Church of Christ member Brian Bates is one of the cleanest--and hottest--comedians in the country these days. In this episode, he takes us behind the jokes to reveal how a comedian builds rapport and trust with strangers--whether they're in a bar on Saturday night or a church on Sunday afternoon. Could all Christians learn something about the "Jesus way" from stand-up comedians?

Link to Brian Bates's website, including upcoming shows and videos

Link to the Nateland Podcast, featuring co-hosts Nate Bargatze, Brian Bates, Dusty Slay, and Aaron Weber

Link to Ryan Hamilton (a clean comedian that Brian Bates recommends)

Link to Greg Warren (another clean comedian Brian recommends)

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Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to podcast@christianchronicle.org

Could eating more pie lead to healthier and stronger churches?

Doug Pell says "yes." A longtime Church of Christ elder and retired senior executive from the U.S. defense industry, Pell recently authored Set in Order the Things That Are Lacking: Lessons in Biblical Leadership (Sain Publications).

In this episode, Pell shares the experience he gained from decades in church and corporate leadership and the knowledge he gained from his intense study of biblical eldership for local congregations.

Pell touches on the following themes:

• Why the corporate management model is not the leadership model that the Lord chooses for his church
• Why biblical leadership is harder than anyone imagines, but perhaps not as hard to attain as congregations might think
• How congregational leadership must happen in living rooms, not elders' meetings
• Why deacons and wives may be the most important people to a congregation's eldership
• And what does pie have to do with congregational health?

Link to Set in Order the Things That Are Lacking: Lessons in Biblical Leadership

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For Christians who are Black, life in the Church of Christ in the United States is an experience that is formed by the experience of being Black. In other words, each human being encounters life (and church) through her or his experiences. Likewise, the world (and often the church) perceives human beings through the assumptions that form about certain groups of people.

Barron Jones (host of the Unfiltered Crossroads Podcast and the preaching team at Holgate Street Church of Christ in Seattle, Washington) talks about why being Black in the Church of Christ in the United States is a unique experience that often leaves Christians who are Black feeling isolation and pressure among their own brothers and sisters in Christ. Jones makes the case that a relentless pursuit of the gospel and the truth will well serve all Christians now.

Read Barron Jones's Christian Chronicle op-ed, "Stuck in the middle with Jesus: Why Black Christians in America feel alienated from cultural camps on either side - and what comes next"

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Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to podcast@christianchronicle.org