By Andy Hale
This week on the CBF Podcast Conversation, we’re thrilled to feature two dynamic voices who spoke at the 2025 Christian Educators Conference—Zak Foster and Will Brown. Each of these leaders brings a unique perspective on how faith, creativity, and community intersect in transformative ways. Zak Foster, a textile artist and storyteller, invites us to explore the sacred nature of quilting—how fabric carries stories, history, and healing. In his session, Handling Hard Questions With a Soft Touch, Zak reflects on how working with textiles makes us more human and how even painful personal histories can be stitched into something redemptive and beautiful.
Will, meanwhile, brings a pastoral and narrative lens to supporting LGBTQ+ youth, offering practical insights on how churches can be places of safety, care, and formation. Together, these guests are shaping a vision of Christian education rooted in empathy, creativity, and courageous honesty. You won’t want to miss their voices. You can listen to the episode here.
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CBF’s podcast shares stories from across the Fellowship and innovative practices of those working to renew God’s world. The vision is to share ideas, stories, and innovations from ministers, authors, and practitioners.
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Sponsorship
This podcast is presented by:
- Baylor’s Garland School of Social Work: Social workers can be found addressing the full scope of the human experience in churches, schools, prisons, government agencies, senior living centers, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies.
- Baptist Seminary of Kentucky: BSK equips leaders through their Homegrown Initiative, offering ministry leaders training and growth that fits into their busy schedules.
- The Gardner-Webb School of Divinity: The Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity aims to equip, nurture, encourage, and support men and women for their very best service in the Kingdom of God.
- The Center for Congregational Health: Strengthening congregations through consulting, leadership coaching, and intentional ministry.
- The Baptist House of Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary: Exists by God’s grace to educate, inspire, and support generations of bold, faithful servant leaders as they seek actively to participate in God’s mission in the world.
- Community Transformation Center: Through educational opportunities, community conversations, and research initiatives in collaboration with universities and local leaders, PBACTC is at the forefront of integrating spiritual care into holistic community development.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.