Sermonsmith

A native to California, Tim’s first ten years of church-planting ministry started as the Lead Pastor of Reality LA in 2006, a thriving church in the heart of Hollywood, CA before moving to the UK in 2016. These churches are a part of the Reality family of churches, a movement committed to relational church planting and serving the broader body of... Read more » The post 97 – Tim Chaddick appeared first on Sermonsmith.

JR Forasteros is an author, pastor and podcaster in Dallas, TX. He serves as Catalyst Church’s teaching pastor and wants to be the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl when he grows up. His wife Amanda skates as Mother Terrorista for Assassination City Roller Derby. His book, /Empathy for the Devil/, is available from InterVarsity Press, and you can find his writing at... Read more » The post 96 – JR Forasteros appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Stephanie is one of the founding lead pastors of Mill City Church in urban Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is also the Preaching and Ministry Communication professor at Bethel University and Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephanie has opportunities to coach leaders around the country through speaking, coaching and her weekly podcast  Lead Stories with her friend Jo Saxton. She is passionate about communities... Read more » The post 95 – Stephanie Williams O’Brien appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Dr. A. J. Swoboda is a professor, author, and pastor of Theophilus in urban Portland, Oregon. He is the lead mentor of a Doctor of Ministry program on the Holy Spirit and Leadership at Fuller Seminary, and teaches theology, biblical studies, and Christian history at a number of other universities and Bible colleges. He is the director of Blessed Earth Northwest, an organization focused on creation... Read more » The post 94 – AJ Swoboda Returns appeared first on Sermonsmith.

John Mark Comer lives, works, and writes in the urban core of Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Tammy, and their three children, Jude, Moses, and Sunday. He is the pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church. Prior to planting Bridgetown, John Mark was the lead pastor of a suburban megachurch. Before that, he played in a band. John Mark... Read more » The post 93 – John Mark Comer appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Jim Shemaria is the pastor of Celebration Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan (a suburb of Grand Rapids). He grew up in Seattle, moved to Michigan for school in 2003 and began working at Celebration in 2008. Jim loves the intimacy and community of small church ministry and divides most of his time between preaching and congregational care. He has also... Read more » The post 92 – Jim Shemaria appeared first on Sermonsmith.

The Reverend Donnell Wyche currently serves as Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor where he has served for 18 years. The Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor is a growing multi-ethnic, multi-generational church in the progressive left-leaning city of Ann Arbor, MI. Passionate about the intersections of race, faith, politics, and technology, Pastor Donnell... Read more » The post 91 – Donnell Wyche appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Rich Villodas is the Lead Pastor at New Life Fellowship Church. On October 6th, 2013, Rich succeeded Pete Scazzero as Lead Pastor. Rich was born and raised in the East New York section of Brooklyn. He graduated from Nyack College and then went on to obtain a Masters of Divinity degree at Alliance Theological Seminary. When Rich is not reading,... Read more » The post 90 – Rich Villodas appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Nick Parsons serves as the lead pastor of Redemption Church in central San Francisco. Nick was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. He attended Ozark Christian College where he received a BA in Biblical Literature and more importantly, met his wife Rachel. Nick and Rachel have been involved in starting new churches in major cities around the world. The Parsons... Read more » The post 89: Chris Davis & Nick Parsons appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Ken Shigematsu is senior pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver, BC, one of the largest and most diverse city-center churches in Canada. Before entering pastoral ministry, he worked for the Sony Corporation in Tokyo. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal awarded to Canadians in recognition for their outstanding contribution to the country. Ken is the... Read more » The post 88 – Ken Shigematsu appeared first on Sermonsmith.

David is husband to Inga-Lill and the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara. He has been in Christian service for more than 30 years, including two church plants and more than seven years as a missionary in Germany, as director and teacher for an international Bible College. Many people all over the world find his online and print commentary... Read more » The post 87 – David Guzik appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Jorge Acevedo loves Jesus Christ and his Church. Touched by the grace of God at seventeen, he was never the same. Rescued from a life of addictions, his greatest delight is connecting people to Jesus and the Church. Born in Puerto Rico, Jorge at the age of four months, moved with his family to the United States where he was... Read more » The post 86 – Jorge Acevedo appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Josh Crain is the senior pastor of The Meeting House, a multisite church in Pennsylvania. Josh and his wife, Emily, have been married since 2003 and have two young children: Jack (4 years old) and William (1 year old). They also have a small dog named Ella who’s family status has decreased significantly since the birth of their sons. At... Read more » The post 85 – Josh Crain appeared first on Sermonsmith.

The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery is the Dean of Duke University Chapel and Associate Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School. Prior to his appointment at Duke, he served as the Perry and Georgia Engle Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. He received his B.A. in music with a concentration in vocal performance from Stanford University, his... Read more » The post 84 – Luke Powery appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Jeff Keady and Jonny Craig are pastors at Dover Church in Orange City, Iowa. They met in a seminary class in June of 2010 and have been friends since. Jeff has been in ministry for more than 27 years in churches ranging from 25 to 700. Jonny joined Jeff in ministry in 2012. Jeff grew up in New York, and... Read more » The post 83 – Jeff Keady and Jonny Craig appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Kevin Sweeney is pastor of Imagine—an urban church in Honolulu that is truly welcoming of all people, sees imagination as the key to the future, chooses authenticity over performance, substance over hype, and quality over quantity. He is also a co-creator of The [un]Commons. a creative community in Kaka’ako. After receiving Masters Degrees in Theology and Intercultural Studies, Kevin is... Read more » The post 82 – Kevin Sweeney appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Pastor Bryan Loritts is the privileged husband of Korie, and the graced father of three sons- Quentin, Myles and Jaden. He serves the Abundant Life Christian Fellowship of Silicon Valley, California, as the Lead Pastor. An award winning author of five books (God on Paper; A Cross Shaped Gospel; Letters to a Birmingham Jail; Right Color/Wrong Culture and Saving the... Read more » The post 81 – Pastor Bryan Loritts appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Tara Beth Leach is the Senior Pastor at First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena (“PazNaz”) in Southern California. She is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University (B.A. Youth Ministry) and Northern Theological Seminary (M.Div.). She is a regular writer for Missio Alliance and has contributed to other publications such as Christianity Today, Christian Week, The Jesus Creed, The Table... Read more » The post 80 – Tara Beth Leach revisited appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Kurt Willems (M.Div., Fresno Pacific) is the founding pastor of Pangea. He is also a graduate student at the University of Washington focusing on early Christianity, Greco-Roman Religions, and Classical Languages. Kurt writes for various print and online publications including his site The Pangea Blog and is also on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. His latest project is The Paulcast: A... Read more » The post 79 – Kurt Willems appeared first on Sermonsmith.

Jason Lantz is passionate about helping leaders launch new initiatives that make disciples of Jesus. He and his wife Suzi have been practitioners of discipleship systems within a large church at RiverTree Christian Church, through planting LoveCanton using missional communities in 2008, and now Jason is back at RiverTree as Vision Leader, leading 7 campuses all focused on discipling movements... Read more » The post 78: Jason Lantz appeared first on Sermonsmith.