Interviews

Megan Fate Marshman: Everyday Grace

While influence tends to want to go upwards and grow to the right, I am fighting to go down to the left, and it takes a lot of intentionality.

Nirup Alphonse: It Starts With Hospitality

The point of hospitality is not to entertain; it is to tell a better story and invite people into the story of God. That's what people need. That's what they're longing for. They want to be a part of that story. And that story is transforming. That story is eternal. That story is enduring. That story is faithful.

Gene Appel: Do Less Ministry; Reach More People

None of the programs at our church were bad in and of themselves. The volume of it just prevented us from being focused on building relationships with those who are far from God. So, we had to do less ministry to reach more people. It sounds funny, but people had to be trained in how to do life with nonbelievers or people spiritually disinterested.

Chris Hodges: ‘Not Everything That Is Doable Is Sustainable’

“I’m learning that ministry is really an overflow of my relationship with Jesus.”

Bob Merritt: ‘Truth and Love Must Go Together’

"The day we give up the truth—and are afraid to speak the truth—is the day the church dies and society is lost forever.”

Scott Nickell: ‘Teaching Real Truth to Real People’

“Healing only happens when you are willing to address a wound; pretending it’s not there makes it worse.”

Chris Stephens: ‘The Church Needs to Be the Grace Place’

“Developing leaders takes some serious effort and time. You can’t ‘nuke’ leaders; they must be ‘Crock-Potted!’”

Ron Vietti: ‘Let People Take Precedence Over the Machine’

“True, sincere love for others can break down any walls. You don’t have to agree with the way people live to love them.”

Tim Harlow: ‘Humble Yourself Right Away’

“I’m realizing that the harder I push and the more I lead, the more their lives are changed. If I wimp out, they will, too.”

Steve Poe: ‘Trust God and Take Risks’

"Once we have prayed and know the mind of Christ, we need to stop talking about what we want to do and just go do it.”

Dan Betzer: ‘It Is Essential That People Know the Scriptures’

“I let the congregation know constantly that they are loved. They get ‘beaten up’ in the world; they don’t need it from the pulpit.”