Summit Podcasts: BACK40, Sermon Audio, and Leadership Night

In the fifth week of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel conducts an interview with our special guests Aaron and Jaimie Smith. Aaron Smith is a former professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Smiths talk about what life was like leading up to the NFL, how they met, and a little about Aaron's upbringing. They discuss the temptation of creating false gods out of success and control. Aaron and Jaimi...

Mel and Michael discuss the passing of Pope Francis and what this means for the broader church. What is Mel's perspective on the Catholic Church? Is it a valid expression of faith? Next they talk about the different kinds of interactions which come with Easter services here at Summit Church. As a Christian how should you engage with an eccentric person? How should pastors minister to church-goers who only attend on Easter and C...

In the fourth message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel explains the dangers associated with idolizing dreams. This is in reference to ambitions, not dreams you have when you sleep. Preaching through Genesis 22, Mel highlights how the story of Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed foreshadows the gospel of Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross. Abraham had always hoped and dreamed for a son and so Isaac represented...

Mel and Michael discuss the life-lessons and theological implications of the story of Jesus healing Jairus’s daughter. Jairus was a powerful synagogue official and yet he displayed biblical humility in his interactions with Christ. How should you manage power so that it doesn’t inappropriately alter your perspective of who you are in relation to Jesus? Is Christ’s ability to perform miracles dependent on the faith of His observers?...

Pastor Mel gives a teaching on the leadership qualities of Ulysses S. Grant. If you’re a fan of history, you’ll enjoy his survey of key moments in Grant’s life and if you’re trying to improve your leadership this is a great episode for you. After the teaching Mel and Michael have a conversation answering questions like: How do you know when to change yourself in order to better fit an organization? What steps does Mel take to reach...

In the third message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel details the dangers of idolizing success itself. Part of the key to this message is understanding you don't need to actually be a successful person to be guilty of idolizing success. Anyone who views success or achievement as the ultimate thing holds success as a counterfeit god. Mel preaches through the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 to explain how the comman...

Mel and Michael begin by discussing whether or not preachers should repeat their sermon illustrations if the illustrations are effective at delivering a point. This part of the conversation gives some insight into Mel's sermon writing process. Does he preach off-the-cuff while depending on a lifetime of study or does he spend more time on weekly preparation? Next they talk about the differences between continuationism and cessa...

In the second message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel preaches about the dangers of idolizing love. Idolatry is making anything other than God the "ultimate" thing. If we look to love or romantic relationships as the thing that will make us feel whole, then we know we have idolized love. No person or relationship was designed to bear the weight of standing in for God. We're comfortable with being lov...

Mel, Collin, Michael discuss why it's important to foster an organizational culture of leadership and extreme ownership. What are the downsides to this kind of culture? How do you prevent a subordinate from seizing too much control under the auspices of extreme ownership? Next they talk about the biblical instruction to publicly promote good works which glorify God. What is the difference between self-promotion and promoting go...

In the first message of our series called Counterfeit Gods, Pastor Mel gives a detailed teaching on idolatry and why it's so dangerous. As human beings, nearly all of our sin is rooted in some form of idolatry. Idolatry is when we make anything other than God the "ultimate" thing in our lives. Tim Keller said, "We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more l...

In the fourth message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor John Nuzzo teaches what it means for a Christian to be recklessly generous. He begins by explaining how Jesus Himself modeled reckless generosity. It's impossible to be a follower or disciple of Christ without being generous. The humiliation of Christ, His voluntary descent into humanity, His suffering, and His death all exemplify generosity. John unpacks why t...

Mel and Michael discuss what it looks like to invite someone to church. Should you extend repeated invitations if the first attempt fails? How do you invite a person who believes he is too sinful to attend church? The conversation turns to a common misunderstanding of God: that if God loves me He should attend to my every need and desire when I want Him to. How do we balance the selfless love of God with the reality that He is the ...

In the third message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor Mel explains the importance of missions. Jesus Christ is missionary in character and His Church is a missionary society. Mel articulates the support for missionaries as threefold: why we pray, why we give, and why we go. The harvest is great but the workers are few, so we pray to the Lord of the harvest and ask Him to send more workers into His field. We give to sup...

Mel, Collin, and Michael start the conversation with the heavy topic of betrayal. What happens to someone after they've been betrayed? What happens to the betrayer? What motivates a person to betray someone else - especially someone they love? Next they talk about making decisions which consider the future and resisting the temptation to be short-sighted. The conversation finishes with a discussion about system changes. When is...

In the second message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor Mel explains what the tithe is and why we should be faithful to do it. At Summit Church one of our core values is radical generosity. We believe God is radically generous and we want the world to see that in how we live and how we give. In a most general sense, scripture recognizes two types of giving: tithes and offerings. Tithing is a principle, not a law, and th...

Mel and Michael talk about how to foster a church culture which minimizes the chances of catastrophic moral failures. How can we encourage people to confess their sins without losing the deterrence associated with facing consequences? Can we even control consequences? How does humility promote strong negotiating positions? The conversation finishes with a survey of King Hezekiah’s pride and what we can learn about pastors who are t...

In the first message of our series called Kingdom Builders, Pastor Mel explains what we know about the character of God's kingdom. God's kingdom is not of this world and it is mysterious. Despite the mystery, there are certain things we can know about the kingdom because the kingdom is also principled. We know the order of God's kingdom is unshakable. Scripture also teaches us the kingdom demands obedience, affection, a...

In the fourth and final message of our series called Inevitable, Pastor Mel explains the best way to leave a church. Two common reasons why a person chooses to leave a church are misunderstandings and misalignments. Misunderstandings occur when two or more people fail to have proper "Matthew 18 conversations" aimed at reconciliation. Mel points out how we see what we look for: if we look for the best in a church we will s...

Pastor Mel teaches about biblical masculinity at the inaugural Men's Gathering for 2025. What qualities make for a godly man? How does the Bible say we should conduct ourselves as men? When does it make sense for men to run away as if their lives depend on it? Mel answers these questions and explores further which things a godly man should pursue. Six characteristics of biblical masculinity include righteousness, a godly life, ...