Next Sunday

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Jun 2026

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Next Sunday is more than just a podcast — this is your community of forward-thinking church leaders looking to make a meaningful impact not only today but for years to come. Our conversations create every church leader’s field guide for bridging generations, cultivating generosity, and inspiring change in the church. Every other week, you can expect candid discussions, insightful interviews with special guests and practical tips you can apply to your congregation to start shaping your church of tomorrow, today . We embrace challenges, celebrate victories, and aren’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way, because what happens next Sunday could change everything.

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52 recent

June 2, 202626 min

What Your Biggest Givers Wish You Knew

High-capacity givers and major donors are often approached transactionally—by schools, charities, alma maters, museums, and causes that lead with one question: “How much can you give?” This episode explains why pastors must lead differently, and what your biggest givers wish you knew about shepherding them well.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer continue the conversation on segmentation and generosity by asking a practical question: once a church knows who its high-capacity givers are, what should pastors do—and how should they relate to these givers with integrity?Jim makes a clear point: don’t start with the money conversation. If a pastor leads with giving, it immediately signals a transactional posture—treating a person like a resource instead of someone to shepherd. Instead, Jim reframes high-capacity giving as a stewardship assignment—one many people are unprepared to carry, especially first-generation wealthy families or newer believers who suddenly find themselves with significant resources and little discipleship framework for what to do next.The episode also challenges assumptions about financial ease. Frank references a recent study noting that even households earning around $500,000 report feeling “paycheck to paycheck,” which exposes how common lifestyle pressure and financial tension can be, even at higher income levels. The takeaway: pastors shouldn’t assume complexity disappears with wealth. A key leadership moment comes when pastors fear reaching out to a major giver who is pulling back, because they worry it will be perceived as “I’m only here for your money.” Jim pushes deeper: that fear often reveals the pastor’s own transactional mindset. Until that posture is corrected, the conversation will stay awkward, because the awkwardness is coming from the leader, not the giver.Finally, Jim and Frank emphasize that generosity is discipleship—progressive sanctification—and churches can hit a campaign goal while still failing their people spiritually. The call is to help people grow over time, strengthen the “muscle” of generosity, and steward the pastoral opportunity with clarity and courage.

May 20, 202629 min

Lessons From Leadership Transition

Leadership transition and executive succession are hard, especially in the faith-based sector, where healthy succession stories can feel way too rare. This episode revisits a real transition one year later to unpack what actually makes succession work when the predecessor is still around and the organization keeps moving forward with trust and momentum.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer reflect on Generis’ CEO transition—15 months in—to share the behind-the-scenes realities that made it sustainable. They aren’t telling the story to brag. They’re telling it to prove it can go well, and to offer practical “nuggets” that might help leaders facing their own handoff.A key framework Jim shares is the relay race analogy:Succession requires baton release and baton embrace.The outgoing leader has to let go fully. The incoming leader has to take it and run. But the hidden work is what determines whether either side can do that well. Jim explains that before handing off leadership, he had to confront two internal deal-breakers that could have wrecked everything: identity and control.Frank highlights what many teams miss: the hard work is heart work. It’s the internal readiness, the posture, the humility, and the willingness to do deep work before the public announcement ever happens.They also get practical about what protects the new leader:building relational capital and trust long before the transitionleaders backing words with actions (not operating with “shadow leadership”)letting the successor lead meetings and make decisions without constant oversightgiving context without controlling outcomes—so the new leader can lead with freedom A standout line from Jim reframes why he stepped out of the CEO role:“I’m not doing this so I can leave quicker. I’m doing it so I can stay longer.” The episode closes with a challenge for leaders navigating succession: talk to trusted people, do the identity work, do the control work, and make sure you’re truly ready to release the baton—because the greatest gift you can give your successor is a clean handoff they can fully embrace.

April 28, 202627 min

Misdiagnosed: Stop Managing What You Need to Solve

Leadership problems don’t disappear when you rename them. But many leaders do exactly that—calling a problem a “tension” so they don’t have to deal with it. This episode exposes that pattern and offers a better path: accuracy, courage, and the willingness to turn the light on. In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack Frank’s Substack post Misdiagnosed and the leadership drift it names: misdiagnosis becomes a sanctuary for the tired leader, the insecure leader, and the leader running low on emotional margin.The conversation starts with a well-known leadership idea: some things are a problem to solve, and some things are a tension to manage. Frank explains how that true principle often gets misused. When a leader is conflict-avoidant, exhausted, or protecting themselves emotionally, they may start declaring problems to be “tensions,” because tensions feel safer. They can be tolerated. They don’t require action.Jim and Frank explore what fuels that pattern:Fatigue and relentless paceConflict avoidance that intensifies when leaders are tired“Avoidance in wisdom’s clothing”Growth as a mask that makes misdiagnosis easier to ignoreFrank argues that a healthy leadership habit is learning to keep “new eyes” even when you are no longer new, and to ask, “If someone took my job tomorrow, where would they look that I should have been looking?” They also get practical around one of the most common places misdiagnosis shows up: team dysfunction and staff issues. Jim makes the case that keeping the wrong fit around is not kindness. It is costly to the whole team and ultimately costly to the person who isn’t thriving. He even recommends generous severance, because the delay almost always costs more than the decision.This episode is a must-listen for pastors, nonprofit leaders, executive teams, and church boards who want to lead with clarity instead of convenience.

April 14, 202624 min

Stop Apologizing! You're not "Spending Money On Yourself"

Church building campaigns and facility projects often get framed with one phrase that creates confusion fast: “We’re spending money on ourselves.” This episode explains why that language is theologically inaccurate, practically unhelpful, and unnecessarily apologetic—especially when the goal of church infrastructure is mission, not self-indulgence.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack why pastors and leaders say this so often, even when their vision is clear and their motives are good. Jim argues the phrase usually comes from anxiety about money, inherited church tradition, and a leftover transactional mindset that makes leaders feel like they have to justify internal investment by attaching an external “offset.”Jim offers a cleaner, more faithful framework that brings everything into focus: We invest inside the walls so we can be more effective outside the walls. That shift changes the entire conversation. It clarifies that facilities are not inherently selfish. It reminds people that ministry happens both inside and outside the church walls. And it removes the subtle message that internal investment is spiritually suspect.They also talk about how “percentage give-back” language can unintentionally reinforce guilt: “We’re keeping most of this for ourselves, so we should give some away.” Jim argues it’s not wrong to have multiple goals in a generosity initiative. It’s the framing that gets sideways when it sounds like a penalty for building capacity. A key biblical anchor comes from Nehemiah: the burden “out there” drove the project “in here.” That’s how church infrastructure should work. Leaders build and strengthen the base so the mission can expand. And when those projects are aligned to mission, clearly articulated, and rooted in real capacity needs, churches often respond with clarity and faith.Finally, Jim gives practical counsel for changing the culture: the senior pastor has to lead, staff need retraining, and it will take time. But the result is worth it, because when everyone understands “inside the walls, outside the walls,” the whole church can move forward with confidence.

March 31, 202625 min

All Givers Are The Same, But Not All Gifts Are The same

“If we treat gifts differently, aren’t we treating people differently?” This episode brings clarity to that question with a simple principle that every church leader needs: all givers are the same, but not all gifts are the same.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack why the widow and her two coins is not the only giving story Scripture celebrates—and why forming your entire generosity theology around that single moment can unintentionally limit discipleship and communication in the local church.Jim explains what often triggers this conversation in leadership rooms: a fear of favoritism. Pastors worry that gathering certain givers first, speaking differently to different groups, or acknowledging the impact of larger gifts will create division or compromise spiritual integrity. But Jim argues the issue is usually a misunderstanding of what Scripture means by favoritism—and an assumption that healthy segmentation is the same as special treatment.To reset the conversation, Jim points to three givers in Scripture with very different gifts:The widow and her two coinsMary’s lavish worship at Bethany, offering what may have been her dowryKing David’s giving in 1 Chronicles 29, a gift that—by modern valuation—could be measured in the billionsThe gifts are wildly different in magnitude and impact, but Scripture honors all three. And Jim offers a memorable summary that ties the stories together:The widow’s gift was magnanimous because of sacrifice.Mary’s gift was profound because of worship and devotion.David’s gift was transformational because of its scale and impact.Scripture honors all three, not because the gifts were equal, but because the givers were. The episode also brings this into real church practice. Jim explains why gathering faithful givers first is not favoritism—it’s often reverse favoritism. These are the people asked to go first, sacrifice most, and set the pace so the whole church can move forward. And he offers a practical reminder: churches already differentiate people in many areas (like worship teams and leadership roles). Money just makes leaders feel nervous in a way other conversations don’t.This episode is a must-listen for pastors, executive pastors, elders, boards, and generosity teams who want clear biblical language and a healthier framework for honoring every giver while communicating with wisdom about the different impact gifts can have in the mission of the church.

March 16, 202623 min

A Giving Initiative Is Like An X-Ray

Giving initiatives and generosity campaigns are like an X-ray: they reveal what’s already happening inside your church. Giving initiatives don’t cause fractures, they expose them. And that’s why giving initiatives can become one of the clearest diagnostic tools a church leader will ever experience.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack a simple but powerful idea: giving initiatives are never really about money. They’re about people—trust, clarity, alignment, leadership health, and spiritual maturity. A generosity season surfaces what’s strong, what’s weak, what’s unified, and what’s fractured. The good stuff rises. The not-so-good stuff shows itself.Jim explains how this became obvious early in his work after several initiatives went well, then one didn’t. On the surface, the church looked healthy. The goal wasn’t unreasonable. The strategy was sound. But traction stalled. And that experience forced a deeper realization: when generosity doesn’t move, something underneath the surface usually needs attention. The giving initiative simply reveals it.Jim and Frank also address a common misconception: that a major generosity initiative can “reunite” or “revive” a church that’s already divided. A giving initiative won’t heal fractures. It will magnify them, because the church is forced into conversations about trust, vision, and commitment. But there’s hope in the X-ray.Once you can see what’s real, leaders can finally address what needs to be strengthened. Jim describes the role of a campaign guide like a whitewater rafting guide: someone who has navigated these waters before and can help pastors avoid “dumb tax” mistakes other churches have already paid. When a church hits unexpected turbulence, the goal isn’t panic. The goal is perspective, intervention, and wise next steps. This episode is a must-listen for pastors, executive leaders, and church teams who are considering a giving initiative, or who are already in one, and want to understand what generosity reveals, why it matters, and how to respond when the X-ray exposes cracks that need healing.

March 3, 202626 min

From Tax Deductions To Discipleship

Tax policy has changed the giving landscape—and this episode explains why churches can’t lean on incentives anymore. If generosity is going to grow, it has to be formed through discipleship, not deductions.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer break down how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act shifted giving by nearly doubling the standard deduction. As a result, far fewer households itemize (dropping from about 1 in 3 to about 1 in 10), which removed a key financial nudge that used to reinforce charitable giving, especially at year-end.Jim and Frank walk through the real-world implications in plain language: standard vs. itemized deductions, why Schedule A used to matter for middle-class giving, and how incentives shaped behavior even when they weren’t the primary spiritual motivator. They also discuss how the “One Big Beautiful Act Bill” extends these dynamics and adds new layers—like a small above-the-line deduction for non-itemizers and a “haircut” effect that reduces deductible charitable amounts for some itemizers.But the key takeaway is not political. It’s pastoral.The conversation argues that tax policy changes hit undeveloped givers far harder than developed givers. And when incentives fade, what’s exposed is formation: if people were giving mostly because it “made sense” financially, the church must now disciple people toward giving as worship, not transaction.The conversation challenges pastors and church leaders to stop assuming outside forces will work in the church’s favor and to start asking harder questions. Are we teaching generosity clearly and consistently? Are we forming hearts—or just managing behaviors? Have we unintentionally trained people to see giving as a financial decision rather than a discipleship practice?A powerful closing section gives a pastoral starting point for conversations with people who are “out-strategizing God” with tax planning. Jim points leaders back to Scripture—inviting people to run their giving decisions through passages like Deuteronomy 14:22–23 and the heart posture of David in 1 Chronicles 29:17—so the Holy Spirit can do the work that arguments and spreadsheets never can.This episode is a must-listen for Church leaders who want a more honest, biblically grounded approach to church giving and generosity culture in a world where tax incentives are no longer doing the church any favors.Read the full article and download FREE white paper here: blog.generis.com/blog/from-tax-deductions-to-discipleship-part-2

December 30, 202532 min

Why Church Giving ISN’T About the Economy

Church giving and generosity culture are often blamed on the economy, but this episode challenges that assumption head-on. Church giving and generosity culture are far more influenced by church leadership, vision, and what happens inside the walls of the church than by what’s happening on Wall Street.In this episode of The Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer unpack one of the most common phrases pastors use when giving declines: “It’s the economy.” Drawing on more than three decades of church consulting experience, Jim argues that while economic conditions matter, they are rarely the primary driver of church giving trends. Instead, the real issues are often internal—leadership health, vision clarity, trust, teaching, and culture.Jim and Frank explore why churches so quickly default to external explanations when giving stalls and how a transactional mindset toward generosity fuels that reaction. They highlight real-world examples from economic downturns, the global pandemic, tax policy changes, and local church case studies to demonstrate a consistent truth: churches in the same economy can experience wildly different giving outcomes.The conversation challenges pastors and church leaders to stop outsourcing responsibility to macroeconomic forces and start asking harder questions. Is there vision fatigue? Leadership burnout? Trust erosion? Poor communication around generosity? A lack of teaching that frames giving as transformation rather than transaction?The episode also examines how churches differ from other nonprofits. Unlike most charitable organizations, churches have a weekly “home-field advantage”—regular access to their people to build trust, reinforce vision, and shape culture. When leveraged well, that advantage insulates churches from economic swings far more than leaders realize.A particularly powerful section focuses on pastoral health as a generosity issue. Jim makes the case that the emotional and spiritual temperature of a congregation almost always mirrors that of its senior pastor. When leaders lead with passion and conviction, generosity follows. When leaders are weary or discouraged, giving often slows.The episode closes with a challenge to church boards, elders, and leadership teams: if you want to mitigate financial risk, your first priority should not be spreadsheets—it should be the soul, health, and sustainability of the pastor.This episode is a must-listen for pastors, executive leaders, and church teams who want a more honest, effective, and biblically grounded approach to generosity, leadership, and church giving—regardless of what the economy is doing.

December 16, 202530 min

Giving Under Compulsion: Why It Is Not What You Think

In this episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer take a careful look at the phrase “under compulsion” from 2 Corinthians 9 and why many churches have built entire giving moments around protecting people from pressure instead of equipping people for joyful participation. Jim shares how the text is often reduced to a single warning, which sidelines the larger invitation of the passage. The deeper goal is not less urgency; it is the right kind of urgency that forms disciples and honors the work of the Spirit in the room.Together, Jim and Frank revisit the wider context of 2 Corinthians 9. Before Paul ever says “not under compulsion,” he celebrates a church that is ready. The Greek word behind “cheerful” carries two ideas: joy and readiness. Paul repeats “ready” and “readiness” throughout verses 1–5, which reframes cheerful giving as eager participation instead of guilt‑driven obligation. When leaders focus on readiness, generosity moves from a transaction to transformation and people learn to respond to God with freedom, clarity, and joy.The conversation also corrects common habits that unintentionally push toward compulsion. Jim cautions against saying “we are here to take an offering,” and suggests “we are here to receive an offering,” because gifts are received, not extracted. Frank presses on how churches sometimes tell newcomers, “If you are new here, do not give,” which may silence what God is already doing in a guest’s heart. A better approach is simple and honoring: “Nothing is expected from you today. You are welcome to participate.” That language protects people from pressure without shutting down a Spirit‑prompted response.Jim then connects Paul’s readiness theme to Exodus 35–36, where the people’s hearts were stirred and they gave so freely that Moses had to restrain them from bringing more. This story models a culture of willing gifts, not exactions, and shows what can happen when leaders teach readiness rather than fear. Frank and Jim encourage pastors to stop trying to “protect people’s wallets,” since people already manage their own money, and instead to equip them to become cheerful, ready givers.If you lead in a church where money talk feels loaded, this episode offers clear language, biblical framing, and practical next steps. You will learn how to name healthy urgency without manipulation, how to replace pressure with invitation, and how to model receiving gifts as worship. Most of all, you will gain a way to speak about generosity that builds trust, honors Scripture, and helps people grow.

November 11, 202532 min

How to Raise Generous Kids in a Selfish World

In this episode of the Next Sunday Podcast, hosts Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer have a powerful discussion on engaging kids and teens in generosity. If you are a church leader, parent, or someone passionate about discipleship, this episode dives deep into how generosity in the church and teaching generosity to kids intersect with discipleship, stewardship, and family life. The conversation unpacks practical strategies, biblical perspectives, and real-life stories that highlight why generosity in the church and teaching generosity to kids matter more now than ever.Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer begin by exploring why introducing children and teenagers to the concept of generosity should not be delayed. They discuss how early lessons on stewardship prepare young believers to be faithful with what God places in their hands, ensuring they become lifelong contributors to the church’s mission rather than passive observers. Jim Sheppard recalls his father’s example of giving even in seasons of unemployment, illustrating the lasting impact parents’ habits leave on their children.The hosts also highlight the importance of modeling generosity at home. Parents are the primary spiritual influencers, yet many struggle to engage their children in meaningful conversations about money, stewardship, and giving. Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer provide tools and ideas, such as generosity bingo cards, rear-view mirror conversation starters, and intentional family generosity meetings. These strategies equip parents to disciple their children beyond Sunday mornings, helping them connect faith with everyday life.One memorable story Jim Sheppard shares is about a Houston family who chose to redirect their vacation fund toward a church building campaign after their children suggested it. That sacrifice not only impacted their family’s discipleship but also gave their kids a tangible lesson in what equal sacrifice means in the life of faith. Another powerful story describes a family teaching generosity through radical tipping at restaurants, where kids help decide when and how to bless a server, resulting in unforgettable encounters with God’s provision.This episode also addresses modern challenges. With digital and automated giving becoming the norm, many children no longer witness their parents giving during worship services. Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer stress that parents and pastors must be intentional about modeling and explaining generosity in this new context. They also caution church leaders not to simply hand off the responsibility to overworked children’s and student ministry staff. Instead, they encourage pastors to see generosity teaching as a whole-church discipleship strategy that blesses adults and kids alike.Ultimately, this episode is a call for leaders and parents to take ownership of cultivating a culture of generosity in the next generation. Teaching generosity to kids is not about how much money they can contribute today, but about forming hearts that are oriented toward God, others, and the mission of the church. By weaving generosity into discipleship rhythms, churches can raise up a generation that embraces both faith and stewardship as inseparable parts of their identity.Whether you are a senior pastor, parent, or ministry volunteer, this episode offers practical next steps, inspiring stories, and spiritual encouragement. Don’t miss this conversation between Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer, it may reshape how you think about generosity in your family, your church, and your future.