Rich Villodas has a passion to teach and equip God’s people to live on mission with him right in the places they already are–especially in their daily labors. In this conversation, Rich walks through a sermon he preached on Colossians 3:23-24, where he reframes everyday work as full-time ministry.

Matt Rusten serves as the president of Made to Flourish. Previously, Matt pastored at churches in Kansas City, and Madison, Wisconsin. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Doctor of Ministry in Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Matt’s book about pastoring with congregants’ work in view releases from InterVarsity Press in Spring 2026.

--

***Get Free Books*** Many Christians say their churches don’t prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of daily work. We call this the Sunday to Monday gap — a disconnect that can cloud our sense of God’s purpose in the world and our place in it. To help church leaders bridge that gap, we’re offering a free box with practical books, including The Flourishing Pastor by Tom Nelson, and the latest issue of Common Good magazine. Get yours at madetoflourish.org/box.

In this episode, Matt interviews Charlie Dates as they discuss a sermon he preached on Matthew 5:13-16, on Jesus’ message about salt and light. It’s a familiar text for many people, but Charlie finds fresh ways to apply this familiar biblical text about our identity as salt and light to people’s everyday work.

Matt Rusten serves as the president of Made to Flourish. Previously, Matt pastored at churches in Kansas City, and Madison, Wisconsin. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Doctor of Ministry in Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Matt’s book about pastoring with congregants’ work in view releases from InterVarsity Press in Spring 2026.

--

***Get Free Books*** Many Christians say their churches don’t prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of daily work. We call this the Sunday to Monday gap — a disconnect that can cloud our sense of God’s purpose in the world and our place in it. To help church leaders bridge that gap, we’re offering a free box with practical books, including The Flourishing Pastor by Tom Nelson, and the latest issue of Common Good magazine. Get yours at madetoflourish.org/box.

Welcome to season two of The Flourishing Pastor podcast, now hosted by Matt Rusten.

This season, we’re exploring what it means to preach to the people in our pews who spend the majority of their week at work — whether that’s in an office, a warehouse, a kitchen, a classroom, or in the unpaid roles of caregiving, volunteering, or community leadership.

Through conversations with thoughtful pastors from around the country, we’ll look at how the preaching ministry can become a powerful means of connecting the Word of God to the real, everyday lives of people in their work. Each episode is anchored in a specific sermon and text of Scripture, giving us a grounded, practical look at how pastors are helping their congregations live out their faith where they labor.

The goal? To help pastors steward the pulpit more intentionally — so that the unchanging truth of Scripture can shape and form people not just on Sunday mornings, but in the Monday-to-Saturday realities of their calling.

The Flourishing Pastor podcast is brought to you by Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit that empowers pastors and churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the good of their communities.

In this episode, Tom Nelson discusses a sermon he gave in the book of Ecclesiastes— touching on a question many people feel deeply—is work meaningless? Ecclesiastes is written in the voice of the critic, punching holes through easy answers for life. Tom’s sermon addresses the angst that many people feel when they think about their work, and how God can reframe our labor even when it feels as fleeting as smoke.

Matt Rusten serves as the president of Made to Flourish. Previously, Matt pastored at churches in Kansas City, and Madison, Wisconsin. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Doctor of Ministry in Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Matt’s book about pastoring with congregants’ work in view releases from InterVarsity Press in Spring 2026.

--

***Get Free Books*** Many Christians say their churches don’t prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of daily work. We call this the Sunday to Monday gap — a disconnect that can cloud our sense of God’s purpose in the world and our place in it. To help church leaders bridge that gap, we’re offering a free box with practical books, including The Flourishing Pastor by Tom Nelson, and the latest issue of Common Good magazine. Get yours at madetoflourish.org/box.

Despite the chaotic TV version, succession is something leaders should start from the very beginning. It's not something just for retirement-age pastors and organizational heads. It's for leaders, at every career stage, who want to finish their work well. In this episode of The Flourishing Pastor Podcast, pastor Tom Nelson talks about the art — and it is an art — of passing the baton from one leader to another. Part of the conversation is a deep dive into the challenges leaders face in the latter parts of their careers, including why so many pastoral ministries seem to end in failure or scandal.

As the conversation unfolded, Tom explains three metaphors that guide his approach to pastoral leadership: a battleground, a marathon, and a sacred trust.

Tom Nelson is the senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and he's the president of Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit that works with churches and their leaders in the area of faith and work. You can learn more about Tom's work at www.madetoflourish.org, and you can find his new book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership — which is the springboard for this podcast — wherever you buy books.

***Get Free Books*** Christians often report that their churches don’t prepare them for the pressures, opportunities, or challenges of their daily work. At Made to Flourish, we call this the Sunday to Monday gap, an unhealthy divide that can blur our understanding of God’s work in the world — work we’re meant to join. To help close that gap, we want to mail you a collection of practical, theological books — completely free of charge. In this free box, you’ll also get the latest issue of the award-winning Common Good magazine, and for a limited time, Tom Nelson’s book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership. So whether you’re a pastor or layperson, claim your free books at madetoflourish.org/box.

All leaders have a scorecard, a measure of what success looks like. These can vary, and generally, they're neither right nor wrong: Numeric growth, influence reach, facility upgrades. But for pastors — especially those prone to a "visionary" leadership style — it can be all too easy to develop a faulty or distorted scorecard, to measure success with cultural markers rather than with biblical faithfulness. Fruitfulness. In this episode of The Flourishing Pastor Podcast, Tom Nelson describes how tracking success in pastoral work can be both essential and fraught. He outlines a healthier way to measure success and looks toward the ultimate goal of pastoral leadership.

Tom Nelson is the senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and he's the president of Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit that works with churches and their leaders in the area of faith and work. You can learn more about Tom's work at www.madetoflourish.org, and you can find his new book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership — which is the springboard for this podcast — wherever you buy books.

***Get Free Books*** Christians often report that their churches don’t prepare them for the pressures, opportunities, or challenges of their daily work. At Made to Flourish, we call this the Sunday to Monday gap, an unhealthy divide that can blur our understanding of God’s work in the world — work we’re meant to join. To help close that gap, we want to mail you a collection of practical, theological books — completely free of charge. In this free box, you’ll also get the latest issue of the award-winning Common Good magazine, and for a limited time, Tom Nelson’s book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership. So whether you’re a pastor or layperson, claim your free books at madetoflourish.org/box.

For most of us, the word "work" mainly equates to compensation. But fundamentally, according to pastor Tom Nelson, work is far more: It's a vital part of being an image bearer of God, and it's not primarily about whether or not it earns monetary compensation. It's about contribution to God's world, contributions that can take paid and unpaid forms. In this episode of The Flourishing Pastor Podcast, Nelson explains how this integral view of work transformed the way he pastors, including a significant pivot in what it looks like to equip people for the work of ministry. It all started with a pastoral confession.

As the conversation unfolds, Nelson talks about the nature and shape of the faith and work movement.

He also describes five consequences of perpetuating a Sunday to Monday gap.

Tom Nelson is the senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and he's the president of Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit that works with churches and their leaders in the area of faith and work. You can learn more about Tom's work at www.madetoflourish.org, and you can find his new book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership — which is the springboard for this podcast — wherever you buy books.

***Get Free Books*** Christians often report that their churches don’t prepare them for the pressures, opportunities, or challenges of their daily work. At Made to Flourish, we call this the Sunday to Monday gap, an unhealthy divide that can blur our understanding of God’s work in the world — work we’re meant to join. To help close that gap, we want to mail you a collection of practical, theological books — completely free of charge. In this free box, you’ll also get the latest issue of the award-winning Common Good magazine, and for a limited time, Tom Nelson’s book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership. So whether you’re a pastor or layperson, claim your free books at madetoflourish.org/box.

The management guru Peter Drucker said famously that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” His point? Building a culture within an organization or company is really important. Despite the ubiquity of Drucker’s maxim, healthy organizational and institutional cultures — even among churches and church staffs — are often at a minimum. In this episode of The Flourishing Pastor Podcast, Tom Nelson delves into the work of building healthy culture within churches and organizations. As the conversation unfolds, Tom discusses the place of mission statements and core values, and how leaders can reinforce them by embodying them.

Tom Nelson is the senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and he's the president of Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit that works with churches and their leaders in the area of faith and work. You can learn more about Tom's work at www.madetoflourish.org, and you can find his new book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership — which is the springboard for this podcast — wherever you buy books.

***Get Free Books*** Christians often report that their churches don’t prepare them for the pressures, opportunities, or challenges of their daily work. At Made to Flourish, we call this the Sunday to Monday gap, an unhealthy divide that can blur our understanding of God’s work in the world — work we’re meant to join. To help close that gap, we want to mail you a collection of practical, theological books — completely free of charge. In this free box, you’ll also get the latest issue of the award-winning Common Good magazine, and for a limited time, Tom Nelson’s book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership. So whether you’re a pastor or layperson, claim your free books at madetoflourish.org/box.