The Modern Church Podcast: Recent Episodes
Stephen Sargent
The Modern Church Podcast is an online community that explores the honest realities, thoughts, and challenges we are facing about God and the church right now.
In this episode, Stephen discusses how easy it is to get distracted from our goals. 96% of New Year's Resolutions aren't accomplished because we lose focus and don't have guard rails in place to keep us on track?
Why is it so easy for us to get distracted?
Why is it so difficult for us to stay focused?Stephen shares some thoughts on where our distractions come from, as well as some suggestions on ways to more effectively accomplish your goals.
In this episode, Stephen discusses your battle with your own self-doubt. This internal barrier will try its best to hold you back from accomplishing your goals this year.
Where does our self-doubt come from?
What can we do to overcome our self-doubt?
In order for you to accomplish your 2022 goals, you'll need to face your doubts and learn how to overcome them. Hopefully this episode will help you with that.
Young pastors have unique advantages they bring into ministry, as well as some significant barriers they face in trying to lead while on a church staff.
What are some of the advantages and challenges young pastors face?
I'll talk through these with Brandon Bonville.
PS: We are looking to start a new Young Pastors Mastermind Cohort in early 2022 for leaders in the church who are looking for a focused coaching experience with other leaders throughout the country. You can learn more at mod.church.
The women that followed Jesus during his ministry felt more empowered than any other women in their society. So why does it feel like the opposite for today's women in the church? Every church family needs men and women speaking into the vision together.
How come so many women feel held back in the church?
How come so many women don't feel heard in the church?
Let's discuss why these tensions exist and how we can become healthier in empowering women to serve in significant ways in their local church.
Are pastors really that busy? Are they toobusy?
Lots of Christians hesitate to go to their pastors because they worry that they won't have time for them. And they might be right. It's a demanding job that requires constant balance.
You need someone to go to for counsel and guidance. And your pastor loves when he is busy helping people...like you. But it takes us dealing with this tension of busy schedules and constant demand.
Let's discuss it together.
There are lots of negative stigmas in regards to pastors and money. We've seen many celebrity pastors live the millionaire lifestyle, and it feels slimy. So what are the realistic expectations we should have towards pastors in regards to wealth?
Is it okay for your pastor to live a wealthier life than you do?
What's the healthy balance here?
This is a tricky topic. Let's discuss it together.
We often expect pastors and spiritual leaders to be the cleanest and "best Christians" in the room. Is this what Paul is referring to one when he gives his qualifications for spiritual leadership?
Does God expect pastors to be holier than everyone else?
What are the dangers of holding pastors to higher standards than we hold ourselves?Let's discuss together.
Appreciation is powerful. We often struggle to feel appreciated by the people around us, which can lead to deep frustration.
How appreciated do you feel with the people around you?
How much do you show appreciation to the leaders in your life?
In this episode, we'll talk with David Wall, the Creative Arts Pastor at Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, TX, about how easy it is for leaders (and all people) to feel discouraged by the lack of gratitude they receive and how we can be more mindful of this.
Life is painful. Everyone hurts from it. We all carry spiritual and emotional pain with us, and we need people around us to validate our hurting and to help us to heal.
Who helps you with your pain?
Who do you go to help you in order to help you process your pain?
Dr. Barney Self, a licensed Pastoral Counselor, joins us to discuss what we need in order to heal and what we can do in order to help our friends process their pain.
Reading is an essential ingredient to your spiritual and mental health. And yet, the average American only reads 10 minutes a day. In this episode, we're going to discuss why reading more books is an important spiritual practice in your personal development.
How many unread books do you have on your bookshelf?
Are you 'loving God with all of my mind', as Jesus says? Let's discuss together.
Show Note: To learn more about Stephen's new course - How To Read 100 Books in 1 Year - go to mod.church.
The most talented athletes and leaders in the world have coaches and mentors. You need one too! You need someone that can help you to grow and chase the dreams on your heart.
How do you find a great mentor?
What's the structure of a great mentorship?
In this special episode, I'll be discussing how to find and develop a great mentorship relationship in a special interview with Dr. Stephen Trammell - one of my personal mentors.
Main Points:
You need a great mentorship that gives you permission to be uniquely you.
You need a great mentorship that has a consistent pattern.
You need a great mentorship that ***has clear parameters.
Mentorship Questions (from John Maxwell):*What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in leadership? *What do you know that I should know?
What have you done that I should do?
What have you done that I shouldn’t do?What have you read that I should read?*
In this episode, we're going to talk about HOWwe talk about church problems. Christians are great at complaining, even about the things God says we are ultimately responsible for improving.
When you see a problem in the church, do you complain about it, ask someone to fix it, or contribute to the solution?
Your mindset towards the church determines the level of responsibility you take in helping it to grow.
Let's discuss together.
In this episode, we're going to talk about the myths surrounding depression and how it impacts our lives more than we think. There are two important and healthy responses we can have when we feel the symptoms of depression in our lives.
What IS depression? And what is it NOT?
Is it possible to be depressed without even realizing it? Let's discuss together.
In this episode, we're going to be talking about the silent pandemic that is around us but not being discussed...loneliness. More people than ever before are struggling to feel connected and to feel cared for by the people around them.
Why is it so hard to make great friends?
What do we need to do differently to resolve our loneliness?This is an honest conversation that we need to have. Let's discuss together.
In this episode, we'll be looking at why there is such a shortage of leadership in the church today. It seems like most churches are top heavy, dependent on a few people to do most of the work.
Is there a potential danger in focusing too much on people getting more and more involved?
How come most churches have to hire complete strangers when they have a staff position that needs filling?
Let's discuss together.
In this episode, we're looking at the default mode of 'being too busy' that so many of us stay in constantly. Most of us don't think of busyness as a spiritual issue but it absolutely is!
What do you wish you had more time to do?
What do you think God wishes you had more time do?Is your busyness actually a form of sin?
Let's discuss together.
In this pilot episode, we'll be looking at the growing number of spiritually-displaced Christians today. Multitudes of Christians have not left their faith, but have left their church.
How can we best respond? What can we do to help our friends who are struggling with their spiritual pain or frustration? What do we do with the pain in our own hearts?
Let's discuss together.