Formation · Leadership & Equipping
Guides and practices for pastors, elders, facilitators, teams, and others learning to lead faithfully.
The Slow Work of Forming Healthier Christian Communities With assistance from Judy Mitchell and Josh Daum Why Doesn’t Anything Really Change? It happens almost every Sunday. Worship has ended. People gather around…
Leadership Conversations
Open resource →Juneteenth and the Gospel of Shalom Deliverance, Discipleship, and Learning to Listen A Public Discipleship Discussion, 004 June, 2026 The God Who Hears What is the central story of our faith? Christians…
Public Discipleship
Open resource →Foundation #1: God’s Mission “The good news of the Gospel is that the triune God…creates, redeems, sustains, rules, and transforms all things and all people.“ F-1.01 God’s Mission The work of ministry…
Foundations Conversations
Open resource →Discerning God’s Future in a Time of Change Focus on Relationships Prayer The book of Haggai takes place during a pivotal moment in Israel’s history. The exile has ended. Some of God’s…
Board Devotions
Open resource →Recognizing God’s Grace in One Another Most churches can tell stories about people who helped them become what they are today. Perhaps it was a pastor who faithfully served for many years.…
Conversations Among Small Congregations
Open resource →004 What Kind of Community Are We Becoming? Reflections on faithfulness within and beyond the church You Give Them Something to Eat In Mark 6, the disciples are tired. They have been…
Leadership Conversations
Open resource →Faithful Discernment in a Time of Institutional Change Acts 15 and the Work of Discernment In Acts 15, the early church faces a crisis of becoming. Gentiles are entering the community in…
Leadership Conversations
Open resource →Discerning the Line Between Wisdom and Avoidance A Righteous Risk Conversation May, 2026 There is a form of faith that looks responsible but is quietly resistant. It is careful. Measured. Patient. It…
Righteous Risk
Open resource →Between Distance and Witness Public Discipleship in a Difficult Conversation A Public Discipleship Discussion, 003 May, 2026 In recent years, conversations around LGBTQIA+ life in the church have often settled into familiar…
Public Discipleship
Open resource →Luke 10 and the Risk of Letting Go A Righteous Risk Conversation April, 2026 After these things the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every…
Righteous Risk
Open resource →Building Relationships As we come to this fourth conversation, we turn to a story that feels strikingly familiar to many of us—the journey on the road to Emmaus Luke 24:13–35. Two disciples…
Open resource →Building Relationships In Scripture, faith is not formed only in moments of clarity or blessing. It is often forged in loss, uncertainty, and the long middle where nothing seems to resolve. The…
Open resource →Building Relationships In Scripture, we are rarely formed alone. Again and again, we see that who we become is shaped through relationships—through people who walk with us, challenge us, protect us, and…
Open resource →Building Relationships Names Matter In the Bible, names are not just labels—they carry identity, story, and calling. Sometimes a name tells you where someone has come from. Sometimes it reveals who they…
Open resource →Preparing for ministry without losing the center When something important is approaching, ministry teams often become consumed with the work around the work. Messages need answered. Materials need gathered. Food must be…
Leadership Conversations
Open resource →001 Mission in the Front Seat: Keeping Vision and Relationships Ahead of Management and Structure A Leadership Conversation, 001 March 10, 2026 Church boards spend enormous amounts of time discussing budgets, staffing,…
Leadership Conversations
Open resource →In a Time of Escalation A Public Discipleship Discussion, 002 March 2, 2026 Publication Note: 002 is based on current events, not the designed flow of Public Discipleship. Within the past few…
Public Discipleship
Open resource →Christian Community is the Work Leading when we do not know how growth happens Focus on Relationships Prayer Gospel Reading Most boards assume the “real work” is the business portion of the…
Board Devotions
Open resource →The False Choice: Loving or Holy? A Public Discipleship Discussion February, 2026 A leader in a session meeting clears their throat and says, “I think we need to make a statement. We…
Public Discipleship
Open resource →Public Discipleship An Introduction to Public Discipleship February, 2026 Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. I have listened to faithful Christians who disagree sharply about public life—and…
Public Discipleship
Open resource →When Busy Becomes a Substitute for Faith A Righteous Risk Conversation February, 2026 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways.You have sown much, and harvested little…and he who…
Righteous Risk
Open resource →A Conversation Among Multiple Churches Peace as the First Move Before we read Scripture, let’s name what’s happening in this room. This is not a time to solve every problem, and it’s…
Open resource →When the Church Forgets What It Is From Keeping the Doors Open to Participating in God’s Shalom February, 2026 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent,…
Righteous Risk
Open resource →From Comfort to Commission February, 2026 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out...”—Hebrews 11:8 In our scriptures, risk is not an exception. It is the baseline. Abraham leaves…
Righteous Risk
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