How do you move a congregation from attending church to owning the mission? Doug sits down with Cedric Payne, senior minister of Alondra Boulevard Church of Christ in Compton, California, to talk about exactly that.

Cedric started preaching at 14, went on to Pepperdine and UCLA Law, and worked as a public defender for almost 32 years while serving at Alondra. When his senior minister and close friend died suddenly in 2013, Cedric found himself leading the church. Praying in the empty sanctuary, he heard the Holy Spirit point him back to the Great Commission. That moment changed his preaching and his approach to discipleship.

In this episode:

The story of Alondra, the shifting demographics of Compton, and why commuters from 40 miles away still call it home.

A quick history of the Churches of Christ, the Restoration Movement, and the a cappella worship tradition.

How African American Churches of Christ planted 30+ congregations across LA.

Why evangelism and discipleship should never have been separated
Cynthia's story: one member, one apartment building, four baptisms, and a new Bible study.

The challenge of moving longtime members past an institutional mindset, and reaching a younger, post-COVID generation who see church as optional.

Why relational ownership of the mission beats model chasing
Cedric's practical tip: be "one-centric" in everything, and trim the events that don't serve your ones

Doug also shares the One More initiative and a 30-day devotional, and an 180-year-old Florida church that is on fire after adopting it.

Timeline
Time Topic
00:00 Cold open: Cedric on the mission to partner with God in transforming the world
00:13 Doug's welcome and IC updates: the new Executive Pastor podcast, this show's new direction, Activator small groups
01:28 Cedric's story: Los Angeles roots, preaching at 14, Pepperdine, UCLA Law, 32 years as a public defender
03:30 Joining Alondra 33 years ago, then the sudden death of his senior minister in 2013
05:44 Compton's demographic shift and the Monday feeding program
07:02 What is the Church of Christ? Restoration Movement, congregational autonomy, a cappella worship
10:24 How Black Churches of Christ planted 30+ churches across LA
12:14 A commuter congregation and the "church worth driving to" model; Compton as the Hub City
18:05 Doug on his own shift from institutional leading to personal ownership
19:20 Crying out in the sanctuary, the Great Commission, and discovering IC
23:33 Why evangelism and discipleship got separated, and what ownership does to the believer
24:23 Stories: Cynthia's apartment building and other members inviting friends
28:37 The greatest team sport; what Cedric is learning: "it's hard work"
30:31 Breaking the institutional mindset in older members; reaching younger generations
32:24 Doug's answer: relational ownership over model chasing; the One More initiative
35:12 The 180-year-old Florida church that flipped the switch
35:55 Practical tip: be "one-centric" and trim events to focus on your ones
38:17 Wrap-up and thanks
39:04 Outro: executivepastor.io

Season 11 opens with returning guest Drew Dickens for a state-of-the-union on AI and the church. Four months since the IC Conference ("forty years in AI time"), Drew catches Doug up on the summer of new models, the scramble around AI policy, and why survey numbers on pastor AI usage range from 10% to 78% (hint: we haven't defined what "using AI" even means).

From there, the conversation moves to what matters most for church leaders: the shift from generative to agentic AI, the sobering reality that counseling and spiritual formation remain the #1 use of AI worldwide, and what it means that congregants are taking their 3 a.m. existential crises to a chatbot. Drew shares practical steps (survey your people, talk about it from the pulpit, build an AI policy for your church and your families) alongside a real caution about "frictionless faith": when AI removes the friction, it may also remove the very thing that forms us.

In this episode:

• Drew's takeaways from the IC Conference: efficiency excitement from XPs, quiet fear from senior pastors
• The summer of new models: Claude Fable 5, ChatGPT 5.6, Opus V, Gemini 3.6, DeepSeek 4
• Why fewer than 10% of churches have an AI policy (and how to start one)
• Which conversations belong to AI, and which belong at the kitchen table
• Counseling, companionship, and spiritual formation: still 70-75% of AI use
• How pastors should preach when AI is discipling their people
• Agentic AI explained: your team of 20 admins that never calls in sick
• "Frictionless faith" and the spiritual risks of taking humanity out of the loop
• Why Anthropic is hiring philosophers and inviting spiritual leaders to Silicon Valley

Timestamps:

(00:00) Welcome back: Season 11 kickoff (00:25) IC 3.0 and the Radical Alignment Assessment (01:16) Drew's takeaways from the IC Conference (03:24) The summer of new models (05:45) AI policy, rogue models, and data centers (07:17) Beyond admin: how churches are using AI (09:59) Less than 10% of churches have an AI policy (11:02) Kitchen table vs. AI conversations (11:42) The #1 use of AI: counseling and spiritual formation (13:35) The 3 a.m. crisis: how pastors should respond (15:30) Will AI change the ecclesiology of the church? (16:45) Talk about it: surveys, forums, and sermon series (17:48) What is agentic AI? (19:43) Predictions on agentic adoption (21:50) Frictionless faith and spiritual risk (24:26) Philosophy, AI labs, and what's left for humans (26:54) Leading without fear + closing call to action

Resources:

• Take the Radical Alignment Assessment: https://alignmychurch.com
• Drew Dickens' AI & Spirituality podcast (weekly, on Substack): https://drewdickens.com

What would happen if every ministry, every leader, and every church became radically aligned around the mission of reaching the one?

In this closing main session from IC Conference 2026, Robbie O'Brien, Lead Pastor of Salty Church and founder of the Surf Church Collective, challenges church leaders to embrace the radical nature of Jesus and the radical alignment required to fulfill His mission.

Drawing from Luke 15, Luke 19, Matthew 28, Acts 1:8, and his own journey from surfer culture to church planting, Robbie reminds leaders that a busy ministry is not always an obedient ministry. Through powerful stories, practical challenges, and compelling illustrations, he calls churches to move beyond managing religious consumers and instead mobilize disciples who are empowered by the Holy Spirit to become witnesses to the ends of the earth.

This message is a passionate reminder that radical alignment isn't simply a strategy—it's a commitment to the heart of Jesus and His mission to seek and save the lost.

Episode Timeline

00:00 – The Story of “The One”
03:09 – Why Radical Alignment Matters
04:29 – The Meaning of Radical
05:20 – Surf Culture and Following Jesus
07:12 – Jesus Was Radical
08:12 – Luke 15 and the Heart of God
09:05 – The Mission of Jesus
10:45 – The “No Socks” Story
12:25 – Deny Yourself and Follow Jesus
13:45 – Busy Doesn’t Mean Obedient
15:15 – Acts 1:8 and the Power of the Holy Spirit
17:20 – Witnesses, Not Consumers
19:25 – What It Means to Be a Witness
20:00 – The Beach as the Ends of the Earth
21:10 – Planting Salty Church
22:05 – Surf Church Collective
25:10 – Rochelle and Stefan’s Story
28:20 – Recognizing a Prodigal on the Way Home
29:00 – “I’ll Go”
30:00 – Isaiah’s Response
31:00 – Your Ends of the Earth
32:30 – Closing Prayer and Commissioning