In All Things

Episode 53: Thanksgiving devotional from Michael Davis

Michael Davis, EPC Assistant Stated Clerk, is the guest host for episode 53 of the EPC’s weekly podcast, “In All Things.” This week, Davis shares a brief Thanksgiving devotional from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17.

Episode 52: Prison to planting churches with Sean Boone

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Sean Boone, Pastor of Woke Bridge Community Church in Ferguson, Missouri. The two discuss Boone’s journey from gang life and prison to freedom in Christ, and from an independent, historically Black church to planting a Southern Baptist church to planting Woke Bridge in the EPC. Boone explains how Woke Bridge Community Church got its name, and his vision for how the gospel can transform Ferguson and grow a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural congregation.

Episode 51: Ethnic identity, The Antioch Room with Marcos Ortega

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Marcos Ortega, Lead Pastor of Goodwill Church’s Beacon campus in Beacon, New York. The two discuss Ortega’s journey to the EPC from a since-rejected Dispensationalist theology, and his involvement on the ad-interim committee writing a Pastoral Letter of Racial Lament and Hope. Ortega also describes The Antioch Room, a fellowship of EPC Teaching Elders of color designed to foster cultural and theological discussions in which ethnic minorities are the primary voice.

Episode 50: Global engagement, church revitalization with Doug Resler

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Doug Resler, Senior Pastor of Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Parker, Colorado. The two discuss the benefits a congregation receives when its pastor is involved in ministry beyond their local church, as well as Resler’s passion for church revitalization and the importance of that process starting with a revitalized pastor and Session. In addition, Resler describes how global engagement helps the church minister to the world that is coming to the United States in increasing numbers.

Episode 49: Hurricane relief, small church ministry with Bill Crawford

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Bill Crawford, Pastor of the First Presbyterian churches in Thibodaux and Houma, Louisiana. The two discuss Crawford’s call to small church ministry and his 21 years in south Louisiana, including some of the challenges and opportunities for the small church. Crawford also describes his experience with disaster relief beginning with back-to-back hurricanes in 2001, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Ida in 2021, and how he brought that experience to Fort Myers, Florida, following Hurricane Ian in September 2022.

Weaver also shares how listeners can contribute to relief efforts by donating to the EPC's Emergency Relief Fund at www.epc.org/emergencyrelief.

Episode 48: Small church and Transitional Pastor ministry with Suzanne Zampella

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Suzanne Zampella, Transitional Pastor for First Presbyterian Church in Monett, Missouri.

The two discuss how her sense of calling to the ministry was awakened when she was ordained as a Ruling Elder. She also talks about serving in an ECO—Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians—church, and how the role of a Transitional Pastor is as a change agent, helping a congregation know who they are and what they want to be.

Zampella also reflects on the EPC’s Small Church Summit, held October 11-13 in Orlando, and how it not only provided opportunity for pastors to build relationships with each other, but also demonstrated that the denomination values and supports pastors of smaller churches. In addition, she discusses some of the challenges and joys of serving the small church.

Episode 47: Pastoral stress points with Annie Rose

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Annie Rose, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of the Rivers and Lakes and a member of the interim committee writing a Pastor Letter of Racial Lament and Hope.

The two discuss her path to ministry as the child of a Complementarian church, as well as how serving as a Presbytery Stated Clerk provides avenues to observe pastoral stressors. She provides counsel for both pastors and elders based on those observations, and also discusses her involvement on the Pastoral Letter interim committee and how the group sees love as the basis for biblical lament.

Episode 46: Small church and rural church ministry with Kent Mathews

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, continues his discussion with Kent Mathews, President and Academic Dean of Heartland Theological Seminary in Kansas City and Director of the EPC’s Mentored Apprenticeship Program for seminary students.

In the second of a two-part conversation, the two discuss strategies and resources for preparing pastors to serve in small churches and rural churches, including how Commissioned Pastors and the EPC’s CEEP (Candidates Educational Equivalency Program) serve the church by offering a pathway to ordination for prospective ministers who do not have an MDiv degree.

Episode 45: Theological education, rural church pastor pipeline with Kent Mathews

Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk, welcomes Kent Mathews, President and Academic Dean of Heartland Theological Seminary in Kansas City and Director of the EPC’s Mentored Apprenticeship Program for seminary students.

The two discuss the challenges and opportunities in preparing people for vocational ministry, and how Heartland Seminary and the EPC Mentored Apprenticeship Program combine rigorous academic preparation with practical, mentor-partnered application.

Mathews also describes the need to develop a pipeline of ordination candidates for ministry in rural churches—including the benefits of serving in rural communities—and how small churches can be better equipped for fostering community.

Episode 44: EPC churches in Memphis respond to tragedies

EPC Stated Clerk Dean Weaver and Assistant Stated Clerk Michael Davis discuss a week of tragedy and grief in Davis’s home city of Memphis, Tenn., following the murder of Eliza Fletcher and a series of shootings in the days following. The two also reflect on the commitment of EPC churches in the city to continue to proclaim the gospel in their community.