Episodios

  • Exegeting Your Audience: Preaching for Spiritual Formation

    Exegeting Your Audience: Preaching for Spiritual Formation
    Sep 29 2025
    Episode Title: Exegeting Your Audience: Preaching for Spiritual Formation Preaching isn’t just about communicating truth—it’s about shaping lives by the power of the Spirit. In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore how preachers can exegete both the text and their audience, ensuring messages are Bible-based, Spirit-energized, verdict-demanding, and audience-connected. They draw on insights from the Fivefold gifts to show how Apostolic, Prophetic, Evangelistic, Pastoral, and Teaching leadership all contribute to preaching that transforms. Along the way, they share stories, humor, and practical takeaways for Pentecostal-Charismatic leaders. Ready to grow as a preacher and leader? Explore coaching and resources at:
    • fivegifts.org
    • charlesrussellministries.com
    • charlesrusselltraining.com
    • coachingcardia.com
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    30 m
  • Transformative Preaching: The Gift of Prophet and Teacher

    Transformative Preaching: The Gift of Prophet and Teacher
    Sep 22 2025
    What if your sermon wasn’t just a message, but a moment where God’s voice broke into people’s lives? And what if, beyond inspiration, it equipped them with clear steps to live out their faith on Monday morning? That’s the beauty of prophetic and teaching gifts working together in preaching—hearing God’s voice and applying it with clarity. In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, hosts Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore 15 best practices for preaching and six key questions that uncover God’s intended message from the text. In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore the heart of effective preaching. Together they unpack 15 practical best practices from seasoned preachers—covering everything from sermon openings, transitions, illustrations, and applications—and then dive into six essential questions that reveal God’s intended message in Scripture. This conversation will help you:
    • Prepare sermons that connect with both Christians and seekers.
    • Preach with clarity, passion, and focus on one main point.
    • Avoid forcing your own ideas onto the text by asking the right interpretive questions.
    • Preach Christ as the hero and center of every message.

    • Whether you’re a pastor, teacher, or communicator of God’s Word, this episode equips you to preach with faithfulness and Spirit-led power.

      Download Guide for Integrating the Prophetic and Teaching Gifts in Preaching

      🔗 Explore more at: • Five Gifts Podcast & Resources: fivegifts.org • Coaching Cardia: coachingcardia.com • Charles Russell Ministries: charlesrussellministries.com • Charles Russell Training: charlesrusselltraining.com

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    53 m
  • The Ascension of Jesus: Sinai is in the Sanctuary!

    The Ascension of Jesus: Sinai is in the Sanctuary!
    Sep 15 2025
    In this episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell unpack Ephesians 4:7–10, exploring the ascension of Christ as both His coronation and conquest. Drawing from Michael Heiser and John Stott, they reveal how Christ’s victory releases the outpouring of the Spirit, conquers spiritual wickedness, and empowers the Church through five gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. With the promise of the Spirit in John, the outpouring in Acts, and the equipping in Ephesians, this conversation shows how ascension theology anchors Spirit-filled leadership and mission today.
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    29 m
  • One is Never Enough: Collaboration and Fivefold Leadership

    One is Never Enough: Collaboration and Fivefold Leadership
    Sep 8 2025
    In this episode, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell explore John Maxwell’s Law of Collaboration. They discuss why the best thinking happens with others, how collaboration strengthens communication, and how fivefold leadership provides a built-in collaborative model for the church and marketplace. Practical applications include inviting trusted feedback, cultivating open-minded teams, and leveraging the unique strengths of each fivefold gift. Success begins with we, not me.
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    47 m
  • Making the Unbelievable Believable: Evangelism in a Skeptical World

    Making the Unbelievable Believable: Evangelism in a Skeptical World
    Sep 1 2025
    How do you share the gospel in a culture that sees Christianity as unbelievable? In this episode of the Five Gifts Podcast, Bruce Ritter and Charles Russell unpack principles for the evangelistic gift and explore how to make the gospel both true and believable in today’s skeptical culture. We discuss the importance of storytelling, hospitality, plausibility structures, reframing apologetics, and connecting our personal testimonies with God’s grand story. Along the way, we connect these insights to the Evangelistic Divine Urgencies—Evangelism-Missions and Public Relations—and show how they fit within a Fivefold Ministry Model. If you’ve ever wondered how to share your faith more effectively in a skeptical age, this episode offers both inspiration and practical tools.
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    42 m
  • Beyond Words: How Spirit-filled Leaders Connect through Communication

    Beyond Words: How Spirit-filled Leaders Connect through Communication
    Aug 25 2025
    Most leaders assume that communication is all about the message. But UCLA research shows that only 7% of communication comes from words—while 38% comes from tone and 55% from body language. That means more than 90% of your effectiveness as a leader comes from how you show up, not just what you say. In this episode of The Five Gifts Podcast, Charles Russell and Bruce Ritter explore John Maxwell’s principle that connecting goes beyond words. They break down the three components of communication—thought, emotion, and action—and show how each applies uniquely to apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. Together, they offer Spirit-filled wisdom, biblical insights, and practical tools to help you: • Preach and teach with authenticity and anointing • Lead with conviction, not just information • Connect with people visually, emotionally, and intellectually • Align your thought, heart, and lifestyle so that your leadership inspires trust This episode will challenge and equip you to lead in a way that people don’t just hear—they experience and remember.
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    45 m
  • Growing in Spiritual Authority as Servant-Leaders

    Growing in Spiritual Authority as Servant-Leaders
    Aug 18 2025
    In this episode of The Five Gifts Podcast, Charles Russell and Bruce Ritter unpack 10 Core Themes from Rob Reimer’s Spiritual Authority and connect them to the Fivefold Ministry model. From intimacy with God to authority rooted in compassion, they explore how apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists each embody and express spiritual authority in unique ways. Through biblical insights, leadership reflections, and real-life illustrations, Charles and Bruce show how God’s authority is cultivated, tested, and released in everyday ministry. Whether you’re serving in the pulpit, the marketplace, or your community, this conversation will strengthen your confidence in Christ’s authority at work in you.
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    53 m
  • New Wineskins: Revitalizing the Church for a Fresh Outpouring

    New Wineskins: Revitalizing the Church for a Fresh Outpouring
    Aug 11 2025
    The Five Gifts Podcast unpacks the New Wineskin paradigm for Spirit-filled leaders—apostolic, prophetic, pastoral, teaching, and evangelistic gifts for church renewal. In this episode of The Five Gifts Podcast, we unpack the New Wineskin paradigm Jesus taught in Luke 5 and explore how it shapes Pentecostal-Charismatic church revitalization in today’s ministry landscape. Our hosts—operating in Apostolic, Prophetic, and Teaching gifts—share biblical insights, Spirit-led illustrations, and practical strategies to help leaders prepare for fresh outpouring by becoming flexible, Spirit-ready wineskins. You’ll learn: • Why God always fills people before He uses structures • How to deliver the water, not the bottle in your church systems • The process of becoming a new wineskin—stretching, cleaning, scraping, and immersing • How the fivefold gifts of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–16) carry the life of the Spirit into every part of the church • Practical steps for revitalizing leadership teams, small groups, and outreach pathways Whether you lead a congregation of 50 or 500, this episode will challenge and encourage you to lead with fresh vision, Spirit-filled passion, and biblical alignment for the next season of growth. Scriptures: Luke 5:37–38, Ephesians 4:11–16 Ideal for: Pentecostal-Charismatic pastors, fivefold ministry leaders, and Spirit-filled church teams.
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    44 m