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Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

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During World War I, Biddy Chambers, her husband, and small daughter moved to Egypt, where he served as a chaplain. He taught, she transcribed. It was a perfect partnership.

Then her husband’s complications from appendicitis rendered Biddy a widow, and all the dreams of a teaching ministry would have to be abandoned, right? Well, no. She turned her husband’s notes into pamphlets. Eventually, they were compiled into a book, My Utmost For His Highest. This work of Oswald Chambers has sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into more than 35 languages.

The next time you feel overwhelmed, remind yourself of the one who is standing next to you. Give him what you have, offer thanks, and watch him go to work. Remember friends, you are never alone.

Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

It was late fall, and my wife and I were going to take a trip by car. The day before our planned departure, it began to snow, and I suddenly realized I hadn’t taken the car in to have snow tires put on. The snowy, deteriorating conditions led to a long line at the tire shop—something I could have avoided with better planning.

Jimmy Mellado unpacks what the church growth movement got right and wrong from the 90s through 2010s, why concentrated power without governance breaks leaders, the ingredients that go into moral...

Read the whole entry... »

Every ministry has a different assignment, but we are all working toward the same Kingdom mission.

Churches and ministries often serve different communities, meet distinct needs, and carry out their work in unique ways. Yet comparison can quietly turn those differences into competition, shifting our focus from faithfulness to performance.

That raises an important question: What might ministry look like if we stopped measuring ourselves against one another and started seeing each other as fellow laborers in the same work?

ECFA President and CEO Michael Martin and Vice President of Public Affairs Aaron Mercer unpack what happens when accountability is used to build ministries up rather than stack them against each other. Their conversation moves beyond ratings and rankings into something deeper: unity, integrity, and the kind of witness we create when ministries choose to see one another as fellow laborers rather than competitors.

They also explore how ECFA’s accreditation model reflects that conviction. The goal is not to declare one ministry more valuable, effective, or worthy than another. It is to help organizations pursue accountability and faithful stewardship within the unique calling God has given them.

For ministry leaders, donors, and anyone serving in the nonprofit or church space, this conversation is a reminder that we are not rivals. We are part of the same body, serving the same Kingdom, and pursuing the same ultimate mission, even when the work God has placed before us looks very different.

About Aaron Mercer

Aaron Mercer serves as Vice President of Public Affairs at ECFA, where he helps develop resources that support ECFA members in meeting the Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship. He also monitors public policy developments in Washington, D.C., particularly issues affecting churches, ministries, charitable giving, and tax policy.

Aaron joined the ECFA team in 2023 after experience working on Capitol Hill, with nonprofit organizations, and in the local church. In his role, he serves as a connection point between ECFA members and the broader public policy and ministry landscape.

Key Takeaways

• Your calling is not a competition. Ministries may serve in different ways, but we are fellow laborers working toward the same Kingdom mission.
• Faithfulness matters more than comparison. Measuring yourself against another ministry can shift the focus from obedience to performance.
• Don’t let the algorithm become the mission. Ratings, rankings, and external metrics can be useful, but they should never determine what God has called your ministry to pursue.
• Accountability should build ministries up. ECFA’s accreditation model is designed to strengthen integrity without declaring one ministry more valuable than another.
• Donors still need discernment. Accreditation provides meaningful assurance, but it does not replace prayerful decisions about where to give.
• Unity strengthens our witness. How ministries treat one another communicates something important to the watching world.
• Integrity requires ongoing accountability. ECFA accreditation reflects a continuing commitment, not a one-time approval.
• Don’t just display the ECFA seal, explain what it means. Help donors and your community understand why your commitment to accountability and integrity matters.

Additional Resources

ECFA Membership: ECFA.org/join
ECFA Knowledge Center: Resources related to ECFA’s standards and ministry best practices
ECFA Seve

You’ve hit the goals, earned the promotions, and it still feels like it’s never enough. The problem isn’t your ambition. It’s where your ambition is coming from.

Former Googler Brooke Taylor, author of Healing the Success Wound, joins Kwame Christian to unpack the one addiction society applauds: the addiction to achievement. Brooke shares how a stack-ranked sales job at Google, her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis, staying silent about harassment to protect a promotion, and getting sober led her to identify the “success wound,” the pain of mistaking success, productivity, and achievement for self-worth.

Connect with Brooke Taylor:
Book: Healing the Success Wound (Amazon and wherever books are sold)
Coaching: brooketaylorcoaching.com
Instagram: @brookevtaylor

Connect with Kwame:

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Give in Joni's honor for her birthday here!

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Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Do you face 15,000 problems? Before you count yourself out, turn and look at the One standing next to you. Christ can help you do the impossible. You simply need to give him what you have and watch him work.

John 6:11 says, “Jesus took the loaves.” This is the story of the day that Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus women and children. He didn’t have to use the loaves. He made manna fall for the Israelites. Instead, he chose to use the single basket of the small boy.

What’s in your basket? All you have is a wimpy prayer, give it. All you have is a meager skill, use it. All you have is the strength for one step, take it. God used three nails and a crude cross to redeem humanity. If God can turn a basket into a buffet, don’t you think he can do something with your five loaves and two fishes of faith? Remember, you are never alone.

Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

For many years, hope has been one of the most searched terms on the internet. Surprisingly, it surpasses searches for political crises and even making money online. People are seeking more profound meaning.