I’ve had the incredible opportunity to get to know Brad Cooper, Lead Pastor of Newspring Church. The ripple effect of Brad’s life is something he will never be able to measure. His heart for God truly keeps me anchored.

In my book Stalled, I share about something called “the sweet spot.” This illustration came from Brad during a planning retreat I was hosting with a church staff I was on a few years ago. So I wanted to ask him to come share about it on the podcast, and offer you encouragement.

Brad is a preacher at heart, and you’ll feel that during this episode. I pray God uses this episode to encourage your heart and bring clarity to your life and ministry!

 

Key Takeaways

1) You need real community in your life. There’s a lot of false community in our world today. Ministry leaders are easily isolated, which won’t be fixed without intention. Pursue friendships where you don’t feel like you have to have your guard up all the time.

2) The unique things God has called us to are going to push us out of our comfort zone. As we serve in the areas that God has gifted us, that doesn’t mean we are ministering in our comfort. It does, however, mean we are fulfilling our purpose and giftings as God leads us to places we could never imagine.

3) We’ve let the idea of “revival” be diluted. Brad shares that we’ve settled for “casual Christian living” to be our definition for revival taking place. Let’s not settle for something that’s less than what God desires for our community.

Links to Resources Mentioned or Related

• NewSpring Church
• [Book] The Coddling of the American Mind
• Read Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There By Now

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