The Focused Pastor

09/08/2026

Did you know that 70-80% of young people lose their faith after leaving their parent’s home? It's a staggering number, which is why we need to do something about it. Join us this week as host Dave Stone sits down with Dr. Danny Huerta to discuss why so many young people walk away from their faith, and what parents, and churches, can do to help children build strong, lasting relationships with Christ.

Watch the full episode here

https://youtu.be/mkgH1jsU3iA

09/02/2026

There's a particular kind of regret in this: not failure, but silence. A moment that could have been used to speak up, and wasn't.

It's worth sitting with today, not just reading past.

For anyone drawn to Charles Spurgeon's life and preaching, we put together a documentary on his sermon "Compel Them to Come In." Link in comments.

08/28/2026

Charles Spurgeon once arrived late to a village service where his grandfather was already preaching. As he walked in, his grandfather paused and said it plainly: his grandson might be the better preacher, but he did not have a better gospel to bring.

That line still holds. Skill in the pulpit will always vary from one pastor to the next. The gospel does not get better with more talent behind it. It is the same message Spurgeon's grandfather carried, the same one Spurgeon carried after him, and the same one every pastor carries into a pulpit this Sunday.

08/27/2026

Spurgeon preached like a man who had already been in the room. He had sat with the dying often enough to know what holds and what gives out, and that knowledge worked its way into how he pleaded from the pulpit. He was reporting what he had seen.

Every pastor eventually gets that same education. It usually arrives without warning, in a hospital corridor or a living room full of relatives, and it changes how you preach the following Sunday.

Spurgeon carried that same urgency into pulpits for decades. Our short film digs into one of his most direct appeals, "Compel Them to Come In," with historian Geoff Chang unpacking what he was actually doing when he preached it. 🎥

See comments for link to the full documentary.

08/25/2026

He was 24. The congregation numbered in the thousands. And on a December morning in 1858, Charles Spurgeon stood up and begged them to come to Christ.

"Compel Them to Come In" is the sermon where Spurgeon held the sovereignty of God and open-armed pleading together in the same breath, and it has been reprinted more than almost anything else he preached.

Historian Geoff Chang unpacks the sermon and what it asks of pastors who preach the same doctrine today.

Full 30-minute documentary — link below in the comments. 👇

08/25/2026

Leadership isn't built on talent alone, and if you want your leadership ability to grow, there are five questions you must continually ask yourself. Join us this week as Dave Stone goes solo to share five essential questions every Christian leader must wrestle with throughout their ministry.

Watch the full episode here:

Leadership isn't built on talent alone, and if you want your leader...

08/21/2026

Nobody knows his name.

The preacher scheduled to speak that Sunday never made it through the snow. A layman stood up instead, took one verse, and pleaded with the dozen or so people in the room to stop looking to themselves and look to Christ. It converted Charles Spurgeon.

Full mini-doc dropping next week on YouTube, featuring historian Geoff Chang. Subscribe to The Focused Pastor channel so you don't miss it!

08/20/2026

During the Down-Grade Controversy, Charles Spurgeon willingly lost influence, friendships, and public approval rather than compromise biblical truth. As he said, "For my part, I am quite willing to be eaten of dogs for the next fifty years; but the more distant future shall vindicate me."

08/18/2026

How do you minister to someone who feels beyond hope? Join us this week as host Dave Stone sits down with Kristen Jane Anderson for a deeply honest conversation about depression, shame, healing, and the life-changing power of God's grace. Whether you're walking with someone through their darkest season or carrying hidden burdens yourself, this episode offers the encouragement you need. Watch the full episode here:

How do you minister to someone who feels beyond hope? Join us this ...

08/13/2026

Spurgeon had to tell his own students to stop bragging about their numbers.

Preachers in his day would stand up and announce exactly how many people got saved the night before, like a scoreboard. He called it "counting of unhatched chickens." A conversion, he said, takes a lifetime to prove out. You can't tally it overnight.

Ministry hasn't changed as much as we'd like to think.

Has it ever tempted you to confuse fruitfulness with faithfulness?

Let us know in the comments.