Successful ministry cannot simply be copied from one church to another. God’s wisdom takes different shapes in different communities, and faithful leadership begins by discovering how Jesus wants to move through the people and place he has entrusted to you.
Successful ministry cannot simply be copied from one church to another. God’s wisdom takes different shapes in different communities, and faithful leadership begins by discovering how Jesus wants to move through the people and place he has entrusted to you.
Pastors imitate celebrity preachers more often than we’d like to admit. We borrow voices, styles, and personalities in hopes of becoming more effective. But ministry flourishes when we stop being echoes and begin leading from the unique image of God within us.
Humanity is not a mass-produced reflection of God but a living, breathing image—crafted from dust and animated with purpose. The biblical idea of the selem reframes identity, mission, and spiritual formation as deeply personal, creative, and diverse participation in the life of God.
Sonic the Hedgehog shaped more of my childhood than I ever realized. Years later, God used a childhood hero to remind me that he hadn’t forgotten the little boy who first imagined adventure, courage, and hope.
Worship isn’t less God-centered because it includes your story. In fact, Scripture suggests the opposite. Like a love letter, the deepest worship flows from personal encounter, not merely factual statements.
No one chooses suffering, yet it remains one of God’s greatest opportunities for spiritual formation. The fruit of the Spirit often grows best in the soil we’d never choose for ourselves.
Many Christians have been taught that spiritual maturity means becoming less and less ourselves. But Scripture paints a different picture. God isn’t trying to erase your humanity—he’s restoring it. The goal isn’t none of you; it’s all of you, renewed in Christ.
I’ve had an idea for a few years to write a sci-fi book about trying to end slavery on another planet. The book would spend hundreds of pages trying to establish how integrated the slavery system was and how deeply racist the culture was. The twist was going to be the very end, where slavery…
Jamin Bradley 