Pivot

#49: Learning to Ask ‘God Questions’: Transforming an Inherited Church

Join Dr. Dee Stokes, Dwight Zscheile, and guest Blair Pogue as they explore why we talk about church, how to rediscover God, and shifting the focus from membership to discipleship

In today’s episode, our co-hosts talk with guest Blair Pogue, the canon for vitality and innovation in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, who continues to work across the state to cultivate discipleship and missional engagement for the 94 Episcopal faith communities in Minnesota.

Tune in as we dive into the pivot from membership to discipleship. Discover how to facilitate conversations that lead to a deeper understanding of God, shifting from church to God-focused questions.

https://youtu.be/8eF7yRspbws

Show Notes:

Shift Ministry Models
Faithful Innovation

Featuring

Blair Pogue headshot

Blair Pogue

Dr. Blair Pgue is the canon for vitality and innovation in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, working across the state to cultivate discipleship and missional engagement for the 94 Episcopal faith communities in Minnesota.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Dr. Dwight Zscheile

    Dwight Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011) and editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012).

    A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

  • Dr. Dee Stokes

    Dr. Dee Stokes is an entrepreneurial minister, educator, consultant, author, and podcaster. With 30 years of experience in education, Dr. Stokes understands what it means to be co-vocational and serve God in the Church and in the marketplace. She has worked at every level of education and has also served as a Senior Pastor, Formation and Connections Pastor, and Teaching Pastor. She has a passion for God and His Church and to see people walk in divine destiny. Her degrees are in Sociology (BA from UNC Charlotte), Public Administration (MPA from Devry University), Biblical and Theological Foundations (MBTF from Asbury Theological Seminary), and Educational Leadership (Ed.S. & Ed.D. from Liberty University). Dr. Stokes's research interests include Cultural Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Burnout, Transformational Leadership, unconscious bias, and spousal responsibility.