Minister in the Making BT Irwin

Minister in the Making started out as a way for a son to give his dad something to do during the isolation of the first pandemic summer of 2020. It turned out to be the last thing they ever did together. Travis Irwin, the "minister" in 'Minister in the Making', shared his entire life story in 37 episodes that ran from August 2020 until May 2022. On June 1, 2022, Travis died at the age of 72 after his final struggle with cancer. He was only 15 months into his retirement from 45 years in Christian ministry. The lessons he learned and the stories he told in his own voice and his own words are now available to anyone in the world who has access to this podcast.

Since the "minister" in 'Minister in the Making' is no longer with us, the podcast no longer has its subject. This is the last episode.

For this final installment, the son, BT Irwin, who interviewed Travis for 37 episodes, does the answering instead of the asking. Bobby Ross, Jr., editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle sits in as the guest host to ask BT what it was like to record Travis's entire life story and what that story means.

'Minister in the Making' is not the only way to benefit from everything that Travis Irwin learned from his 45 years in church ministry. A year before he died, he wrote a book, 'We Are God's Masterpiece', to help Christians and Christian congregations discover and use their spiritual gifts for the good of the local church and its neighborhood. Learn more and purchase your copy here. 

Dad (Travis Irwin, the "minister" in 'Minister in the Making') died on June 1, 2022, before we could record the last episode with him. 

In this episode, I took many of the questions that I wanted to ask him in that episode and asked them of the one person who may have known Dad better than he knew himself: Mom (Debbie Irwin). 

Over one hour, Mom shared what she thought Dad learned in life, what it all meant to him, and what he hoped it would mean to those who came into contact with him. Nobody could better describe or summarize Dad's faith, life, and work than his best friend, companion, and partner for 49 years. 

We also had a couple of surprise guests show up for this one!

This episode is the perfect way to look back on Dad's life and work and apply it to yourself.

Even though Dad's life on Earth is over, his work goes on in 'We Are God's Masterpiece', the book he wrote to help church leaders and members discover and use their spiritual gifts to build up the local church. Get your copy here.

Travis Dewey Irwin (the "minister" in 'Minister in the Making') died on June 1, 2022, after a 10-month struggle with cancer. 

In this episode, we bring you his funeral--his "celebration of life"--as an audience member recorded it on June 11, 2022, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

You may read Travis's obituary here.

Even though Travis is gone, his ministry goes on through 'We Are God's Masterpiece,' the book he wrote a year before his death. This book draws from Travis's 45-year ministry career to give church leaders and members applications, lessons, and tools they can use to discover their spiritual gifts for building up the body of Christ. Click here to learn more. 

Over more than 40 years, Dad ministered to countless people who were battling cancer. He ministered to many people who were dying of it. He ministered to their families. He eulogized them at their funerals. Then, in August 2016, Dad heard the words that so many of us dread hearing: “You have cancer.” Almost overnight, Dad went from being the one who ministered to cancer patients to a cancer patient needing ministry himself.

What was it like to be caught in this role reversal? How did cancer change the way Dad thought about the church, ministry, and God?

Check out Dad's book, We Are God's Masterpiece, now. This is a manual and workbook for church leaders and members to use to discover their spiritual gifts and how they work together to build the body of Christ.

Most young ministers start out dreaming of being “The Guy” at the head of a growing congregation. Dad had that experience. It burned him out and eventually almost hollowed out the congregation he served for more than two decades. By the time Dad was ready to go to work with his fifth and final congregation at the age of 58, he was humbler and wiser. He wanted to be just an associate minister, working behind the scenes to increase member involvement at the Athens Church of Christ in Athens, Tennessee. There, Dad put a lifetime of ministry experience to work to help members find and use their spiritual gifts to build up the church.

If you find these conversations with Dad useful and valuable, I recommend you pick up a copy of Dad’s book, We Are God’s Masterpiece, now on sale amazon.com. All of the lessons Dad learned about congregational health and the growth of individual Christians in the church comes together in this book. It’s a guide for church leaders and members to discover their spiritual gifts and put them to work together to grow the body of Christ.

After almost three years as a part-time minister for the small Church of Christ congregation in Brushy, Tennessee, Dad and Mom both knew he was ready to go back to full-time ministry work. They committed to finding a situation that would make it easier for Dad to stick to the healthier lifestyle and ministry habits he learned after his burnout in 2003. He also had a whole new philosophy of ministry and he needed to go to work with a congregation that was open to it. Oh, and he had several more “must-haves” on his list (you’ll hear them in the interview). In short, Dad was looking for a situation that most Church of Christ leaders would have told him doesn’t exist. Dad, however, prayed and persevered and it paid off.

If you find these conversations with Dad useful and valuable, I recommend you pick up a copy of Dad’s book, We Are God’s Masterpiece, now on sale amazon.com. All of the lessons Dad learned about congregational health and the growth of individual Christians in the church comes together in this book. It’s a guide for church leaders and church members to discover their spiritual gifts and put them to work together to grow and strengthen the body of Christ.