Transforming Mission Leadercast With Tim Bias & Sara Thomas

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/123   Over the next 4-6 weeks, we're hitting the pause button and hope you will too. Instead of a full podcast episode about a leadership topic or challenge, we're offering you a series of brief devotions to nurture your soul as a leader so you can continue equipping people to follow Jesus.  Read Matthew 28:16-20 (MSG) Reflect Listen to the podcast. Jesus commissioned his disciples to reach the world with his message.  Then, only as Jesus could, he gave them the power needed to succeed.  He promised them his presence as he empowered them to live into God’s mission.  In this scripture, authority is empowerment. When Jesus empowered his followers, he gave them a clearly defined purpose, prepared them to live out the purpose, and promised to be with them as they lived their purpose.  As Jesus followers, Jesus is the authority of your life.  It is Jesus who informs your thinking, your decisions, and your relationships. By his authority, h

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/122 Over the next 4-6 weeks, we're hitting the pause button and hope you will too. Instead of a full podcast episode about a leadership topic or challenge, we're offering you a series of brief devotions to nurture your soul as a leader so you can continue equipping people to follow Jesus.  We recorded these devotions to help you breathe in the life-giving Spirit of God. As I (Sara) edited this devotion, ever aware of COVID-19 and overcome by the racism that continues to plague us, I was reminded again why following Jesus is transformational. The Gospel is a life-giving balm for the soul. Jesus reminds us how to live. May this episode empower you to pause, reflect on who Jesus is inviting you to be, and then go, in the power and presence of Christ, to experience transformation. With this in mind, let's turn to Matthew's Gospel using the pattern read, reflect, respond, and return. First, a bit of context. Matthew on Anxiety In every gen

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/121   It doesn’t have anything to do with the money in your bank account or the commitments on your calendar. But it is something you have the opportunity to decide. So what’s this one decision we’re talking about?   Your witness.    As we continue to lead through a pandemic, as the days and weeks drag on, there is something unfolding that might go unnoticed if you don’t tend to it. And that is answering the question, what is your witness going to be?    Almost 6 weeks ago, Tim and Sara made the decision to focus on loving God and loving our neighbors in the midst of this pandemic. We began focusing on the context of our current reality, exploring what it might look like to right now to love God and love our neighbor.    Today, we invite you to consider the big question, “What is your witness?” and offer five things to consider as you evaluate both how you’re doing and how you’ll stay focused on Jesus in this season.    As you conside

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/120 In the midst of any storm in your life, there are lessons you can learn. Sometimes the lessons are hard. Sometimes the lessons are filled with hope. Sometimes the lessons are simply reminders of who and whose you are.  When Sara facilitates Dare to Lead training, she refers to this as the reckoning, rumble, and revolution. It takes courage to look in the mirror at the cold, hard facts and answer the questions that invite you to find the meaning from the mess.  The four questions we talk about help you reflect on the emotion, the internal dialogue, the truth, as well as your desire for a brave new ending. You'll hear what the disciples did when they were with Jesus in the midst of the storm and our take on how the literal storm they encountered helped them to not only lead well but move into a season of growth.  This is the fifth and final episode in the series, Leading through Storms. Find the previous four episodes here:  Episod

Find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/119 Trust is built intentionally. Trust unfolds in small moments that often go unnoticed. The choice to stop and listen, ask a question, or lean in to learn are ways we can build trust. Today, Tim and Sara share about two elements of trust. Our examples are meant to help you consider the behaviors in your life that lead to trust and degrade trust.  So before you listen, consider how you're doing with trust. How are you doing with trust in these relationships? Are you trusting God? How are you doing trusting yourself? Are you trusting others?  If you said, "Yes!" wonderful. Now consider the behaviors that make you say yes. What do you say, do, or experience that intentionally builds trust? If you can't name the behaviors, it could be you're not being intentional. More likely, you're not building trust.  If you said, "No," you're ready to begin a journey. Consider the behaviors that might help you to build trust. It's likely one of those is m

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/118 You've likely heard the phrase, "the calm after the storm." But how do you find calm during the storm? After all, the current storm we're experiencing as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic is already 8 weeks old. You might be thinking, "How long will this last?" or "I'm not sure how much more I can take." When leading through slow-moving storms, pausing to rest is essential. We are reminded over and over again in scripture about the rhythms of life - six days you work, one day you rest. However, when you're learning new technology, scrambling to communicate in new ways, and generally on a steep learning curve, who has time for rest? You do.  When the disciples came to Jesus in Matthew 8, here is what we read: Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/117 Wonder with me for a moment... What do you think was running through the disciples' minds when Jesus said to them, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?​" I mean when I’m scared the last thing I want to hear is someone saying back to me, “Why are you afraid?”  Cause I am, Jesus! Help me!  (Hear the sarcasm in my voice, ok?)  Then again, if I change the tone Jesus speaks to the disciples from stern and condescending to caring and compassionate, everything changes, doesn’t it?  For some reason, I always read that passage as Jesus a bit irritated with the disciples. I mean, he was asleep. And if you wake me up because you're afraid, what's running through my mind is, "C’mon guys, aren’t you adults?"  Thank goodness I'm not Jesus! So you tell me, did Jesus empathize with the disciples or was it a Jesus size #EmpathyFail?  As you listen to episode 117, you’ll hear us share about how we’re rumbling with vulnerability and practici

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/116 Some storms build over time. You see it coming across the horizon, sensing both its movement and intensity.  Other storms come on suddenly, crashing in, changing everything in a moment's notice. Jesus and the disciples experienced both. So have you. You might be feeling like this pandemic is one massive storm that won’t let up.  You’d be right.  Matthew’s Gospel relates this account:  Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. - Matthew 8:23-27 As you listen to today’s episode, consider how Jesus and the disciples responded to a storm brewing in their midst.  The sea, in scripture, is o

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/115 Let's talk habits! Have your habits shifted during the stay at home orders for COVID-19? Or are you staying the course, continuing the habits before this season? Today, we're talking about the habits that are grounding us, why you should consider your current habits, as well as a few things that have shifted in this season.  As you live into the Easter season, maybe the best question comes from Tim at the end...are you being changed more by the pandemic or by the resurrection of Jesus? Head over to the blog to read more about that!  

Here's an unedited, live conversation we have about journeying through Holy Week during a pandemic. We talk specifically about the creativity we witnessed on Palm Sunday, and what we're looking forward to on Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. We used these three questions as a springboard for conversation: 1. How are you seeing grief expressed right now? 2. What SFD (Stormy First Draft) or confabulations (lies, honestly told) are happening? 3. What's the hope you're counting on?    

A few reflections from Sara on grief, Good Friday, and the COVID-19 pandemic

Find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/114 For five weeks, we shared a question each week, inviting you to consider the following: Who are the people entrusted to your care? What are the longings, losses people are experiencing? What big lie do people believe that prevents them from hearing the gospel? How do you make spiritual sense of the longings and losses? How do you express that spiritual meaning as a shared story of future hope? These questions are an invitation into a journey of following Jesus while reckoning with the reality of life around us. During this episode, Sara interviews Tim, inviting him to answer these questions in light of his role as a Christian leader. Then, we explore these questions through the lens of the experience of Holy Week, asking you to sit at the cross on Friday, experience the silence, chaos, and uncertainty of Saturday, and the wonder and joy of new life experienced on resurrection Sunday.  This episode brings to a close the series, "Step int

Find out more about this episode at https://transformingmission.org/blog What's the Stockdale Paradox? Why does it matter to Christian leaders right now? Where are we seeing it play out in faith communities as we walk through COVID-19 This bonus episode is unedited audio of a Facebook Live from April 3.

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/113 It's finally here! Hope. The series of questions you've been exploring the past five weeks brings us to a place of hope. In this episode, you'll hear stories, examples, and invitations to invite others into conversation to create a shared story of future hope. Using the examples of longings, losses, and the promise of God you explored in the last episode, today you'll look forward with hope. No, friend, this isn't wishful thinking. This is about remembering the God who walks with us in the wilderness promises to be with us and help us experience new life on the other side of our current circumstances. Hope reminds us that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Hope tells us that God has a brave new ending for the current story you're experiencing.  Right now, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic is at the forefront of our lives. But, the examples of hope in the midst of ministry disruption, thinking we can go it alone, judgin

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/112 What do you long for? What loss are you experiencing right now? What big lie are you telling yourself? Before you click play answer those three simple questions.  In this episode, Tim and Sara explore three big lies, longings, and losses that are common in ministry. You'll hear us focus on trying to making spiritual sense of knowing our worth, calling people out on sin, and doing ministry like we did decades ago.  When we seek to make spiritual sense of our longings, losses, and big lies, we listen for the promise of God. While this episode was recorded before COVID-19 brought our home state of Ohio to a "Stay-at-home" order from the Governor, we're certain you'll find help for navigating this time as well as the season beyond.  Longings, loss, and big lies are a part of our human nature. You desire to make sense of the world around you. As a result, big lies emerge. Sometimes these are lies honestly told (confabulations). At othe

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/111 Special Note This episode was recorded before any of the recent events around the coronavirus. However, beginning about 9:30, (SCRATCH THAT, with the new intro it's 11:30 ;) Tim and Sara move into a discussion about offloading hurt. In the midst of the disruptions we're facing with COVID-19 (coronavirus), understanding how emotions get offloaded will be helpful for you, your family, and the people you lead. Recognizing how you tend to offload hurt (we all do it) can help you keep your relationships healthy. We hope you'll listen and learn so you and lead and love well during this season - and beyond. Big Lies No, we're not talking about fake news. We're talking about the things we say to ourselves that form a barrier to hearing the gospel. Big lies come in many forms. What are the lies that people tell themselves? Here's a partial list. I'm not good enough I'm not qualified I'm not worthy to be loved Some lives are worth more tha

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/110 What keeps you up at night? No, that's not our question for this week, but, it's close.  When you consider that question, it's likely you're thinking about the people you love and your current reality. The people that are important to you are often at the center of what keeps you up at night. And, if thoughts of them are not literally keeping you up at night, it just might be what's occupying your thoughts throughout the day. Whether it's family dynamics, work, or the world issues in general, our human longings and losses are what gets our attention.  During Episode 110, consider how the people entrusted to your care experience the longings and losses of life. Perhaps you've never thought about it in that way. In this episode, you'll not only experience why considering our longings and losses is important. You'll also experience examples of how others navigate these questions, too. You'll encounter stories, a psalm, and questions

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/109 Do you rent or own your home? If you’re thinking, “Wait, this isn’t a real estate podcast,” you’re right.  But, consider for a minute why you rent or own your home. What is the reason you choose to mortgage a house or rent your house?.  It’s a question of stewardship and ownership. There is a difference. In a similar way, notice the difference between a calling centered on being a co-worker with God and a calling focused on a task.   Who Has God Entrusted to Your Care? The question, “Who has God entrusted to your care?” is a question everyone needs to answer. Whether you’re a stay at home parent, serving in full-time ministry, paid a salary or paid by the hour, the question applies to you.  Answering that question will do a couple of things. First, you'll gain clarity about who is the focus of your life. But, more importantly, it will remind you that you are a co-worker with God. In the end, remember to be a steward, not an owner.

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/108 What are you doing for Lent? Will you give something up? Will you take up a new habit? Is there a new Bible Study starting at the church where you worship? Or, is your Lenten discipline to "do nothing." Whatever your plans might include, we want to enhance what you're already doing. Over the course of the next six episodes, including this one, we want to invite you to "Step Into the Arena." For too long too many people have opted out of participating in following Jesus every day. Sometimes it's being selective about activities at the church while ignoring the vital role relationships play in the health of a vibrant community. Sometimes we opt out by not showing up. But, often we opt out of stepping into the arena by refusing to name current reality and forgetting to look to the future with hope. If you’re asking, “How can you name current reality and look to the future with hope?” That's what we'll cover over the course of the ne

You can find show notes for this episode at https://transformingmission.org/107 God is a missionary God.  You may not think about God in that way.  Today, you’re invited not only to think about God as a missionary God but to follow Jesus into the mission field...where you live, work, and play. The mission of God sets the foundation for everything you’ll hear in today’s episode. Stated simply, the missio Dei, or mission of God, reminds us that God is a missionary God. God is the initiator of mission. Think of it this way. God the Father sends his Son, Jesus into the world. Then, God the Father and Jesus, the Son sending the Spirit into the world. And, finally,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit send the church, the body of Christ, into the world. Sending is a part of who God is and what God does. Guess what that makes you? A missionary. Before you say, “What?! I’m not a missionary.” Stick with us, we’ll guide you through five ways you need to be a missionary today.  Here’s another way to think about God’s mission: