Thread is a podcast for Christians in leadership in the family, education, ministry, or the marketplace. It’s a solid Bible study from a seasoned husband, father of six, church-planter and media producer who has spent his life in Asia seeking to be part of bringing God’s light there. Each Thread moves steadily through God’s Word, verse-by-verse revealing wisdom and encouragement to guide us as agents of change in our generation.
We’re diving deep into the book of 2 Corinthians to learn about ministry from the most influential Christian in the first 300 years of our history as a movement. The Apostle bears his soul in this ultra-transparent letter. You’ll discover the difference between human status and spiritual authority and learn principles that can guide you for the rest of your life as a spiritual leader and care giver for others.
**Subscribe by email below and you’ll receive each new edition of Thread sent directly to your mailbox before it’s even posted. Be an insider and build spiritual muscle through the careful study of God’s word from a leadership perspective.**
Let's wrap up this season with the concept of a Powerful Servant. We see this example in the Apostle Paul as his examples of servanthood rewrote major life stages of people he spends time with. Servanthood is a powerful position, if you understand it properly. You become a catalyst to change peopl...
19 December, 2017It's like we've been on this long hike up a set of hills and have finally come to the peak. Time to sit a while, open the canteen, break out some food and enjoy the view from here. In the past 30 episodes we have walked with the Apostle Paul, a ministry pioneer in evangelism, pastoral care, apologet...
21 November, 2017Today, the real battle is not church growth, financial growth or personal growth. It's church health, financial health and personal health. Healthy things grow. That's just what they do....
28 October, 2017As believers we all know how important it is to claim our spiritual inheritance as God's children. It's a good practice to train our minds to believe that, "We are strong in him, because he is our strength." In this passage the Apostle Paul shares a gem of a thought that motivates the best part o...
18 October, 2017Parenting is one of the most meaningful undertakings in anyone's life. It has moments of glory. Days of routine and some of the deepest trials you can ever experience as an adult. In the end it's more than worth it and the journey alone makes life more worthwhile....
03 October, 2017In this Thread Paul talks about the supernatural gifts of God that come by grace to all of us, gifts of power for ministry to set others free and he links these gifts to a pain we struggle with personally. Our status comes from our success, but our ability to minister to others comes from how dee...
29 September, 2017In this day of clergy scandals it is appropriate to ask who we should follow as our spiritual leaders. Some say, "No one but Jesus," but that doesn't really solve the problem because parents still need their kids to follow them or they can't parent, and the same throughout all legitimate channels of...
19 September, 2017Stories of religious abuse fill tabloids regularly. Religious abuse is a fact and rather than denying it, we need to learn to identify characteristics of abusive church leaders and either remove them from leadership or at least remove ourselves from the damage they can cause. ...
14 September, 2017What's the difference between status and authority and how do you know if you have the true spiritual authority or just status? Tune in to this episode of Thread and find out as we explore 2 Corinthians 10.7-18....
03 September, 2017The good news is that we have been given a case of spiritual weapons, forged by God himself. These weapons have divine authority to demolish strongholds and take every thought captive until we live with the mind of Christ with our lives fully aligned with God's will for us and for the world....
23 August, 2017Ever seen one of those TV shows where someone gives a poor waitress a $100 tip and she goes to tears and tells this story about needing this money to keep the electricity on for her children in their tiny apartment? Do you wish you could be a person who could do things like that for others? You al...
08 August, 2017Think about the opportunity, responsibility, and danger associated with handling other people's money in a position of trust. Money is at least Volatile, if not charged with dark spiritual energy. You would expect Jesus to say, “Avoid money,” but he doesn’t. ...
01 August, 2017Ambassadors live an abundant life. Since we are ambassadors of God, we have an eternal allowance from God, and we can live on it without any doubt. We are covered. Listen to today's Thread as we talk about the 5 secrets of an abundant life....
25 July, 2017Have you felt that God was calling you to do something for Him but were afraid of where the money would come from? Does your heart tell you to launch out into a radically new life of obedience but your family is holding you back, worrying how it will affect your career? Would you obey your calling i...
18 July, 2017There is a special gift, perhaps one above all other gifts, that allows you to ride above the worries and cares of this world. While the world frets about money and position and supply, we have been given a gift that we can receive, unwrap, and put to work. This gift from God will liberate your life...
11 July, 2017How important are your friendships in your spiritual development? Do your friends build you to be a better person, or do they lead you to your downfall? Be careful who you'd be "tied up" with in business, club memberships, hangout friends or the highest relationship of all, our marriage partner. ...
04 July, 2017Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures, but when you venture into the thought of engaging someone whose life is spiraling out of control, things can come back and hurt you even though you are sincerely trying to help. Have you ever had a friend with a problem so big that some kind of interv...
27 June, 2017It's impossible to finish the race without knowing and having this one BIG secret. You simply cannot! Today’s Thread covers 2 Corinthians Chapter 6:1-10. It's about this one single character trait you need to possess, as a believer, OR you can't even race at all. A lot of things are important, ...
20 June, 2017Evangelism, is it a heart or head matter? Is it wrong to use an emotional appeal for a person to make peace with God? Is it our job to try to persuade or should we just deliver a rational version of the message and consider our part of the work done? Christians all over the world have many opinions ...
06 June, 2017Set spiritual goals! Yes, it's a lot harder than clicking off a bucket list of experiences BUT the effort you pour into completing a spiritual goal will change your life forever. Who I am is more important than what I do, but doing is usually what gets me there. Life responds to action and our actio...
23 May, 2017If you ask people in church if they believe in heaven and believe that it's the best life possible, they’d all say yes. Now add a second question, “Would you go there right now if you could?” If I promised you that if you stood at the altar in church and prayed real loud, “OH Father, please let me...
16 May, 2017Fitting in. Being accepted by others. These are key social drives that can hinder us in our efforts to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. He was notoriously out of sync with culture, family, and friends in His day. Truth sets you free but it also calls you to live out of response to what you now know is...
10 May, 2017Here's the truth: If God is going to use you as a faithful servant He WILL trust with any mission, but, He’s going to have to work on you. We can’t serve God on our own terms. There is so much contrary stuff inside us that has to be worked out. We need to go through "deep processing" with God so tha...
02 May, 2017How to be strong is a common question among men. Sometimes in life you are in survival mode where your success relies on keeping your focus trained on the present moment and just getting through that tough time. Most of the battle is mental. We are under spiritual attack from the outside and then th...
25 April, 2017This episode is about the two totally opposite ways the Bible gets used in ministry. It's the result of two opposing goals set by people who minister God’s word to others. One of these paths unlocks people as God's truth pierces the darkness in their mind. Truth sets them free and they begin to exp...
18 April, 2017Have you ever known of a person whose presence so changed the room that if they entered it you would turn off the television and stop talking to your friends because you would want to be completely engaged with them? In this episode of Thread the apostle Paul talks about the way that our very presen...
04 April, 2017Today’s lesson covers 1:23-2:11 where we return to the sacred nature of all relationships and even more so in the body of Christ. Let me ask you right now to pull up in your memory, your best relational moment, a time in your life when you had a relationship that was life-giving and sacred. Doing l...
28 March, 2017In Season 3 we are moving through 2 Corinthians. Today’s lesson covers chapter 1.12-14 and answers the question of what you should count in the ministry to know whether you are succeeding or not. ...
03 March, 2017In Season 3 we are moving through 2 Corinthians. Today’s lesson covers chapter 1. 2-11. Some people have amazing effect on the lives of others. They bring change to anyone who is around them for very long. Today’s lesson is about where they get the power to change the lives of others....
02 March, 2017Today’s lesson covers (2 Corinthians Chapter 1:1-2) and our topic today is Finding our Identity as a person in ministry. I love this book! It has ministered to me throughout my 30+ years of full-time service to the Lord and the body of Christ. In this book Paul is a middle-aged man looking back on ...
01 March, 2017