We all know someone living with gender identity and/or sexual orientation issues and it’s tough to know if or how to talk about it. This week on the GC Collective Podcast, special guest Marshelle Wilburn helps us step into one of the most challenging conversations facing the church today. From understanding key terms to navigating real-life situations in our churches and families, this episode offers clarity in the distinction between a biblical response and the gospel centric response and will equip you with language and understanding so we can effectively walk alongside people with truth, humility, and love.

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Jonathan Keller is welcomed back to the podcast to talk about a surprising Supreme Court ruling that could have major implications for California families, parental rights, and Christian conviction in the public square. The conversation also takes a thoughtful look at a timely new ERLC resource on assisted reproductive technologies and why pastors and church leaders need to be ready for these conversations. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

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The podcast welcomes guest Pete Aguirre (Detective Sergeant, San Fernando PD; U.S. Army veteran) to talk through church protection in California: real-world scenarios, how churches can respond, and what SB 1454 means for security teams—volunteer or paid. We also cover what it means to trespass on private property and why training assumptions can get churches in trouble.
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In this special episode, we’re bringing back a familiar feature — 7 Questions.

It’s been a while, but it felt like the right moment to sit down and let you hear directly from the two men elected to serve our convention this year. First, we spend time with Vice President Grant Bennett, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Bakersfield. You’ll hear his heart for prayer, revival, shepherding, and daily faithfulness before we turn to our President, Port Wilburn, Director of Missions for Bridges Bay Area. Port shares about connection, testimony, and why he believes California has 35 million reasons to stay focused on the gospel.

Read Port Wilburn's initial interview here!

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The CSBC Executive Board just wrapped its first meeting of the year, and there’s a lot to be encouraged by. In this Board Recap episode, we share key highlights from board week: reports from our partner institutions (CBU, Gateway Seminary, and the Baptist Foundation of California), the launch of a new CSBC missions and ministry endowment, and a clear snapshot of where we landed financially for 2025. We also break down how the board is structured, why regional representation matters across California, and what’s ahead as the board advances new policies to serve the Convention with long-term faithfulness.

For more updates we didn’t cover here, make sure you’re subscribed to This Week at CSBC or email podcast@csbc.com.

In this episode of The GC Collective, we sit down with one of our own California-born, California-sent IMB missionaries serving in Central Asia—sharing his story under an alias for security reasons. After more than a decade of gospel work in one of the most unreached regions of the world, he was unexpectedly barred from returning to his country of service, leaving his family, church, and ministry behind in an instant.

We talk about the long obedience of missions work, the slow process of discipleship in Muslim contexts, the real cost of baptism for new believers, and how suffering fits within God’s sovereign will. We also explore the vital role California churches play in holding the rope through prayer, Cooperative Program giving, and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. If you’ve ever wondered what missions really looks like, wrestled with the idea of a “missionary mindset,” or just need a reminder that faithfulness matters even when outcomes are unclear, this episode will strengthen your heart.

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In this special recap episode of the GC Collective Podcast, we reflect on a handful of conversations from 2025 that together represent the breadth of what we’ve explored this year: the realities pastors face at home, the importance of caring for emotional and spiritual health, the opportunity of California as a global mission field, the challenge of engaging culture with biblical clarity, and the enduring strength of gospel cooperation.

If you’ve been listening all year, this episode offers a chance to revisit moments that may sound different now than they did the first time. And if you’re newer to the podcast, it’s a window into the kind of Christ-centered, resourceful conversations we’re committed to having as we serve churches across California.

Episodes referenced in this conversation:
· When Ministry Pulls in Two Directions with Will and Tarah

· Caring for Pastors’ Mental Health with Chuck Padilla

· Go and Tell: How Globalization Is Shaping California’s Churches with James Westbrook

· The Church, Culture, and Common Sense with Jonathan Keller

· Gospel Partnerships and Cooperation Insights with Tony Wolfe

Be sure to subscribe to This Week at CSBC, and if you have questions or ideas for future conversations, email us anytime at podcast@csbc.com.

In this end-of-the-year episode, Pete Ramirez, Sarah Graham, and Marc Tempesta sit down to look back on a landmark year for California Southern Baptists. From a powerful overseas moment that put Christmas hope in sharp focus, to a growing movement of prayer gatherings across the state, to fresh stories of generosity through Cooperative Program, this year-end conversation celebrates how God has been at work in and through our churches. We also revisit statewide listening sessions and share how your feedback is shaping the way CSBC will serve pastors and congregations in 2026 and beyond.
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