Episodes

  • Full-Length Trailer

    Full-Length Trailer
    Sep 21 2023
    What caused some churches to thrive, while others struggled? Why did some pastors quit or resign, when so many stayed? What can we learn from pandemic that will prepare us for the uncertain future? We all have assumptions and ideas about what happened. But are they correct? What really happened and why? To answer these questions, ChurchSalary, a ministry of Christianity Today, partnered with the Arbor Research Group to conduct a year-long study of over a 1,000 pastors and church leaders from across the country. This podcast, COVID and the Church, will explore the results of this landmark study published in a 111-page report. Explore the 9 common experiences that every pastor and congregation in America navigated during the pandemic—from pain and loss, to fluctuations in giving and attendance, to political polarization, leadership crises, the relentless pressure to rapidly adapt simply in order to survive. Every episode we will discuss and apply the findings from this study with the help of a team of experts from the Arbor Research Group. And we’ll take a moment to listen to actual stories of how COVID impacted pastors and churches from across the country. Full series launches on September 25th. Download a free copy of the full report today at churchsalary.com/covidstudy. Hosted by Aaron Hill, Editor of ChurchSalary COVID and the Church is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (or ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • Ch. 1: Pain and Loss (of Presence)

    Ch. 1: Pain and Loss (of Presence)
    Sep 26 2023
    Shepherding a congregation is intensely intimate work. Pandemic restrictions didn’t merely prevent pastors from seeing people face-to-face; in many cases they disrupted both ministry and ministers. In particular, the rush to stream worship services online revealed that many congregants associate church with preaching rather than pastoring. This shook the gospel calling of many pastors and eventually left not just ministers but also members wrestling with an empty feeling, a gnawing pain, after the live feed ended. Jesus speaks of the sheep knowing his voice and of knowing the sheep, a process that takes time and presence. That intensely intimate work happens in many ways: hugs and handshakes, Communion and counseling. In reflecting on the vulnerable, sometimes passionate, stories of pain, three themes emerged: (1) personal pain, (2) pain specifically caused by others in the church (what one person called “friendly fire”) and (3) the pain of the loss of presence. Based on Chapter 1 of the report, in this episode host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with two researchers from the Arbor Research Group, Jon Swanson and Hope Zeller, to talk about the common experience of pain and loss suffered by pastors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring an in-depth interview with Brian Spahr, former pastor and hospital chaplain, about his experience during the pandemic. Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Why and What? Introduction

    Why and What? Introduction
    Sep 26 2023
    The COVID-19 pandemic officially ended on May 11th, 2023. While it lasted only three years, the pandemic impacted almost every institution in America. Research studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 on economics, housing, and secular employment. But how did COVID-19 impact the American church? To answer this question, Church Salary (a ministry of Christianity Today) partnered with the Arbor Research Group (with the help of a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment) to conduct a year-long study of over a thousand pastors and church leaders from across the country. During the course of our research in 2022, we encountered thousands of hurting and wounded pastors and lay leaders who desperately needed to share their distinct stories—some tinged with hope, some filled with heartbreak and pain. This podcast, COVID and the Church, will explore the results of this landmark study published online in a 111-page report. Read the full report, for free, by visiting churchsalary.com/covidstudy. In this first episode, host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with two of the key architects of this study from the Arbor Research Group, Terry Linhart and Jon Swanson, to unpack what actually happened to the church during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why talk about this now? And what nine themes or common experiences did every single pastor and congregation in the US navigate during the pandemic? Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Ch. 3: The Great Revealer

    Ch. 3: The Great Revealer
    Oct 2 2023
    The pandemic was a crucible that revealed underlying political and personal anxieties, as well as congregational strengths and weaknesses in many churches. COVID-19 stripped away the familiar and became The Great Revealer for church leaders. Consequently, it enabled leaders to learn important lessons about their churches, themselves, and their ministries. While this theme only appeared in three responses to our initial quantitative survey, it repeatedly surfaced again and again in our qualitative work in focus groups, in interviews, in community case studies. Ultimately, in the eyes of many pastoral leaders the pandemic did not manufacture new problems out of thin air. Instead, like a massive weight placed on a structurally unsound building or bridge, COVID revealed already existing cracks and flaws in American churches. Examinations of engineering disasters—collapsed buildings or bridges—usually uncover a series of mistakes and errors, compounded by decades of neglect, and a system of underlying problems that were repeatedly overlooked or explained away. The same is true in many American churches. Based on Chapter 3 of the report, in this episode host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with two researchers from the Arbor Research Group, S. Michael Greene and Terry Linhart, to talk about the common experience of COVID-19 as a Great Revealer. Featuring two in-depth interviews with Dr. Lorenzo Neal and Benjamin Marsh, pastors who experienced firsthand revelations about both themselves and their churches during the pandemic. Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • Ch. 2: Adapt to Survive

    Ch. 2: Adapt to Survive
    Oct 2 2023
    The declaration of a worldwide pandemic in March 2020 and the cascade of health policies that followed forced pastors and congregations to rapidly respond. Because no churches wrote “close our doors” in their three-year goals, everyone had to learn quickly and make adjustments simply to survive. In his article on power, privilege, and adaptive leadership in 2020, Todd Bolsinger framed the crisis in two phases: "First is the acute phase where you're just trying to survive." Second, is "the adaptive phase, where you actually use the energy of the crisis to address underlying issues." What's clear in our research is that almost all churches faced acute changes because state and local restrictions, building arrangements and church demographics are different, the changes that everyone made were different as well. What's less clear is whether churches actually adapted to how people live post-pandemic, and whether those changes will last. Based on Chapter 2 of the report, in this episode host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with two researchers from the Arbor Research Group, Ebonie Davis and Jon Swanson, to talk about the common experience of adapting in order to survive. Featuring an in-depth interview with Eric Blauer, a local pastor leading a church in the Pacific Northwest, about his experience of rapid adaptation during the pandemic. Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Ch. 4: The Miracle of Plates and Pews

    Ch. 4: The Miracle of Plates and Pews
    Oct 11 2023
    According to some, the pandemic season was a plague of biblical proportions. It is not surprising then that the testimony of some pastors sounds like the story of the widow whose jar of oil and flour in 1 Kings 17 did not run out. Instead of a devastating drought, some pastors talked about how God kept his promises and “they never worried about money.” Other pastors told a different, more tragic story. In surveys, focus groups, and interviews, pastors were asked about the finances and attendance during the pandemic season. This included inquiries about sources of income, changes in giving, and ways of measuring attendance for online and in-person participants. Based on Chapter 4 of the report, in this episode host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with three researchers from the Arbor Research Group, Eric Shieh, Ebonie Davis, and Jon Swanson to talk about the common experience of what we’re calling The Miracle of Plates and Pews. Featuring an in-depth interview with Caryn Bell-Palo, an executive pastor who helped her church navigate through the financial challenges brought on by lengthy lockdowns in her home state of Washington. Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • Ch. 5: A Tectonic Shift in Technology

    Ch. 5: A Tectonic Shift in Technology
    Oct 17 2023
    The expansion of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic drastically shifted the landscape of church ministry. Though some changes were temporary, many will remain.  As one of the Arbor researchers put it, “The toothpaste can’t be put back in the tube.” Our research indicates that more than two-thirds of respondents (67.5%) believe their church was reshaped due to its embrace of technology during the pandemic. Older churches and older participants were even more likely to see their congregation reshaped. Given these results, we believe the recent shift in technology has changed more than just a few activities, it changed the structure or landscape of ministry practice itself. Based on Chapter 5 of the report, in this episode host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with two researchers from the Arbor Research Group, Tyler Greenway and Terry Linhart to talk about the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on technology in American churches. Featuring an in-depth interview with David Lee, a lead pastor whose church pivoted and found new ways to connect digitally and in-person with their congregation of commuters during the pandemic lockdowns. Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Ch. 6: Outside the Walls

    Ch. 6: Outside the Walls
    Oct 25 2023
    The pandemic held up a mirror to the American church. Congregations that rarely stepped back to evaluate their endless calendars of events were forced to assess whether their ministry models reflected the mandates given by Christ and the example of the early church. For many congregations, what they saw in the mirror was not pretty. One East Coast pastor gave a common assessment. "We're not really as open and involved in the community as we could be, as we should be. I see nice little buildings. I see fancy decorations outside on the lawns, manicured perfectly, and the steeple is still bold and standing. I just think that as a household of God, there's so much more we could do." For many, COVID-19 became a catalyst for change, an opportunity to recalibrate rhythms and fall in better alignment with the church we are called to be in Scripture. Based on Chapter 6 of the report, in this episode host Aaron Hill (editor of ChurchSalary) sits down with two researchers from the Arbor Research Group, Ebonie Davis and Terry Linhart to talk about how the pandemic pushed some churches to venture outside the walls of their church building in new and exciting ways. Featuring an in-depth interview with Dan Nold, a lead pastor of a multisite church whose leveraged the pandemic to launch a monthly "Church Without Walls" Sunday, where instead of gathering for worship at church members venture out and minister to their neighbors. Hosted by Aaron Hill, editor of ChurchSalary "COVID and the Church" is produced in conjunction with the Arbor Research Group and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., through a grant from the Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders (ECFPL) initiative. Executive produced by Aaron Hill, Terry Linhart, and Matt Stevens Director for CT Media is Matt Stevens Audio Engineering, Editor, and Composer is Tyler Bradford Wright Artwork by Ryan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins