In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter interviews author, minister, rapper, and stand-up comedian Jelani Greenidge about the use of humor in preaching. Jelani does an incredible job breaking down how to discover humor in the text, how to use humor effectively, and what humor brings to a sermon. Also, they spend time unpacking Jelani’s latest book called Undercover Prophets that breaks down how to pursue stand-up comedy to talk about what matters most. BIO Jelani Greenidge is the missional storyteller for the Evangelical Covenant Church and ministers in and around Portland, Oregon, as a worship musician, cultural consultant, and stand-up comic. EPISODE LINKS Social - @jelanignatural https://jelani-greenidge.square.site Book: Undercover Prophets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter interviews pastor Tyler Gorsline about his love for preaching and staying put in Seattle. Tyler shares about what he's learned along the way as he and his incredible team lead A Seattle Church. The leaders they have been able to develop, empower, and release as well as having this missional desire for people to learn and practice the way of Jesus. BIO Tyler Gorsline's is living to love God and love people. He helps lead A Seattle Church community and also hosts a podcast. Tyler is passionate about: Seattle Relational Discipleship Teaching Serving the Marginalized Emerging Leaders Writing Everyone knowing that Jesus loves them beyond comprehension For fun, Tyler obsesses about the Portland Trailblazers, explores Seattle, travels when possible, and break-dances ... no seriously, he does! EPISODE LINKS @tylergorsline @aseattlechurch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter interviews Diane Langberg about how a pastor must pursue truth, care for the wounded, point people to Jesus above themselves, and to resist abuse at all costs. For 50 plus years, Langberg has been a leader in the unfortunate field of church abuse and trauma. An incredibly wise guide who deeply loves the church so much that she continues to call out the best for what it can be in our world today. BIO Diane Langberg is globally recognized for her 50 years of clinical work with trauma victims. She has trained caregivers on six continents in responding to trauma and to the abuse of power. For 29 years, she directed her own practice in Jenkintown PA, Diane Langberg PhD, and Associates. Now in partnership with Dr. Phil Monroe, Langberg, Monroe & Associates continues this work which includes seventeen therapists with multiple specialties. Langberg’s newest book is When the Church Harms God's People: Becoming Faith Communities that Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth and Care for the Wounded.  EPISODE LINKS: Social Media: @dianelangberg Website: www.dianelangberg.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Craft & Character podcast, Steve Carter interviews Pastor Jon Thompson from Sanctus Church in Toronto, Canada about the importance of perseverance in pastoral ministry. Jon is one of Canada’s most thoughtful and insightful shepherds and he shares about a book he wrote that unpacks 15 different observations at the halfway point about how to finish well. Bobby Clinton, the legendary Fuller Professor once said only 30% of leaders finish well. How do you become one of the 30%? Reading and mediating on Pastor Thompson’s observations are definitely a gift for those starting out in ministry, at the midway point, or closing in on the finish line. BIO Jon Thompson is the Senior Pastor of Sanctus Church – a multi-site church in the Greater Toronto Area and online – where he has served for 25 years. He holds a Master of Theological Studies from Tyndale Seminary and a Doctorate of Missiology from Fuller Theological Seminary. After spending his childhood in Ecuador with his missionary parents, Jon began his ministry as the Youth Pastor before assuming his current role as Senior Pastor at Sanctus Church. Jon is married to Joanna and has three kids. EPISODE LINKS https://jonthompsonresources.com @pastorjon_t on Instagram @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter interviews pastor Mike Goldsworthy around the topic of plagiarism and the crafting of sermons. Mike shares ways we can easily give credit to an idea or author without slowing down the flow of the teaching. He also unpacks what’s happening in a pastors life that makes them believe this is ok. The character required to give proper credit actually communicates the time, effort, and learning into a message. BIO For over 20 years, Mike has helped people approach their life with more wholeness, intentionality, sustainability, and fulfillment. Helping people both engage more fully in the life that’s right in front of them while also discovering the unlived life that’s within them, he creates a safe space to be challenged towards action. Having served as a non-profit leader, adjunct professor, and executive consultant and coach, Mike puts his Masters Degree in Transformational Leadership to work as he helps leaders and organizations recognize the impact that a transformed leader can have not only on themselves, but also on their team and in their organization. Utilizing his certifications in Working Genius, Transformational Coaching, and Primal Question Coaching, he has worked with leaders and teams, both large and small, in corporate as well as nonprofit spaces. EPISODE LINKS @mgoldsworthy www.mikegoldsworthy.com @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter talks with author, spiritual director, and founder of the Transforming Center, Ruth Haley Barton about the importance of spiritual formation for pastoral care. Ruth Haley Barton offers up so many moments of pure gold as she talks about the soul, the art of discernment, and how she came to discover the goodness with spiritual formation decades ago. This is an important episode for any pastor and leader. If you haven’t read her work, please check out Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Sacred Rhythms, Pursuing God’s Will Together, or Life Together in Christ. BIO Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary) is founder of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors, Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve (www.thetransformingcenter.org). A sought-after teacher, retreat leader, and trained spiritual director, Ruth is the author of numerous books and articles on the spiritual life. Educated at Northern Seminary, the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and Loyola University Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches including Willow Creek Community Church and is Professor of Spiritual Transformation at Northern Seminary. EPISODE LINKS @transformingctr on Instagram www.ruthhaleybarton.com www.transformingcenter.org @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Craft & Character podcast, Steve Carter interviews pastor and thought leader Brian Lee about healing from church hurt. Brian has a heart for those who feel like wanderers looking for a safe place to land. He has created an incredible community for anyone who has felt cast aside, betrayed, or hurt from religious institutions. Brian is hosting a conference for pastors to learn how to be better trauma informed and how to create a safe place for their congregation and staff. Also for any congregant looking to find healing and community he is hosting a gathering in late September (2024) which is going to be powerful. BIO Brian Lee is a pastor, coach, and speaker. As a survivor of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, he has spent his time since leaving vocational ministry in 2021 working to provide recovery and resources for fellow victims and survivors. He has worked with individuals, churches, teams, and denominational groups. He offers coaching in areas of recovery and healing from spiritual abuse, deconstruction and reconstruction, discerning how to stay or leave an organization, and more. He has also led team workshops, seminars, and trainings, and has facilitated mediations. EPISODE LINKS Conference Website: https://www.brokentobeloved.org/conference Brian's Website: https://www.brokentobeloved.org Social Media: @brokentobeloved @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter talks with pastor, founder of Capable Life, and author Steve Cuss about the tiny gap for preachers between our beliefs and experiences of God. Steve Cuss unpacks why this matters from theological, emotional, and character fronts, so we can begin to confront these gaps with curiosity and openness. Steve Cuss offers us a way forward to not just help the pastor's spiritual well-being and experience of God, but to also invite your congregation into newfound depth and honesty with the Lord. BIO Steve Cuss is a pastor, former chaplain, and founder of Capable Life which helps people lower internal and relational anxiety in the work place and home place. Steve, his wife, Lisa, and two sons and a daughter live in Erie, Colorado. EPISODE LINKS @stevecusswords on Instagram, X and threads www.stevecusswords.com @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is a discipleship opportunity right now that pastors and preachers must take advantage of. Pastor Daniel Im and Steve Carter discuss how we must understand the audience is different in our congregations than from 10, 20, 40 years ago. They’re asking different kinds of questions. They’re more cynical in some ways and wildly curious in others. When our messages can invite people into the deeper streams, challenge them in the right ways, and truly wrestle with the questions they’re wondering about, we have a chance, a grand opportunity to disciple more and more people than ever before.  BIO Daniel Im is a pastor, Bible teacher, writer, and podcast host with a passion for the local church. He is the Lead Pastor of Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton, Alberta, and the author of several books. His latest book is The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World. He has also written No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, Planting Missional Churches: Your Guide to Starting Churches that Multiply (2nd Ed), and You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies about Work, Life, and Love. Daniel has an M.A. in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary and has served and pastored in church plants and multisite churches ranging from 100 people to 50,000 people in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Korea, Edmonton, and Nashville. EPISODE LINKS New Book: The Discipleship Opportunity @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Craft & Character, Steve Carter interviews the Win Today Podcast host Christopher Cook about how leaders can transform their mental, emotional, and spiritual health from the inside out. Christopher shares wisdom he has learned, how the reliance on the Holy Spirit is everything, and what courage looks like as you face past trauma. This episode explores key insights from Cook’s new book Healing What You Can’t Erase and will give you some practical steps to partner with the Holy Spirit to take your next right step in your personal spiritual formation. BIO Christopher Cook is a leadership coach, author, and podcast host focused on transformation and wholeness. With an aptitude for strategy and execution, his ability to unearth clarity out of complexity drives his mission to help individuals and organizations thrive in their true identity. His work has appeared in outlets such as SUCCESS Magazine, and he has spent over a decade coaching leaders in both the marketplace and non-profit sectors. His weekly podcast, Win Today with Christopher Cook, equips wellness-minded listeners to move beyond the limitations of self-help, and instead, toward an integrated life of wholeness from the inside out. Pulling from his own experiences with adversity and personal transformation, these efforts, embodied by his passion for mental health, emotional health, and spiritual maturity, along with his educational credentials in business administration, leadership, and ministry, have led to helping people experience healing and transformation in their spirit, mind, and body. EPISODE LINKS @wintodaychris Wintoday.tv New Book: Healing what You Can't Erase @steveryancarter @craft_character Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices