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Spurgeon on the Preaching Voice

J.A. Medders

You know a great preaching voice when you hear it. Some men, blessed by God, are equipped with Dolby Surround Sound vocal cords. Their voice is powerful, arresting, interesting, and a delight to listen to. I’ve joked before that I...
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The Art of Hard Conversations: Speaking the Truth in Love

Jon Kelly

If you serve in leadership long enough, you will inevitably find yourself navigating relational conflict. Because of the presence of sin, this is not only expected—it’s inevitable. And for pastors and ministry leaders, it’s often amplified. If you’re not willing...
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10 Lessons from Nehemiah’s Wall

Noah Oldham

When church planters and their teams embark on the adventure of starting something new, they’re often drawn to the big, explosive moments in Scripture—the boldness of Paul’s missionary journeys, the clarity of Jesus’ Great Commission, and the fire of Pentecost....
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A Culture of Honesty in Your Church

Barnabas Piper

What is honesty? On the surface, that’s a straightforward question with a straightforward answer. “Telling the truth.” “Not lying.” But we all know, from relational experience–and maybe from watching too many legal dramas–that there is much more to it than...
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Copy, Paste, or Create? The Art of Contextual Church Planting

Dan Steel

About 2.5 percent of any given population are considered true “innovators.” These are the folks who instinctively think outside the box—the pioneers, the ones who approach problems from unexpected angles and aren’t afraid to take risks on ideas others might...
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Two Shifts to Spark Your Disciple-Making Movement

Vick Green

In the 1920s, it’s believed that two of every three cars on the road were a Ford Model T. Henry Ford changed the automobile industry forever. Not only did his Model T become the most popular vehicle of all time,...
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Doubting Your Call in Down Times

Ronnie Martin

“But what if it turns out that I’m just not called to do this?” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded concerned. Slightly exasperated. Mentally exhausted. The church plant was entering its third year, and although they...
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The 5 Hour Sermon: A Covo Preacher’s Guide

Phil Thompson

We planted in the best year for church planting ever—2020. And as a result, we chucked the typical church planter’s playbook and started with a Sunday morning gathering in a location where people could spread out and distance themselves. But...
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Spurgeon’s 9 Tips for New Preachers

J.A. Medders

Charles Spurgeon was a great preacher and a great trainer of preachers. Through the Pastors’ College, Spurgeon trained and helped hundreds of men become faithful and effective preachers. I took his lecture titled “Sermons” and came up with nine summary...
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Don’t Wait for Year Five: Vision Lessons for Church Planters Today

Noah Oldham

In 2014, I preached a sermon at our church’s five-year anniversary. We celebrated all that God had done, but we didn’t stop there. We turned our eyes toward the future and asked: Who are we becoming? Who will we be...
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6 Things Your Kids Need Most from You as Their Pastor

Jon Kelly

One thing I struggled to embrace in my early years of ministry is that I’m not only my children’s father—I’m also their pastor. I always aimed to be a good dad, but I didn’t give much thought to what it...
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What Unity in the Church Is and Isn’t

Barnabas Piper

When a church is divided, it is awful. Sometimes it spells disaster. It always spells exhaustion and hurt. Whether it is division between leaders, between members, or between leaders and members, division is abominable because it is a breakdown in...
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Succession in Church Plants

Dan Steel

Church planting is inherently future-focused. Planters begin with a bold vision, prayerful dependence on God, and a strong desire to see gospel fruit. Yet ironically, few planters give serious thought to a future without themselves in the picture. We pour...
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Maximize Your Summer: Plan for Fall Ministry

Noah Oldham

Summertime State of Mind It’s summertime, and in the church world, this means that everything seems to both speed up and slow down at the same time. Children and students are out of school, and that means ministries related to...
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Ladies, in Every Season, You Have a Place in the Mission

Heather Oldham

I’ve walked through seasons that could’ve swallowed me whole—infertility, the heartbreak of unanswered prayers, and silent waiting. Then, parachute planting a church from scratch, stepping into the unknown with nothing but faith, and launching that church just one month before...
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15 Points from Spurgeon on Praying in Public

J.A. Medders

Don’t overlook your public prayers. It is too easy to fall into the practice of putting effort and thought into everything that happens on Sunday morning, except your prayers from the stage. These moments matter, are holy, and instructive. You...
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The Pandemic of Pastoral Loneliness

Matt Carter

I recently spent a couple of days around a table with 8 pastors discussing life and ministry. They ranged in age from their mid-forties to mid-fifties. Many of these guys, you’d know their names because they’ve had a significant impact...
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The Weight of Our Hope

Ronnie Martin

If the fruit of humanity is humility, then the fruit of humility is hopefulness. And hopefulness comes through the refining fires of waiting. For there to be hope, there needs to be something unseen to be hoped for.  “We look...