The Shepherd's Bench

"Who Do Leaders Cry To" | The Shepherd's Bench EP.010

Everybody cries to their pastor. Who does the pastor cry to?In Episode 10 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei open Matthew 26 and read Gethsemane as a leadership text. Jesus, surrounded by twelve, creates distance in layers: nine stay here, three come further, and then he goes alone, and weeps where nobody can hear him.In this episode: The loneliest room is the one with a queue outside it Gethsemane: nine, three, and the little further Why Jesus wouldn't let even Peter, James and John hear him break "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death" — anxiety, fear, and the humanity of Christ How much are leaders actually allowed to share? The line between honest vulnerability and bleeding on your people When those closest to you fall asleep in your hardest hour Every man of God has a story — and the compassion no prayer could build A prayer for the leader who feels alone You are not the first to go through it. You will not be the last. And you are not alone. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

"I Joined the Queue to See My Dad" | The Shepherd's Bench EP.009

At six years old, Kofi Dartey joined the counselling queue at his father's church. Five people ahead of him. Little suit, little tie, shiny shoes. When he finally got in, his dad asked what he was doing there. He said: this is the only place I can see you. In Episode 9 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi and Randolph Adjei talk about the part of leadership nobody puts on the flyer, the humanity underneath the calling. In this episode: Are leaders born or made? "Even a leader who is born must be raised" What leaders actually lose: it's easy to crucify sin, harder to crucify your freedom The preacher's collar is a cuff, the bondservant's life isn't his own Pastors' kids: when your dad is everybody's dad The queue story, and the question it left in his father "There were days we ate from the food bank", what people don't see behind the result Entitlement, access, and the pastor who's expected to answer at any hour Man of God: you are human, endowed with godly content Where control and spiritual manipulation really come from: unaddressed insecurity Don't be so spiritual you're no earthly good Jesus took care of his family before the cross The three cardinal rules: you are human, you will always be human, remember you're human ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

"Bad Company Corrupts. Imagine What Good Company Could Do." | The Shepherd's Bench EP.008

If bad company corrupts good morals, imagine what good company could do.In Episode 8 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei sit with one of the most underrated essentials of the calling: the company you keep. The people around you aren't just around you, they're shaping your sound, your direction, and what you'll be prophesying a year from now.In this episode: The tent church: Randolph's new launch and why ministries must evolve The layers of Jesus's company: the multitude, the 70, the 12, the 3 "You're in their company, but not their inner circle" The independent spirit: where "I don't need anybody" really comes from Trauma, church hurt, and the isolation they breed "When they park their cars, they park their brains" why skills stop at the church door Koinonia: what Acts 2:42 community actually looks like The company of prophets: where they come from determines the sound You'll sing whatever sound you sit around The oil is transferred by association. Choose your company like it's your calling, because it is. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench Timestamps0:00 Welcome "I was just a bass player"1:16 The tent church: Campus Rush evolves17:36 The layers of Jesus's company: 70, 12, 318:45 "I don't need anybody" the independent spirit19:20 Trauma, church hurt, and isolation21:00 "Park their cars, park their brains23:00 Koinonia, Acts 2:42 community53:50 The company of prophets: the source of the sound54:25 The hostel story: you sing what you sit around56:40 If bad company corrupts, imagine good company57:00 Outro

AI Rabonni: When ChatGPT Becomes Your Teacher | The Shepherd's Bench Ep. 007

Is AI a blessing or a crutch? And what happens when a generation starts ChatGPT-ing the sermons they were meant to receive on their knees?In Episode 7 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei pick up the cliffhanger from last week: ChatGPT, AI, and the microwave generation of ministry. AI should be the garnish, not the main course. But in business circles, creative circles, and ministerial circles, the tool is quietly becoming the teacher.From there the conversation goes deep into what can't be automated: the process, the battles, the death to self, and the company that shapes your sound.In this episode: AI is a blessing - but it's a garnish, not the main course Microwave sermons: assembling a message without receiving the download Why "deep" preaching is producing confused churches with no transformation You can't become what you don't understand When personal experience becomes doctrine - the six-hour prayer rule Lingo culture: copying style instead of carrying substance Underdeveloped leaders: if you can't sustain the platform, the platform will break you A piece of cake: the layers nobody wants to work through "I've anointed you, but you have to die" — oil without process The power of association (and a taste of next week's conversation) Don't ChatGPT an experience you're meant to get tarrying. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

Fathers For Sale: The Generation Using Each Other | The Shepherd's Bench Ep. 006

There's a generation of fathers looking for sons to use, and a generation of sons looking for fathers to use right back. In Episode 6 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei sit with the uncomfortable questions: why we're born again but not delivered from tradition, why ministry has become a competition, and what's quietly replacing real encounter with God. In this episode: Born again, but not delivered from tradition... The unrenewed mind The competitive mindset: "I must build the next biggest church" Why do we assume only the devil can make things grow Ministry for honorariums... when preaching becomes a paycheck "You're not advancing the kingdom. You're advancing your ego." Nobody can outdo God. Nobody can outpay God. Why kindness and soft skills don't make you less anointed Don't ChatGPT what you're meant to get on your knees This is Fathers For Sale. A conversation about what the next generation is inheriting - and what it's skipping. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

"Wife or Knife" | The Shepherd's Bench Ep. 005

The first move of the enemy isn't to attack you. It's to offer you what you love.In Episode 5 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei unpack what the modern church has confused about marriage, calling, anointing and timing, and what's actually essential underneath it all. In this episode: Why your calling can evolve and how to know when it's time "When you overstay a season, you enter a cycle" Why the church is wasting kingdom talent, turning entrepreneurs, lawyers, and creatives into intercessors and ushers Marriage as a system, not a validation You don't need a helper when you haven't figured out your life Just because oil was poured on your head doesn't mean you've become Wife or knife? The cost of choosing wrong This isn't a sermon on singleness, marriage or ministry. It's a redefinition of what the church has been calling essential. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

"Great Preachers, Terrible Husbands" | The Shepherd's Bench Ep. 004

God loves all of us. But He doesn't trust all of us. In Episode 4 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei turn the lens onto leaders themselves - the journey, the gaps, and the dangers nobody warns you about when the anointing starts to grow.In this episode: Why God doesn't trust everyone He loves Great preachers, terrible husbands - the gap between gift and character Kingly anointing, shepherdly positioning and the people pretending to be content Why people are relocating churches for the wrong reasons Anointed and immoral. Anointed and disrespectful. The dangers of the anointing What can overpower you if you don't deal with it now This isn't a sermon to the congregation. It's a conversation between two pastors about the people behind the pulpit. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

"Great Career, Failed Calling" | The Shepherd's Bench Ep.003

You can do many things right. Be applauded. Build a great career. And still have failed. In Episode 3 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei return to The Call, this time going deeper into the gap between what you're doing and what you were made to do. The cost of misalignment. The geography of calling. And the test the devil brings everybody. In this episode: How do you actually know you're called? A biblical breakdown Purpose, calling, and career - the three things most people confuse How money relocates you from the geography of your calling The three stages every calling moves through Why knowing your calling isn't the same as being ready for it Apprenticeship ministry and the cost of cutting corners This is The Call II. The conversation goes deeper. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

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"Until You Discover Your Calling, You Haven't Started Living" | The Shepherd's Bench Ep.002

What if everything you've built, your career, your relationships, even who you married, was built on the wrong foundation? In Episode 2 of The Shepherd's Bench, Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei sit down to unpack The Call - what it is, what it costs, and why so many people running from it are the very ones meant to carry it. In this episode: Why your calling should determine your school, your spouse, and your friends "Mr. Suave" and "Lil T"... Life before the call The man in the fire and the moment God gets your attention Is ministry today a genuine pursuit of God, or has it become glamorous? The cost of trading prayer This isn't a sermon. It's a bench conversation. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

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What Leaders Don't Know They're Missing

What happens when a leader walks into a room and realises everything they've built is missing something? Kofi Dartey and Randolph Adjei sit down for the first episode of The Shepherd's Bench. This is an unfiltered conversation about faith, leadership, and what it actually takes to build something that reflects the kingdom.In this episode: First impressions of KAC and the voltage of prayer What mature leaders don't know they're missing Why the curtains being dirty matters more than you think Brotherhood, grief, and what keeps people out This isn't a sermon. It's a bench conversation. ____________________ The Shepherd's Bench is hosted by Kofi Dartey & Randolph Adjei and brought to you by KAC Studios. Subscribe for new episodes every 2 weeks. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @shepherdsbench

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