Leading Conversations
Conversations between J.D. Pearring, Director of Excel Leadership Network, and church planting leaders, innovators, and coaches from around the country.
Episodes
121 episodes
Conversation with Paul Taylor (Classic)
Paul is almost as passionate about Georgia Bulldogs football as he is about reaching people with the saving message of the gospel. A church planter at heart, Paul planted Rivers Crossing Community Church in 2007. Rivers Crossing is passionate a...
Conversation with Jon Wong
A search for belonging can make you fearless in all the wrong ways, and Jon Wong knows that story from the inside. Jon joins us from Vancouver, Canada, and walks us through growing up as the only Asian kid in his class, navigating third culture...
Conversation with Tom Mercer (Classic)
J.D.'s guet on this episode is Tom Mercer. Odds are, if you have worked in ministry, you have probably read at least one of Tom's many books. He gew up in a Christain homa and his father was a pastor. Tom had always thought he would go into the...
Conversation with Harry Kelm
A conference leader who still loves being a Sunday greeter sounds simple until you hear what he’s carried. Harry Kelm joins us from Edmonton, Alberta to tell the story behind 37 years of pastoral ministry and his current role as executive direc...
Conversation with Luke Allen (Classic)
In this episode, you will hear from Luke Allen. Not only a church planter that has planted other churches out of his own, but the COO of Excel Leadership Network. You will be encouraged by his journey, and after listening, you may feel the need...
Conversation with Patrick Davis
A teenager running drugs in Cleveland. A loaded gun in his pocket at church. A home invasion charge that could have meant decades behind bars. Patrick Davis’s story doesn’t soften the details, and that’s exactly why it lands so hard. We talk wi...
Conversation with Larry Osborne (Classic)
Larry Osborne is a pastor, author, mentor, and leadership consultant. He pioneered several concepts that shape our modern church today, teaching teams, multisite churches, and sermon-based small groups. Larry shares his own journey and how his ...
Conversation with Chris and Shelly Allen
Faith gets real when the plan stops working. We sit down with Chris and Shelly from Dayton to trace a path that starts in youth ministry, runs through bold church-plant dreams, and lands in the tough middle: excellent services, strong systems, ...
Conversation with Ralph Moore (Classic)
Ralph Moore has been tied to more church plants than anyone in North America. He planted churches in Southern California and Hawaii and has a family tree that includes over 2300 churches! Ralph lives in San Diego with his wife, Ruby...
Conversation with Jeff Crandall
A teenage promise forged in a camp chapel changed the course of Jeff Crandall’s life. From growing up with MLB legend Del Crandall as dad to drumming in one of the first Christian punk bands, Jeff’s story bends through unexpected turns toward a...
Conversation with Garrett Nates
A minute-long phone call from an unknown Phoenix number set off a chain of events that brought Garrett Nates back to Colorado to lead a 70-year-old church—and to champion a bold, sustainable plan to plant three new congregations in nine years a...
Conversation with Eric Bryant
A camp quiet time, a seven‑minute first sermon, and a calling that survived Seattle headwinds, LA creativity, and an Austin reset—Eric Bryant joins us to trace a lived map of ministry that is honest, hopeful, and deeply practical. We open with ...
Conversation with Tyler Gorsline
Hurt and hope can live in the same room, and sometimes that room is a borrowed auditorium in the heart of Seattle’s tech campus. We sit down with pastor and church planter Tyler Gorseland to trace a winding path from AA basements and a late-tee...
Conversation with James Grogan
A clear plan, a humble posture, and one simple patio moment—that’s how a baton gets passed and a church keeps moving. We sit down with James Grogan, lead pastor of EastLake Church in San Diego, to explore what healthy succession actually looks ...
Conversation with Chris & Sara Griffith
The story starts with two very different paths to faith—one raised in church but resistant to ministry, the other the first Christian in her family who woke up changed at seventeen. Those paths converged years later, when we compared dreams on ...
Conversation with Sean Morgan
Sean Morgan's path from disillusioned churchgoer to ministry leader unfolds as a powerful testimony of God's patient pursuit. Growing up in a Christian environment but becoming lukewarm in his faith, Sean details three pivotal incidents that pu...
Conversation with Dominique Beaumonte
Dominique Beaumont's life reads like a modern-day parable of divine orchestration. Born to a severely schizophrenic mother who worked as a prostitute, Dominique bounced between foster homes until landing with a Pentecostal foster mother who int...
Conversation with Andrew MacDonald
Andrew McDonald never imagined he'd become a pastor, let alone a church planter. Growing up in eastern Canada, church was something you endured weekly while wearing uncomfortable clothes—a religious obligation completely disconnected from daily...
Conversation with Spencer and Sarah Green
The power of the local church to transform lives sits at the heart of Spencer and Sarah Green's remarkable story. When a youth pastor Spencer only knew as "the more than enough guy" (because he always brought extra pizza to school) became the l...
Conversation with Sean Arisco
What does a world champion roller skater, a transformative mission trip to India, and a text message church merger have in common? They're all part of Sean Arisco's extraordinary journey into church planting and leadership.Sean's path b...
Conversation with Jon Groves
What happens when rigid religious rules collide with authentic faith? Jon Groves takes us on a remarkable journey from his beginnings as a fourth-generation preacher's kid to finding freedom beyond the confines of legalism.At just eight...
Conversation with Rick McKinley
Rick McKinley's remarkable journey from partying at Chico State to establishing one of Portland's most influential churches reveals the transformative power of authentic faith and leadership. With refreshing candor, Rick shares how he wandered ...
Conversation with Karl Vaters
What if your small church isn't broken? What if it's exactly the size it's meant to be?In this illuminating conversation, third-generation pastor Karl Vaters shares his 32-year journey leading the same congregation and his revolutionary...