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Power can look polished, prayerful, and even generous—until you notice every decision was made before the meeting. We take a hard look at church boss syndrome through the story of Diotrephes in 3 John and ask a pressing question: who really leads, the Spirit or the strongest personality? Drawing from pastoral experience, we reveal how quiet control grows: backchannel conversations, “concerned” phone calls, strategic lunches, and gifts that feel like blessings but function as leverage.

We unpack why control often springs from insecurity and how identity in Christ frees leaders from needing the spotlight. Then we contrast two paths: the boss who drives outcomes in the dark and the shepherd who empowers people in the light. Using 1 Peter 5 as our guide, we outline practical guardrails for healthy authority—transparent decision-making, shared leadership, documented processes, and financial policies that prevent any one giver from owning the ministry. We also name the subtle signals of manipulation: outcomes pre-set by a few, pressure on pastors to “fall in line,” and piety used to defend a seat at the table rather than to seek truth.

This conversation equips pastors, elders, deacons, and faithful members to protect the flock without becoming combative. You’ll learn how to address leverage with clarity, replace obligation with gratitude, and keep the mission central when personalities try to take the wheel. The bottom line is simple and non-negotiable: the church belongs to Christ. Authority is stewardship, not possession, and you cannot build the house of Jesus with the tools of control.

If this resonates, share it with your team, subscribe for more practical, biblical leadership insights, and leave a review to help other churches guard their hearts and keep Christ at the center.

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For many believers, the Lord’s Supper has become a quiet, heavy ritual. We bow our heads, think about how bad we are, and focus on how much Jesus suffered for us. But is that really what the table was meant to be?

In this episode, I invite you to revisit the Lord’s Supper through the lens of covenant, not performance. We walk from Abraham’s one-sided promise, through the Passover, and into the New Covenant table Jesus so deeply desired to share with His disciples. This is not about earning forgiveness. It is about sharing life.

Jesus said, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” The table is about union. Christ in us. Us in Christ. Not reaching for God, but resting in the God who already reached for us.

I share honestly from my own journey out of performance-based religion and into grace. We look closely at what it really means to take the Lord’s Supper “unworthily,” and why Paul said, “examine yourself, and so let him eat.” The table is not a place of exclusion. It is a place of healing, renewal, and rest.

The Lord’s Supper is not about trying harder to be holy. It is about receiving the life of Jesus, like a spiritual IV, flowing through us as we abide in Him. It is a celebration, not a sentence. A covenant reminder, not a condemnation.

If you have ever felt unworthy, exhausted, or hesitant to come to the table, this episode is for you. The table is set. You are welcome. And you can finally stop performing and start resting in what Christ has already finished.

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What if the table you keep trying to earn is already set for you?

In this episode, we explore the Lord’s Supper through the lens of covenant, not performance. Jesus said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” On the eve of the cross, His heart was not focused on inspection, but on fellowship.

We trace the table back before the Upper Room to a dark field in Genesis 15, where God put Abraham to sleep and walked the covenant path alone. That one-sided promise, sealed in blood, shapes everything we celebrate at the Lord’s Supper. The bread and the cup are not a test of worthiness, but a witness to finished work.

We also walk through Exodus 12 and the Passover, where protection rested on seen blood, not felt holiness. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Salvation, safety, and nourishment have always flowed from what God provides, not what we perform.

If you’ve ever approached communion feeling anxious, unworthy, or unsure, this episode invites you to rest. You are desired at the table. You are safe behind the blood. You are fed by His life.

Stop earning your seat. The King invited you.

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We all know the "Pharisee" characters in the Bible—the ones who stood on street corners and judged others. But the "Pharisee spirit" is more subtle than we think. It’s the inner voice that prioritizes rules over relationships and performance over presence.In this episode, Austin Gardner dives into the mirror of his own 50-year journey in leadership and missions. He discusses how legalism often starts as a desire for excellence but can end up as a shield that prevents us from being truly vulnerable with God and others.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why we use religious rules to hide our own insecurities.
• Three clear signs that "the Pharisee" is taking over your heart.
• How Austin’s battles with cancer and COVID shattered his own need to "perform" and led him to deeper grace.

If you’ve ever felt the exhaustion of trying to be "perfect" for God, this conversation is for you.

📘 Order "Pain to Praise" on Amazon
🚀 Leadership Training: Visit Alignment Ministries at https://www.alignmentministries.com/

🌐 More Resources: Visit https://waustingardner.com

Support the show: If this message helped you breathe a little easier today, please leave a review and share it with a friend who needs this reminder of grace.

Keywords/Tags:
Pharisee, Legalism, Grace, Faith, Personal Growth, Ministry Leadership, Spiritual Health, Austin Gardner, Alignment Ministries, Pain to Praise

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There are moments in life when we feel completely alone, as if no one truly understands the depth of our pain or the weight of our burdens. But Scripture reminds us of a powerful name for God: El Roi—The God Who Sees.In this second episode of our podcast, Austin Gardner shares from his own journey of overcoming health battles and deep personal loss to show how God’s presence is most real in the places we think are hidden.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The story of Hagar and the first time God is called "The God Who Sees."
• How to find comfort when you feel overlooked by others.
• Trusting God’s plan even when you can’t see the way out.

You are not forgotten, and you are not alone. God sees you exactly where you are today.

📘 Order "Pain to Praise" on Amazon: here
🚀 Leadership Training: Visit Alignment Ministries at https://www.alignmentministries.com/
🌐 More from Austin: https://waustingardner.com

Support the show: If this episode encouraged you, please share it with one person who needs to know they are seen today.

Keywords/Tags:
The God Who Sees, El Roi, Hope, Healing, Faith, Austin Gardner, Alignment Ministries, Christian Encouragement

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https://waustingardner.com/the-big-leap-of-faith-believing-god-loves-you-exactly-as-you-are/

W. Austin Gardner
Podcast: followedbymercy.buzzsprout.com
https://waustingardner.com/book-page/

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Are you waiting until your life is "perfect" before you finally approach God? In this episode, we talk about the "Internal Delay"—the feeling that we have to clean ourselves up before we are worthy of peace.

The truth is, the greatest leap of faith isn’t just believing God exists; it’s believing He loves you exactly as you are, right in the middle of your mess.

What we cover in this episode:

• The "Performance Trap" in our spiritual lives.
• Why Jesus spent His time with "messy" people.
• How to take the "Big Leap" into grace.

Read the full Hub Article here:
https://waustingardner.com/the-big-leap-of-faith-believing-god-loves-you-exactly-as-you-are/

#Faith #Grace #PersonalDevelopment #WAustinGardner #ChristianLeadership

My Books: https://waustingardner.com/book-page/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/austin-gardner
Hub Article: https://waustingardner.com/the-big-leap-of-faith-believing-god-loves-you-exactly-as-you-are/

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Most people don’t become Pharisees because they stop loving God.
They become Pharisees because they love Him deeply and are afraid of losing Him.

This episode begins with the prayer of Psalm 139:23–24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” It is a confession, not an accusation. I share how my own journey into a Pharisee spirit did not start with rebellion or pride, but with devotion. A sincere hunger to please God slowly turned into pressure to perform. Tenderness gave way to control. Grace was still talked about, but fear quietly took over.

I talk honestly about how peer pressure, spiritual comparison, and the desire to belong to the serious crowd can harden a heart without us even noticing. How we start drawing lines God never asked us to draw. How we defend doctrine more than we love people. How exhaustion replaces joy when performance replaces relationship.

The tragedy of the Pharisee is not that he loved God too much.
It is that he did not believe God loved him.

This is not a message of condemnation. It is an invitation back to rest. Back to union. Back to living from God instead of for God. When we finally believe we are already loved, something in us relaxes. We stop striving, comparing, and policing. And real holiness begins to grow again, not out of fear, but out of love.

If you have ever felt your faith grow dry, your prayers mechanical, or your joy fade while trying to be faithful, this conversation is for you. I am not sharing from a place of arrival, but from the middle of my own journey. And maybe, in some way, it is yours too.

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Ever wake up soul tired? Not physically exhausted, but drained deep inside. You love God. You’re trying to do what’s right. And yet the joy feels gone, like your strength has quietly leaked away.

In this episode, we take a fresh look at one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible: “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Most of us were taught that joy is something we have to work up. Pray harder. Sing louder. Try to feel happier. But that isn’t what Scripture says. In Nehemiah 8, the people were weeping under conviction, and God interrupted their sorrow with grace. He didn’t demand more effort. He invited them to rest, to feast, and to receive His joy.

We explore the life-changing truth that the joy of the Lord is not you rejoicing in God, but God rejoicing over you. Drawing from Nehemiah 8, Zephaniah 3:17, Romans 8:31, John 15:11, Psalm 16:11, and Hebrews 12:2, this conversation reframes joy as confidence in God’s favor, not emotional positivity or spiritual performance. Sorrow drains strength. Joy releases it. And that joy is rooted in grace, not how well you’re doing.

This episode speaks honestly about illness, aging, loss, and long seasons where trying harder hasn’t made life easier. We talk about how Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him, and how that same joy steadies us in suffering without denying the pain. Joy doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine. It means trusting God’s love right in the middle of the hurt.

If you’re tired of faking happy, worn out from striving, or quietly wondering where your strength went, this episode offers permission to stop performing and start receiving. God delights in you. He sings over you. And His joy is strong enough to carry you.

Listen, rest, and let His joy be your strength.

#JoyOfTheLord #Nehemiah8 #ChristianEncouragement #GraceNotWorks #SoulTired #SpiritualExhaustion #GodsGrace #GodRejoicesOverYou #FaithAndRest #ChristianPodcast #BibleTeaching #FollowedByMercy

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What if the heaviness you feel isn’t failure at all, but a sign you’ve been carrying a burden God never asked you to lift?

In this episode, we talk honestly about spiritual exhaustion. Not the kind that comes from rebellion, but the kind that settles in on sincere believers who love God and keep trying harder to please Him. We look at how “try harder” faith sneaks in quietly, how devotion turns into pressure, and why so many faithful people feel worn down instead of free.

From Ephesians 2, we’re reminded that we are God’s workmanship, not His unfinished project. From Psalm 147, we hear that the Lord takes pleasure in those who hope in His mercy, not those who hustle for approval. Obedience begins to change shape when you realize you already have God’s smile. It becomes a response to love, not a performance to earn it.

We also talk candidly about aging, illness, discouragement, and that constant sense of never feeling like you’ve done enough. And we name a better way forward. Rest is not a reward for the spiritually elite. It is the foundation of real growth. Transformation happens in safety, not fear.

If your soul feels tired, consider this your permission to stop performing. You don’t need to hide. You don’t need to hustle. You can return, because the door is open and the Father is kind.

#GraceOverGrind #GodsMercy #ChristianEncouragement #FaithAndRest #SpiritualBurnout #GraceNotWorks #RestInGod #HopeInMercy #WearyBelievers #FollowedByMercy

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summary

• In this engaging sermon, Austin Gardner delves into Ephesians chapter two, emphasizing the importance of remembering our past and recognizing the transformative power of Christ in our lives. He highlights how Christians often forget their former state of being without Christ, which can lead to a sense of superiority over others. Gardner stresses that salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our own good works, and encourages listeners to reflect on their journey from being lost to being found in Christ. He passionately reminds the congregation that Jesus is our peace, bridging the gap between God and humanity, and calls for unity among believers, regardless of their backgrounds or pasts.

• Throughout the sermon, Gardner shares personal anecdotes, including the transformation of his father from a troubled past to a life of faith, illustrating the profound change that comes from accepting Christ. He urges the church to embrace a spirit of love and acceptance, rather than judgment, and to remember that all believers are united in their need for grace. Ultimately, the message is one of hope, reconciliation, and the centrality of Jesus in the life of every believer.

keywords

Ephesians, peace, unity, salvation, grace, Jesus, church, transformation, Christian faith, remembrance

takeaways

• We often forget who we were before Christ.
• Salvation is a gift from God, not our own doing.
• Jesus is our peace, bridging the gap between God and us.
• Unity in the church is essential; we are all one in Christ.
• Remembering our past helps us to love and accept others.

Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.