Over the past 18 months, I’ve had the privilege of serving with and learning from Josh Miller, a pastor at The Summit Church and Director of Assessment with The Summit Network. I’ve learned a ton from Josh and I’m stoked to have him on the show to share some of his knowledge and passion for developing leaders with you. In this episode, we talk about what leadership development looks like for new and aspiring pastors, how to develop spiritual vitality in the life of the leader, and an exciting opportunity for you to get intensive, hands-on ministry training through The Summit Church.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher

1:32 – Josh shares the highlights of his minstry story
4:12 – Rob asks Josh about leadership development
4:48 – Josh describes a holistic approach to leadership development, including head, heart, and hands
7:32 – How does a young leader get started in a leadership development pipeline?
9:40 – How young leaders rise up out of small groups and volunteer teams
12:16 – Common milestones that young leaders can look for as they grow
15:33 – Challenges that leaders experience during the leadership development process
20:08 – Advice for leaders who are frustrated with the pace of their leadership development
23:45 – Spiritual vitality in the life of the leader
27:18 – Josh discusses what he’s learning about spiritual disciplines
31:20 – How to learn from other Christians to help you grow in areas where you’re weak
33:41 – Josh shares an exciting opportunity to get hands-on ministry training

Learn more and APPLY NOW for the Summit Ministry Apprenticeship

The Summit Network

Josh’s Leadership Blog
Josh on the Twitter

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I was recently blessed to join Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Dr. Danny Akin on campus to share a Diet Coke and an encouraging conversation about missions, expository preaching, and how to grow as a young pastor. In this interview, Dr. Akin shares wisdom he has gained from nearly 40 years in ministry and academics. He shares his experience being called into ministry and training as a young pastor, how to become a better pastor and leader through international missions, and how to improve as an expository preacher. I hope you enjoy this episode of The Growing Pastor Podcast!

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher

1:01 – Dr. Akin shares his story of ministry and academics
5:36 – How Dr. Akin knew God was calling him into ministry
9:42 – Subjective experience in salvation and calling to ministry
11:06 – The need for conviction in pastoral ministry
12:25 – Two things the pastor needs (a hunger for God’s word and a desire to teach)
15:10 – How SEBTS prepares students to go to the nations
19:30 – Dr. Akin shares advice for taking your first international mission trip
22:21 – What is expository preaching and why is it so important in the Church today?
25:06 – How to avoid “boring” expository preaching
26:21 – Practical ways for a young pastor to grow as a preacher
28:35 – What are some ways in which seminary is uniquely equipped to prepare men and women for ministry?
30:10 – What are some ways in which local churches are better equipped to train leaders than a seminary?
31:32 – Resources for getting started with theological education if you can’t get to seminary
33:58 – How to find your own voice in preaching
36:05 – How pastors can teach in the church when they aren’t the primary preacher on Sunday morning
38:05 – Where to find teaching opportunities early in your ministry

“No matter where you are, if you are in God’s will, that’s a good place to be. It may not be easy or comfortable, but it is the best place to be.”
“If you are going to pursue ministry, there needs to be in your heart a settled conviction that this is what God wants to do in your life. If you don’t have that, I don’t think you’ll go the distance.”
“When men are considering ministry, if you have no desire to study God’s word, I don’t think that God is calling you. If you have no desire to share the gospel with lost people, I seriously doubt God is calling you.”
“Things that once meant everything to me suddenly began to vanish from my radar screen. And things that I had never thought about before… suddenly those became my consuming passions.”
“Every time I go [overseas]… it re-energizes me for the work that I do here.”
“What you say is more important than how you say it, but how you say it has never been more important.”
“Adrian Rogers used to say of his preaching, ‘I milk a lot of cows, but I church my own butter.’ If you listen to a significant number of men, it is unlikely that you will begin to copycat any one of them.”

DanielAkin.com
Dr. Akin on Twitter
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
SEBTS free online seminary classes

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This interview with Christian Memes/Memes for Jesus founder Michael Schaffer was two years in the making. I had originally reached out to him as part of a blog series that I was writing on young leaders in the bible, and it was a joy to finally get to sit down and chat about missions, youth ministry, and of course, Memes for Jesus.

In this interview, Michael talks about his time in ministry school learning to share the gospel around the United States, including what it’s like to minister in challenging environments like Mardi Gras. He opens up about some of his challenges as a young leader and how he grew through them, and he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like running Memes for Jesus and having a platform to reach 750,000 people with the gospel.

1:16 – Michael’s ministry story
1:55 – Michael’s experience at Missio Dei School of Missions and Evangelism
5:27 – Lessons learned on the mission field in New Orleans
7:10 – Experiencing reviling on the streets of New Orleans
8:44 – How to be bold in opposition
11:00 – Changed lives on the Mardi Gras trip
12:35 – How Michael is learning to reproduce himself as a youth pastor
15:00 – How introverts can be effective at building pastoral relationships
18:05 – How to move from “surface level” conversation to heart-level conversation
20:48 – How Michael experienced God calling him to be a youth pastor
25:00 – Lessons Michael is learning as a youth pastor (“I didn’t know anything.”)
29:07 – Learning to serve your senior pastor well
31:11 – Michael opens up about ministry challenges and how he grew through them
38:53 – How Christian Memes/Memes for Jesus got started
41:38 – How Memes for Jesus helped support and platform Michael’s ministry
43:20 – Staying humble when 750,000 people follow you
45:23 – The positive impact of Memes for Jesus
47:20 – What’s next for Memes for Jesus
50:03 – Where to connect with Michael and support his ministry online

Below are some of the links and resources that we mentioned in this episode.

Michael on Twitter | Instagram
Support Michael’s work on Patreon
Missio Dei School of Missions and Evangelism
Memes for Jesus (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr)
Memes for Jesus store

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