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Strong Leaders Need Strong People
Noah Oldham
Church planters often look at King Saul as the prototype of failure—an anxious, self-protective leader whose insecurity and disobedience eventually led to God removing his kingdom (and ending his life). That reading is true. Saul is a warning sign on...
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Hard Work and God’s Grace
Barnabas Piper
How many times have you been asked some version of the question, “So, what do you do between Sundays?” The impression many people have is that pastors roll into church on Sundays, preach a sermon, pray with some folks, and...
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Parenting Strong-Willed Kids in the Pressure of Church Planting
Heather Oldham
Church planting exposes a lot about us and about our kids. The expectations feel heavy, the spotlight can feel invasive, and the constant sense of being watched can make the normal messiness of parenting feel like public commentary on your...
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Carrying Your Past Into Christmastime
Ronnie Martin
If you’re like me (or … nothing at all like me), you have still probably seen a gazillion film or stage adaptations of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. One of the beautiful features of Dickens’ story is that it...
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Planting in Babylon: How the Old Testament Shapes Church Planting in a Pluralistic World
Noah Oldham
If you’re planting a church today, you’re doing it in Babylon. You may be in a rural town, a fast-gentrifying neighborhood, or a dense urban core—but culturally, we’re all in exile. You’re pastoring people who are discipled daily by secular...
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Table Flipping and Righteous Anger
Barnabas Piper
“Even Jesus flipped tables.” If you, like me, have ever uttered these words in defense of your own anger (or heard someone do so), then I am writing to you. The story of Jesus driving out the money changers from...
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Church Planting Beatitudes: Valuing What Jesus Values
Dan Steel
And, dressed in sneakers, when he saw the crowds, he entered the rented auditorium and stood up. His core team came to him, he switched on the projectors, and he began to teach them. Blessed are the self-sufficient, for they...
