By Josh Read on Mar 10, 2026
Grace might be the most preached-on topic in the history of the church and the least understood. Every pastor has a grace sermon in their back pocket. The problem isn't that we preach it too rarely. The problem is that we've filed it under "God is nice to us" and moved on.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer identified this seventy years ago and named it precisely: cheap grace. Grace as doctrine, as principle, as system. Grace without discipleship, grace without the cross. Most congregations have heard enough grace sermons to believe God accepts them. Far fewer have heard one that made them uncomfortable.
This outline is for that second sermon. Not grace as comfort but grace as disruption. The kind that doesn't just forgive what you were but refuses to leave you there.
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By Carey Nieuwhof on May 17, 2024
based on 1 rating
| 22,191 views
"If you’ve been in ministry for any length of time, you know the challenge of trying to move the mission forward and handle the pastoral needs of a congregation at the same time. One of the most perplexing problems pastors and church leaders face is how to handle ‘pastoral emergencies’—the crises that come up in the lives of people that they look to you to help solve."
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By Ed Stetzer on Apr 14, 2024
based on 6 ratings
| 22,060 views
I have worked for a long time to help pastors with growth barriers in their church. They can be anything from worship issues to strategy to theology and more. So many barriers can get in the way of a church growing, but a central one isn’t found in the processes of the church.
There may be a number of reasons a ministry grows cold and a church slows down. But often, the heart of the problem is the heart of the pastor.
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By Dan Reiland on Aug 5, 2022
based on 3 ratings
| 21,434 views
Leaders who are fully engaged in their mission fight battles. There is no way to avoid battles if you want to make progress consistently. New territory is never easy, and it always comes at a price. Life never grants a free ride, and leaders don’t receive a “get out of jail free” card when it comes to solving serious problems. The good news is that we don’t fight alone.
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