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Episodes
Practical conversations for Executive Pastors, leadership, alignment, and Great Commission momentum. 3 of 20 episodes live.
AI for the Executive Pastor
Episode 1
How to Start Using AI at Your Church This Week
Aug 7, 2026
93% of pastors now use AI, but only about a third of churches use it in actual operations. The gap is a playbook, not permission. In this episode we break down the…
Episode 2
How to Write a Church AI Policy Before You Need One
Aug 18, 2026
Only about 5% of churches have any AI guidelines, which means most are one bad output away from a mess. We break down a one-page AI policy covering data privacy,…
Episode 3
How to Kill Your Admin Busywork With AI
Sep 8, 2026
Newsletters, bulletins, announcements, and routine emails eat hours that never move the mission. In this episode we cover how to use AI to draft and repurpose…
Episode 4
How to Turn Every Meeting Into Action Items With AI
Recording Soon
Back-to-back meetings are where decisions go to be forgotten. We break down using AI transcription to auto-generate summaries, owners, and due dates from every…
Episode 5
How to Use AI for Donor Thank-Yous and Year-End Statements
Recording Soon
Generosity is discipleship, and follow-up is where most churches drop the ball. In this episode we cover using AI to draft personalized thank-yous by name, gift,…
Episode 6
How to Analyze Giving Trends and Forecast Your Budget With AI
Recording Soon
Most XPs find a giving problem 60 days too late. We break down using AI to surface giving trends, flag lapsed givers, and stress-test budget scenarios. Tune in for…
Finance & Stewardship
Episode 7
How to Build a Church Budget That Reflects Your Mission
Recording Soon
Most church budgets are just last year's numbers plus 3%. In this episode we break down how to build a ministry-driven budget that funds what matters and gets…
Episode 8
How to Keep Staff Costs Under the 50% Line
Recording Soon
A common rule of thumb: staff should not exceed 50% of your budget, and a church with four well-paid pastors beats one with seven underpaid ones. We break down how…
Episode 9
How to Read Your Financial Dashboard in Five Minutes
Recording Soon
If you can't scan your church's financial health in five minutes, your dashboard is broken. We walk through the handful of numbers an XP should watch weekly and…
Staffing & HR
Episode 10
How to Decide Your Next Staff Hire
Recording Soon
"What position do we add after the pastor?" is one of the most-asked XP questions, and getting it wrong is expensive. In this episode we cover how to let strategy,…
Episode 11
How to Have the Hard Conversation With an Underperformer
Recording Soon
Avoiding the conversation costs more than having it. We break down how to address underperformance directly, kindly, and clearly, separating a performance issue…
Episode 12
How to Decide: Volunteer or Paid Staff for This Role?
Recording Soon
Not every ministry needs a salary line, and not every role should ride on a volunteer. In this episode we cover the criteria for when to pay, when to recruit, and…
Episode 13
How to Handle Staff Conflict Without Picking Sides
Recording Soon
When two staff members collide, the XP is usually the referee. We break down how to surface the real issue, protect the team, and resolve conflict without playing…
Leadership & Relationships
Episode 14
How to Partner With Your Senior Pastor Without Stepping on Vision
Recording Soon
The XP–Senior Pastor relationship can multiply a church or quietly divide it. In this episode we cover the visionary-and-integrator dynamic, how to protect your…
Episode 15
How to Balance Your Admin Load and Your Pastoral Calling
Recording Soon
The number-one tension XPs name: budgets and logistics crowd out the shepherd's heart that got you here. In this episode we cover how to protect your pastoral…
Episode 16
How to Win Back the Time Everyone Fights Over
Recording Soon
Every ministry and staff member wants a piece of the XP's calendar, and the urgent always beats the important. We break down how to protect your time, triage…
Episode 17
How to Manage Up to Your Elder Board
Recording Soon
Elders make better decisions when you give them better information. We break down how to communicate with your board, frame decisions, and build credibility over…
Systems & Growth
Episode 18
How to Document a Process So It Survives Without You
Recording Soon
If a ministry falls apart when one person leaves, you don't have a system, you have a hostage situation. In this episode we cover how to capture processes so…
Episode 19
How to Build a Volunteer Culture That Recruits Itself
Recording Soon
The best volunteer strategy isn't a sign-up sheet, it's a culture people want to join, now boosted by AI scheduling and chatbots that answer common questions. We…
Episode 20
How to Prepare Your Facility for Growth
Recording Soon
Your building can either fuel growth or cap it. In this episode we cover the 80% rule, parking and flow, and knowing when to add a service versus a space. We share…