The thrill of a fresh start is easy to love. The quiet grind of staying when it’s ordinary, costly, or unclear—that’s where character is forged. We walk through Acts 20 to trace how a fragile young church learned to endure without fireworks, celebrity, or momentum: through a presence that steadies, a humility that tells the truth, and a grace that keeps working when the room empties.

We start with the human pull toward beginnings: engagements, baptisms, new roles. Then we move with Paul through cities where he doesn’t pitch a plan so much as lend his shoulder. The Greek sense of “encourage” is to strengthen and comfort, and that embodied care sets the tone. A late-night gathering turns tragic when a young man falls from a third-story window, and Luke—the physician-writer watching it all—records his death and restoration. The point is not to crown Paul; it’s to reveal a Spirit that remains when leaders move on.

From there, we press into leadership with a different currency. Paul doesn’t wave results; he invites people to remember his tears, meals, conflicts, and humility. He confesses the Spirit is sending him toward suffering and treats hardship as confirmation of calling, not a detour to avoid. Integrity shows up as alignment between belief and behavior, even when change is slow. Paul’s charge to elders is razor clear: guard your heart, then guard the flock. The church is a blood-bought people, not a brand or platform. Distortion is not harmless; it’s drift back toward old masters. Vigilance becomes love with a backbone—resisting gossip, celebrity, and cynicism while elevating Christ above preference.

We close with four practices for a steady community: stay long enough to be formed, live transparently so your life—not your image—can be seen, guard carefully to shape a healthy culture, and release trustingly when seasons change. Across it all, one anchor holds: grace builds what leadership can’t, protects what pressure threatens, and keeps us when impressiveness runs dry. If this season feels heavy or unsure, you’re not failing; you’re in the space where endurance is formed. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage to stay, and leave a review with the one practice you’ll put into play this week.

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If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

For inquiries, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us at help@madisonchurch.com.

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New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

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This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

Ever been sure you handled conflict “the right way” and still couldn’t land on the same page? We explore one of Scripture’s most honest moments: when Paul and Barnabas, two trusted leaders with years of shared wins, hit a sharp disagreement over John Mark and choose to part ways. Luke gives us no juicy motives and crowns no winner. Instead, he shows us what comes next: the mission doesn’t stall. It multiplies.

We walk through how Paul and Silas press on, Timothy joins, and new churches take shape—while Barnabas invests in Mark, the once unreliable companion who becomes a trusted partner, a Gospel author, and a pillar in the early church. Along the way we tackle hard questions: Can separation be faithful? What does obedience look like when clarity never arrives? How do we release the need to be right and still take responsibility for wisdom and care?

This conversation is both pastoral and practical. We talk about naming grief when relationships change, refusing to recruit sides, and trusting God with unfinished people, including ourselves. We challenge the efficiency mindset that confuses speed with faith and anxiety with discernment, and we draw hope from a God who keeps working beyond our control and on timelines we don’t choose. If your life holds unresolved endings at home, work, or church, this story offers permission to be faithful without being vindicated, and courage to believe that unfinished does not mean failed.

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who needs hope in a hard season, subscribe for more thoughtful teaching, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

For inquiries, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us at help@madisonchurch.com.

For the latest updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow us on social media:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

If you'd like to support the show, you can make a donation here. Your generosity helps us continue to bring you meaningful content.

This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.

A young movement is spreading fast across the Roman world—and friction follows. When believers from different cultures collide in Antioch and Jerusalem, a hard question rises to the surface: do Gentile Christians need to carry the full weight of the Law to truly belong? We walk through Acts 15 and the Jerusalem council, where testimony, Scripture, and courage converge to protect the heart of the gospel.

We share how Paul and Barnabas arrive in Jerusalem with stories of Gentile transformation, how the church chooses to listen before judging, and how fear of Rome’s power feeds the impulse to control. Then Peter reframes the debate: God knows the heart, has given the Holy Spirit without distinction, and saves by grace—not by a yoke no one could bear. James anchors the decision in the prophets, arguing that welcoming outsiders was always part of God’s plan. Together they remove barriers to belonging while offering practical guidance to avoid idolatry and preserve table fellowship across cultures.

Along the way, we draw out four enduring practices: remember your faith when anxiety rises, love your neighbor by clearing the path to Jesus, resist legalism that sneaks in as “standards,” and name modern idols that compete with allegiance to Christ—success, power, identity, or even ministry itself. If you’ve wrestled with where conviction meets compassion, this conversation offers a path forward: clarity on essentials, wisdom on non-essentials, and charity in all things. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review telling us which barrier you think the church should remove first.

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing to Madison Church on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback means the world to us, so please take a moment to leave a review and share the podcast with your friends and family.

For inquiries, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please reach out to us at help@madisonchurch.com.

For the latest updates and behind-the-scenes content, follow us on social media:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

New episodes are released every Monday, so mark your calendars and join us weekly!

If you'd like to support the show, you can make a donation here. Your generosity helps us continue to bring you meaningful content.

This podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. The views expressed by the hosts or guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Madison Church. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. For detailed information regarding our terms of use and privacy policy, please visit our website.

Thank you for being part of the Madison Church community! We appreciate your support.