10 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor This Week
Pastors pour themselves out week after week—preparing sermons, counseling struggling members, leading through challenges, and carrying the weight of spiritual leadership. And while many people appreciate their pastor, encouragement is often assumed rather than expressed.
Praying for Your Pastor - Part II: Praying for Your Pastor’s Spiritual Health
In ministry, it’s easy to assume that pastors are spiritually strong simply because they’re always preaching, teaching, and leading others in faith. But the reality is, many pastors struggle to maintain their own personal walk with God.
The Inflation No One Talks About: Higher Education’s Price Tag and Moral Bankruptcy
Inflation hurts hardworking Americans, yet there’s one inflated cost Democrats never seem to scream about—college tuition. Over the past 40 years, tuition prices have skyrocketed at a rate far outpacing general inflation, yet the return on investment has plummeted. Universities charge Mercedes prices for a Yugo education, producing graduates steeped in ideological dogma rather than critical thinking and real-world skills.
A Day in Court
The U.S. Supreme Court, in an unsigned opinion decided by a 5-4 vote, allowed the resumption of deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act. The order, however, was unanimous that those facing deportation are entitled to judicial review, and the majority held that such review is properly considered wherever the accused is held (in this case, Texas).
Nuclear Negotiations
Leaders of the United States and Iran will meet this weekend in a high-stakes discussion about Iran’s nuclear program. The announcement comes immediately following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trading Tariffs
A week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a broad regime of tariffs, China and the U.S. continue to exchange escalating tariff announcements. The White House insists the tariffs will result in new trade deals with many countries, but early indications are that China is digging in for a more adversarial approach.
Praying for Your Pastor - Part I: Why Your Pastor Needs Your Prayers
Last month, our church experienced a season of prayer and fasting. It was a powerful time to seek the Lord and ask Him to move in our lives, families, and church. But during that time, I was convicted of something: I wasn’t praying for my pastor as much as I should have been.
Greenland Election
Greenlanders made their way to the polls on Tuesday in a national election that would have typically involved little fanfare outside the borders of the giant and frigid island nation. This week’s elections, however, drew a great deal more attention in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sustained interest in Greenland joining the U.S.
Why Your Church Needs an Intentional and Repeatable Discipleship Strategy
In a world where churches often measure success by attendance and programs, it's easy to overlook the deeper question: Are we making disciples? Programs may fill seats, but disciplemaking transforms lives. That's why having an intentional and repeatable discipleship strategy—like micro-groups, or what at Replicate call D-Groups—is critical for every church.
Shutdown on Loop
Congress is once again racing the clock to avoid a government shutdown (we told you back in December to bookmark early March for this reality). This time around, GOP leadership in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are pushing for a Continuing Resolution that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. This approach has the support of President Donald Trump and was passed narrowly by the U.S. House on Tuesday, but is being opposed by most congressional Democrats.
Starship Explosion
An unmanned SpaceX Starship rocket exploded last week shortly after blastoff from Texas. The resulting debris field included parts of Florida and temporarily grounded flights at Orlando International Airport. It is the second mid-air explosion in two months for the Starship program, which touts its mission as including eventual manned travel between points on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and SpaceX are investigating the cause of the incident.
Liberation or Trade War?
U.S. President Donald Trump is announcing another round of tariffs Wednesday. The new tariffs follow previous levies on steel and aluminum, as well as imports from China, Canada, and Mexico, and are now expected to include a 25% tariff on all imported cars…
Special Elections
Floridians and Wisconsinites (dare we say Cheesheads?) went to the polls for special elections on Tuesday. In Wisconsin, the contest was for a seat on the state supreme court—a seat many view as determinative for how the court will lean ideologically in the years ahead.
Decoding Discipleship Myths: Your Sermon is Enough
It is often innocent enough as an assumption, but that is exactly what it is, an assumption. The senior pastor assumes that all the people of the church just need the sermon for spiritual growth. So groups are given discussion guides, or a series of questions, to come together in their small groups to talk about the sermon from that Sunday morning. Of course, the expectation is that every group member has seen/heard the sermon to some capacity, which is rare.
Convicted and Barred
In a ruling with major legal and political implications, Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement by a French court earlier this week. Le Pen, a leading political opponent of France President Emmanuel Macron, was sentenced to two years of house arrest and two years of a suspended prison sentence, both of which will not be served until an appeal is heard. Perhaps more significantly, Le Pen is immediately barred from seeking public office for five years. The ban is in effect even as an appeal moves forward.
A Quiet Soul
We have stopped living in a quiet world. Now, that doesn’t have to mean sound in our lives. Take stock for 10 minutes of how many notifications come across your phone. How many emails? How many messages? How many news updates? How many dings, pings, and vibrations happen in your life in any given amount of time. Our world has become loud.
Dueling Budgets
Perfectly Imperfect
We are an unusual lot, we humans. Perhaps even more to the point, we are an unusual lot, we Jesus followers.
German Elections
Germany has a new presumptive Chancellor and the prospect of a new coalition government after German voters went to the polls and awarded the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party more than 28% of the seats in parliament.
Decoding Discipleship Myths: Attendance equals growth
Far too many myths exist within the church about what it means to grow spiritually and how a church facilitates that growth. The goal of these articles is to identify those myths and give thought to how to possibly overcome those myths within your organization.