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Here’s something that should stop you in your tracks. The person who told you about Jesus was told by someone else. Who was told by someone else. Who was told by someone else. Pull the thread all the way back and you’ll eventually land somewhere near the first century. Near a small group of ordinary…

It’s not about what you do—it’s about who I AM! Those words stopped me in my tracks. The spoon in my hand stopped stirring and hovered over the pot, and for a moment, the clatter of dinner prep faded away. I had been pouring my heart out to God for weeks, asking how I could…

The pastor sat alone in the office at 9 p.m. The bulletin still needed proofing. The volunteer schedule sat half-built. Three texts waited for a reply. He led everything. He owned everything. And the church still was not growing. Sound familiar? You cannot revitalize a church you are holding together by yourself. Patrick Lencioni studied…

So who writes a book and calls it Hi-Vis Faith? Who intentionally pitches a book at tradies, manual workers and other people generally not typified as readers? Because that is exactly what I am doing here. Well… Someone who has lived in that world for 20 years and knows it from the inside. Someone who…

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones and Pete Mitchell return to the “church planter diary” format with a real-time update from The Abbey. Peyton shares what happened on a Sunday when almost everything looked like it was working against them: most of the core team was gone, the room was smaller…

Jesus said something deceptively simple to a group of tired fishermen: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They knew fishing. They knew about pools and currents and the difference between casting in the wrong place and pulling in a net so full it nearly breaks. And Jesus was telling them —…

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones is joined by Andrea Jones and Pamela Nelson for a conversation on ministry burnout, emotional health, and the inner life of a leader. Pamela brings her experience as a pastor, biblical counselor, coach, and spiritual director to help church planters recognize the warning signs they often ignore: anxiety, numbness, overwork, isolation, unprocessed grief, and the pressure to keep performing when their soul is running on empty. Together, they talk about why emotional health is not optional for leaders, how identity can become tangled up in ministry success, and why pastors need safe people, honest confession, rhythms of rest, and space to bring hidden beliefs into the light. The conversation also gets personal as Peyton reflects on his own experience with exhaustion, anxiety, and the cost of pushing too hard for too long. If you are planting, leading, or carrying the weight of ministry, this episode is an invitation to slow down, pay attention to your soul, and let God restore what has been depleted. Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode: Pamela Nelson: pamelanelson.org NewBreedTraining.com

On an early Saturday morning, my husband, three kids, and I piled into our van and headed to the remote control flying field near our house. As the sun crawled up into the sky, we took turns flying our airplanes in circles and figure eights beneath the clouds above us. Our family has been flying…

The so-called pastoral epistles (leadership letters) are chock full of wisdom on the nature of spiritual leadership. But often when we study Titus or 1-2 Timothy, we fail to take them in full context. Paul wrote these letters to men he mentored and trained, but not just for their personal benefit. These were written for…

Why Do Places and Land Matter? We live in places without knowing them. We can pass through the thick and varied landscapes of God’s world without seeing or knowing them. So why should we care about the places we inhabit? First, God cares about the physical world, so we should too. Evidence is everywhere throughout…