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Playing Together Again
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…
Read MorePlant Churches Like Paul
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…
Read MoreEvery Somewhere Sacred
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…
Read MoreWhat a 16-Year-Old Taught Me About Making Disciples
I was 22 years old, fresh out of the classroom, armed with theology and absolutely clueless about real ministry. His name was Dan Boyd. He was 16. And he knew something I didn’t. I had the degree. He had the relationships. I could explain the Great Commission. He was living it. Dan had taken a…
Read MoreDiscipleship is Stewardship
DISCIPLESHIP is, ultimately, STEWARDSHIP. That is stewarding all (including our bodies) that God has given us as sons and daughters. From this relationship of sons and daughters, we have been called to the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19) as servants and stewards of the Kingdom as we join the Father in the family business…
Read MoreDeveloping Good Discernment: Navigating Between the Twin Errors of Cynicism and Naivete in Christian Leadership
 The article originally appeared on Josh Benadum’s Substack. Used with permission. Check out Josh’s latest book, A Life That Leads, for more of his writing. In the context of a house church or a tight-knit missional community, we don’t have the luxury of hiding behind large programs, administrative bureaucracy, or sheer numbers. We are dealing…
Read MoreHow Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact
This article first appeared on Dave Ferguson’s Substack. Used with permission. Before I invite you to order Multiplier: How Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact, I want to slow us down for a moment and tell you about my friend Rick. He’s not seminary trained. He’s not ordained. He’s not a missionary. Vocationally, he is a…
Read MorePractices of Tactics: How Jesus Practiced Letting Go
By Peyton Jones Principles explain why trust matters. Practices show us what trust looks like in real life. Jesus did not release his disciples theoretically. He practiced letting go in concrete, repeatable ways that trained them to carry responsibility without dependence on his constant presence. These practices were not dramatic. They were ordinary, relational, and…
Read MoreI Had to Fall Apart Before I Could Pastor Well
In 2020, I thought I had life figured out. My wife, Hannah, and I were both finishing our doctoral dissertations, I was transitioning out of a role as a college pastor at my church, we were expecting our second son, and I had just stepped into a significant administrative role at a university in her…
Read MorePrinciples of Tactics: Why Jesus Trusted Imperfect People
By Peyton Jones If patterns of tactics show us when Jesus sent his disciples, the principles of tactics explain why he was willing to do so. Jesus trusted imperfect people with meaningful responsibility. Not eventually. Not after they proved themselves. But while they were still learning, still failing, and still misunderstanding him. That decision runs…
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