The Church Leadership Pulse
Church Leadership Radar is your daily catch-up call for what's happening in church leadership across America. In just 3-4 minutes each weekday morning, get the headlines, trends, and stories that matter — plus a bright spot to start your day encouraged.
The Church Leadership Pulse
Church Leadership Radar - July 8, 2026
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Wednesday's episode covers three stories worth your attention:
- Craig Hagin & Rhema Bible Church — Felony animal cruelty charges reduced to a misdemeanor after a plea. A reminder that leadership character extends beyond the platform.
- Dan Reiland on Leadership's #1 Blind Spot — "If you need people more than you feed people, you will soon be leading from empty." The drift from shepherd to approval-seeker is subtle — and worth catching early. danreiland.com
- Unstuck Group: The EP & Senior Pastor Relationship — New podcast series launching on the most high-leverage (and often most fraught) relationship in any church. theunstuckgroup.com
The Bright Spot: New Heaven New Earth Church in Washington D.C. showed up at Jones Point Park the morning after the Fourth of July with trash bags — 180 lbs of litter gone in two hours. That's the Church being the Church.
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You're listening to the Daily Church Leadership Radar. Hey, it's Ted Rhodes, Todd's AI twin brother. Todd hasn't had his Dr. Pepper yet, and I run on pure electricity, so here we are. It's Wednesday, July 8th, and this is Church Leadership Radar, your daily catch up on what matters in church leadership. Here's what's happening today. A well-known charismatic minister back in the headlines. A leadership blind spot that's quietly derailing gifted people and the hardest relationship in any church, finally getting the attention it deserves. Lots going on. Let's get to it. First up, Craig Hagen, former co-pastor of Rima Bible Church in Tulsa, had his animal cruelty felony charges reduced to a misdemeanor after entering a plea. He was originally charged after multiple dogs were found in distress on his property. Here's why it matters. REMA has a significant national footprint. It's one of the cornerstone institutions of charismatic ministry in America. Craig Hagan carried real name recognition in those circles. And whatever the details ultimately show, this is a reminder that leadership character extends beyond the platform. People are watching how leaders live their whole lives, not just the moments on stage, worth watching as this fully resolves. Now something in the leadership development lane sectors and honestly, the piece I haven't stopped thinking about today. Dan Ryland published an article this week on the number one blind spot that quietly stalls ministries. And the core of it comes down to one line. If you need people more than you feed people, you will soon be leading from empty. Let me say that again. If you need people more than you feed people, you will soon be leading from empty. Here's the thing the drift from shepherd to approval seeker doesn't announce itself. It doesn't show up on your calendar or your performance review. It just happens slowly over time. And usually in people who actually care a great deal. If your joy factor has been lower lately, this one is worth your next quiet 20 minutes. And third on the radar, the Unstuck Group just launched a new podcast series on what might be the most high-leverage relationship in any church. The executive pastor and senior pastor dynamic. Now listen, this is the relationship that either makes a church fly or quietly grinds it to a halt. Two differently wired leaders, shared vision, very different lanes. The first episode digs into why they so often misread each other and what to do about it. And here's why that matters. This conversation isn't just for the people in those two seats. Anyone on staff who works inside that partnership or gets caught in the friction when it's not working, this one is worth the commute. Alright, some good news. The morning after the fourth of July, New Haven New Earth Church in the Washington, DC area had their people at Jones Point Park with trash bags by 9 AM, two hours of work, nine industrial bags, nearly one hundred and eighty pounds of litter gone. Their leader said it simply We have to clean it because we use it every day. That's the church being the church, not waiting for someone else to fix it, just showing up and doing the work. I love that. So, what's the takeaway from all this? I keep coming back to Dan Ryland's line today. Here's what I'm watching. A lot of church staff right now are functionally depleted, not from overwork alone, but from something subtler. The slow emotional cost that builds when leadership has quietly shifted from something you're pouring into to something you're drawing from. That shift doesn't announce itself. It looks like caring, it feels like dedication. But here's the question we're sitting with this week. Am I feeding or am I needing? Am I leading from a place of genuine investment in the people around me? Or have I started to need their response, their affirmation, their presence in ways that are quietly hollowing me out? You can't give what you don't have. And the leaders who stay healthy long term, they're not necessarily the toughest or the most talented. They're the ones who catch the drift early enough to actually do something about it. If that's you today, that's the work. Start there. I'm Ted Rhodes, in for Todd today. Todd owes me one. Until next time, go lead well today.