The Church Renewal Podcast

Flourish Coaching
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

The Church Renewal Podcast is a conversation for church leaders eager to see our churches refreshed by the gospel. The only fully sufficient reason that today dawned is that Jesus is yet gathering a people and using the church to do it. Come and join us as we dig into the ways Jesus is renewing his church.

  1. 3d ago

    When Jesus Leaves the Building 🚪

    Some church decisions feel routine until they quietly become make-or-break: hiring a pastor, reshaping a ministry, closing a beloved program, reallocating resources, or choosing a direction when the “right” path is not obvious. We open season five by naming what we think is missing in far too many leadership rooms, not more information but shared, prayerful wisdom that comes from Jesus. We call it community spiritual discernment, and we argue it may be the most crucial skill a leader can learn.  We talk through the biblical foundation in Acts and James 1:5, where God invites a group that lacks wisdom to ask and promises to give generously. We contrast ordinary decision-making with discernment that requires slowing down, humbling ourselves, and listening carefully to one another as members of the body of Christ. Along the way we offer practical “leading indicators” that your process is breaking down, including prayerlessness, unheard voices, and meetings that end with a recorded outcome but no real buy-in. “Decided does not mean discerned” becomes a diagnostic for teams that keep moving while trust erodes.  Then we zoom out to the church’s mission and the stakes. If the church exists to proclaim the gospel and make disciples, what happens when a congregation drifts from Jesus’ purposes? We wrestle with Revelation 2–3 and the warning that Jesus can remove a lampstand, and we clarify how seeking the Spirit’s wisdom fits within both cessationist and continuationist settings without claiming new revelation. If you lead an elder board, pastor search committee, nonprofit, or ministry team, this conversation gives language and a framework for wiser, calmer, more faithful decisions.  Subscribe, share this with your leadership team, and leave a review if it helps. What consequential question is your church trying to answer right now? The Eighth Letter — Mark Barnard and Kenneth Quick, ChurchSmart Resources Rethinking Session Communication — Matt Bohling, Walt Coppersmith, Jon Price, and Robert Q. Benedict, Flourish Coaching "community Spiritual discernment" — Matt Bohling, Flourish Coaching (forthcoming) Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  2. Season 5 Trailer

    Season 5 Preview 4: It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us 🕊️

    When you get to the end, you wanna be able to say, just like the Jerusalem Council said, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us." Mm-hmm. That is the hallmark of whether community spiritual discernment happened, that the solution that they walked out of on that day in Acts 15, nobody brought into the room. And the Lord works in such a way in the group through the conversation that everybody goes, "Wow, that's it."  Could a church disagree honestly and still recognize the leading of the Holy Spirit together? Acts 15 does not give us a room without conflict. It gives us people who listen long enough to be changed. James, the one who taught that they must be circumcised, probably caused this problem.  That may be the most surprising part of the story. No one had to pretend the disagreement was small.  In the midst of this no small debate and dissension- Right ... they disagreed, but bore the fruit of the Spirit towards each other. Through this listening to each other- Yep ... the Holy Spirit worked. Nobody came in with that solution. This is a, a very, very surprising statement coming from James's mouth.  They had to trust God could work through the people in the room.  James was convincible. He didn't insist on his own way. He was willing to be shaped by the Spirit. He was willing to be previously wrong. And James here does not insist on his own way. Love does not insist on its own way, and I think that that is a major feature that's needed in people that are gonna do community spiritual discernment.  Remember, the first episode arrives Thursday, October 1st. Subscribe so it is waiting for you. Bring a friend who's been asking how a church can hear God together, and we will see you then. Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  3. Season 5 Trailer

    Season 5 Preview 3: The Meeting After the Meeting

    Your viewpoint actually is not valuable because I'm superior to you.  Have you ever watched a church meeting end in agreement only to hear the real opinions beside the cars?  If the real conversation can't happen in the room, the leaders in the room have made it impossible.  That conversation after the conversation may tell you more about the room than the vote did. What happens is we have a fauxversation. Okay. It has all of the appearances- Mm-hmm ... of a talking with. Mm-hmm. But it is not a talking with. It's a talking at, it's a talking over. People are not listening to hear, they're listening to respond. They're not listening at all. We're not realizing this is a big enough thing that we ought to admit we don't have the wisdom right off the bat. It reminds me of pilots. When they're in the air and something goes wrong, what do they do? They pull out their notebook, and they flip to the page that says, "Checklist for this event." Not because they're not trained, not because they're not prepared, but this is what you do when you encounter this.  Right. You turn to the guide. Right. And the guide will then tell you, "Here's how you make this decision."  Yep.  So join us next week for season five of the Church Renewal podcast. Maybe bring the person you normally talk with after the meeting. Subscribe now so neither of you misses it. Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  4. Season 5 Trailer

    Season 5 Preview 2: Open Hands, Dangerous Leaders ⚠️

    Hasn't this idea already led to spiritual abuse?  Here is a question most churches do not ask until something has already gone wrong. What happens when a leader enters discernment with the answer already decided?  It certainly can, done wrong. It's dangerous in the hand of a manipulative leader. It's also dangerous if even one person doesn't open their hand and be genuinely open to how the Lord would work in the group. The words may sound spiritual, and the room may agree, but is anyone still free to hear something different?  You're fundamentally saying that at least a major reason that CSD is not happening in a congregation is in fact because of the leadership.  Yeah, absolutely. If the leadership is not all Gospel humbled, they're a danger to their own sheep. Hmm. That is scary, scary business. Yeah. Doctrinally orthodox people could actually be a danger to the very sheep that they're trying to teach the right doctrine to.  That is the uncomfortable part. A leader may mean well and still make discernment unsafe when being right matters more than being changed. What's the difference between that Gospel humbled person and a person whose pride has merely been crushed?  Yeah, so a Gospel humbled person, they know themselves to be a very great sinner, in fact, the worst sinner that they know, but also marvelously received by the Father. And so they're amazed and grateful, and as a result, they're a gracious person. That's the Gospel humbled person.  Season five launches in two weeks. Subscribe before you forget. And if a leader came to mind while you were listening, send this their way, then come back and listen with  us. Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  5. Season 5 Trailer

    Season 5 Preview 1: When A Decision Needs Discernment 🧭

    Lots of churches close every year, 15,000 or something crazy like that, which is bananas. Sometimes Jesus has just left the building, and He takes the light with Him.  Last season on the Church Renewal podcast, we looked at how anxiety shapes a church and the people trying to lead it. This season, we're asking what happens when a hard decision needs more than good judgment? How do we know when we have made a wise choice? And how do we know when we have actually listened for God? That is where season five begins.  We're not asking because we don't want it to be different. And in fact, if somebody tried to tell us, we would get upset with them for disrupting the stasis.  If your church has a hard decision in front of it, we made this season for you. You know, what color on the walls, what computers to buy, I don't believe that those need to be discerned. Mm-hmm. They can just be decided. Some of it is on, on us as leaders of teams, where they don't realize we just walked into something that ought to be discerned- Right ... and I haven't helped the team slow down and switch modes. What He threatens to do in Revelation 2 and 3, He actually makes good on. People don't seek Him and don't want His will. They want their way, then they're happy for a church to close as long as they got their way, which is very sad.  Season five begins Thursday, October 1st. Subscribe now, and if someone helps carry those decisions with you, send this their way. We'll meet you there. Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  6. Mar 5

    The Next Chapter: Where Our Stories Go From Here

    Start here if you’ve ever wondered why church renewal efforts stall even when the plan looks solid. We trace a quieter, deeper path: personal differentiation rooted in rest in Christ, and how that inner work can transform the emotional climate of a whole congregation. Across a season’s worth of conversations, we unpack the tools, the cautions, and the hope that come with applying family systems wisdom alongside gospel-centered formation. We share practical resources leaders can trust, from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and Emotionally Healthy Relationships to Christian introductions to Bowen family systems that make patterns of anxiety and triangulation visible without turning people into projects. You’ll hear why these tools are descriptive rather than prescriptive, and how they serve the larger work of discipleship: defining yourself clearly, staying connected without control, and leading with a calm, non-anxious presence. Two core ideas keep surfacing. First, complementarity: when you change, the system shifts. Second, contagion: anxiety spreads, but so does differentiation and rest. Ground your identity in Christ, and watch how meetings, conflicts, and ministries find a steadier rhythm. We also pull back the curtain on Flourish Coaching—what coaching is and isn’t, why so much of our current work focuses on transitional pastoring, and how churches can navigate liminal seasons with courage and clarity. Looking ahead, we preview a forthcoming book and season five’s focus on communal spiritual discernment shaped by Acts 15 and the wisdom language of James. Think pastor searches, vision work, and complex decisions approached with shared prayer, humility, and Spirit-led wisdom that is pure, peaceable, and open to reason. If you’re ready to move from managing crises to shepherding culture, this conversation will give you a path and the posture to walk it. Subscribe, share with a fellow leader, and leave a review with one question you want us to explore next. Your curiosity helps shape what comes next. Resources Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Peter Scazzero & Geri Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Workbook + Streaming Video Peter Scazzero & Geri Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Relationships Workbook (Expanded Edition) Roberta M. Gilbert, The Eight Concepts of Bowen Theory Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  7. Feb 26

    From Anxiety To Assurance

    We trace the journey from anxious reactivity to settled assurance by rooting leadership and congregational life in the Father’s love. Through gospel clarity, lament, and emotionally mature practices, we show how calm spreads through leaders who act as circuit breakers for fear. • anxiety defined as systemic reactivity and loss of perspective • gospel as resource for differentiation, hope and endurance • catastrophising, control grabs and scapegoating named and resisted • God moves first: cross-centered assurance and presence • practices for a non-anxious presence and family-of-origin work • matching intensity, lament and attachment-aware care • leaders transmitting assurance rather than anxiety • signs of health: waiting, rest, patience and clearer mission Thanks for listening to the Church Renewal Podcast from Flourish Coaching. For more information, go to our website, flourishcoaching.org, or send an email to info at flourishcoaching.org. You can also connect with us on Facebook, X, and YouTube. We appreciate when you like, subscribe, rate, or review our show whenever you're listening. Helpful Resources Edwin H. Friedman – A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick FixJack Shitama – Anxious Church, Anxious PeopleRevelation 2–3 – Jesus’ discipline and care for local congregationsMatthew 6:25–34 – Jesus teaches that anxiety is answered by trusting the FatherRomans 8:32 – the cross assures us God will care for usPsalm 27:13–14 – waiting on the Lord with courage and hopeRomans 1–Revelation 4 – God’s fatherly care expressed in his ongoing correction and encouragement to the church Defining Terms Anxiety – fear that the future is at great risk, generating reactive behavior Catastrophization – assuming the worst possible future outcome Scapegoating – locating the cause of internal anxiety in an external person Non-Anxious Presence – choosing calm, grounded behavior despite feeling anxious internally  Differentiation – holding personal convictions while remaining relationally connected Attachment Intensity Matching – meeting another’s emotional intensity to help them regulate  Reactivity – immediate emotional response driven by fear or discomfort Responsiveness – thoughtful, grounded engagement shaped by the gospel  Rest – the settled confidence that God is Father, provider, and protector Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

  8. Feb 19

    When Systems Push Back

    Change rarely fails because the plan is bad; it fails because anxious systems push back. We dive into the emotional mechanics of resistance—sabotage, cutoff, and the way fear shrinks a congregation’s imagination—and we explore how a well-differentiated leader can stay calm, connected, and faithful without caving to togetherness pressure. Show how you can respond without becoming reactive or rigid. We describe the roles sabotage often takes in congregations: the Fan, the Expert, the Investor , the Docent , the Observer , the Reporter, the Peacemaker, and the Opposition . Not as personal betrayals, instead we frame them as grief responses to loss.  Abuse requires distance; difficulty requires endurance. Reconciliation remains the aim. Underneath it all sits imagination.  Identity in Christ steadies the soul—if we’re not at stake, we can risk hard conversations. Expect resistance, recognize the patterns, and walk toward others with truth and love. Resources for you! Peter Block – Flawless Consulting Roberta M. Gilbert – The Eight Concepts of Bowen TheoryTod Bolsinger – Tempered ResilienceJohn 1:11 – Jesus rejected by his own, grounding the experience of sabotage Matthew 28:18–20 – the Great Commission as the church’s core calling 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 – ministry of reconciliation as the church’s identity 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 – identity secured in belonging to Christ 1 Peter 4:12–13 – suffering as participation in Christ Acts 5:41 – rejoicing to suffer for Christ’s name Luke 10:25–37 – Good Samaritan as costly, risky love in action 1 John 4:7–11 – God’s love empowering our love for others Definitions: Sabotage – emotional resistance arising when systems feel threatened by change Projection – attributing one’s internal emotional distress to another person Triangulation – redirecting tension between two people onto a third Cutoff – emotional distancing or severing connection to avoid discomfort Boundary Setting – defining personal limits without severing relationship Togetherness Pressure – system-driven push to maintain sameness and avoid change Differentiation – holding one’s values while staying relationally connected Support the show Please connect with us at our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you'd like to support the work of Flourish Coaching you can click here to make a donation. Connect with Jeremy to discuss podcasting.

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The Church Renewal Podcast is a conversation for church leaders eager to see our churches refreshed by the gospel. The only fully sufficient reason that today dawned is that Jesus is yet gathering a people and using the church to do it. Come and join us as we dig into the ways Jesus is renewing his church.

Information

  • Creator
    Flourish Coaching
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    139
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Church Renewal Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Church Renewal Podcast