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.
About CGN
We are a family of churches working together to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and plant churches.
Visit our website for more information about care, coaching, and resources.
The Team
Mike Neglia is the lead pastor at Calvary Cork located in Cork, Ireland. Mike is married to Rachel, and they have two children, Eoin and Rosie. Please visit his website. Also, follow him 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 serves as a Local Connector with Calvary Global Network and recently developed Cultivate, a program to assess, train, and deploy new church planters and missionaries.
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 serves as a Local Connector with Calvary Global Network and recently 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, raised in the surf culture of Huntington Beach, California, and “got saved” when he was almost 16 years old. He married his best friend Sherry in 1991. In 1993, at age 23, Bryan moved to San Luis Obispo on California’s Central Coast to plant Calvary SLO Church, which has become an influential church in the area and beyond with its church planting/missions work. Best of all, Bryan is the father of two daughters, Brianna and Brooke, and enjoys spending time with his family. He is often found hanging around SLO at one of its many coffee shops, taking photos or in 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
Faithful, Not Famous: The Call to Godly Character – Jeff Figgs
In this episode of the Expositors Collective podcast, Jeff Figgs offers a sober and deeply pastoral charge drawn from Paul’s final words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:10-11. Speaking from decades of ministry experience, Jeff reminds listeners that Christian leadership is ultimately measured not by recognition or platform, but by faithfulness, character, and endurance.
Jeff serves as Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Greeley, where he has faithfully taught verse-by-verse through all 66 books of the Bible over the past 28 years. Ordained in 1992, he began the church in 1996 with a small Bible study that grew into a thriving congregation. He also hosts the radio programme Under the Fig Tree, co-hosts Calvary Live on GraceFM Colorado, and serves as a chaplain for the Weld County Sheriff’s Office. That long obedience in ministry gives particular weight to this exhortation.
The session is set in the context of Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome. Knowing that his life is drawing to a close, Paul writes to Timothy, his “son in the faith,” warning that the last days will be perilous times. Paul describes a culture marked by misdirected love, counterfeit spirituality, and people who are always learning but never arriving at the truth. Against that backdrop, Paul draws a sharp contrast: “But you have carefully followed…”
From there, Jeff walks through the qualities Timothy had observed firsthand in Paul.
First, doctrine. Timothy had carefully followed Paul’s teaching from the time he joined him in Lystra on the second missionary journey. Sound doctrine is shown to be essential, not optional. Drawing from Acts 20 and 2 Timothy 2:15, Jeff emphasises diligent study, faithful preparation, and rightly dividing the Word of truth. Congregations, he notes, can tell when the hard work has been done, and the goal is not to impress with humour or stories, but to leave people saying, “We heard from God.”
Second, manner of life. Paul does not only point to what he taught, but how he lived. This unique phrase highlights the inseparable connection between message and messenger. Referencing passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:1 and Acts 20:18, Jeff stresses that a godly message must come from a godly life. The call is searching and personal: to be the same person outside the pulpit as inside it, so that those closest to us would never say, “Not you, pastor.”
Third, purpose. Ministry is framed as stewardship rather than self-promotion. Faithfulness, not fame, is the true measure of success. Jeff reflects on the seasons of ministry that shape character over time, including suffering, grief, discouragement, and perseverance. He urges leaders to maintain a genuine devotional life, not merely study for sermons, reminding listeners that we cannot lead others where we ourselves are not walking.
Throughout the session, one theme remains clear: godly character matters because we carry a godly message. In a world of perilous times and noisy voices, light does not argue, it is seen. Faithful ministry flows from lives shaped by the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, and marked by humility, love, endurance, and integrity.
This episode is a timely reminder that the church does not primarily need famous leaders, but faithful ones, men and women who will handle the Scriptures carefully and live them visibly, for the sake of the next generation.
Jeff Figgs in 2019 on speech impediments, introversion and the call of God: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3lirX6nlgYk1XDRHlIZsWM?si=515c1d9e1c7c4831
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January 13, 2026
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