Leading Conversations

Hosted by J.D. Pearring

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Episodes

126

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Conversations between J.D. Pearring, Director of Excel Leadership Network, and church planting leaders, innovators, and coaches from around the country.

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60 recent

June 15, 2026Episode 12636 min

Conversation with Adam and Karissa King

A single dollar on a honeymoon turned into a fight neither of them forgot and it revealed something most couples learn the hard way: marriage problems are rarely about the sombrero. We are joined by Adam and Carissa King from the Dear Young Married Couple podcast and upcoming book, and we get honest about what it looks like to love each other while still clashing over expectations, respect, and communication.We talk through their faith stories, including how early church life shaped them and how hard questions pushed Adam toward apologetics and a more grounded confidence in Jesus. That same posture of curiosity shows up in their marriage work today: you can be faithful and still need tools, coaching, and wise voices around you. They share why couples often avoid help because they fear looking weak, especially in ministry, and why breaking that stigma can change a family line.If you care about Christian marriage, marriage coaching, healthy leadership, and building a relationship that lasts, this conversation will give you language and next steps. Subscribe, share this with a couple who needs encouragement, and leave a review with the tool you want to try this week.Dear Young Married Couple WebsiteSend us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

June 8, 2026Episode 12526 min

Conversation with Stu Streeter (Classic)

Stu Streeter is a church planter, a pastor, and oversees church planting for the North American Baptist denomination. He shares with us his journey to know Christ and how that impacted his life. He also recently completed a sabbatical and talked about the importance of taking time to refresh and renew and what it looks like to return to active ministry.Document: Ambition The Driver of IsolationOriginally Posted April 16, 2021Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

June 1, 2026Episode 12433 min

Conversation with Robert Acker

A lot of leaders talk about “finishing well” like it is a slogan. Rob Acker has lived it, from a youth group of eight kids to decades of pastoral leadership, church planting, and the slow work of staying healthy. JD and I start with a personal story of how our lives crossed, then Rob takes us back to the roots: simple discipleship, opening the Bible as a teenager, and the way the local church quietly forms a leader long before anyone gives you a title. Rob closes with a leadership framework that sticks: character, knowledge, and skills, plus the daily practices that protect the character piece. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a leader you respect, and leave a review so more church planters and pastors can find it.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

May 25, 2026Episode 12317 min

Conversation with Geoff Wells (Classic)

If you have ever been to an Excel Discovery Center, then you have probably met today's guest. From its beginnings, Geoff Wells and his wife Sharon have been a part of Excel Leadership Network. As a retired Army officer, he is often referred to as "The Colonel." Geoff's life story is worth listening to. For anyone that has been lucky enough to meet him, you walk away from that meeting knowing that he is passionate about supporting church planters and how Excel plays a role in expanding God's kingdom. Listen and be encouraged.This episode originally aired on March 1, 2022Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

May 11, 2026Episode 12234 min

Converstation with John Jackson (Classic)

In this episode, JD has a conversation with Dr. John Jackson. He is currently serving as the President of William Jessup University. In his ministry life, he has been a church pastor, a church planter, and a mission leader of a denomination. He has a passion for the local church and a passion for leadership. His ministry experience has taught him valuable lessons about himself and what is essential when someone is in that role. Don't miss this conversation; you will be encouraged and gain valuable leadership lessons.This episode was originally published on July 3, 2023.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

May 4, 2026Episode 12142 min

Conversation with Peyton Jones (2026)

If your church can draw a crowd but struggles to develop leaders, you’re not alone and you’re not stuck. We sit down with church planter and author Peyton Jones to get painfully practical about the missing link behind sustainable church planting and long-term mission: mobilising everyday people to reproduce disciple makers, not just attend services. Along the way Peyton shares what he’s learning right now in his Carlsbad church plant, from meeting at noon in a beach community to building Sundays around circles, food, and real conversation. Peyton unpacks the core idea behind his new book Disciplogy, “the art and science of making disciples,” and why he believes many churches aim for multiplication while skipping the deeper work of mobilisation. We dig into leadership development as the true bottleneck, how Paul’s ministry shows a learning curve, and why reproduction is a clearer, more honest word for what the Great Commission requires. Subscribe for more conversations with church planters and leaders, share this with a friend who’s building a disciple making culture, and leave a review so more leaders can find the show.Link to DiscipologySend us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

April 27, 2026Episode 12026 min

Conversation with Paul Taylor (Classic)

Paul is almost as passionate about Georgia Bulldogs football as he is about reaching people with the saving message of the gospel. A church planter at heart, Paul planted Rivers Crossing Community Church in 2007. Rivers Crossing is passionate about reproducing other missional churches. He has been married to Farrah for 25 years and together they have four children: Alexandria, Ansley, Gavin, and Eli.This episode was originally published June 30 2021.Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

April 20, 2026Episode 11937 min

Conversation with Jon Wong

A search for belonging can make you fearless in all the wrong ways, and Jon Wong knows that story from the inside. Jon joins us from Vancouver, Canada, and walks us through growing up as the only Asian kid in his class, navigating third culture identity, and trying to earn a place to fit in. That hunger for acceptance spiralled into a life of drugs, dealing, arrests, and juvenile detention by the time he was sixteen, before his parents intervened and sent him to Teen Challenge. What stands out is how he describes grace: not as a slogan, but as the steady hand of God protecting him when he could not see it. If you want a Christian testimony that connects addiction recovery, calling, church leadership, and prayer, this conversation will stay with you. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review, then tell us: what does a healthy prayer life look like in your season?Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

April 13, 2026Episode 11936 min

Conversation with Tom Mercer (Classic)

J.D.'s guet on this episode is Tom Mercer. Odds are, if you have worked in ministry, you have probably read at least one of Tom's many books. He gew up in a Christain homa and his father was a pastor. Tom had always thought he would go into the “family” business of ministry. However, he witnessed the mistreatment of his father by the church he was serving in, and decided he wasn’t going to be a part of that. He left seminary and joined a friends marketing firm. It was a conversation with that Christian friend that finally made him realize he needed to get back to ministry. However, his time in marketing was not wasted. God has a way to make all things work together. Tom ultimately realized that the gospel needed to be represented (marketed) well “…conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Phil 1:27). The rest is history. Tom has made his life’s work encouraging Christ followers to represent the Gospel in a manner that will honor Jesus Christ and demonstrate the care and compassion God has for this world. Listen and be encouraged.This episode was originally released November 1, 2023Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.

April 6, 2026Episode 11838 min

Conversation with Harry Kelm

A conference leader who still loves being a Sunday greeter sounds simple until you hear what he’s carried. Harry Kelm joins us from Edmonton, Alberta to tell the story behind 37 years of pastoral ministry and his current role as executive director of the North American Baptist Conference (NAB). We start with the roots: a German-speaking immigrant church in Milwaukee, a childhood faith shaped by belonging, and the moment that “ought to” religion became a love relationship with God that still fuels his leadership today. From there, Harry walks us through the real path of vocational calling: Bible school that kept extending, seminary formation, and a series of ministry moves across the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada. He shares what he learned when confidence outpaced wisdom, why some seasons taught him “maybe you shouldn’t have done that,” and how a hurting pastor and a hurting church can heal together. If you care about pastoral resilience, church revitalization, and long-term discipleship, these stories land with honesty and hope. If this conversation helps you lead with more clarity and kindness, subscribe, share it with a pastor or church planter, and leave a review so more leaders can find it. What part of Harry’s story hit closest to home for you?North American Baptist Conferencehttps://nabconference.org/Send us Fan MailWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL.