I was blessed to do a podcast on personal evangelism and parish expansion with my good friend and great Orthodox priest, Fr. Anthony Perkins, on his fantastic “Good Guys Wear Black” podcast series. We explore how to help the faithful discern and practice their personal callings and grow in the faith as they assist in the expansion of their parish ministries. We also discuss an exciting Council of Ministries model to assist the clergy and laity serve their parishioners and make Disciples.
Click here for: Personal Evangelism and Parish Expansion on Good Guys Wear Black
Stay tuned (pun intended), as I add about 52 short (10-15 minute) podcasts on various specific Christian stewardship and church organization and operational topics to help churches and individuals pursue their stewardship callings and improve the results in their Parishes, ministries and lives.
Click on the link(s) below this picture for my Stewardship Calling podcast series on: MyOCN (Orthodox Christian Network).
Latest Podcast:
Episode 12: Do You Believe?
“Do you believe? Do you have faith? Do you have confidence in the story of Christ’s resurrection and life after death?” In this stewardship calling podcast (click on arrow below), we explore how we can believe in something without seeing it. We will discuss how our disbelief is not unique to us. And we see through Holy Scripture, and the critical first person accounts from the Apostles, how we can have faith in eternal life and a resurrected Lord. (And you can click here to read a transcript Stewardship Sound Bite version of this Podcast Do You Believe? – Stewardship Sound Bite )
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Episode 1: We’ve Gotten Stewardship All Wrong!
Hear how our model of what stewardship is in our Christian parishes is all wrong. We tend to focus almost exclusively on financial contributions and not on that which is more valuable and will truly make a difference, namely intimacy, engagement and living your stewardship calling.
Episode 2: The “Spirituality” Challenge in our Churches
This podcast begins a three-part series on what I refer to as the Stewardship “SIN” (Spirituality, Income and Numbers) challenges faced by Christian churches today. We briefly explore highlights of some of the enormous amounts of relevant data and information that demonstrate our significant Spirituality challenges.
Episode 3: The “Income” Challenge in our Churches
This podcast is the second in the three-part series on what I refer to as the Stewardship “SIN” (Spirituality, Income and Numbers) challenges faced by Christian churches today. We briefly explore highlights of some of the enormous amounts of relevant data and information that demonstrate our significant Income challenges. We will explore the statistics that show that disposable income and charitable giving is going up among American Christians, while the level of contributing to their churches is going down and why.
Episode 4: The “Numbers” Challenge in our Churches
This podcast is the third in the three-part series on the Stewardship Spirituality, Income and Numbers challenges (what I refer to as the “SIN” challenge) faced by mainstream Christian churches today. We briefly explore some significant conclusions and troubling data that shows how mainstream Christian churches are experiencing steady declines in membership year after year. We will explore the statistics that show that churches have increasingly become revolving doors where members are essentially coming and going with decreasing levels of engagement and commitment.
Episode 5: The Scriptural Foundation of Stewardship – Part 1
This is the first of a two-part series that explores the Scriptural foundation of stewardship. The Holy Gospel is the greatest book ever written that teaches, describes and explains true Christian Stewardship. In this podcast, we learn about three essential elements of true stewardship: (1) weekly giving of first fruits; (2) proportional giving; and (3) joyful giving from the heart.
Episode 6: The Scriptural Foundation of Stewardship – Part 2
This is the second of a two-part series that explores the Scriptural foundation of stewardship. In this podcast, we learn: (1) What am I supposed to do with all of my gifts? (In other words, it’s all about me.); (2) How did the greatest stewardship solicitor of all time solicit stewards? (In other words, it’s all about Christ.); and (3) What does Holy Scripture say about our responsibility regarding our money and wealth? (In other words, go “all in” if you want to “get in.”)
Episode 7: A Personal Perspective on Stewardship and St. John Chrysostom on Stewardship
This podcast explores what stewardship is, and is not, from a personal perspective. We also start to examine how we can live our own stewardship callings through our churches in order to help it live its stewardship calling and create an environment that emulates the kingdom of God, a culture overflowing with joy, peace and love. Finally, we study the profound words of St. John Chrysostom who offered phenomenal guidance about what stewardship is, and is not, and how living our stewardship calling prepares our souls for theosis and a joyous life both here and for all of eternity.
Episode 8: Your Eulogy and Your Stewardship Calling
This podcast challenges us to consider our legacy by exploring how our eulogy provides the human grade as to whether or not we lived our stewardship calling and earned the title “righteous man or righteous woman.” We explore my “5-F” stewardship calling model that assesses our lives in relation to our Faith, Family, Friends, Filotemo and For whom we lived and served. By considering what our eulogies will say about our lives against this 5-F matrix, we can assess how aligned our lives are with our stewardship callings. A specific example of a close, personal, friend serves as a guide for a life well lived and a stewardship calling fulfilled.
Episode 9: War and Stewardship
This podcast explores how the worldwide war being waged against Christians implicates our stewardship callings. We explore the clear and prophetic guidance by the Apostle Paul in 2nd Timothy that predicts what will happen and how we should live our lives and stewardship callings in response. Moreover, we explore 10 very specific things we can do to fulfill our stewardship callings in service to those Christian brothers and sisters who are currently struggling to live their faith.
Episode 10: The Thief and St. Peter – The 3 C’s of True Christian Leaders (What a difference a few days can make.)
By examining the difference between the actions of the Apostles and the thief crucified with Christ, we identify the three elements necessary to be a true steward and Christian leader who lives your stewardship calling: Conviction, Courage and Choices. (And you can click here to read a transcript Stewardship Sound Bite version of this Podcast The Thief and St. Peter – Stewardship Sound Bite)
Episode 11: “Bless His Heart, Sometimes, He Just Don’t Get It” (An Everyday Christmas Message – Without Mirrors We Get Pronouns Wrong).
In this stewardship calling podcast (click on play arrow below), we explore Holy Scripture and learn how without mirrors we often get pronouns all wrong, and we discuss how to make every day Christmas day and better live our stewardship callings. (And you can click here to read a transcript Stewardship Sound Bite version of this Podcast Bless His Heart – Stewardship Sound Bite)
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For more information about upcoming podcasts, webinars and other stewardship information, please click on this link and see this Interview of Bill Marianes with Father Chris Metropulos on Orthodox Christian Network.
