Tag: faith

The Leadership Journey Podcast: Mitch and Amanda – Crown Jesus Ministries

Posted on by jsalanwilson in Christian leaders, Christian leadership, evangelism, Podcast

On this episode of the podcast, the guests are husband and wife team, ‘Mitch’ and Amanda Mitchell who are based in Belfast with Crown Jesus Ministries, a Christian charity at work in evangelism across Ireland.

In our conversation they talk about their own story – how they became Christians and some of the ways their faith has grown – as well as the remarkable story of Crown Jesus, birthed in a dramatic encounter at a conference in Germany 25 years ago.

They bring a challenge in terms of how we think of evangelism and what they believe needs to happen in the Church (and academy) for witness and evangelism to regain their rightful place.

Of course we also wrap up the conversation by hearing them share what they would say to their 20-year-old selves.

You can visit their website to find out more about Crown Jesus and their mission to ensure that everyone on the island of Ireland has the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus.

The Leadership Journey Podcast: Justin Irving on Organisational Leadership

Posted on by jsalanwilson in authors, books, Christian leaders, Christian leadership, leadership, Podcast

The guest on this episode of the podcast is Justin Irving. Justin is Professor of Leadership at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and his new book, Healthy Leadership for Thriving Organizations: Creating Contexts Where People Flourish, is set for publication this month. Previously, along with Mark Strauss, he wrote Leadership in Christian Perspective: Mark Strauss joined me on the podcast four years ago to talk about the book.

Justin’s new book focusses on the work of organisational leaders, what he describes as ‘the thirty-thousand-foot-level of leadership’. Such leaders are still required to pay attention to how they lead individuals, but they also lead at a level that requires them to pay attention to the big picture. Behind the book are insights from a survey that was carried out among over two hundred leaders.

In our conversation we spend some time talking about the book and some of the ideas it covers, but Justin also talks about his own story: how he has been shaped, and what he has learned along the way.

The book’s official launch date is Tuesday 19th December in the US and as a Kindle e-book in the UK: you will have to wait another two months to get your hands on a paper copy here.

That’s all for the podcast for 2023. If you have been following along – or even just dipping in from time to time, thanks for listening, and may you have a wonderful Christmas!

The Leadership Journey Podcast Season 2, Episode 25: Lucas Parks, part 2

Posted on by jsalanwilson in leadership, Podcast

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Lucas Parks, pastor of Village Church in Belfast is back this week, continuing his story. You can catch up with part one of our conversation here.

We start our conversation this week with a discussion of ‘how to plant a church’, and what that looked like in the story of Village Church (we talk about the question of why plant a church in Belfast), including the recent development of a new church plant in South Belfast.

Among other things, Lucas talks about the Acts 29 church planting network, and about what it takes to maintain a team, and some of the defining moments in his leadership journey.

He shares very personally, and powerfully about his recent illness and the challenge of going through a tough season of treatment. He talks about how God came close to him, and about some of the lessons he learned through the experience.

For your reflection:

  • Part of our conversation is on the subject of church planting and the question of whether certain places (like Belfast, which has a lot of churches) really need new churches: what are your thoughts on this? Are new churches a means of revitalising the Church generally?
  • Lucas talks about his view that it’s better to plant churches than to grow churches to be as large as possible: do you agree? What or why not?
  • If you are leading a team, how much are you investing in ‘relational capital’?
  • Reflect on a time when you went through a particular crisis: what were some of the things you learned through it?