By Joy Allmond
DURHAM, N.C. — Although he’s the relatively new president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), J.D. Greear, lead pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., doesn’t want his added responsibilities to keep him from his first calling—to make disciples and grow the church.
On Oct. 22, Greear launched a new podcast, “Ask Me Anything: Honest Answers, Quick Questions,” a forum that allows him to engage listener-submitted questions about biblical, ethical, theological, political and practical issues.
“You pick it, I’ve been asked it,” Greear said. “So the podcast questions will follow that same pattern. Whether you’re leading a prominent ministry, struggling along in a tiny church, staying at home with your children, working in a downtown high-rise or staying up until 2 a.m. as a full-time student, this podcast will have something for you.”
Greear will become the first active SBC president to launch a podcast. And while he often has the chance to interact with other church leaders, his vision for this new podcast is to engage anyone, anywhere.
“I wanted to create something that could appeal to anyone, regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey,” Greear said.
“For pastors and leaders, I hope this informs how they shepherd their people. For other believers, I hope this provides applicable wisdom they desperately need.”
Questions will be submitted via the podcast website. The first three episodes will be available for immediate download. Co-hosted by Todd Unzicker, early episodes will tackle the following questions:
- Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
- Should Christians attend a homosexual wedding?
- How should Christians approach politics?
“Ask Me Anything” launches along with the Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network, which is carrying Greear’s podcast. The network will host several other leadership podcasts, including:
- “5 Leadership Questions,” hosted by Todd Adkins and Daniel Im. In each episode, the hosts ask five questions of different guests or on a particular leadership topic.
- “New Churches Q&A,” hosted by Daniel Im, Ed Stetzer and Todd Adkins, provides insight on church planting, multisite, multiplying, leadership development and discipleship.
- “Established Church,” hosted by Sam Rainer, Micah Fries and Josh King, offers solutions to everyday issues church leaders face as they navigate the complexities of congregational life.
- “Making Disciples,” hosted by Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain, offers insights on disciple-making at the local church level.
- “Group Answers,” hosted by Chris Surrat and Brian Daniel, is aimed at resourcing, training and encouraging small group leaders.
- “The One Thing,” hosted by Scott Sanders and Derek Hanna, explores different crucial ministry topics that are relevant to different contexts.
The two previously-existing Lifeway Leadership branded podcasts, 5 Leadership Questionsand New Churches Q&A, have been downloaded a total of more than 2.5 million times since they launched in 2015.
“It’s humbling to see how many people we’ve served through our two Lifeway Leadership podcasts,” said Daniel Im, executive producer.
“And since we started those two with the sole purpose of serving the church in her mission of making disciples, we wanted to partner with other like-minded podcasts. This is why we’re excited to announce the launch of the Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network.”
Im said more podcasts will likely be added in the future, as there are talks to grow the network—which is intended to be an extension of Lifeway Leadership’s mission to “equip church leaders in their mission of making disciples.”
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Joy Allmond is a writer for Lifeway Christian Resources.
