November 18, 2022
Advent Resources for 2022
In the early days of Advent, we drive out to the Beck family farm to cut down a Christmas tree. Our only rule is it must be shorter than “Mom” so it will fit in our house. This rule is…
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November 3, 2022
Enjoying Jesus and Serving Jesus
Every good journey begins with a fresh awareness. An awakening perhaps. This article is written for those in ministry whose enjoyment of Jesus is missing in the current season. It is for those who deeply desire to ENJOY JESUS and…
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June 22, 2022
Equipping Disciples for Transformation
When you look at the equipping ministry of Jesus, and then consider common equipping practices today, it is clear that many of us have gaps in our approach. So much of our training merely informs people, leading them to gain…
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June 6, 2022
A Call to Fight for the Joy of Unity
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It…
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May 16, 2022
A Pathway for Discipleship
You’ve heard it said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” The same can be said of our disciple-making strategies. Jesus made it clear that our mission as His disciples is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing…
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March 29, 2022
Pastor, Prioritize the “Mini-Retreat”
Craving a “Date” with Jesus Pastoral ministry comes with some of the greatest joys and deepest sorrows. I remember a particularly draining season, filled with all kinds of discouragements. I was doubting my own effectiveness at discipling others, feeling the…
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March 1, 2022
Culture Makers
Since the beginning of creation, humanity has been creating and cultivating—bringing into existence new ideas and new life, while simultaneously establishing a culture where ideas and life either flourish or flail. As Andy Crouch states in his book Culture Making,…
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February 16, 2022
Holistic Discipleship
Discipleship is a holistic enterprise. Any discipleship process that leads people to become more like Jesus will address the head, heart, and hands—what people know, what people feel and believe, and what people do. Whenever the people under our leadership…
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February 8, 2022
A Lament Over the Disunity of the Church
Author’s Note: I love the Church. When and where she is healthy, I celebrate with joy. Where she remains broken and dysfunctional, I grieve with a pain that is emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal. She often hurts me, and…
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November 22, 2021
Missional Community Living
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” - King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 3:1 This past weekend my two boys and I road-tripped deep into Appalachia, passing through North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. Our…
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November 15, 2021
Gospel City Hubs
We don’t go to church; we are the church. Our goal is not to get people to just come to our church gatherings. Our goal is to remind and equip the Church, God’s people, to be the means through which…
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September 23, 2021
Pastor, Let Your Plans Get Interrupted
When Plans Get Interrupted I am bi-vocational. That means I regularly wish I had more time to devote to all that I need to do (and want to do). My first year as bi-vocational pastor of my church was a…
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September 7, 2021
Deacons
We are so excited about the release of our newest resource “Strong Church: Video Series + Workbook” that we want to offer everyone a glimpse into this new content. The Strong Church Video Series + Workbook is designed to assist you,…
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September 2, 2021
Leadership Development
We are so excited about the release of our newest resource "Strong Church: Video Series + Workbook" that we want to offer everyone a glimpse into this new content. The Strong Church Video Series + Workbook is designed to assist you,…
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August 23, 2021
15 Commitments of a Strong Church
“WE ARE ALL START-UPS NOW” This was Andy Crouch’s insightful prediction early on about the coming fallout for organizations in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic. While many did not want to believe this was their situation, coming into Fall…
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June 29, 2021
5 Ways To Equip Disciples as Gospel Ministers
Church leader? Your job is not to do the ministry for the church, but to equip the church to be gospel ministers. Habakkuk 2:14 speaks of a day when “The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the…
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May 13, 2021
Toss Your Net
After working tirelessly only to see so many potential hopes, dreams, and plans for ministry fall apart, this past year has left many burnt-out and tempted to question their direction from the Lord. Additionally difficult, our culture has fostered…
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April 28, 2021
Better Together
Saturate believes that God's people are better as we labor alongside and serve together. Every follower of Jesus has some strengths and some needs, and God designed each church to thrive as we mutually give and receive from each other.…
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April 22, 2021
Equipping the Wife of the Church Planter
One of the most surprising realities in much church planter/pastor training in North America is the lack of focus on the planter/pastor's wife. While this is likely unintentional, it seems that the vital role wives play in church planting or…
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April 19, 2021
Reframing Where We Are
This blog is an excerpt from our recently released Leader Cohort Series. We designed this series of videos and guides to help groups of pastors and leaders to meet together in cohorts for the purpose of growing in health, learning…
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April 14, 2021
Developing Holistic, Healthy Church Planters
One of the more difficult aspects of church planting comes long before the church is ever planted. It isn’t that the planting of the church is easy, but there is a reality that the actual planting of the church…
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March 15, 2021
Communion in Community
Holy Week is almost here and we have the opportunity to remember in our missional communities that what Jesus accomplished for us two thousand years ago matters in our lives today. The gospel isn’t just the good news that…
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February 11, 2021
Why Practice Lent as a Community on Mission?
What is Lent? Lent is a forty-day-long journey through daily and sometimes hourly reminders of the gospel because our stomachs are hungry or our hearts are longing for something we seemingly can’t live without. Lent and the celebration of Easter…
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December 10, 2020
Leading Churches Through This COVID Season
This is Part 2. See more responses in the previous post here. We reached out to a few churches from different cities and contexts and asked them to share how they are navigating COVID. We hope their responses encourage…
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December 7, 2020
Leading Churches Through This COVID Season
We reached out to a few churches from different cities and contexts and asked them to share how they are navigating COVID. We hope their responses encourage you with the unique challenges and opportunities we are all encountering…
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October 6, 2020
Our Job Is Not to Be Jesus
Pastoral ministry can be a hazardous occupation. Many get into this work with a noble and godly calling: to bring glory to Jesus by shepherding and equipping his flock to make disciples who make disciples. However, too many of…
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August 31, 2020
Two Elements of a Missional Movement
(Post two in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read part one here.) It’s going to take both missional church plus missional disciples to make a missional movement. Let’s start this journey to what we call “missionality” with a big…
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July 15, 2020
Practical Questions to Identify Leadership Idols
As a leader, I find my heart constantly running after new gods; the things in which I pursue greater satisfaction, greater security, and greater significance. Only Jesus can save me from such rampant idolatry. However, I must be intentional…
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June 22, 2020
The Importance of Relational Health for Leaders
This post is the fifth post in a series based on a conversation with Rich Plass on the Saturate Podcast. You can listen to the episode here. Jared Pickney: Rich, we know you've done a lot of work on…
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June 8, 2020
Relational Challenges in the Family of God
This post is the fourth post in a series based on a conversation with Rich Plass on the Saturate Podcast. You can listen to the episode here. Brad Watson: I think what you’ve described is some of the beauty…
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May 27, 2020
The Effects of Relational Wounds
This post is the third post in a series based on a conversation with Rich Plass on the Saturate Podcast. You can listen to the episode here. Jared Pickney: That's helpful. Would you say that one of the…
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May 18, 2020
Permeable Souls
This post is the second post in a series based on a conversation with Rich Plass on the Saturate Podcast. You can listen to the episode here. Adam Breckenridge: Rich, I've heard you say that we are permeable souls.…
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May 12, 2020
We Are Relational Beings with a Relational God
This post is the first in a series based on a conversation with Rich Plass on the Saturate Podcast. You can listen to the episode here. Brad Watson: Jared Pickney, Adam Breckenridge, and myself were able to talk with…
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April 7, 2020
Leading Well
It was not a question I ever expected; it was not a question I ever thought I’d have to answer. A half-week into the COVID-19 lockdown, I ended an email to a pastor with the phrase, “Let me know…
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March 24, 2020
The Power of Waiting and Remembering
There’s a time to create content and build a resource. And then there’s a time to stop, wait, feel, listen, and pray. As a team at Saturate, we’ve felt the need to go slow and not rush. We believe we…
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March 3, 2020
Creating a Culture of Leadership Development
What are the most strategic ways to use your time in ministry? Next to corporate and individual prayer, I would argue that leadership development is the highest leverage way to spend your time. When others can do more, we…
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