Creating Real Marriages That Last With Dr. Mike Glenn

Living Intentionally as Family

Join Mike Glenn and Paul Wilkerson as we discuss the implications of the passover meal.

In effort to demonstrate God’s sovereign rule and the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, God allows nine plagues.

Mike Glenn speaks with Creative Director, Darrel Girardier and Lockeland Springs Campus & Teaching Pastor, David Hannah, about Exodus 5.

Today on Creating Real Marriage that Last, Darrel and I discuss memorizing Scripture. Most of the time when a Scripture has become significant to us, it’s become significant in a moment of time. Then, when you see that passage again, you remember that moment. You remember God’s faithfulness. Scripture is everywhere—our phones, computers, bookshelves—but the one place we don’t have it is in our own lives, in our own minds. We talk about the importance of Scripture in our lives, specifically in our marriages and families.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last with Dr. Mike Glenn, we discuss what Mike's granddaughter is teaching him about evangelism. Evangelism is the natural overflow of the Spirit’s work within us. The closer you get to Christ, the more people you’ll reach.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Darrel and I discuss an alternative theory on the “Dones.” Nones are those who will say they have no faith affiliation at all. Dones have faith in Christ, but they are not involved in local church body. One of the things the church has failed to do is call people to this grand adventure of faith. Our people do wonderful things in corporate America, in their workplaces. They’re creative, energetic, brilliant people. They come to church and we ask them to sit. The church has a unique opportunity to call these people to more, to be involved, and to do significant things for the kingdom.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last we discuss the topic of technology and distraction specifically as it relates to the church. Andrew Sullivan recently wrote an article called “I Used to Be a Human Being” for New York Magazine, and it’s sparked interesting conversations for many. He talks about how the church should become a place of rest and quiet from the noise of the world. It should be a place with less distraction, not more. We’re trying to reach people in an overstimulated world. The last thing people need is to walk into a church with more overstimulation. They become numb after a while. Surveys have told us that the favorite part of our worship services is the prayer and alter time. It’s incredibly important to people in our church because no one gives them permission to just sit quietly for a few minutes during the week. Worship is best when the people come in to celebrate what God has done and look forward to what God will do, and it’s our job to create an environment for that to happen.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, I talk about how I miss my mom. I have coffee with her five or six times a week, but it’s not the same as it used to be. It’s been almost two years since we moved mom up here after her diagnosis with Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia. People ask me how my mom is doing and my standard answer is, “She’s better because she’s worse.” She’s more content and at ease in her surroundings now because she has very little recollection of Huntsville. What hurts me is that a lot of you didn’t know my mom. My mom was the strongest woman I’ve ever seen in my life. So to see her not know what to do or not remember, that breaks my heart. It’s a very emotionally fatiguing journey. But, if you love your mom, you’re not going to give her what she wants because that will hurt her or someone else. She's trusting me to be strong.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Amy-Jo and I discuss vision statements and how to move them from simply being a big idea to a practical guide. Companies and individuals often develop vision statements to help drive the direction they’re going. But, vision isn’t all you need. Having a vision statement is only the beginning of the process. It’s the step when you decide on the destination. Once you have a vision statement, you have to break it down into strategies. Once you have strategies, you have to create a tactical plan for executing those strategies. You also have to help people understand how they connect to the vision. If you communicate a big vision statement, but never tell people how they connect with it, they won’t be engaged.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Amy-Jo and I discuss the ways our digital and social media driven culture affect the church and how we approach reaching people in this new reality. The Tennessean reported in June that 3/4 of their readers were exclusively mobile users. There are also more mobile users in the church. People are going to bring their phones into church services. You can be upset about that, but they’re still going to do it. Since it's the new reality, you need to learn to work with it. You can find ways to give them a couple of Twitter moments in the sermon—sentences or ideas that are 140 characters or less that they can share with their followers. You can continue the conversation after Sunday by writing social media posts or blog posts that engage people online. It’s all about communicating with people where they are.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, we discuss the upcoming election. In this election there is not a clear “Christian” candidate. Neither of the major parties has been intentional about winning the vote of evangelicals. It’s important to remember that we’re not the first group of Christians to be in this situation. The church has always lived in a non-Christian culture, and has often been led by non-Christian leaders. It’s also important to remember there are other political positions being elected also—senators, representatives, city council members, governors. More of us in the local church need to be involved by running for office. Sometimes we don’t have good choices because all the good people choose not to run. We need to get more involved in the political process. Aside from political positions, all of us can do things to make our neighborhoods and communities better. Those are the wins—the things we should all do to make the greater good a little better for people in our own communities.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Amy-Jo and I talk about my 25th anniversary as Senior Pastor at Brentwood Baptist Church. We talk about some of the leadership lessons I’ve learned over the years, including some of the things I’d tell the version of me that started here 25 years ago. I also share about what excites me most about the years to come.

On today’s episode of Creating Real Marriages that Last, Amy-Jo and I discuss the new sermon series on the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. I love this story. It’s the story of how Joseph endures it all, but he doesn’t let his circumstances define his behavior. What Joseph knew, despite all the circumstances around him, was that God had made a promise to Abraham and somehow this promise was going to come true. That’s what helped him keep going.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Darrel and I talk about how leaders should respond to moments of crisis. The first step is to be mindful that bad things are going to happen, and they’ll happen in your neighborhood. While we may not know the specific nature of the crisis, we must accept the reality that it will happen. You don’t have time to become ready when they do; you have to already be prepared. Most of the time that means having already established relationships with key people in the community—the mayor, police and fire departments, and other pastors in the area. Be a part of the “what if” conversations and have a plan ahead of time. We also discuss how to lead staff through crisis moments and the opportunities you have as a church to be there for people who are hurting.

On today’s episode of Creating Real Marriage that Last, Darrel and I talk about how to gain clarity as a leader and determine how to focus your time and effort. When you’re a young leader, you think your job is to make everybody happy. So, you say “yes” to everything, but this ends up hurting you, your family, and even the people you serve. As you get older, you realize you’re not going to live forever. There are literally a handful of things that truly matter. Everything else is a distraction. So, it’s important to spend some time getting to know who God uniquely created you to be. Sometimes the most freeing thing you can say is, “I’m not any good at this.” That allows someone else who has that skill or that gift to step up and serve. It’s about building a team of people who can accomplish the mission together, rather than one person trying to do it all.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Amy-Jo and I talk about TED talks and how they relate to preaching. TED talks initially began as an opportunity for leaders in technology, entertainment, and design to get across new ideas in 18 minutes. Now there are TED talks in all disciplines. They have redefined the genre of public speaking. There are fascinating implications for effective preaching based on these talks. Most people can’t focus on what you’re saying for longer than 18 minutes, so you have to narrow down the points. A compelling story is transformational. We say a lot and think we’ve communicated a lot, but that’s not the case. You have to be intentional about preparing every sermon.

Today on Creating Real Marriages that Last, Amy-Jo and I talk about the kind of leader I am. I’ve been the pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church for nearly 25 years. The reality is I’ve pastored 4 or 5 different churches, all at the same address. The church I pastor now is very different than the church I came to. I’ve grown with the church as each new phase or transition required a different leadership skill from me. I’ve had the privilege of working with great leaders who have helped me learn and grow. The scary thing for me is the reality is that no church can outrun its pastor. As the pastor, you always have to be out front leading the group, encouraging them to continue on.

On today’s episode of Creating Real Marriages that Last, we discuss falling in love again and again. Jeannie and I have been married for over 36 years. When you’re on the journey of marriage for that long, change is part of it. That’s one of the beautiful things about a committed marriage—you see each other grow. On this episode we also discuss what it means to renegotiate marriage over the years, some of the life events that create change in a marriage, and celebrating the moments that made you fall in love all over again.

On today’s episode of Creating Real Marriages that Last, we discuss how different Jeannie and I are. Early in our marriage we fought a lot about our differences. I was self-centered and wanted her to be just like me. Everything changed when I began to truly pray for Jeannie. Jesus showed me He had a purpose in creating her exactly the way she is. I began to realize that if I’m fighting how she’s different than me, I’m pushing against how God has created her. So now, the questions I’ve learned to ask are: Who did Jesus create Jeannie to be, and how do I help her be all the Jeannie she can be? My role as her husband is to maximize the investment that Jesus has made in her.