The Awakening Series
Voices.
Resources.
Inspiration.
For Today’s Challenges.
Conversations with thought leaders and practitioners inside & outside the Church of God Movement.
S1:E14 A Breath of Fresh Air for Small Churches with Karl Vaters
Michael sits down with Karl Vaters, author, podcast host, pastor, and guest speaker at our upcoming Helping Small Churches Thrive conference. Karl shares his ministry history and how he came to Jesus and recognized his calling. They also address Karl’s area of specialty- small churches. They work through definitions that aid the larger conversation on small churches and set the stage for the upcoming ‘Helping Small Churches Thrive’ conference.
Connect with Karl Vaters:
Karl Vaters on the Web- www.karlvaters.com
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/KarlVatersMinistry
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/karlvaters/
YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrcGS0_tkxklJyB7wn9-aZA
Twitter- https://twitter.com/KarlVaters
Amazon books- https://amazon.com/Karl-Vaters/e/B00AWGCU2S?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000
S1:E13 Immersing Your Church in the Holy Spirit & Love- with Matt Ingalls
Michael sits down with Matt Ingalls, Senior Pastor of Oak Park Church of God in Salem. Matt shares his ministry history and how he came to Jesus and recognized his calling. They also discuss the process Matt and his team used to discern what ministry to focus upon in their community.
Connect with Matt Ingalls:
Matt Ingalls on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/matthew.ingalls.5
Oak Park Church of God on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/OakParkChurchofGod
Oak Park Church of God on the Web- http://www.oakparkchurch.net/
Resources:
Street Psalms- https://streetpsalms.org/
S1:E12 Relationship Building at the Table- with Fred Douglas
Michael sits down with Fred Douglas, Associate District Pastor of Oregon & SW Washington. Fred shares his ministry history and about many of the mentors he had who shaped him. They also discuss the approach Fred takes to visitation ministry, his observations from visiting pastors and churches and they dig into some recent findings from the Barna Resilient Pastor series that seem to run parallel.
Connect with Fred Douglas:
Fred Douglas on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/fred.douglas.965
Transformational Connexions- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050614323763
Resources:
Leading People from the Middle by William Robinson- https://www.amazon.com/Leading-People-Middle-Universal-Mission/dp/1440188866/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3C4Q51D9A1RSL&keywords=leading+from+the+middle+bill+robinson&qid=1694112867&sprefix=leading+from+the+middle+bill+robinson%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-4
Holy Post Podcast-
https://www.holypost.com/post/581-how-evangelicalism-lost-its-way-with-russell-moore
Resilient Pastor Series by Barna- https://barna.gloo.us/resilient-pastor
S1:E11 Time for Rebirth at Warner Pacific- with Dr. Brian Johnson
Michael sits down with Dr. Brian Johnson, President of Warner Pacific University. Brian shares his career history, how he came to Jesus and recognized his calling, and why he chose Warner Pacific. They also discuss the challenges Warner Pacific has faced since the onset of the pandemic, the current lifecycle phase the University finds itself in, and the opportunity at hand for the Movement to further step into the rebirth of what the University will become.
Connect with Dr. Brian Johnson:
Brian Johnson’s website- https://intersectionoffaithandlearning.com/
Brian Johnson on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/brian.johnson.583
Brian Johnson on Twitter- https://twitter.com/drbrianjohnson1
Brian Johnson’s email- https://www.instagram.com/drbrianjohnson1
S1:E10 Decentralized Churches as a Way Forward- with Dr. Lloyd Moritz
Michael sits down with Dr. Lloyd Moritz, Author of Chog Blog and Catalyst of Transformation Communities. Lloyd shares his ministry history, how he came to Jesus and recognized his calling, and his transition from Regional Pastor of the Pacific Northwest Association. They also discuss Lloyd’s goals with ChoG Blog, decentralized church as a viable model for making a way forward in today’s ministry context, and Transformation Communities- a hub of missional communities covenanted together as one church.
Connect with Lloyd Moritz:
Chog Blog- https://takethecity.com/
Lloyd Moritz on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/lloyd.moritz
Lloyd Moritz on Twitter- @xmathetes
Lloyd Moritz’ email- lloyd.moritz@tfcommunities.org
S1:E9 Missional Church- with Dr. Jerry Davisson
Michael sits down with Dr. Jerry Davisson, District Pastor of Oregon & SW Washington and Lead Pastor of Rockwood Church of God. Jerry shares his story of coming to Jesus and local and regional leadership differences. They also discuss the missional church, the topic of Jerry’s doctorate, and how it provides insight into the challenges the church is facing today.
Connect with Jerry Davisson:
ORWACOG- https://orwacog.org/
Rockwood Church of God- http://rockwoodcog.com
Jerry Davisson on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/jerry.davisson.7
Jerry Davisson on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/jerry_davisson/
S1:E8 Pioneering Ministry & Bearing Fruit from Abiding- with Andrew Chalmers
Michael sits down with Andrew Chalmers, Founder of Take the City & Harvest Equipping School in Columbus, Georgia. Andrew shares his story of coming to Jesus and about the ministries he has pioneered over the years. They also discuss walking a naturally supernatural lifestyle and the importance of abiding in order to bear lasting fruit.
Connect with Andrew Chalmers:
Take the City- https://takethecity.com/
Andrew Chalmers on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/landrewchalmers
Andrew Chalmers on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/landrewchalmers/
Resources Discussed:
‘Discovering the Joy’ by Andrew Chalmers- https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Joy-Representing-Jesus-everyday/dp/B08VCQPCJV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MX4XQQQFFP4V&keywords=discovering+the+joy+andrew+chalmers&qid=1690389548&sprefix=discovering+the+joy+andrew+chalmer%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1
S1:E7 We Must Align Our Orthodoxy & Orthorpraxy- with Bishop Timothy Clarke
Michael sits down with Bishop Timothy Clarke, Senior Pastor of First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio, and recent Chair of the Ministries Council of the General Assembly of Church of God. Bishop Clarke shares the history of unity in the Movement and the current hurdles to unity he sees today.
Connect with Bishop Clarke:
First Church of God, Columbus, Ohio- https://www.1stchurch.net/leadership/bishop-clarke
Bishop Timothy Clarke on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/BishopTimothyClarke/
Bishop Timothy Clarke on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/citypstr/
Resources Discussed:
‘Saints in Exile’ by Cheryl Sanders- https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Exile-Holiness-Pentecostal-Experience-American/dp/0195131010/ref=sr_1_2?crid=38OOND3A9V7DH&keywords=saints+in+exile&qid=1689717378&sprefix=saints+in+exile%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-2&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc
‘African Americans and the Church of God’ by James Earl Massey- https://www.amazon.com/African-Americans-Church-James-Massey/dp/0964668254/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UAZFO97EWYHD&keywords=african+americans+and+the+church+of+god&qid=1689717419&sprefix=african+americans+and+the+church+of+god%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-1
‘Reading Black Books’ by Claude Atcho- https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Black-Books-American-Literature/dp/1587435292/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NO158T5HDI4I&keywords=reading+black+books&qid=1689717448&sprefix=reading+black+books%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1
S1:E6 The Rooted Impact of Women in Ministry- with Rev. Dr. Kimberly Majeski
Michael sits down with Rev. Dr. Kimberly Majeski, Executive Director of Christian Women Connection, Professor at Anderson University, and Founder of Stripped Love and Preacher Girl School. Kimberly shares her ministry history and calling and speaks about the impact of women in ministry throughout Church of God history. She also talks about the causes that have led to fewer women in ministry today and briefly responds about 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 as it relates to women in ministry.
Connect with Kimberly at http://www.kimberlymajeski.com/
Christian Women Connection Link- https://christianwomenconnection.org/about/
Arise Academy Link- https://ariseacademy.mykajabi.com/
Stripped Love Link- http://www.kimberlymajeski.com/stripped-love.html
S1:E5 BibleProject for Church of God- with Mike McDonald
Michael sits down with Mike McDonald, Chief Strategic Relations Officer with BibleProject. Mike provides an overview of BibleProject, shares his own journey of meeting Jesus in Turkey, provides perspective and encouragement for ministry in our current culture, and gives examples of these amazing BibleProject resources:
- BibleProject Explainer Videos- https://bibleproject.com/explore/
- BibleProject Podcast- https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/the-bible-project-podcast/
- BibleProject Classroom- https://bibleproject.com/classroom/
- BibleProject App- https://bibleproject.com/app/
Mike invites pastors to connect with him to explore ways to partner with BibleProject resources as they connect their people to the Bible. You can reach Mike at mike@bibleproject.com
S1:E4- Embracing the Ways of Jesus- with Bob Rognlien
Michael interviews Bob Rognlien, Director of 3DM West, Founder of Footsteps of Jesus and Footsteps of Paul, author of numerous books, and friend of the Movement. You can find more out about Bob here (https://www.bobrognlien.com/)
They talk about Bob's many connections to the Church of God and his recent ministry partnership with Joseph Ibrahim in the Middle East. You can find Joseph on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/joseph.ead)
They also talk about doing ministry in a Post-Christian, Post-Pandemic context by examining the Ways of Jesus.
S1:E3- Taking Back What Hell Has Stolen- Dr. Jim Lyon
Pastor Michael interviews Dr. Jim Lyon, General Director of Church of God Ministries. They briefly discuss Jim's stories of surrendering to Jesus and realizing his call to ministry and dig into the theme of Taking Back What Hell Has Stolen.
S1:E2- The Five Non-Negotiables- Dr. Jim Lyon
Pastor Michael interviews Dr. Jim Lyon, General Director of Church of God Ministries. They briefly discuss Jim's ministry history that led to his current post, the amazing breadth of the global Church of God, and the Five Non-Negotiables of the Movement:
1) Jesus above all else
2) The Holy Spirit & Holiness
3) Unity
4) The Great Commandments
5) The Supremacy of Scripture
In the conversation, Jim mentions Pastor Donny Franz from Paraguay. You can find more about Pastor Franz's ministry with these three links:
-- Article: https://www.jesusisthesubject.org/paraguayan-pastors-leadership-providential-in-oklahoma-city/
-- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7dz8Dt84Puk1FwCGqNsNA
-- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donaldfranz.oficial/?hl=en
S1:E1- A Movement Captivated by Idealism- Dr. Barry Callen
Pastor Michael interviews the Movement's most prolific writer, Dr. Barry Callen. They briefly discuss Dr. Callen's history in the Movement and dive into three recent resources Dr. Callen has published:
1) The Heart of the Church of God Teaching Tradition, by Dr. Barry Callen & Dr. Cliff Sanders- https://bit.ly/orwacog-heart-chog-teaching-callen
2) God's on the Move, by Dr. Barry Callen- bit.ly/Gods-on-the-Move-Callen
3) Christian Holiness, by Dr. Barry Callen- https://bit.ly/christian-holiness-callenore et dolore magna aliqua.