Doug's Story - A few years ago I got sick. REALLY sick.  I was down and limited in activity for almost 18 months.  I remember praying the first week I was in the hospital, “God…don’t let this be for nothing.  Let me learn something from this.”  Then, as time dragged on for the next several months, I remember watching the world around me.  I was watching the Church be attacked in what I perceived as a way it had not been attacked in my memory or in my lifetime.  So I THEN started praying, “God, how can we get back to movements like we saw in the late 60’s “Jesus Movement” era.  Over the next several months (and, by the way, this is just coming up on the two year mark) I started to get some answers...... Read the rest here  Visit UniteLeadership.org

Rev. Dr. Gerard Bolling has been a team member at Bethlehem for 10 years with 7 of those years serving as Pastor. Pastor Bolling works in many ministry facets as he and Pastor Schmidtke steer the ministry of Bethlehem together.He holds a BA in Theatre from Concordia University Chicago, an Mdiv from Concordia Seminary, and a Doctorate of Education (EdD) from Concordia University Wisconsin in Leadership, Innovation, and Continuous Improvement. His dissertation focused on Urban Leadership Development as it related to mentorship for Urban LCMS Pastors.  In addition to serving as full-time Pastor at Bethlehem, Pastor Bolling also serves as full-time Professor of Leadership and Theology in the online modality at Concordia University Texas. He is a writer for Concordia Publishing House, and serves as a podcast host for Lutheran Hour Ministries in a show called “The (Im)partial Church” focusing on Race and Diversity (https://www.lhm.org/theimpartialchurch).Pastor Bolling also adjuncts at various Lutheran universities. His wife Lorenda teaches Preschool at Word of Life Lutheran School where their son (Lincoln) attends school, and their daughter (Monroe) attends the Early Childcare Center for St. Lucas Lutheran. They reside in South St. Louis City.

About Brian -  "Brian Barlow, a recent graduate from the Cross-Cultural Ministry Center (CMC) at Concordia-Irvine, now serving as pastor of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Quartz Hill, CA.

See also - Interview with Concordia Texas President Don Christian - https://youtu.be/li8c0NONstE

Download this episode at https://americanreformation.buzzsprout.com/Join Tim has he interviews Pastor Michael, a fellow partner in the Gospel at Christ Greenfield Church in Gilbert, Arizona. Visit Uniteleadership.org

The Story of the Missionary Pathway - The Missionary Pathway is a collaborative project between Pastor Matt Peeples of the Kairos Network in Ridgewood, NJ, and Pastor Trey Sansom of Project 242 Church in Conroe, TX. This project is born out of a shared passion for making disciples and seeing the disconnected connected to Jesus.Prior to co-creating The Missionary Pathway, Matt and Trey began their ministry partnership in 2011 at The Point, a church that Matt planted a year earlier in Knoxville, TN. With Matt as the lead pastor and Trey as the Worship Coordinator, they led The Point in their mission to connect the disconnected to a growing and multiplying relationship with Jesus Christ. Together, they pioneered innovative ministry strategies, such as advertising on the hard rock radio station, Bar Church, and using community events like beer festivals and tattoo conventions as outreach events to connect the disconnected. As a result, the average first-time visitor to The Point had not attended church in 10-20 years, if they had ever attended at all. This experience was formational in how Matt and Trey think about church planting and raising up every day Christians to see themselves as everyday missionaries in the places they live, work, learn, and play. During their time at The Point, Matt equipped Trey for pastoral ministry and church planting, and in 2016, Trey was sent to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. While Trey was attending seminary, Matt was called to Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ridgewood, NJ, where he launched the Kairos Network in 2017 to develop and train church planters, pastors, and lay leaders to reach the disconnected for Christ in one of the most post-Christian areas of the country. In June of 2022 Matt felt the call to make the Kairos Network his full focus.After completing seminary in 2019, Trey was called to plant Project 242 Church, a network of reproducing disciples, micro-groups, and micro-churches that seeks to connect the disconnected to a growing and multiplying relationship with Jesus Christ and one another in Conroe, TX, with the Harvest Partnership church planting network.While Trey and Matt found themselves in radically different contexts and in different seasons of ministry, God was forming in them a similar passion for planting in new ways. Ways that would reach the post-Christian reality in which we find ourselves with ministry strategies that would resonate with the disconnected who will never even consider walking through the doors of a church. It was this passion that brought Trey and Matt back together to develop an intentional training process to grow the Kingdom of God by equipping everyday disciples to be everyday missionaries who plant the gospel and make disciples where they live, work, learn, and play. And The Missionary Pathway was born.Development of The Missionary Pathway began in April of 2022, and the pathway launched in September of 2022.  In the first 4 months the Missionary Pathway was already equipping 80 everyday disciples in 8 countries to be on mission with Jesus to connect the disconnected in their existing networks of relationship.It is amazing to watch as this training goes out, and more everyday believers answer the call to plant the gospel and make disciples in the places they live, work, learn, and play. Visit Uniteleadership.org

Buckle up for this amazing conversation with David Putman as Tim joins Co-Host Matt Peoples.About David - David Putman is the founder of Planting the Gospel, a non-profit ministry committed to catalyzing gospel-centered disciple-making movements.  He also serves as a Senior Lead Navigator with Auxano (www.auxano.com) a category leader in vision clarity, where he lives out his mission of helping others rediscover the simplicity of Jesus and His Way.  As a catalyst and entrepreneur David has spent most of his adult life with start-up churches and organizations. He is the co-author of Breaking the Missional Code with Ed Stetzer, the author of Breaking the Discipleship Code, Detox for the Overly Religious, The Gospel Disciple, and I Woke Up In Heaven. He is currently working on The Gospel Disciple Journey (2020)He has degrees in psychology and theology along with a passion for helping people live a fully integrated life. He lives in the Atlanta area with His wife Tami.BooksDetox, The Gospel Disciple Life, One Hour Theology, Breaking the Discipleship Code.

Dive into this powerful story as Tim is Joined by Co-Host Ben Griffin for a conversation with dynamic leader Chris Bellanger!Visit Uniteleadership.org

About Steve : Steve Pike is the President and Founder of Urban Islands Project, a national organization dedicated to increasing the presence of the Church in North America’s urban and underserved communities.Prior to initiating Urban Islands Project, Steve served as the Founding Director of the Church Multiplication Network. CMN serves church multipliers to equip, fund and network new faith communities in America. Since its formation in 2008, CMN has assisted with the starting of over 4000 new congregations in every region of the US.Steve is the co-author with Dr. Tom Nebel of “Leading Church Multiplication,” and the author of “Total Fitness for Your Church” both available from ChurchSmart Resources. His most recent book project “Next Wave-Discovering the 21st Century Church” is set to be released in November 2020.Steve works co-vocationally as a coach/consultant with Church Multiplication Partners, providing support denominational and network level church multiplication leaders.He also serves as a consultant/coach with The Answer Group, a business consulting company.Steve’s passion for church multiplication began in 1989 when Steve and his wife, Cherri, pioneered a new church that became the catalyst of a church planting movement in the state of Utah that continues to this day. The Pikes make their home in Denver, Colorado. They are blessed to be the parents of Lindsy and Jeremy and the grandparents of Myles, Koen and Wesley.

About Dr. Williams - Anointed with a calling to preach God's word and love of Jesus from the time he was in the second grade, Pastor ST Williams Jr. has since served the Lord wherever his life's work lead him.He has preached Christ crucified across 5 countries: in humble huts, the  U.S Pentagon aboard US Naval Aircraft Carriers, inside mega-churches, beside the beds of the  in-firmed and across the dinner table of his congregants.​His journey, brought him to St Paul in 2005 where he has been instrumental in encouraging a church-wide spirit of joy and outreach to the UN-served, under-served and seekers of Los Angeles and beyond.

About Sarah - I grew up knowing Jesus, my whole life and I am thankful to my parents for that precious gift. My personal relationship and walk with Jesus started in high school and college. At that time I wanted to serve Him with my whole life. Only way I knew how to do that was to 1) marry a pastor and 2) become a school teacher in our tribe.  I am blessed to report I have done both things and God has also opened my eyes to many other ways to serve Him! :) I am passionate about creating spaces for people to listen and respond to the voice of God in their lives. Currently I create intentional spaces through my work designing and leading discipleship strategy and worship at St. Peter Church and School in Arlington Heights, IL. I also work with PLI as a leadership, discipleship and mission coach and trainer.  Before that time I served PLI as their Marketing and Communications Leader.  Along with my husband, Micah, and two teenagers (Eva 14, Andrew 13) we desire to be the Brightest House on the Block, by building intentional relationships in our neighborhood and share Jesus. On weekends you can often find us remodeling our home, hanging out with neighbors at Wine and Cheese 30, playing bocce ball with friends or reading the Sunday comics.

About Nick - Nick Price currently serves as the Senior Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, a multisite church in the Chicago area. Trinity’s mission is to “help people look, live, and love more like Jesus.”Prior to serving at Trinity he worked in campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship where he helped lead both international student and multiethnic student ministries in the University of Illinois system. With a passion for discipleship and outreach, Nick loves helping skeptical people wrestle with the deep questions of faith and life.He lives in Lisle, IL with his wife, Jenny, and their three kids.

About Jack Preus - Dr. Jack Preus is an educational leader passionate about engaging teachers, school leaders, and ministries in advancing a full and lasting education through innovation and creating sustainable models. Jack strives to leverage creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit to bring Christian Education to students in communities who do not currently have access to faith-based schools.  Committed to this mission, he began his career as a teacher, coach, and administrator serving students at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, CA, finishing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership at UCLA. In 2014, he joined Open Sky Education as a National Director, supporting the team to advance its mission nationally by growing its school networks (HOPE Christian Schools and EAGLE College Prep public charter schools) and its Christian wraparound programs (Compass Educational Programs).Jack's role at Open Sky currently includes launching a low-risk, low-cost national network of Christian microschools as the National Director of Soaring Education Services, a Division of Open Sky Education. In addition, Soaring works directly with school founders to assist them in launching their schools.  In addition to his work at Open Sky Education, he also works to advance this mission for children by participating in various national speaking engagements and committees. Jack has been married to his wife, Anna, for 18 years and has three children, Ella (13), Jack (10), and Abigail (6). Jack and family live in Gilbert, Arizona.

About Greg: Greg is a child of God, husband, and father who cares deepely about stewarding followers of Jesus who flourish in their vocations. As a recognized thought leader in theological education, Greg Henson has worked with the team at Sioux Falls Seminary to revolutionize financial and educational models within theological education by launching the Kairos Project – a global network that spans 30 countries spread across six continents. In partnership and conversation with seminaries, denominations, businesses, and ministries around the world, Greg is working to create integrated systems of theological education that are affordable, accessible, and relevant while remaining faithful to the transformational essence of such an educational journey. Greg has a passion for discipleship coupled with a desire to see theological education reconnect with its roots in local vocational contexts. In the fall of 2013, Greg accepted the role as the twelfth president of Sioux Falls Seminary, officially beginning on February 3, 2014.

Pastor Knott holds a B.A. from the University Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.  He continued his studies at American Baptist and Fuller Seminaries.  Pastor Danny had the honor of playing on two National Championship Football Teams while at the University of Notre Dame. He also played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons.American Reformation Season 2 Episode 26

More On Erick:A native of Arizona, Erick, is a servant leader within the community and church. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three children and has a passion for singing and performing. Erick had the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall at the age of 19.American Reformation Season 2 Episode 25

More on David: David Zilz grew up in the LCMS as the grandson of a pastor and Fort Wayne seminary professor. Based on his own crisis of questioning Christianity in college and graduate school, David values safe relationships where questions, objections, and disagreements are welcome as tools for building understanding, trust, and clarity. As a former president of the Purdue University chapter of an international Christian apologetics ministry (Ratio Christi), he has a heart for explaining the holistic good news of Jesus in culturally, individually relevant ways, addressing how Jesus is able to satisfy both the mind’s demand for accuracy and the heart’s craving for meaning.

The La Mesa Story: In 2014, members of Christ Greenfield Lutheran Church began connecting with the homeless and working poor in downtown Mesa, AZ. At the time, we thought we knew what they needed. We wanted to help. We soon realized we needed to listen. We needed to create relationships.Meals together were the perfect environment for this to happen.La Mesa was born.What began as simple meals together quickly grew into something extraordinary. We created relationships with each other. Hope began to be restored. Loneliness was replaced with love. Those stuck in cycles of addiction and poverty began to find avenues to create a brighter future. A community began to take shape through which miracles could happen.La Mesa means “The Table.” We’ve discovered the great joy of simply connecting with one another and enjoying a meal right in the midst of our brokenness, life struggles, and pain. Everything grows from connection, conversation, and, ultimately, an empowering community. Jesus spoke quite a lot about eating together. He turned ordinary meals into life-changing events. He sent out his followers to share meals with the poor and create spaces where everyone could encounter God’s love.This is the heart of La Mesa. Everyone is welcome at the table.We envision communities where systemic poverty does not exist, loneliness is no longer the only option, homelessness is only a matter of choice, and the working poor find avenues to create prosperous futures for their families. Our meals are just the beginning. What happens at the table is creating a transformed community of empowered Mesa locals who work, laugh, love, and serve together to change the future of Mesa and beyond. Welcome to “La Mesa” – welcome to The Table – where you will discover acceptance, belonging, dignity, and hope.Hope Happens Here!More: https://lamesaministries.org/about/

Learn more about Pastor Dan - “My hope for the LCMS is a church body that fulfills the Great Commission through the Great Commandment. As biblically-grounded and Jesus-centered men and women live out their baptismal calling and vocation with renewed zeal for mission, we must turn away from a clergy-centric, topdown structure of control and divisiveness that leads to decline. Instead, by God’s grace and through His Spirit, we are to be a church body which entrusts the local congregation through our unique Lutheran identity, to win the world for Christ. To God Alone be the Glory!”American Reformation Season 2 Episode 22

Join us as we dive deep into passionate discussion with long-time friend of Tim: Ryan Bredow - Vice President, Marketing, Canyon Christian Schools Consortium at Grand Canyon University.