Episode 804: How to De-escalate an Angry Church and Leading a Ministry You Didn’t Start with Rich Villodas

Carey caught up with Rich backstage at Exponential to talk about the learnable skills that keep leaders and congregations non-anxious in an angry age, and the unique challenges and gifting needed to lead a church you didn’t plant.

This episode is brought to you by:

The Art of Preaching

Preachers — does this sound familiar? You’re mid-sermon and you lose your train of thought, fumble for your notes, or tell a story that flops. Your gut drops. You replay it Sunday afternoon and again lying awake at night.

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Lifestone Ministries

If you lead a church, you know how challenging it is to find adult Sunday school curriculum your teachers will actually use week after week, year after year.

The Quarterly Bible Curriculum from LifeStone Ministries has been serving churches for over 120 years. The Adult Bible Class is a verse-by-verse, theologically sound resource that gives teachers and students everything they need with confidence every quarter—available in standard and large print. For teachers who want to go deeper, Adult Bible Teacher adds exposition, discussion questions, and lesson preparation helps. More than 10,000 churches rely on it every quarter.

Victory Beyond the Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is one of the most significant outreach opportunities of our lifetime— and Victory Beyond the Cup is equipping churches to make the most of it.

They’re offering free Pastor Kits and Host Kits to help you run meaningful events all summer long. Claim yours here.