Pivot

#96: Missional Leadership Reimagined: JR Woodward’s Four Spaces of Belonging

Discover a groundbreaking approach to missional leadership with Dr. JR Woodward in this thought-provoking episode of the Pivot Podcast

Discover a revolutionary approach to church leadership with Dr. JR Woodward in this eye-opening episode of the Pivot Podcast. Author of “The Scandal of Leadership,” Woodward unpacks the crisis of discipleship facing the church today and offers practical solutions for creating a culture of authentic spiritual growth.

Learn about the four spaces of belonging, understand the hidden powers influencing church leadership, and gain insights on how to lead your congregation into a more faithful future. Whether you’re a seasoned pastor or a new church planter, this episode will challenge and inspire you to reimagine leadership in the way of Jesus.

Don’t miss this opportunity to transform your approach to ministry and discipleship. Like, subscribe, and share to join the conversation on pivoting towards a more vibrant and missional church.

Show Notes

Shift Ministry Models
Faith FormationFaithful Innovation

Featuring

JR Woodward Headshot

JR Woodward

JR Woodward has been passionately planting churches on the East and West Coast that value tight-knit community, life-forming discipleship, locally-rooted presence and boundary-crossing mission for over 30 years. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester (UK), and a Masters of Art in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of Creating a Missional Culture (IVP, 2012) and co-author of The Church as Movement (IVP, 2016). His most recent book, The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church, was released the Spring of 2023, and based on his PhD research. He co-founded the Missio Alliance and currently serves as the National Director for the V3 Church Planting Movement. He serves as an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, leading a Doctor of Global Leadership cohort starting in the Spring of 2025. He is the co-founder of the Praxis Gathering, writes for numerous websites and journals, and serves on numerous boards. He loves to surf, travel, read, skateboard as well as meet new people. He enjoys photography and film and tries to attend the Sundance Film Festival whenever he can.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Terri Elton

    Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

    Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

    Before her work in the synod, she served at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn. for 16 years. While at Prince of Peace she worked in various roles within children, youth and family ministries, as well as served as the director of Changing Church Forum, an outreach ministry of Prince of Peace. She also authored To Know, To Live, To Grow, a confirmation curriculum, and co-authored What Really Matters, a book for congregational leaders, with the Rev. Mike Foss.

    Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

    Elton’s research and teaching interests include: congregational leadership, leading in the midst of change and conflict, helping ministry leaders craft a missional ecclesiology with an eye toward the First Third of Life, awakening a vibrant theology of baptism and vocation and reimagining faith and mission practices for children, youth, young adults and their families.

    Elton is a member of the Academy of Religious Leadership, the Association of Youth Ministry Educators, the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and the American Society of Missiology and is on the board for Real Resources. Elton spends much of her time working with congregations and congregational leaders and seeks out opportunities for enhancing ministry with those in the First Third of Life within the ELCA.

  • Dr. Dwight Zscheile

    Dr. Dwight Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary. His latest book is Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press, 2023).