On today’s show, we’re looking at the spiritual fight that every believer—and especially every leader—must face. Ministry is a battlefield, and Scripture reminds us that not all who begin well finish well. From Eleazar in David’s army to King Asa on the throne of Judah, the Bible gives us both inspiring and cautionary tales of men in combat—some who held fast to the sword and others who laid it down too soon.

What makes a good soldier in the fight of faith? What does it mean to hold fast to the Word of God even when you’re weary? And how do we make sure we finish our course, not just start it?

To help us answer these questions, we’re joined by Pastor Tony Godfrey of Harvest Baptist Church in Iola, Kansas—Tony is a discipler, Bible teacher, and no stranger to the battle of ministry. Tony, welcome to the Postscript.

Notes for this Episode

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Artificial intelligence is here, and it’s here to stay. Technologists expect the integration of artificial intelligence in our daily lives will increase exponentially year over year. This is the digital existence that we face, and it comes with a multitude of ethical dilemmas.

Why is this important for the church to consider? In what ways does this affect our faith? Does AI actually have implications on the spiritual growth or work of the church?

Join us this week as Brandon Briscoe, Provost of the Living Faith Bible Institute presents biblical responses to these tough questions.

Read: "Does Artificial Intelligence Have a Place in the Ministry?"

To learn more about the Living Faith Bible Institute's mission and program of study visit: https://www.lfbi.org/learnmore

Ministry is often portrayed as a calling, as it should be filled with purpose, impact, and divine fulfillment. Yet the reality for many pastors, missionaries, and church leaders is that gospel ministry comes with seasons of deep discouragement and often failure. Learning to recover from errors in judgment and feelings of failure and fruitlessness is absolutely crucial for someone's leadership, not just for our own personal well-being, but also for sustaining long term faithfulness in the work of the ministry.

Too often, leaders internalize their setbacks as a sign that God has rejected them, but failure does not mean the end of ministry. Failure can be the very place where growth and deeper faith in Christ begins. In today's episode, we talk with Pastor Mitch Dobson, Biblical Studies Instructor of the Living Faith Institute, to explore these difficult yet transformative moments, turning to the Scriptures to remind us of God’s promises during these critical times in life and ministry.

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Your local church youth ministry gets just a few hours each week to make an investment in the lives of the young people who attend your church. In that time they are relationship building, teaching and holding our youth accountable to God's word. There is a lot of pressure for them to get it right, but is all of that pressure reasonable? Could our expectations for the breadth and scope of their impact be miscalculated?

In this episode, we explore what the role of the youth minister really is. What does it mean for them to meet the needs of the family's in our churches? How do parents and ministers optimize their partnership? What does it look like to make a meaningful investment in the lives of teens?

Today on the Postscript, Brandon Briscoe, Provost of Living Faith Bible Institute has invited Jeff Grasher, youth pastor and youth ministry instructor at LFBI to discuss what a healthy partnership between parents and a church's youth ministry could look like in light of Scripture.

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Pastor Lee Ridings of Greater Hope Baptist Church in Dallas, GA joins us to share how God prepared him for the pastorate. He tells personal stories of defining battles and corresponding victories which proved God's faithfulness and sharpened his character. These make-or-break trials and seasons in Lee's life became invaluable, ultimately proving his calling. Lee encourages young ministers who are desirous to lead in a pastoral capacity, that it is a good work (I Timothy 3:1) when done in dependance on the Lord for Christ's glory alone. We end this episode with a charge in II Timothy 2:5-7 to remind church leaders to choose faith over fear, and to operate in the very love, power and sound mind promised to us in Christ.

This week we speak with Pastor Troy Stogsdill of First Baptist Church of New Philadelphia, Ohio to get a glimpse into the sermon topics of the Living Faith Fellowship's Certainty Conference this year which will take place October 1-4, 2023.

The Certainty Conference is the Living Faith Fellowship’s annual doctrine conference where we address prevalent and important theological questions. The 2023 conference will be on the topic of “The Next Generation”.

Some of the questions the conference will be considering are, what does it mean to pass on our doctrinal DNA? How do we propagate a biblical theology and philosophy of ministry into future pastors and leaders?

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Visit https://www.lffellowship.com/certainty for more on Certainty Conference 2023

This week we have Pastor Joe McKaig of Decatur Baptist Church in Decatur, AL, who is the instructor of the Introduction to Homiletics course in the Living Faith Bible Institute. We are going to discuss what it means to be salt and light within the communities that we live.

What does it look like for the church to be a friend and support within their community? What does it mean for the pastor to shepherd the relationships they have with those outside of the church?

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In this episode we sit down with Cheryl Miles of Midtown Baptist Temple and hear her story of meeting, marrying & now supporting head pastor of MBT, Sam Miles.

We look at Brandon's biblical philosophy of ministry & what & who has contributed most to him leading leaders with love & passion for the Lord Jesus Christ.

We hear how God called Jeff Grasher to lead youth. His new role came with challenges like counseling, envisioning, and empowering young believers.

Pastor Chris Best shares how a children's ministry be conducive to learning and function as a support to what believing parents live and teach at home.

We continue with Pastor Joe McKaig of Decatur Baptist Church regarding a philosophy of ministry of a healthy church focussed on the right mission.

We discuss the elusiveness of happiness when it’s made life's ultimate goal. Brian opens the Bible on this topic revealing how truer happiness is a byproduct of a walk with God.

We look at a few common challenges pastors face. We talk about the biblical principles that counter potential pitfalls in the pastorate.

We look at both the cultural & biblically-critical keys for church services & ordinances. We then discuss the blessing of principle-guided leadership.

Andrew Ong shares Biblical principles as well as helpful tips for building relationships and sharing the gospel with people from different cultures.

We meet with Pastor Andrew Ong who oversees Friends of Internationals, a ministry dedicated to reaching internationals, particularly on college campuses.

In this episode, we are interviewing Music Director Eric Phillips about the ins and outs of a Biblical praise ministry.

Eric shares how God used worship ministry to build his faith as well as others in the midst of planting a church in Kansas City.

In this episode with Pastor Alan Shelby of Harvest Baptist Church we discuss ways in which people reject the writings of Paul. We discuss the tendency of the liberal scholars but focus the majority of our time discussing the "fundamentalists" failure to apply biblical principles according to scripture. A thought provoking call to true liberty in Christ.