the leadership team of most churches is comprised of the elders--and only the elders. New Testament elders are responsible for the spiritual oversight of their church. That's biblical. But, why must they be the ones or the only ones who are responsible for setting the direction and making day-to-day decisions of the church? Why, for example, shouldn't a church's minister or ministers have a seat on that important leadership tea...
In this episode, Kerry and Becky identify five best practices submitted to them by elders across the country.
How may an eldership orient additional elders to their new role? In this episode, Kerry and Becky offer three general suggestions for onboarding new elders. They consider what an eldership may do to build trust, provide key information about church policies, processes, and systems, and introduce new elders to their role and expectations. Also, they discuss the importance of asking each elder to sign a covenant that spells out expectations.
Join Kerry and Becky as they discuss a recommended way to select and appoint elders in the local church. They discuss a 5-step plan, with special focus on who should screen nominees.
Listen in as John Royse, an elder of the church, identifies and discusses exciting opportunities he sees for the church. John talks about the church's mission, missions, children's ministry, and the willingness to adapt to changing times. In this podcast, he challenges us all to look forward to the opportunities that are available.
Is it biblical and advisable for ministers to serve as elders? Are all elders ordained by the Holy Spirit? Who oversees the overseers? Responses to these and other questions from listeners to this podcast are the subject of this episode.
If the scriptures support paying elders, why is this practice so uncommon? How involved should elders be in scheduling and planning church events? In today's episode, Kerry and Becky discuss two questions raised by listeners to the podcast.
In this episode, Kerry and Becky respond to a couple of questions raised by listeners. They are: Who should have a say in the appointment of a church's elders? and To what extent should the members of a congregation be involved in the selection of the church's elders? Kerry and Becky affirm that three groups or parties should have a say in who serves in this pivotal role.
This week, we are talking about holding elders accountable in the local church. How is that done? What kind of culture needs to be developed in the church and between elders and ministers that would allow the kind of mutual accountability which blesses the church? Answers to these questions and other beneficial ideas are presented in this week's podcast. Doug Parsons, longtime evangelist, gospel preacher, and church builder, is our guest this week.
Why does there seem to be a shortage of men who are willing to serve as elders? What can be done to encourage more men to serve? How might the church train future elders? These and other questions are addressed in this conversation with Bryan Bost, a longtime evangelist, missionary to Brazil, and elder of the church.
What is the nature of the authority of a church's elders? What are the limits of their authority? What can be done about elders who overstep their authority? What is their work and what kind of men should they be? These and other questions are addressed in this episode in our series on "Elders." Kirk Castleman, longtime gospel preacher and missionary, is our special guest, who offers much wisdom gleaned from personal experience on this seldom-discussed topic.
Kerry and Becky discuss three specific duties of elders in this episode. Elders are to make decisions, teach the word of God, and care for God's children. This episode is #2 in their series on "Elders."
In this first episode in their series on "Elders," Kerry and Becky discuss the overall role of elders who are trying to imitate first century, New Testament elders. That role is to provide spiritual oversight . Of note in this episode is an explanation of the definition of an overseer or episkopos, according to the New Testament. There is also a brief discussion about one of the more specific duties of overseers, that of making decisions.
John Maxwell, the noted author and leadership guru, said: "Everything rises and falls on leadership." This is true in the business world, but it's true for churches, as well. When the church's leadership is strong, the church flourishes. When it is weak, the church falters.
In this brief episode, Becky and Kerry discuss what every church should be about and how they can measure the church's progress in that department. The number of baptisms, the weekly attendance, and contribution are important metrics to measure a church's health. But, is there another metric that is even more significant?
In episode #123, Kerry and Becky discussed the present reality that so many churches are closing their doors. In this episode they offer several suggestions for what church leaders might do to prevent church closures. Your suggestions are welcome, too. To participate in the discussion and give your feedback, go to hello@efectivechurchleaders.com.
Many churches are closing their doors today. According to a recent study of Churches of Christ by Stan Granberg and Tim Woodruff, nine congregations close their doors every month. And the problem is not unique to Churches of Christ. In this episode, Kerry and Becky reflect upon this concerning state of affairs, a concern of so many church leaders today.
The Unstuck Group, a church consultation and coaching group, recently published a survey of 119 churches. This survey highlights certain trends and benchmarks in U.S. churches over the last twelve months. Kerry and Becky discuss some of the interesting statistics from this survey.
What do you expect from your ministers? Do you expect them to visit all the hospitalized and those in nursing homes? Do you expect them to be the church's primary pastoral care givers? If so, if you are expecting them to immerse themselves primarily in pastoral care, you are stunting your church's growth. How so and what can be done to turn things around? Join Becky and Kerry as they address this challenging topic!
What does success in ministry look like? And how do you measure it? Numbers are not always an accurate metric--either of success or failure. In this episode, Kerry and Becky attempt to define success in ministry. And it may not be what most of us think it is.
In this episode, Kerry interviews a 35-year-old preacher and dear friend, Josh Watkins, who suffered a severe heart attack. Listen in as Josh shares how that life-threatening event affected his perspectives toward life, family, and ministry.
In this episode, Kerry and Becky close their brief series on how to read and understand the Bible by discussing two more important rules for Bible study: 1) Look for the plain meaning of the text, and 2) Observe to whom a passage is spoken or written. Finally, they note that accurately interpreting the Bible is not the final step. The purpose of reading the Bible, after all, is not merely to gain Bible knowledge, but to apply it and allow it to transform our lives.
What baggage do we bring to our reading of God's word that affects how we interpret scripture? How do we determine the meaning of words, sentences, and paragraphs in the Bible? Does the Bible have a "personalized meaning" for each of us? These are some of the questions Becky and Kerry discuss in this episode, which unpacks three important principles for reading and interpreting God's word.
How should we read a book that carries the same weight as the audible voice of God? Kerry and Becky offer two suggestions in this thought-provoking episode.
In this episode, Kerry and Becky talk about motivation for studying the scriptures. They discuss three wrong motives and three right motives for studying God's word. Before we develop skills for reading and studying the Bible, we need to work through our motivation for studying this precious book.
In this episode, Kerry asks for his listeners' help to shed light on this question: "Is submitting to someone the same thing as accepting the authority of that person?" This question arose after looking at several passages in 1 Peter that speak of accepting the authority of the government (1 Peter2: 13), masters (2:18), husbands (3:1,5), and elders (5:5). At stake here, is the way Christians look at leadership and authority in the home and the church.
Sunday services can reach new people, people who look to the church to help them solve their problems and answer their deepest questions. In this episode, Becky and Kerry discuss a few suggestions on what churches can do to give attention to the message, guest services, and the children's ministry. This is the seventh and last episode in the series, "Reach New People."
Part Six in this series, "Reach New People," is about how churches can use their church's Facebook page and Facebook Live to connect to outsiders. Kerry and Becky offer several practical tips on how to make the most of social media and the technology of the day. Podcast #113 will be the last in this series and will be about how churches may use their weekend services to reach new people.
What can churches do to reach new people using the digital tools of the age? Kerry and Becky offer three suggestions in this episode for extending a church's reach digitally. As an example, did you know that 74% of the people in this country use Facebook every day? Every day! How can churches use Facebook and other social media platforms for outreach? We think you will appreciate some of the very practical recommendations in this podcast!
