Good Ideas For Churches

Supporting police has become a controversial idea in the US. Some communities, for good reason, have lost faith in the institution because some officers have abused their trust. Many others are trying to do good in a system that’s broken, and face incredible pressures. All of it invites the question:

What could we do to make it better?

This episode provides a first step toward something that could help.

Spoiler: I think it applies to any area of ministry.

My guest is Jared Altic, who is a Full Time pastor, but also volunteers as a police chaplain in Kansas City, MO. Jared also hosts the Hey Chaplain podcast.

Burner phone re-upped for another 30 days! Have a question or just want to connect? I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to give me a call and I'll do my best to pick up during normal business hours, US Mountain Time. New number is (605) 484-4146.

I'd love it if you’d consider subscribing to the Good Ideas for Churches YouTube Channel. It'll be all the same episodes, with occasional bonus content, as well as a place to leave comments.

Good Ideas for Churches is a joint project between Matt Whitman's The Ten Minute Bible Hour and Eyes Up. Have a good idea? Something that's helped your church? Something that's made the Gospel make sense to people in your community? I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at [email protected].

Social media is the chief discipler of our age, and it isn't even close.

Chris Martin has spent the last 10 years managing 100s of social media accounts for large Christian publishers. This has given him a unique window into how these platforms have a negative impact on people.

He's also written two books on the topic, as well as a regular newsletter on substack.

His first book is Terms of Service. His substack is under the same name. And his newly released The Wolf in Their Pockets is written specifically for Christian leaders to help them overcome the all-pervasive power of social media on the people they lead and love.

I'd love it if you’d consider subscribing to the Good Ideas for Churches YouTube Channel.

Good Ideas for Churches is a joint project between Matt Whitman's The Ten Minute Bible Hour and Eyes Up. Have a good idea? Something that's helped your church? Something that's made the Gospel make sense to people in your community? I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at [email protected].

Karl Vaters joined me to discuss how to manage change in the church in ways that spiritually healthy.

Karl is pastor at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, CA, the author of several books, and the host of the Can This Work In a Small Church podcast.

His book, Small Church Essentials, was the jumping off point for our conversation today.

You can follow his other work here, or at @KarlVaters on Twitter.

Good Ideas for Churches is a joint project between Matt Whitman's The Ten Minute Bible Hour and Eyes Up. Have a good idea? Something that's helped your church? Something that's made the Gospel make sense to people in your community? I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at [email protected].

How can we help someone who is deconstructing their faith? That is a critical question for any church leader today, and the topic of this episode.

My guest is Ian Harber, who was gracious enough to share his own story of deconstructing and rebuilding his faith in Jesus. Ian is part of the Truth Over Tribe team, and writes at Back Again with Ian Harber at https://ianharber.substack.com/. He also starts lots of interesting conversations over @ianharber on Twitter.

Ian has also put together a playlist of resources that helped him rebuild his faith on Spotify, titled Reconstructing Your Faith - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1nSlmL6Fh3EdZzv1nxHPxZ.

Good Ideas for Churches is a joint project between Matt Whitman's The Ten Minute Bible Hour and Eyes Up. Have a good idea? Something that's helped your church? Something that's made the Gospel make sense to people in your community? I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at [email protected].

In this episode I talk with Dr. Joshua Chatraw about his book, Telling a Better Story: How to Talk About God in a Skeptical Age. We all have underlying stories that we use to make sense of our lives, and the gospel story is the only one that really meets all our longings.

Dr. Chatraw is executive director of the Center for Public Christianity, lead teacher for New City Fellows, and theologian-in-residence at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, NC.

I also tell on myself for trying to order cocaine in Brazil.

Good Ideas for Churches is a joint project between Matt Whitman's The Ten Minute Bible Hour and Eyes Up. Have a good idea? Something that's helped your church? Something that's made the Gospel make sense to people in your community? I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at [email protected].