Episode 13
How to "Normalize Next" in Your Church with Olu Brown author of "Normalizing Next: A Post-COVID Resource for Church Leaders
Bishop Julius C. Trimble is the Resident Bishop of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church.
Bishop Trimble has the personal mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential. It is his commitment to his personal mission that led Bishop Trimble to create the “To Be Encouraged” Podcast along with co-host Rev.Dr. Brad MIller.
Bishop Trimble says, “I am compelled by Jesus to share with you an encouraging word or two about Jesus, theology, the bible, the pandemic, the environment, racism, voting rights, human sexuality, and the state of the United Methodist Church.”
To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble is to be published weekly and is available at www.tobeencouraged.com and all the podcast directories.
https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/
Olujimi W. Brown
Olujimi (Olu) Brown is the father of Daya Elom Brown and Langston Wesley Brown. Olu is a native of Lufkin,
Texas. He graduated from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, and earned a Master of Divinity
degree from Gammon Theological Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta,
Georgia.
Olu has served as the Lead Pastor of Impact Church, a young congregation in the East Point community
of Metropolitan Atlanta (impactdcd.org). With Olu’s vision and leadership, since its founding in 2007,
Impact has grown from a core team of 25 people to more than 5,000 online viewers with a $4M budget,
making it one of the fastest-growing United Methodist Churches (UMC) and new church starts in the United States. To that end, Impact was listed at number 5 in the 25 Fastest-Growing Large United Methodist
Churches, 2018 Edition.
Olu strongly believes in an active church, one that makes a meaningful impact in the lives of individuals
and communities. Impact is a multicultural community committed to Doing Church Differently™. Impact
DCD redefines the church experience through inclusiveness, relatable messages, energetic weekly
gatherings, unique events and activities, relevant youth programs, and community outreach. The people
of Impact are compelled to help bring healing, justice, and compassion to the world.
Through Olu’s leadership and visionary direction, Impact has grown from a core group of 25 to a
present-day dedicated staff of 62 individuals who work in the Finance, Marketing, Operations, Care and
Creative Worship teams. In addition to more than 200 volunteers who serve each Sunday during the
worship experiences, Impact has key volunteers on the Leadership Team: SPRC, Lay Leadership/Lay
Servants, Nominations, Trustees, and Finance. Olu is constantly challenging Impact’s community to
destroy the status quo and to make a remarkable difference in our community and the world.
On May 16, 2021, Olu announced his retirement from the local church effective June 2022. For his
retirement, Olu is using the phrase, Normalizing Next™, which is the concept of how to best prepare
for the future, especially churches that experience any kind of change or transition. Normalizing Next™ is
when you are no longer afraid to do your best to prepare for and strategize so that one can be fully
successful.
Olu is looking forward to 2022, as he begins a new season, transitioning from Impact where he will
coach business leaders, church leaders, and church teams.
Olu is the contributing author of Zero to 80: Innovative Ideas for Planting and Accelerating Church
Growth, author of Leadership Directions from Moses: On the Way to a Promised Land; 4D Impact: Smash
Barriers Like a Smart Church; Hope: An Advent Journey; A New Kind of Venture Leader; Our Lenten
Prayer; Normalizing Next™: A Post-COVID Resource for Church Leaders (book and guidebook), as well as
contributing author to Flipping Church: How Successful Church Planters Are Turning Conventional
Wisdom Upside-Down (access www.olubrown.com for more details, to purchase a copy of his latest
books and to listen to his Smart Church podcasts).
Impact meets around the world, online at Impact on Sylvan at 8:00 am, 10:00 am and 12:00 pm:
