Today is a very special episode as we share a fantastic conversation with a new/old friend. Our guest broke through the glass ceiling for women in network and cable television leadership and is now helping women break down barriers through strengthening their emotional fitness.

Susan Packard was a co-founder of HGTV with six other men and served as its Chief Operating Officer overseeing its meteoric growth. Charla and Mark discuss how she has built on the work she did in the corporate sphere to be an author, speaker, and mentor helping women and college students live happy, healthy, and free. Check out our conversation with Susan Packard…

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Susan Packard’s Website

Susan’s Books:

Fully Human - 3 Steps to Grow Your Emotional Fitness in Work, Leadership, and Life

New Rules of the Game - 10 Strategies for Women in the Workplace

The Little Book of College Sobriety - Living Happy, Healthy, and Free

This episode was recorded the day before Ash Wednesday, 2026 or as it is listed on the church calendar, Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday if you are in New Orleans, LOL!). Mark and Charla talk about Ash Wednesday and their preparations for the Lenten Season. The discussion centers around the importance of intentional and consistent prayer during Lent as we see God working in our lives.

Mark talks about his adoption during this season of Centering Prayer, a practice of silent prayer and solitude to hear God and rest in his presence. This is a great episode to share with friends and family that are seeking to find meaning and discipline in their lives as we enter the 40 days of Lent.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Article on Centering Prayer

Today’s show builds on the conversation from Episode 75 as Charla poses the question to Mark: what does a digital strategy look like for a normal church and how do they put it together? Mark answers with a streamlined strategy for the church website as a digital hub for sharing the Gospel and making disciples. They also discuss other digital platforms and the necessity for investing in our online tools to be the church in a digital culture.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Digital Hub Checklist

Squarespace

Tithely

Planning Center

Today’s episode addresses a dilemma many churches face in today’s culture of pristinely curated media. “YouTube Envy” is a real thing for many pastors of small (or as we will now call them normal-sized) churches with fewer resources and capabilities to present quality video content.

However, Mark and Charla discuss the superpower that these small and medium-sized churches possess and how they can use it. Our goal as the church is to build relationships to connect people with the saving grace of Jesus Christ. No matter what size church you are, you have the tools to make those connections and build those relationships. Hear some teaching ideas from Mark and Charla and apply them to your ministry.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Blog Post: The Comparison Trap for Churches: Finding Your Church’s Superpower

Who comes to mind when you hear someone describe a person extremely busy in their career and busy in their own discipleship journey? I think of my friend, Matthew Ralston.

Matthew is a committed disciple of Jesus and an active disciple maker, particularly mentoring the faith journeys of young people. Matthew talks about how his career and discipleship pathways are intertwined and focused on the purpose of spreading the Gospel. Oh and he has his own podcast too… Meet my friend Matthew Ralston.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

CreatedVerse Podcast: https://www.createdverse.online/

Mark’s Interview on CreatedVerse: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2PslNmlWuQ1Idx16w2I2C1?si=ZpCAfQPfS-Geqy5o1Dryeg

Desa Digit: https://www.desadigit.tech/

Email: support@desadigit.tech

In today’s episode, I have a great conversation with Rev. Andrew Lay, Pastor of Discipleship at Cokesbury UMC in Knoxville, TN. Andrew shares some great insights not only for pastors but also for lay people that are called to serve. He talks about his calling to ministry and the personal commitment he made to that calling. And he gives us insight into how we can be more engaged disciples and better disciple makers.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Andrew’s Podcast on Spotify, The Methodical Methodist: https://open.spotify.com/show/48DqxAAs9ikBGric3i7hyQ?si=2ed866c55f0c41fe

Cokesbury.TV

Today’s episode features a conversation with the “Dynamic Discipleship Duo” of Concord United Methodist Church. Rev. Brooke Hartman and Nicole Morris talk about how they partnered first as Pastor and Lay Person to champion the cultural shift to a Proactive Disciple Making church.

They discuss how they worked together and how Nicole’s role transitioned into a staff position. It’s a great conversation about how lay leaders can help drive the disciple making process while taking their own next steps.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Concordunited.org

In today’s episode we continue our discussion of Digital Discipleship in today’s church. Charla is asking more questions around this topic like how do we use social media for more than just marketing and how do we get started implementing a digital discipleship strategy. Mark shares several examples of how to use tools to connect and some simple, specific ideas to get started.

We hope this discussion sparks some ideas and interest to explore some new strategies. In today’s culture, if we are going to meet people where they are, then we have to be equipped to connect and engage with them online. Please share your questions or how we can help in developing your own digital strategy.

Resources mentioned in the Episode:

Mark Wilson: mark@churchcmo.com

Churchcmo.com

Book a Call with Mark

Follow Mark and ChurchCMO on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook

Digital Discipleship with Ann Bosarge: https://freshexpressions.com/2025/04/14/digital-discipleship-with-anne-bosarge

Latter Day Saints Central CA Case Study: https://www.dmissionary.com/post/case-study-analysis-of-the-central-california-conference-s-digital-evangelism-approach