Zach Cochran, Vice President of Operations at The Gospel Coalition, joins Phil and Tyler to discuss his transition from executive pastor to nonprofit second-chair leadership, the importance of operational leaders in the church, and TGC’s work helping Christians navigate artificial intelligence. He also shares practical wisdom for XPs considering a ministry transition and explains why healthy church leadership often requires patience with the slow, relational nature of ministry.

Mentioned Resources

• 🗣️Follow The Gospel Coalition

• 💻 The Gospel Coalition Articles

• 💻 TGC AI Policy

• 🎙️Silicon Spiritualities — TGC podcast exploring AI, its formative effects, and questions about wise Christian engagement with artificial intelligence.

From Our Partners

💻 ⁠The Church Hub⁠: The Church Hub serves pastors, ministry leaders, and their spouses through equipping and training resources. Learn more at https://thechurchhub.org

Connect with Phil Taylor

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✉️ ⁠⁠phil@backstagepastors.org⁠⁠

🗣️ ⁠⁠@philtaylorxp⁠⁠

📚 ⁠Books by Phil⁠

💻 ⁠backstagepastors.org⁠

💻⁠plainjoestudios.com⁠

Connect with Tyler Drewitz

✉️ ⁠⁠tyler@myxp.church⁠⁠

🗣️ ⁠⁠@tylerdrewitz⁠⁠

💻 ⁠myxp.church⁠

💻⁠ridgelineprinting.com⁠

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CHAPTERS

02:00 Zach’s Journey from College Athletics to Ministry Operations

05:12 Sojourn, Multi-site Ministry, and the Executive Pastor Role

06:52 Moving from Executive Pastor to TGC

12:15 Inside The Gospel Coalition’s Ministry and Resources

15:00 AI, Theology, and the Church

21:28 What XPs Should Know Before Changing Roles

27:00 Unifying the Church and Equipping Pastors

30:12 Resources for Executive Pastors and Second-Chair Leaders

32:24 AI, “Slop Scanning,” and Closing Thoughts

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Editing and Support by The Good Podcast Co.

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