Can you disagree with your senior pastor and still be loyal? How do you tell the difference between mentoring and being held back? And are pastors developing associates to carry their own ministry, or to release them into God’s calling?

In this panel from the 5th Annual Midwest Gospel Preaching Summit, senior pastors and associate ministers from Milwaukee, Madison, and the Chicago area talk candidly about one of the church’s most important and least discussed relationships. Questions alternate between pastors and associates, so you hear both sides of the partnership: what builds trust and what breaks it, how to handle disagreement without dividing a congregation, the hidden years of development before the spotlight, and what each side wishes the other understood.

“I’m your pastor. I’m not the owner of your purpose.”

PANELISTS

· Pastor Lloyd Biddle, Lead Pastor, Connection Church (Libertyville, IL)

· Dr. Trayvon Sinclair, Pastor, Christ the King Baptist Church (Milwaukee, WI)

· Rev. Eric Smith, Associate Minister, Canaan Baptist Church (Milwaukee, WI)

· Min. Stephanie Harris, Associate Minister, Mount Zion Baptist Church (Madison, WI)

· Tyler Nylen, Associate Pastor, Fountain of Life Church (Madison, WI)

· Moderated by Rev. Rodney Bailey (Milwaukee, WI)

Scripture referenced: Exodus 17–18; 1 Peter 5; 1 Timothy and Titus; Hebrews 13; John 14

ABOUT THE SUMMIT

The 2026 Midwest Gospel Preaching Summit met October 7–9 in Madison, Wisconsin, under the theme “Preach the Word: The Preacher’s Charge in a Changing World.” Upper House Commons hosts the annual gathering in partnership with Mt. Zion Baptist Church.