thinking outside the church

Ben hosts the conversation with Mitch Marcello and Matt Lake, who are trainers and coaches with Fresh Expressions US. Matt and Mitch work together at First Church Williamsport in north central Pennsylvania, where Matt serves as the Lead Pastor, and Mitch serves as the Director of Innovation. They talk about how their teamwork has been vital in exploring a gathered and sent model of church in Williamsport. Together, they show how they seek to honor and invest in the inherited church while also raising up leaders to think outside the church walls. "Discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction." ~Eugene Peterson Resources: Michael Beck's book, Deep Roots, Wild Branches: Revitalizing the Church in the Blended Ecology can be found on Seedbed and Amazon. Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus, by C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison, can be found on Amazon. Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens, by Neil Cole, can be found on Amazon. Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, by Tod Bolsinger, can be found on Amazon. Read Mitch's Fresh Expressions blog: https://freshexpressionsus.org/author/mitch-marcello/ To learn more about Fresh Expressions, visit: https://freshexpressionsus.org/

Ben interviews Shannon Kiser, who is the Director of Training at Fresh Expressions. She explains the purpose of Fresh Expressions, and how churches begin to live out that purpose. Resources: Read Shannon's Fresh Expressions blog: https://freshexpressionsus.org/author/shannon-kiser/ To learn more about Fresh Expressions, visit: https://freshexpressionsus.org/

Ben welcomes Michael Beck, who is the Director of Remissioning at Fresh Expressions, and the co-pastor Wildwood United Methodist Church. They talk about what church looks like when it lives out its inherited roots but also branches out into the community to express Christian faith through things like running, tattoos, and burritos. Resources: Michael Beck's book, Deep Roots, Wild Branches: Revitalizing the Church in the Blended Ecology can be found on Seedbed and Amazon. Mission-shaped Church: Church Planting and Fresh Expressions of Church in a Changing Context by Graham Cray can be found on Amazon.  From the Steeple to the Street can be found on the Fresh Expressions website. To learn more about Fresh Expressions, visit: https://freshexpressionsus.org/

Ben welcomes J.R. Briggs to the podcast to discuss the definition of church and how to become a better church leader. Resources: A transcription of this episode can be found here. Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by Tod Bolsinger can be found here. Kairos Partnerships: https://www.kairospartnerships.org/ Follow J.R. on Twitter: @jr_briggs Listen to the Monday Morning Pastor podcast on the Kairos Partnerships Website, iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify. To learn more about Fresh Expressions, visit: https://freshexpressionsus.org/

Ben talks with Chris Backert, the Director of Fresh Expressions, about the modern Christian reformation our society is experiencing. Resources: A transcription of this episode can be found here. Soul Tsunami: Sink Or Swim in New Millennium Culture by Leonard Sweet can be found here. Read Chris's blog on the Fresh Expressions website: https://freshexpressionsus.org/author/chris/ To learn more about Fresh Expressions, visit: https://freshexpressionsus.org/

What is going on with the church today? Husband and wife duo Ben and Katie Conrad are twentysomething Christians who are teaming up to explore just that. By having intentional conversations with some of the field's leading experts in this church cultural shift we're facing today, their goal is to explore what it looks like to take church beyond the building. This is thinking outside the church podcast.