Whether you're a traditionalist, a missional reformer, or somewhere in between, this episode will challenge your assumptions and stir your heart for unity, clarity, and bold gospel witness.

Rod Zwonitzer—a second-career pastor with a background in corporate marketing—joins Lead Time to drop some hard truth: the LCMS is great at feeding the sheep but terrible at fishing for the lost. In this rich, candid conversation, Rod explores the tension between doctrinal purity and outreach, confessional liturgy and contemporary music, and why the term “church growth” sends some Lutherans into panic mode.

From defending contemporary worship (with his Stratocaster in hand) to later questioning whether pop culture fits in the sanctuary, Rod shares his journey through marketing, ministry, and the Book of Proverbs—all while urging the church to stop fighting and start fishing.

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Are 10,000+ commissioned ministers in the LCMS being overlooked at the highest levels of church leadership? In this eye-opening episode, Tim Ahlman sits down with Bob McKinney, Dr. Jonathan Laabs, and Audrey Duensing-Werner to confront the decades-long tension around voting rights and representation for commissioned ministers in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Why, after 16 attempts across multiple conventions, is the Synod still resisting change? What's really holding us back: polity, fear, or a misunderstanding of power and ministry?

This conversation isn’t about titles. It’s about team, honor, and advancing the gospel in a post-Christian age. Whether you're a pastor, lay leader, DCE, teacher, or simply love your local church — this is a conversation the entire Synod needs to hear.

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Join the Lead Time Newsletter! (Weekly Updates and Upcoming Episodes)
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Is the small church model dead? In this explosive episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman and Jack Kalleberg sit down with Pastor Rob Myallis (ELCA) for a brutally honest conversation about the economic realities choking the life out of mid-sized churches. With rising costs, unsustainable pastoral expectations, and shifting cultural engagement, Rob unpacks why churches averaging 80–120 in attendance may not survive without radical change.

We tackle everything:

• $30,000 health insurance costs
• Why 150 people is the relational ceiling
• The burnout crisis among solo pastors
• Why people treat church like a rec center, not a sanctuary
• And the hard truth: your old church model probably isn’t working

If you’ve ever asked, “Why are so many churches declining?” or “What future does my congregation really have?”—this one’s for you.

Support the show

Join the Lead Time Newsletter! (Weekly Updates and Upcoming Episodes)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/lead-time-podcast#newsletter

Visit uniteleadership.org