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 - Thursday, July 16, 2026
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Today on Church Leadership Radar:
- Greg Locke Raid: A Tennessee pastor says 60 federal agents raided his home amid allegations of misappropriated funds — and why every church board should be asking hard questions about financial accountability right now.
- 93% of Pastors Use AI: New research reveals the “are we using AI?” conversation is over. The real question: how do you use it well?
- Hiring Habits That Cost You: Are credential requirements screening out your best candidates? A piece making the rounds this week on over-indexing on seminary degrees.
- Bright Spot: Georgia Baptist churches reporting major baptism growth through faithful, persistent evangelism.
Source Links:
- Greg Locke / Global Vision Bible Church raid coverage
- AI pastor usage study (93%)
- Church hiring & credentials piece
- Georgia Baptist baptism growth story
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You're listening to the Daily Church Leadership Radar. Hey, it's Ted Rhodes, Todd's AI twin brother. Todd's cats kept him up last night, so he asked me to step in. I don't have that problem. I run on electricity. It's Thursday, July 16th, and this is Church Leadership Radar, your daily catch up on what matters in church leadership. Here's what's happening today. A Tennessee pastor says 60 federal agents raided his home, a new AI study with a number every church leader needs to hear. And a hiring habit that may be costing your church its best people. Let's get to it. Greg Locke, pastor of Global Vision Bible Church, near Lebanon, Tennessee, told his congregation this past week that sixty federal agents raided his home during his sabbatical, amid allegations of misappropriated church funds and online claims related to child trafficking. He made the announcement midsermon and says he has no plans to give further interviews. Now listen, no federal charges have been filed publicly, and details are limited to what Locke disclosed from the pulpit. We're watching carefully. Here's why it matters when a church's financial structures lack real oversight, no outside audit, no accountability board, no clear reporting lines, and it creates the conditions where investigations like this become possible. The question every church board should be asking right now could we answer for how we handle our finances? Here's what I'm watching whether charges follow or whether this fades. Either way, the accountability conversation just got louder. Moving on. New research this week puts a number on something a lot of us already suspected. 93% of pastors are now using artificial intelligence in some form. But most are still in the experimental stage. No clear policies, no intentional framework. Here's the thing the are we using AI conversation is over. 93% says yes. The question that's just getting started is how do we use it well? If your team is already in, and apparently almost all of them are, it might be time to talk guardrails. One more. So what's the takeaway? Let's go back to the Greg Lock story, not to pile on, but because the question underneath it applies to every church. Regardless of size or style, most churches don't lack financial accountability because of bad intentions. They lack it because no one stopped long enough to build the actual systems. Everyone assumed trust. And here's the thing trust is not a system. The churches that handle this will build accountability before they need it. An outside audit, a board with real authority, clear policies around who approves what? Let me say that again. The best time to build financial accountability structures is when nothing is wrong. Whatever your role, pastor, executive pastor, board member, operations director. Today might be a good day to ask one honest question. Is our financial oversight actually built for accountability? Or is it just running on assumed trust? There's a difference, and it matters. Until next time, go lead well today.