Dying to Live Podcast

In this episode, we’re looking at biblical authority — what it is, how it’s meant to function, and how leaders can exercise it without slipping into control.

Scripture reminds us in Romans 13 that all authority ultimately comes from God. That means leadership authority is not something we own — it’s something we steward. It is delegated, and it is accountable. From the beginning, authority was tied to responsibility. 

In Genesis, humanity is given dominion not to dominate, but to cultivate and care. Biblical authority exists to protect, to guide, to correct, and to build up.The clearest model is Jesus Christ. He possessed all authority, yet led through service and sacrifice. He corrected without crushing. He commanded without manipulating. His authority created freedom, not fear.

A leader’s authority extends as far as their responsibility — no further. 

You are accountable for vision, values, and direction. You are not called to control every decision or outcome. When authority shifts from stewardship to self-protection, it becomes control. Control manages people. Authority develops them.

Control demands compliance. Authority cultivates conviction.The balance is stewardship — leading with clarity and courage, while remembering the authority you carry is entrusted, not owned.

Morne van der Walt, Dylan Jones and Mike D'Offay, elders in the life of JoshGen, explore what it means to lead with real authority — without control.

In a world that is increasingly diverse, the church often finds itself navigating the complexities of culture, identity, and belonging. But our goal is not simply to build culturally diverse churches. Diversity alone is not the destination.

This podcast explores a deeper pursuit — the formation of a Christ culture.

We believe the church is called to be a community shaped first and foremost by Jesus, where every culture is welcomed, discerned, and transformed by the gospel. Rather than elevating cultural expression as the end goal, we seek to discover how the beauty within each culture can reflect Christ more clearly, while also allowing Scripture to challenge the parts that do not.

Here, we will have honest conversations about the joys and tensions of building church across cultures — the misunderstandings, the growth, the humility, and the unity that comes through shared life in Christ. Our hope is to help leaders and believers move beyond multicultural coexistence toward something deeper: a church where Christ becomes the loudest culture in the room, shaping how we love, lead, worship, and live together.

Jonathan Stanfield, an apostolic leader within Four12 Global, shares some of his experience of leading a church with 23 different nationalities.

A new year brings fresh plans and new possibilities. But what if the year behind you was painful? What if disappointment or loss has made trusting God for the future feel incredibly hard? How do we exercise faith when our confidence has been shaken?

How do we plan wisely for a new year while still living surrendered to God? Is there a way to hold vision in one hand and trust in the other? And what about unbelief? Can faith and doubt live in the same heart?

In Gospel of Mark chapter 9, a desperate father cries out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” That honest prayer reminds us that faith isn’t the absence of doubt—it’s bringing our doubt to God. So what is God’s role in growing our faith? What is ours? And what do we do when our faith feels smaller than a mustard seed?

As we step into 2026, we won’t ignore the tension between planning and surrender—we’ll lean into it. Because maybe faith isn’t certainty for the whole year. Maybe it’s trusting God daily for the next step. If you’re stepping into this year hopeful, hesitant, or barely holding on—this conversation is for you.

Luke Hulley and Dan Barnard, elders who lead congregations in the life of JoshGen, encourage us to find faith for 2026… together.

What happens when leaders fall?

Not just quietly—but publicly, painfully, and in ways that ripple through families, churches, and entire movements. We’ve seen it again and again in the news: moral failure, abuse of power, silence, denial… and the fallout that follows when issues aren’t dealt with biblically. 

But here’s the harder question—at what point does ignoring failure become endorsement? And what does faith actually require of us in moments like these? In this episode, we’re asking the uncomfortable but necessary questions.

What is the godly, biblical way to respond when leaders sin?
How do we balance truth and grace, accountability and restoration?

And should we speak out when leaders in other movements fall—or is silence the wiser path? This isn’t about gossip or outrage. It’s about integrity, responsibility, and what it truly means to lead—and follow—according to God’s heart.

Every Janu-WORRY (as some people refer to it) we’re told it’s time for a reset. New year, new goals, new habits, new us. But spiritually, many of us step into the new year carrying the same questions, the same struggles, the same disappointments—and the same old selves. We pray, we hope, we try again, yet sometimes nothing feels new at all. 

So what does God actually expect of us? Is the new year a spiritual performance review (KPA) —do better, try harder, fix yourself? Or is God at work in ways we don’t immediately feel or see? What if newness doesn’t always look like change on the outside, but faithfulness on the inside? What if God isn’t holding a big stick over our failures, but gently leading us forward, even when we feel stuck?

In this podcast, New Year, Old Me, we explore the tension between our desire for transformation and the reality of living with unresolved struggles. We’ll talk honestly about faith when nothing feels fresh, hope when progress feels slow, and the grace of a God who meets us not as a “new us,” but as we really are—right here, right now.

Dan Barnard and Brett Bevan, both elders leading congregations in JoshGen, share some humour around expectations made of us AND the challenges of finding God in a new year with old challenges and the old me.