Get caught up on all the past episodes.

In this episode of the Better Preaching Podcast, Dr. Frank Weller welcomes Dr. Orpheus J. Heyward, minister of the Renaissance Church of Christ in Atlanta and Great Lakes Christian College’s 2023 commencement speaker. Orpheus shares his journey from New York, where he was baptized under his uncle, to his mentorship under Dr. W.F. Washington, a traveling companion of Marshall Keeble. He traces the rich heritage of African American Churches of Christ, describes a calling he first sensed at age eight, and explains why preaching must remain a calling rather than a career. The conversation also explores unity between a cappella Churches of Christ and independent Christian churches, the cost of building bridges, and the core convictions both streams share.

Nate Ross returns to the Better Preaching Podcast for a candid conversation about what happens when the metrics look great and the soul does not. Nate shares the season that led him out of the lead pastor role at Northside Christian Church — growing numbers, a successful capital campaign, and a persistent lack of peace no lever could fix — and the question from a counselor that finally opened things up. He unpacks the framework that reshaped his ministry: awareness, then access, then action, drawn from Revelation 2 and the deep waters of Proverbs 20:5. We talk about the “industry standard” preachers unconsciously chase, why seventy percent of Bible college graduates leave pastoral ministry within a decade, and what it means to be undone before the Lord.

Nate Ross joins the Better Preaching Podcast to talk about what happens when we develop preachers but neglect pastors. Nate, founder of Moments to Movements, spent two decades in local church ministry before launching a leadership development work serving senior-level leaders through coaching, collaboration, and preaching. In this conversation, he shares how his father, George Ross, involved him in ministry rather than pushing him into it, and the words of blessing that shaped his calling. Nate unpacks the four areas every leader must develop—personal performance, learning agility, relationships, and character—and warns what happens when strength in the pulpit excuses weakness everywhere else. Drawing on Proverbs 20:5, he challenges preachers to learn the lost art of drawing out deep waters.

In this follow-up conversation with Dave Stone, we dive deeper into the craft of preaching, specifically, how to develop your authentic voice and master the details that separate good sermons from great ones. Dave discusses his book _Refining Your Style_, the evolution of his own preaching over four decades, and why the transition sentence between sermon points is critical. We explore the beautiful lineage at Southeast Christian Church, where Bob Russell mentored Dave, who then passed that legacy to Kyle Idleman. Dave reflects on the different contexts of Louisville versus Phoenix and offers hard-won wisdom to his younger self about managing conflict, trusting people despite betrayal, and — most importantly — learning to rely on the Holy Spirit rather than his own strength.

The conversation covers a range of topics including ministry challenges, preaching to different generations, the impact of long tenures, the Jesus Period series, the power of illustrations, the Restoration Movement, investing in the next generation, discovering Great Lakes Christian College, and the art of deer hunting.

In this episode, Tony Johnson shares his journey of evolving his preaching style, emphasizing authenticity, strategic preparation, and connecting deeply with his congregation. Discover practical tips on balancing personal voice, team collaboration, and adapting to different contexts in ministry.

In this episode, Dr. Frank Weller welcomes back Chris VandeLinde, lead pastor of Cornerstone Christian Church in Shiloh, Illinois, for a conversation about persevering in ministry and sharpening the craft of preaching. Chris shares how covenant groups have kept him from being “the gazelle behind the pack” for 27 years, and why every preacher needs people who care more about who they are than the name of their church. He then unpacks his four P’s of preaching—personal, practical, passionate, and punctual—explaining why preachers must wrestle personally with the text, make theology practical, communicate with genuine passion, and say it succinctly enough that people want more. The episode closes with the three rules God gave Chris for 2026: thicker skin, softer heart, and tighter lips. Better preaching makes a bigger impact.

In this episode, Dr. Frank Weller talks with Chris VandeLinde, Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Christian Church in Shiloh, Illinois, about preaching that builds culture and reaches the next generation. Chris explains why every sermon must answer questions people are actually asking—especially questions of identity—and why culture-shaping belongs in every message when the average family attends less than twice a month. He shares who taught him to preach, from his youth minister to the podcast preachers who pastored him from afar. A lifelong soccer player, Chris draws a surprising lesson from World Cup culture: the church holds a unifying identity far greater than any flag or team. The conversation closes with his prediction that as AI erodes trust in the digital world, the church will see a resurgence of the tangible: paper Bibles, small groups, and in-person gatherings.

In this episode of the Better Preaching Podcast, Dr. Frank Weller welcomes back Ben Cachiaras, longtime preaching minister at Mountain Christian Church, for a conversation about sermon preparation and delivery. Ben describes preaching as sacramental—ordinary words through which God shows up—and shares why “all my tears are in the study,” where wrestling with a text gives way to the Holy Spirit’s breakthrough. He offers practical wisdom for getting unstuck: start early, step away, sleep on it, and try explaining the sermon in three sentences. Ben also traces his evolution from handwritten notes to manuscript to a discreet teleprompter system that lets him preach barrier-free while staying word-for-word prepared. He unpacks Mountain’s “T Doc,” a planning tool that aligns the whole church team around each sermon’s text, theme, and takeaway. Plus: the Mother’s Day eagle incident that ended live animals at Mountain forever. Better preaching makes a bigger impact.

Ever wonder how some preachers make Bible stories jump off the page and jump into our hearts? Well, buckle up, because Ben Cocheris just dropped some gold on turning biblical truths into memorable, visual sermons that stick like glue.

Today we introduce a new segment to the Better Preaching Podcast. In each Preaching Professor episode I’ll interview a homiletics professor. In this, our first preaching prof episode I sit down with Dr. Daniel Overdorf. Daniel is the eighth President of Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he has taught homiletics for more than two decades. His book, _Preaching: A Simple Approach to the Sacred Task_, earned an honorable mention for Book of the Year from Preaching Magazine.