Intersect

Every church deserves at least three forms of leadership in this era. In this episode, Matt challenges all churches to find ways to put the leadership they need in place:  

1. Organizational leadership who helps the church focus on its mission 

2. Pastoral leadership whose primary goal is equipping the church for the work of ministry 

3. Local mission leadership who walks with the church to meet human and spirit need...

Some key things on the horizon!  

1. We have our first Leadership Summit on February 11. The conversation will be lead by elder Jennifer Crow! She is amazing. Jennifer and Ben George helped design the conversations. Kudos to them:) The day is open to anyone who has a heart for God's mission in the world, and moving the church forward. Several people from outside our system will be there. To learn more or signup, visit: https:/...

In this episode, Matt reviews a message he delivered on Sunday, December 11 at Reedurban Presbyterian Church. There, Matt preached on Luke 1, Mary's Song, and encourages the church to consider how we are called to birth Jesus in our time and location.

This message is short, but it is encouraging and powerful. In addition, Matt asks churches to invite him to walk with them so that he can help them birth Jesus in their local towns, c...

In this episode Matt and Chip touch base on two recent articles that they published about moving the church beyond an inward focus on Word and Sacrament. Then they wrestle with the 6 goals of the Presbyterian Church, explore how people may turn each inward, and how we can think of each in ways that help us focus on sharing God’s love in the world.

It’s time to rethink Calvin’s definition of “true church," by Matt Skolnik

Word and s...

Matt interviews Courtney Brown from Habitat for Humanity. 

Courtney brings knowledge, passion, and love for God’s people. She is all about building homes and communities, not just houses. And she wants as many people as possible to be involved. For Courtney, Habitat for Humanity is not just about swinging hammers. Anyone can get involved. 

All of this points to the reality that from Courtney's perspective, Habitat for Hum...

In this episode, Matt interviews Mike Smith, pastor of John Knox Presbyterian Church. Mike's church is growing in faith and numbers for many reasons. One of them is that Mike teaches his community to love the masses and individuals. But their church is also growing because Mike is intentionally about reaching out into their local community.

As part of this conversation, Matt asks Mike about his experience in the insurance business ...

Linda Leon is the Director or Spiritual Formation at Malone University, and has been in college ministry for 30 years! Don't worry Linda! You are eternally 25:)

Linda is a strong pastor who loves her students. Impressively, Linda starts her ministry plan from scratch every 5 years with yearly detailed evaluations. When was the last time you wrote a ministry plan for your church or ministry from scratch?!?!?! Maybe never...

Just as ...

In this episode, Matt visits his home church who brought him to faith as a teenager. During his visit, Matt preached on Mark 1, which outlines 5 specific actions and ministries of Jesus from his early ministry. These ministries are important in every era, but are all the more needed today. These actions of ministry are the building blocks and the basic call of the church. Is your church struggling? Maybe it is because we are not fo...

In this edition, Matt interviews Pastor Tom Roepke. Tom lives and serves in Richland and Ashland counties in Ohio. Together, Tom and Matt unfold the nature of ministering with men who are incarcerated, and how the church often does not know how to speak and work with men. There is also a brief discussion about what it means to develop a ministry flow that reaches the crowds and helps people funnel themselves into being a vibrant pa...

Domestic Violence is a difficult and painful issue. Unfortunately it is all too common.

This is an important episode. It may be your first introduction, or you may have personal experience. In either case, know that the statistics of domestic violence are staggering, and there is a great intersection point between God, the world, and the church at this issue. At least there should be.

To learn a little bit, get inspired, or fund th...

Unfortunately, denominational and non-denominational churches have at least 1700 years of history to overcome. Some how we have been taught that the essences of Christian life is a weekly worship service. The good news is that God is remaking the church. To understand where we are going, we must understand our current struggles at the moment. In this episode, Matt interviews a local elder who knows all to well the stress the modern...

In this episode, Matt interviews Bert Smith. Together they talk about how Bert shares his dog Allie in a local school. Allie is trained to sit and be a healthy presence to two students at a time as they read to her.  We also learn that Bert shares Allie's love with senior citizens who are home bound.

Bert and Allie got involved in this ministry by the invitation of two 6th grade girls and through www.petpartners.org.

In additi...

Matt interviews Rev. Dr. Juliann Joy, pastor of Central Presbyterian, in Massillon, OH. The interview not only celebrates her new ministry, it also begins to explore Jules’ field of study, which provides a pathway of conversations between sciences and theologies. We also celebrate how Dr. Joy sees ministry unfolding in her new city. She references “Redeeming Fear” by Jason C. Whitehead.  In addition, if you want to learn more ...