Equipping
The Next Generation
Of Christ-Centered Expositors
Latest From The Podcast
Who We Are
Expositors Collective is a growing network of pastors, leaders, and laypeople which exists to equip, encourage, and mentor the next generation of Christ-centered preachers. We provide resources through our weekly podcast, our two-day intentional training seminars, and interactive webinars.
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The Team
Mike Neglia is the lead pastor at Calvary Cork, having moved to Ireland from Fallbrook, California, in 2003. In addition to discipling others and teaching weekly as the lead pastor, Mike is pursuing a master’s degree at Western Seminary, and hosts the Expositors Collective podcast with weekly episodes designed to equip and edify Bible teachers of all walks of life.
Mike is married to Rachel, and along with their children, enjoy exploring the City of Cork and earning the coveted "customer of the month" title at their local coffee shop. Follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram: @mikeneglia.
Mike is married to Rachel, and along with their children, enjoy exploring the City of Cork and earning the coveted "customer of the month" title at their local coffee shop. Follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram: @mikeneglia.
Nick Cady is the lead pastor of White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado. Before moving to Longmont in 2012, Nick spent 10 years in Hungary as a missionary, pastor, and church planter with Calvary Chapel. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology from the University of Gloucestershire (UK) and a master’s degree in Integrative Theology from the London School of Theology.
Nick is the author of Theology for the People, a blog and podcast discussing the intersection of theology and culture. Additionally, Nick is on the steering committee of the Expositors Collective, an organization that exists to equip and mentor the next generation of Christ-centered preachers. He also developed Cultivate, a program to assess, train, and deploy new church planters and missionaries.
John Whittaker is a preacher, teacher, and pastor. He holds theology and ministry degrees from Boise Bible College, Cincinnati Bible Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. John has been serving in ministry for 30 years. He has served as Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Boise Bible College for 19 years. He has also helped plant a church in Kuna, Idaho, where he preached for 11 years; served for 4 years as one of the teaching and campus pastors at The Pursuit; taught classes for Eternity Bible College; and preached in various places around the country and the world. He is the founder of the Bible in Life online discipleship ministry at johnwhittaker.net
When he is not preaching or teaching, you can find John at a local coffee shop meeting with and encouraging other local ministers; hanging out at home with wife and partner in ministry, Louise, his closest friend for 30 years; or throwing a ball to his dogs.
Bryan Stupar was born in 1970 and raised in the surf culture of Huntington Beach, California. He came to faith in Jesus at 16 and married his best friend, Sherry, in 1991.
At 23, he moved to San Luis Obispo on California’s Central Coast to plant Calvary SLO Church, which has grown into an influential ministry with a strong emphasis on church planting and missions.
Bryan serves on the leadership team of Expositors Collective and, since 2023, has been travelling across the United States investing in and equipping preachers.
He is the father of two daughters, Brianna and Brooke, and enjoys time with his family, photography, coffee shops, and the surf.
At 23, he moved to San Luis Obispo on California’s Central Coast to plant Calvary SLO Church, which has grown into an influential ministry with a strong emphasis on church planting and missions.
Bryan serves on the leadership team of Expositors Collective and, since 2023, has been travelling across the United States investing in and equipping preachers.
He is the father of two daughters, Brianna and Brooke, and enjoys time with his family, photography, coffee shops, and the surf.
Alan Stoddard serves as the lead pastor of Imagine Church in Cresson, Texas, having previously pastored churches elsewhere in Texas and New Mexico. Alan graduated from Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, and Gordon-Conwell Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. His doctoral work at Gordon-Conwell was on “Reinforcing Expository Preaching with Sermon-based Small Groups."
The Podcast
AI, ChatGPT, and the Ethics of Sermon Preparation
Artificial intelligence can generate outlines, summaries, illustrations, and sermon-like content in seconds. But should preachers use it? And if so, how?
In this episode of the Expositors Collective podcast, Mike Neglia hosts a live panel discussion with Bob Franquiz, Pilgrim Benham, Ryan Marr, and Alan Stoddard on AI, ChatGPT, pastoral integrity, and the future of sermon preparation.
Rather than simply asking whether AI can save time, the panel presses into deeper questions. What happens to the preacher when the work of sermon preparation is delegated to a machine? Can technology glorify God, or can it train us to depend less on prayer, study, Scripture, and the Holy Spirit? Where might AI serve as a limited tool, and where does it become a dangerous substitute?
Pilgrim Benham reflects on the moral weight of technology and warns against treating tools as spiritually neutral. Ryan Marr offers a thoughtful, contrarian perspective on the formative effects of AI in the life of the preacher. Bob Franquiz speaks to the limits of ChatGPT, reminding listeners that AI can generate words quickly, but it cannot pastor people, carry a burden, or replace the preacher’s communion with God in the text. Mike Neglia also suggests a narrow and cautious way AI might be used after a sermon draft is mostly complete, as a tool for clarification rather than creation.
The central concern of this conversation is not fear of technology, but faithfulness in ministry. Preachers are called to study, pray, think, shepherd, and proclaim. AI may assist with certain tasks, but it cannot replace the spiritual and pastoral work of preaching.
This conversation was recorded at an Expositors Collective preacher training event in St Petersburg, Florida.
As a sidebar, the panel also ends with discussion on mentoring relationships, spotting future leaders, ”overpreparing” early in ministry, the value of reading while you are young, and the difficult question every preacher faces: how do you know when a sermon is actually done?
Featured guests
Bob Franquiz is the Founding and Senior Pastor of Calvary Fellowship in Miramar, Florida. He is the author of seven books, including Pull: Making Your Church Magnetic and Begin: First Steps for the Journey of Faith. Before entering pastoral ministry, Bob played guitar for the Christian hardcore band Strongarm, often regarded as one of the most influential Christian metal bands of its era. Prior to planting Calvary Fellowship, he served as an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. Bob holds a Ph.D. in Bible Exposition from Liberty University and a master’s degree in theological studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife, Carey, have been married since 1997 and have three children: Mia, Alexander, and Olivia.
Pilgrim Benham has planted churches and pastored since 2002. He is the Dean of Students at Calvary Chapel Bible College, an instructor, and serves on the pastoral team at WestChurch in Bradenton, Florida. Pilgrim loves equipping the saints and also does sermon coaching when not enjoying Florida’s beaches.
Ryan Marr is the Lead Pastor of Calvary Chapel St Petersburg, where he has served in pastoral ministry since 2004. He holds an M.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary, and brings years of experience in preaching, leadership, and local church ministry.
Dr Alan Stoddard is the lead pastor of Imagine Church in Granbury, Texas, and is part of the Expositors Collective leadership team.
AI and the Preacher's Calling – Dr Paul Hoffman :Â https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Fsx7d2iGUXh2oUcQOnyYG?si=9157ccf1a9144cacÂ
The Perils and Possibilities of ChatGPT – Nick Cady and Mike Neglia:Â https://open.spotify.com/episode/2oTViQSw1a641dsMqfyMOO?si=6f3cc77c796d4174
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