I love podcasts. I love the role that podcasts play in shaping the way we walk together as the body of Christ.
For the past eight years, I’ve had the joy of hosting a weekly podcast. Lead Time started before the Unite Leadership Collective was ever formed. It began as a simple idea: my friend Pastor Jake Boessling and I wanted to talk about the need for Jesus-like leadership in the local church. Very few people listened. We didn’t care. It was simply fun to have a forum to talk as brothers in Christ and allow others to listen in.
Jake took a call, and I needed another co-host for Lead Time. My friend and partner in the Gospel at Christ Greenfield and in the ULC, Jack Kalleberg, stepped in beautifully. Jack’s gritty, practical, challenging, and Gospel-saturated words of wisdom have been a great addition to the podcast.
Over the years, Lead Time has grown into more than just a podcast. It has become a forum where open conversations can occur that affect our current walk together in the LCMS (CUAA, CUS, Prior Approval, etc.). We are humbled to serve as a platform for loving and challenging discourse, hoping we mature individually and collectively in the LCMS.
We also love that Lead Time offers practical leadership wisdom for leading in the local church in a post-Christian context.
Recently, the ULC sent out a survey to our audience to hear their thoughts about Lead Time and how it can better serve our LCMS community. We were humbled by the responses, which highlighted the podcast’s value as a platform for addressing real needs in leadership and providing a space for dialogue on pressing issues. Many of you appreciated the practical content, relevant topics like “How to Have a Healthy Church Culture” and “The Church in Post-Christian America,” and the diverse voices featured on the show.
Some feedback also emphasized areas where we can improve, such as balancing constructive criticism with positivity and providing even more actionable insights for local church leadership. You also shared great ideas for future topics, including vision casting, empowering Gen Z, and exploring the role of AI in ministry.
Looking ahead, here’s how we plan to continue growing and serving through Lead Time:
A weekly conversation on current events in the LCMS. Jack and I will host an ongoing dialogue with hosts from various perspectives. If you’d like to join this conversation, please email me at tahlman@cglchurch.org.
A weekly practical leadership podcast. Jack and I will host leadership practitioners and share “best practices” in our lives as leaders in the ULC. These podcasts will be much shorter than the typical Lead Time podcast—somewhere in the 7- to 15-minute range.
For the past two years, I have also had the privilege of hosting a podcast called American Reformation. This podcast began as a platform to explore points of agreement (and disagreement) beyond the LCMS, united by a collective hope for a “reformation” within the broader American Christian Church. I deeply loved the concept and cherished the opportunity to co-host with Erik Fish. However, after less than a year, Erik was unable to continue as co-host.
Since then, I have worked diligently to honor the original vision of American Reformation, but we’ve now reached a natural pivot point. Starting January 8, 2025, the podcast will be renamed the Tim Ahlman Podcast.
Why the change? We found that many people were discovering our ULC podcasts by searching for “Tim Ahlman” online. Renaming the podcast to the Tim Ahlman Podcast will make it easier for people to find and access our kingdom-expanding, creative content. This shift allows us to remain faithful to our mission while broadening our reach and impact.
The Tim Ahlman Podcast will have three primary focuses.
Learning from “experts” in a variety of vocations (within and outside of the LCMS) and applying their expertise to leadership life in the local church. These podcasts will primarily aim to show how we develop and maintain a healthy culture in our various vocations. In our recent survey, over 60% of you wanted to talk more about healthy culture.
Deep theological discussion. I will host many scholars to aid in our understanding of Christ popping off every page of Holy Scripture. In our survey, 60% of you wanted to hear more on this topic as well. This is where consistency will be achieved with the former American Reformation podcast.
Highlighting healthy habits for leaders in all vocations. I truly believe Jesus followers should be the holistically healthiest leaders on planet Earth. This means cultivating healthy rhythms in every aspect of life—physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational.
I’m excited for this next season of podcasts connected to the ULC. Thank you all for listening, providing feedback, and recommending Lead Time and The Tim Ahlman Podcast to your friends and family!
Happy New Year from all of us at the ULC!
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