Spoiler Alert: this is much more than a dialogue on church polity. It has to do more with the way a pastor leads, the way he works with his fellow leaders. This stuff is GOLDEN! When Pastor David Guzik was pastoring in Simi Valley, CA, he delivered a message on the subject of church government. In that message, he acknowledged the three major forms of church government and then argued for the validity of a pastor led form of church government. The message was entitled "Church Government: Jesus Style and Moses Style." It's available in audio format here: https://enduringword.com/media/church-government-jesus-style-and-moses-style/. In this podcast, David discusses with show host Bill Holdridge the subject of pastoral leadership some of the challenges and necessities of leading well.

Karl Vaters (Author of "Small Church Essentials") is a current voice, speaking wisely to pastors of small (aka "normal") churches. Since a very, very large percentage of churches fall into this category, it stands to reason that the pastors of such churches are normal pastors. It's not at all unusual to be a normal pastor of a normal sized church. The challenge is to be the best kind of church that Jesus can make the church to be. And the best kind of pastor. Karl Vaters has helped the cause of the kingdom of God greatly with his three books: The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking that Divides Us, Small Church Essentials: Field-Tested Principles for Leading a Healthy Congregation of Under 250, and 100 Days to a Healthier Church: A Step-By-Step Guide for Pastors and Leadership Teams. Show host Bill Holdridge interviews Karl, with a helpful focus for pastors re: how to navigate the current Covid-19 crisis and beyond.

Matt Valencia has a huge heart for God’s Kingdom, and a sincere love for the greater Body of Christ. Recently, Matt was asked to lead a discussion on the topic of this podcast. This interview dives into the meat of that discussion, and why it matters. Matt Valencia is the Lead Pastor of the Regeneration Church of Scotts Valley, CA and is also the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel in Gilroy, CA.

Today we’ll be talking with Ed Taylor of Calvary Aurora, Colorado on the subject of leadership … Biblical leadership in the role of senior/lead pastor. I’m sure most, if not all of our listeners know of Ed Taylor … he’s the senior/lead pastor of Calvary Church in Aurora, CO. He was saved at Calvary Chapel Downey, grew in the Word and in ministry there for 8 years, and then in 1999 moved to the Denver area with a desire to plant a church. In December of 1999 Calvary Church held its first service, and has been growing deep and wide ever since. Ed is the author of the book Ordinary Servant, the host of the Lead2Serve Podcast, and the Bible Teacher of the national radio broadcast “Abounding Grace.” In this podcast, Ed will be sharing about: What is Biblical leadership? What does it mean to lead as a senior/lead pastor? How does leading a church differ from leading in the corporate world, or in a business? What is the biggest leadership lesson you've learned in your years of ministry? What is the number one leadership challenge senior/lead pastors are facing today? What's the number one thing that pastors can do, that maybe they're not doing so well right now? Join us for this excellent discussion!

Mandate: "An authoritative command; especially : a formal order from a superior court or official to an inferior one.” Jesus has given His church a number of mandates. These are all commandments, not suggestions. The only possible responses to a Divine mandate it to obey it or disobey it. Of course, one can obey partially, but that didn't work out too well for king Saul. He was told that his partial obedience was akin to witchcraft. And one can disobey passively, e.g. by pushing the commandment under the rug and ignoring it, pretending that it wasn't issued. But the commandment to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is a definite mandate. The commandment to forgive everyone of everything is also a definite mandate. In this podcast, pastor Daryl Zachman (Calvary Chapel Treasure Valley, Meridian, Idaho) and show host Bill Holdridge discuss these two mandates, and spell out how they connect to each other. In these last of the last days, we need to get these things right. So much is riding upon it. Anything short of complete obedience grieves the Holy Spirit of God.

Jim Thomas has the gift of leadership, and is a leader. When a major opportunity presented itself to him, the Lord used him to make the most of it. When he assumed the leadership of Telios Church, it was in a very difficult time for the church and community. Hear some of that testimony, and how the Lord has been able to work in and through Pastor Jim in his present role. The Lord is being glorified!

Does anybody even practice what we call church discipline anymore? And if a church does practice church discipline, why do they do it? How do they do it? What is its purpose? Show host and Poimen Ministries Director Bill Holdridge draws from the scriptures, coupled with his experience in pastoral ministry, to make suggestions to pastors about the whys and how's of church disciple. For instance, Bill calls us these principles in mind: Church discipline is closely related to Christian discipleship. If the church discipline process requires separation from the body, the goal of the excommunication is restoration. Church discipline is actually an application of Divine chastening. To be a Great Commission church, the church must exercise church discipline with its many forms and applications. To be a holy church, the church must practice church disciple. To develop mature believers, the church must trust Jesus to assist Him as He perfects His people. One tool He uses is church discipline. This podcast is aimed at helping pastors and churches do this better, with grace and truth applied at the same time. BULLET POINT #1- Church discipline is closely related to Christian discipleship. Discipline and discipleship are part of the same idea. Discipleship could also be called preventative church discipline. When congregants are discipled, they are not candidates for church discipline. A person who is in the Word, in prayer, in fellowship, who exercises his/her spiritual gifts for others’ sake, who is involved in the Great Commission, who is accountable, etc. has made himself immune to the need for corrective church discipline. BULLET POINT #2- Church discipline is actually an application of Divine chastening. (Hebrews 12:6-8) BULLET POINT #3- Matthew 18:15-18 has to do with interpersonal conflicts. Against you is not found in Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus do not contain these words, but the Majority text does. (https://credohouse.org/blog/textual-problem-study-matthew-1815) BULLET POINT #4- The number of people who are made aware of the discipline is determined by the number of people who know the ones being disciplined. BULLET POINT #5- If the church discipline process requires separation from the body, the goal of the excommunication is restoration. Restoration to God, first. Then to other believers, second. (Galatians 6:1) BULLET POINT #6- Authority to exercise church disciple comes directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20) BULLET POINT #7- Conditions must be clear for the disciplined person’s return into full fellowship. BULLET POINT #8- The church governing documents (Bylaws) and board minutes must be consistent with the Bible’s teaching on church discipline, and internally consistent with BOD minutes or elder’s meeting minutes. BULLET POINT #9- Effective church discipline requires a deep team of leaders that are all-in, and who understand how church discipline should be practiced, Biblically.

Bryan Newberry is like a leadership guru. Plus, he's a discipleship guy as well. The combination of those two traits has been beneficial to many pastors and future pastors during his very long ministry. Bryan was the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel San Diego, where he served for 32 years with his wife Cheryl. Currently, Bryan serves as the (new) senior pastor of Calvary Chapel in Los Alamitos, as well as with Poimen Ministries. Bryan’s teachings are available at bryannewberry.org. His email address is bryanccsd@gmail.com. Feel free to email him with comments or questions.

Bruce Zachary is the founding pastor of Calvary Nexus in Camarillo, CA. Along with the oversight and shepherding of that flock of believers, Bruce has been very active in leadership development all over the world. He co-directs the Calvary Church Planting Network with Pastor Miles DeBenedictis, which helps prospective church planters with training and other aspects of church planting. He also oversees the Velo Church Leadership team that comes alongside of churches and leaders to further equip and strengthen their leadership and service for God's Kingdom. He is also the author of 16 books, as well as two training manuals (which are also in Spanish). Bruce breathes leadership, and oozes leadership. He is a leader's leader as well as a man eager to learn and grow. In this podcast, Bruce will lay out the basics of a church leadership development plan, and will overview the many great resources available through Calvary Nexus, CCPN, and Velo. If you want to grow in leadership, this podcast will help you.

Not lord it over others … Leadership by example … Humble … As a child … As the younger … Least … Last … No force … No selfish ambition … No reputation … Human … Obedient … Death on the Cross … Resurrection. These are characteristics of Jesus Christ that all true believers can mimic and live out, by the power of the Holy Spirit. They are also characteristics of the minister of Jesus Christ, if ministry is to be done Jesus-style. Author, preacher, Bible teacher, and long-time pastor Gayle Erwin helps us with some of the nuts and bolts of following in the steps of our Great Pastor (The Jesus Style, The Father Style, The Spirit Style, Not Many Mighty, The Body Style, Handbook for Servants). Pastoring with an others-centered style of leadership — learning how to understand the place of Humor, Anger, Authority, Freedom, Forgiveness, Worship, Fear, and Feelings in ministry. Discover how Jesus dealt with manipulative people, and how to avoid these pitfalls See why it's not really necessary to 'defend' Jesus, at least not in the ways we might think. It's a mini school of ministry to have a convo with Gayle Erwin. Hope you can join us for episode 99 of Strength for Today's Pastor.