Sermonsmith

The Sermonsmith podcast is no longer in active production, but these helpful conversations are still available for you.

You may enjoy my follow up podcast — Consortio Dei — where I interview spiritual leaders about their rhythms for self care and formation.

J.R. Briggs

JR_2013-3It was a pleasure to interview my good friend J.R. Briggs for the first show. I expected he would make my job easy with thoughtful answers, and that proved to be the case.

About J.R.

J.R. Briggs has served in ministry for over a decade in mega-churches, house churches and church plants. He is the founder and Cultural Cultivator of The Renew Community, a Jesus community for skeptics and dreamers in Lansdale, PA – a suburb of Philadelphia, which he started in 2008 with his wife and a handful of other courageous friends.

He founded Kairos Partnerships out of a growing desire to walk alongside  and encourage pastors and leaders and to better equip them for God-honoring ministry saturated in grace, hope and love.His role with Kairos includes speaking, writing, teaching, coaching pastors, leaders and church planters and consulting with churches and organizations around the country. He also serves part-time on staff with The Ecclesia Network as the Northeast Regional Coordinator and with Fresh Expressions U.S. as the Northeast Region Coordinator. He serves as the director of the North Penn Ministerium and provides oversight on the Advisory Team for the Metro Philly Church Planter Community.

He is the creator and curator of the Epic Fail Pastors Conferences, spaces hosted in regions around the country which helps pastors process failure and grow to see failure as an invitation to growth and an opportunity for grace and healing, instead of shame.

J.R. earned degrees in Biblical Literature and Christian Education from Taylor University (Upland, IN) and studied for a semester at Jerusalem University College. He received a Masters in Missional Theology from Biblical Theological Seminary (Hatfield, PA).

He has written five books on a variety of topics intended to equip the Church for greater maturity. He enjoys reading, skiing, hiking, racquetball, sushi, traveling, being out in his canoe, spending time with wife, wrestling with his two sons and watching Michigan football.  J.R. and his wife Megan have two sons, Carter and Bennett and live in the heart of Lansdale, PA.