Category: Living

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones is joined by Andrea Jones and Pamela Nelson for a conversation on ministry burnout, emotional health, and the inner life of a leader. Pamela brings her experience as a pastor, biblical counselor, coach, and spiritual director to help church planters recognize the warning signs they often ignore: anxiety, numbness, overwork, isolation, unprocessed grief, and the pressure to keep performing when their soul is running on empty. Together, they talk about why emotional health is not optional for leaders, how identity can become tangled up in ministry success, and why pastors need safe people, honest confession, rhythms of rest, and space to bring hidden beliefs into the light. The conversation also gets personal as Peyton reflects on his own experience with exhaustion, anxiety, and the cost of pushing too hard for too long. If you are planting, leading, or carrying the weight of ministry, this episode is an invitation to slow down, pay attention to your soul, and let God restore what has been depleted. Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode: Pamela Nelson: pamelanelson.org NewBreedTraining.com The post CPP #648 – “How to Lookout for Burnout” is now live! appeared first on Newbreed Training.

On an early Saturday morning, my husband, three kids, and I piled into our van and headed to the remote control flying field near our house. As the sun crawled up into the sky, we took turns flying our airplanes in circles and figure eights beneath the clouds above us. Our family has been flying…

The so-called pastoral epistles (leadership letters) are chock full of wisdom on the nature of spiritual leadership. But often when we study Titus or 1-2 Timothy, we fail to take them in full context. Paul wrote these letters to men he mentored and trained, but not just for their personal benefit. These were written for…

Why Do Places and Land Matter? We live in places without knowing them. We can pass through the thick and varied landscapes of God’s world without seeing or knowing them. So why should we care about the places we inhabit? First, God cares about the physical world, so we should too. Evidence is everywhere throughout…

Churches in America grew rapidly between 1990 and 2006. We built bigger buildings, launched better programs, hired more staff. From the platform, it looked like success. Then someone did the math. The number of people born in the United States during those 16 years equaled the size of the American church in 1990. Yet the…

Guy Kapeliela terrified people. Large, violent, and drug-addicted, he was the fear of Kailua. His troubled adolescence cost him a football scholarship. Anger and intimidation were his tools for engaging others. Then Jesus grabbed him. Guy became soft, shy, humble—but no leader. He struggled with dyslexia and spoke pidgin English, which embarrassed him. He worked…

We had $2,100 in savings when we moved to plant Hope Chapel. Our weekly salary that first month? Fifteen dollars. For context, our rent was $225. Do the math—it doesn’t work. Ruby sold Avon cosmetics door-to-door. I delivered gospel literature on foot because we couldn’t afford postage. Someone gave us money to give away 20,000…

Jeff MacKay showed up at our Hermosa Beach church looking like the last guy you’d tap for leadership. Blond surfer hair falling in his face, wire-rimmed glasses sliding down his nose, mild dyslexia. We hired him to run our print shop. We fired him for sloppy work. Two weeks later, he asked if he could…

My dentist had me pinned in the chair, mouth propped open, when he delivered the line that would name a book I eventually wrote, “You’ll never let go of the ring, Frodo. They never do.” Ken was right to be skeptical. I was leaving a church of 2,000 people—during a time when the Associated Press…

Why Do People Give? It sounds like a simple question, but the truth is, the answer is different for everyone. Some give to make a difference. Others, to feel connected to something bigger. Many give because they believe in a mission, a person, or a vision of a better future. Whatever the reason, giving is…