A church can be considered an “institution” but that doesn’t mean our churches should have institutional mindsets focused on programs over people. For today’s conversation on radical alignment with The Great Commission Erin and Doug sit down with Chad Booher, the community engagement minister at his local church and an individual passionate about inviting, discipling, and empowering God’s people.

During their conversation Erin and Doug ask Chad to outline how he went from being a consumer in the church to a chief disciple-maker, how that heart change affected his leadership, and the problems he’s seen with an institutional mindset in churches. Erin and Doug also offer their expertise and perspective—challenging listeners to ask themselves if the churches they’re leading in or the ways they’re discipling others are more consumeristic or focused on individual heart change.

Don’t forget to grab your discounted ticket for The Intentional Churches Conference 2025 here: www.intentionalchurches.com/podcast.

New to Intentional Churches? Start here:
https://assessment.intentionalchurches.com/churchos

Website: https://intentionalchurches.com
The Book: https://a.co/d/hFlz17C
The Blog: https://intentionalchurches.com/blog/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches
Facebook: https://facebook.com/intentionalchurches
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intentional-churches/mycompany/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/IntentionalChurches
X/Twitter: https://x.com/intentchurches

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction and Personal Journey
04:19 Breaking Free from the Institutional Mindset
09:59 Living Out the Great Commission Personally
14:15 Shifting the Focus: From Programs to Disciple-Making
19:01 Challenges and Changes in the Church
25:38 Practical Strategies for Breaking the Institutional Mindset
32:36 Conclusion and Call to Action

Erin and Doug are back for this week’s episode of The Intentional Churches podcast, sitting down with executive pastor Rodney Elliot to talk radical alignment with The Great Commission. Rodney serves as the executive pastor of Pathway Church in Wichita, Kansas, and during his time in that role he’s worked to align the church’s elder board with the core mission of reaching the one far away from Jesus.

On this second episode of season five, Erin and Doug invite Rodney to share his experience with church and leadership misalignment—the three diving into how Rodney worked to promote radical unity around The Great Commission, the growth Doug has witnessed as part of IC’s partnership with Pathway Church, and the fruit Rodney’s seen as the church and board became aligned toward one mission. As someone who grew up on a family farm, Rodney leaves listeners with some encouragement only a true farmer could give: if we tend to the soil well, 90% of the work of growth has been done already, the rest is in God’s hands.

Don’t forget to snag your early-bird pricing discount for The Intentional Churches Conference 2025! Purchase tickets and learn more here: https://www.intentionalchurches.com/podcast.

New to Intentional Churches? Start here:
https://assessment.intentionalchurches.com/churchos

Website: https://intentionalchurches.com
The Book: https://a.co/d/hFlz17C
The Blog: https://intentionalchurches.com/blog/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches
Facebook: https://facebook.com/intentionalchurches
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intentional-churches/mycompany/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/IntentionalChurches
X/Twitter: https://x.com/intentchurches

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Season Theme: Radical Alignment
03:29 Misalignment in the Church: Resistance to the Great Commission
06:19 Catalyst for Alignment: Reaching a Breaking Point
08:01 Aligning the Elder Board: Personal Great Commission
10:18 Alignment Down to Staff and Key Leaders
18:19 Counterintuitive Approach: Back to Basics
23:35 Farming Analogy: Preparing the Soil for Growth
29:45 Practical Advice: Start with the Great Commission
32:02 Conclusion and Invitation to Intentional Churches Conference

Welcome to season 5 of The Intentional Churches podcast! This season we’re talking all about how to radically align our churches and leaders around the promises of Scripture and the truths of The Great Commission. Luke Lezon is our featured guest today—a young lead pastor who’s faced his fair share of misalignment challenges while stepping into a lead pastor role after a major church split.

On today’s episode Erin and Doug invite Luke to share his story, which he does with candor and honesty. Though Luke had to experience the battles of church misalignment firsthand, his experiences gave him the wisdom needed to take on his new leadership role and help shepherd his church into a steadier and more faith-filled future. Together Luke, Erin, and Doug discuss signs of church misalignment, how to turn the ship back toward scriptural alignment, and some practical ways to keep your team and people aligned and pulling in the same direction. Luke leaves listeners with some practical pieces of advice for anyone who’s facing misalignment in their church.

This is going to be a powerful, practical, and relatable season of the show for so many of us in church leadership—don’t miss it!

Follow Luke on Instagram at @lukaslezon and check out LifeBridge Orlando on their website: https://lifebridgeorlando.com/

Grab your discounted tickets for The Intentional Churches Conference in April of 2025 here: https://www.intentionalchurchesconference.com/

New to Intentional Churches? Start here:
https://assessment.intentionalchurches.com/churchos

Website: https://intentionalchurches.com
The Book: https://a.co/d/hFlz17C
The Blog: https://intentionalchurches.com/blog/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@IntentionalChurches
Facebook: https://facebook.com/intentionalchurches
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intentional-churches/mycompany/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/IntentionalChurches
X/Twitter: https://x.com/intentchurches

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and the Importance of Clarity
03:16 Misalignment and the Challenges Faced by Church Leaders
08:45 Alignment as an Ongoing Process
21:24 Navigating Misalignment and Transition
25:07 Asking Questions and Engaging in Healthy Discussions
27:02 The Role of Leadership in Alignment
29:08 Conclusion and Announcement of Intentional Churches Conference