In this timely and convicting episode of Kingdom Polemics, Pastor Aldo Leon confronts the subtle yet destructive sin of pride in the pastorate. Speaking from experience, Scripture, and confessional wisdom, Aldo offers a sober warning against the spiritual self-deception that often hides beneath confidence, gifting, and influence in ministry. He challenges pastors and church leaders to honestly evaluate the hidden motives behind their work, pointing to the dangers of building ministries on ego rather than on Christ.

Discussion Highlights

• The marks of pride in pastoral ministry and how they differ from biblical confidence
• Why success, theological precision, or platform growth can quietly inflate self-importance
• How pride disguises itself as concern for the truth, love for the church, or commitment to excellence
• The way pride can drive pastors to dominate, self-protect, or resist correction
• Biblical examples of humble, Christ-centered leadership that resists self-glorification
• Confessional insights on the pastoral call to self-denial, mutual accountability, and servant-leadership
• Why repentance, not rebranding, is the path to true pastoral renewal
• Encouragement for both pastors and congregants to cultivate gospel-centered humility in the church

If this episode helped you reflect more deeply on your walk or your ministry, consider supporting Kingdom Polemics. Your support helps us continue to offer bold, confessional content for the church. You can contribute at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kingdompolemics

Check out Aldo Leon's book In Christ's Crown, Christianity, & The Civil Realm, which makes a compelling biblical case for the Reformed doctrine of the civil magistrate under Christ's mediatorial rule. Available now at Berith Press: https://www.berithpress.com/bookstore/p/christs-crown-christianity-the-civil-realm.

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Thank you for helping us strengthen the church by recovering faithful, Christ-centered ministry.

In this episode of Kingdom Polemics, Pastor Aldo Leon takes listeners into the heart of what has long shaped robust Reformed preaching but has recently become neglected: experimental preaching. Drawing from historic Reformed tradition, Aldo and his guest, Gavin Beers, outline how true preaching is not just doctrinal or exegetical—it is experiential, applicatory, and deeply concerned with the spiritual condition of the hearers. This episode is a call to return to preaching that engages both the conscience and the affections, helping God's people not only hear the truth but also live it.

Pastor Gavin Beers is currently the minister of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, the first North Carolina congregation of the US Presbytery of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). https://cornerstone-presbyterian.com/

Discussion Highlights

• The difference between informational preaching and experimental (experiential) preaching
• How Reformed orthodoxy historically emphasized preaching to the whole person—mind, heart, and will
• The preacher's role in pressing the implications of doctrine into the lives of the hearers
• How experimental preaching resists both hyper-intellectualism and shallow emotionalism
• The biblical mandate for preaching that convicts, comforts, warns, and directs
• Insights from 17th-century Presbyterian tradition on distinguishing the true believer from the hypocrite
• Why pastors must be soul physicians, not mere lecturers or motivational speakers
• The dangers of pulpit minimalism and the retreat from serious, pointed application
• Encouragement for ministers to reclaim the depth, force, and pastoral heart of Reformed proclamation

If you found this episode stirring or helpful, please consider supporting Kingdom Polemics by buying us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kingdompolemics.

Check out Aldo Leon's book In Christ's Crown, Christianity, & The Civil Realm, which makes a compelling biblical case for the Reformed doctrine of the civil magistrate under Christ's mediatorial rule. Available now at Berith Press: https://www.berithpress.com/bookstore/p/christs-crown-christianity-the-civil-realm.

You can also be part of the conversation by commenting on our YouTube page and subscribing to future episodes: https://youtube.com/@kingdompolemics,

Help us continue to sharpen, strengthen, and challenge the church with truth-centered, Christ-exalting content.

In this unfiltered, detailed, and thoughtful reflection, Aldo Leon offers his personal account and theological evaluation of the 2025 PCA General Assembly. Unlike curated recaps or safe institutional summaries, this episode brings a pastor's-eye view of what actually went down—from overtures to worship debates, controversial speeches, and questions of identity within the PCA. If you're seeking clarity on where the PCA stands and where it might be heading, this is the episode to hear.

Discussion Highlights

• Thoughts on the retirement of the former Stated Clerk and the need for depoliticized clerking in the PCA
• Encouragement over PCA growth: more baptisms, professions of faith, and members
• Celebration of the PCA's continued break from unbiblical affiliations, especially on sexual ethics
• Worship reflections: critique of theatrical liturgies and appreciation for Psalm singing and acapella moments
• The overture on Christian Nationalism: why Aldo believes a study committee is misguided, and how it reflects broader PCA discomfort with historic Reformed political theology
• Race and representation: deep dive into the Irwyn Ince and Timothy Brindle controversy, including a critique of the tone, assumptions, and imbalance in handling racial rhetoric
• Worship and polity: conversations around the Directory of Worship, weekly communion, and who should administer the sacraments
• The PCA's ongoing identity crisis: Are we confessional? Broad evangelical? Bureaucratic?
• Encouragements: approval of important overtures related to the Sabbath, paedocommunion, elder/deacon subscription, and local church accountability
• Concerns: increasing bureaucratic consolidation, fear of clear confrontation, and discomfort with biblical authority applied plainly
• A call for serious, courageous, and convictional leadership—especially in the face of cultural pressure and denominational ambiguity

If this episode gave you insight, clarity, or challenge, consider supporting Kingdom Polemics. Your contributions help us continue producing bold, thoughtful, and biblically grounded content. Visit: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kingdompolemics

Check out Aldo Leon's book In Christ's Crown, Christianity, & The Civil Realm, which makes a compelling biblical case for the Reformed doctrine of the civil magistrate under Christ's mediatorial rule. Available now at Berith Press: https://www.berithpress.com/bookstore/p/christs-crown-christianity-the-civil-realm.

Also, join the conversation and leave your feedback in the comments section of our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@kingdompolemics.

We value your engagement as we contend for a faithful, confessional future for the church.