4141 Ministries

08/28/2026

The day calls with urgency. It tells us to get up, get going, and keep moving—but where are we going, and why?

This brief reading is an invitation to pause before the demands of the day take over: to wait, listen, gather ourselves before God, and lift up our souls.

“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.”
—Psalm 143:8 (ESV)

May you hear God’s steadfast love this morning—and find the way for the next faithful step.

You can find my writing, videos, and ways to connect at

08/28/2026

08/23/2026

You’re not going to get anywhere unless you’re going somewhere.

Goals, plans, courses, books, and podcasts can all help—but none of them can substitute for movement. Sometimes preparation becomes a sophisticated hiding place that gives us the illusion of progress while we remain at the starting line.

In this front-porch reflection, I consider:

• Why a destination without movement is only an idea
• How over-preparation can disguise procrastination
• The difference between a strategic pause and indefinite waiting
• Why falling, failing, and encountering obstacles do not disqualify us
• How to choose one visible step to take during the next seven days

A pebble in your shoe may require a brief pause, but it does not require abandoning the race.

What have you been postponing—a blog, book, podcast, business, degree, health goal, or something else?

Tell me in the comments:

1. What are you starting?
2. What is your first step?
3. When will you take it?

Read the Medium essay:
https://medium.com//youre-not-going-to-get-anywhere-unless-you-re-going-somewhere-ed2c0a85e890?sk=f0805d27aa06f75b7a3996c64b9a9ae7

Read the Substack edition and work through the First-Mile Working Session:
https://tomsims.substack.com/p/youre-not-going-to-get-anywhere-unless

More from Tom Sims:
https://linktr.ee/tomsims

08/23/2026

What does it mean to practice pastoral excellence in the movable middle of a polarized world?

“Moderate Christianity” can suggest diluted conviction, timid leadership, or a faith that is neither hot nor cold. But biblical moderation is better understood as gentleness, graciousness, self-control, and disciplined strength.

In this front-porch conversation, I explore how pastors and Christian leaders can:

• Remain centered in Christ without becoming captive to a political camp
• Speak prophetically without becoming partisan
• Hold strong convictions without caricaturing others
• Protect vulnerable people while preserving a broad table
• Practice evangelism as good-news sharing rather than coercion
• Help congregations disagree without destroying fellowship

The Christian center is not automatically halfway between competing positions. It is a place of orientation in Christ—a movable center because the issues and labels surrounding us keep changing.

Read the expanded Substack edition, including the subscriber Pastoral Excellence Field Guide:
https://tomsims.substack.com/p/pastoral-excellence-in-the-movable

Read the Pastoral Excellence edition on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pastoral-excellence-movable-middle-tom-sims-vilvc

YouTube Full Podcast - https://youtu.be/Z4tlp_vvCJc

Connect with Tom Sims:
https://linktr.ee/tomsims

Where have you seen a church carry conviction with humility and love? What practices help people remain at the table when agreement is impossible? Join the conversation in the comments.

08/23/2026

What has you?

In Matthew 19:16–30, a rich young man asks Jesus, “What good thing must I do to have eternal life?” He approaches eternal life as another achievement—something to acquire, possess, and add to everything else he owns.

Jesus meets him where he is, but leads him beyond rule keeping, spiritual accounting, and accumulated merit. He places his finger on the possession that has become possessive and gives the invitation:

Go. Sell. Give. Come. Follow.

The destination is not poverty for poverty’s sake. The destination is discipleship.

The man’s problem is not merely what he lacks. It is what he has—and what has him.

What possesses you? Money? Reputation? Control? Achievement? Resentment? Position? Certainty? Even a carefully maintained religious identity?

Salvation is not another human acquisition. “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

Read the complete reflection and access the subscriber Bible study and group discussion guide:

https://tomsims.substack.com/p/what-has-you

Matthew 19:16–30

Join : https://www.facebook.com/groups/fellowshipofjoy

You can also watch and share from YouTube:https://youtu.be/DiYQIuf_zGs

08/22/2026

Is filtering yourself the same as censoring yourself?

Not necessarily.

Responsible candor does not ask us to abandon conviction or avoid difficult truths. It asks us to remove the reaction, exaggeration, needless injury, and avoidable error that may prevent our real message from being heard.

In this video, I explore what should happen between our first thought and the moment we press **Publish**. I also introduce a seven-part Responsible Candor Check:

1. Internal
2. Intention
3. Outcome
4. Credibility
5. Reception
6. Stewardship
7. Decision

The Substack companion includes the Responsible Candor Grid, a copy-and-complete creator’s worksheet, and a filter-buddy system for reviewing consequential, emotionally charged, or professionally risky material.

Read the complete Substack companion:
https://tomsims.substack.com/p/filtering-ourselves-is-not-censoring

Read the companion Medium essay, **Get the Better of Yourself**:
https://medium.com//get-the-better-of-yourself-587bac42a4f6?sk=5d3d4eb74158764c2119cd22e424d6f2

Find more of my writing, videos, and projects:
https://linktr.ee/tomsims

The question is not merely whether you have something to say. The question is whether you have filtered it enough to make it worth hearing.

08/19/2026

What happens when we hire someone else to do our spiritual knowing?

Micah hired a priest. Then the Danites offered that priest a promotion.

**“And the priest’s heart was glad.” — Judges 18:20**

Judges 17–18 asks some surprisingly contemporary questions about faith, influence, career, discernment—and our temptation to let pastors, experts, personalities, or even AI do our knowing for us.

Use the teachers. Ask the pastor. Read the books. Use the tools.

**But don’t hire someone to have your faith for you.**

BibleChat + subscriber study and pastoral coaching tools:

https://tomsims.substack.com/p/when-we-hire-someone-to-do-our-knowing

08/19/2026

Who is in charge of knowing stuff in your life?

We rely on doctors, lawyers, professors, pastors, authors, advisers, librarians—and now artificial intelligence—to help us find and understand what we need to know. That can be wise. But there is a difference between **consulting expertise and surrendering responsibility**.

AI can help us find information, organize ideas, compare sources, and ask better questions. But neither artificial nor human intelligence can relieve us of the responsibility to think, question, discern, and decide.

**Consult widely. Listen carefully. Use the tools. But do your own knowing.**

Read the full article on Medium: https://medium.com//who-is-in-charge-of-knowing-stuff-in-your-life-233810b77992?sk=efe052f670f6e7ccef021b6fa5485f9f

08/17/2026

What happens when everyone becomes their own moral authority?

Judges 17–18 introduces us to Micah, his homemade shrine, a manufactured idol, and a Levite hired to serve as his personal priest. Everyone uses religious language, but personal preference, superstition, self-interest, and disobedience have become entangled.

Why does the Bible preserve the failures of God’s chosen people? Can our conscience be sincere and still be wrong? Does the priesthood of every believer mean that each person decides truth independently?

In this Bible Chat, we explore the difference between spiritual freedom and religious individualism—and why mature discernment requires the whole witness of Scripture, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of the faith community, and a life centered on Jesus.

Read the complete study and reflection questions:
https://tomsims.substack.com/p/when-everyone-becomes-their-own-moral

08/16/2026

YouTube is more than a place to earn advertising revenue. For coaches, consultants, teachers, speakers, pastors, entrepreneurs, and other thought leaders, it can become an important part of a larger leadership toolkit.

In this video, I speak candidly about my own YouTube journey. My channel has between 45,000 and 46,000 subscribers, yet I remain some distance from meeting YouTube’s qualified watch-time requirement for advertising revenue.

I am still learning the ropes. Much of what I produce is simply a “talking face”—modest production value, but an earnest commitment to high content value.

I also briefly discuss YouTube’s announced Partner Program changes. Beginning February 1, 2027, new creators seeking advertising and YouTube Premium revenue will need 1,000 subscribers and either 8,000 qualified public watch hours during the previous 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days.

But the larger question is not merely, “How do we monetize?”

It is, “Why are we on YouTube in the first place?”

YouTube can help us:

• Reach people where they already are
• Make our ideas discoverable and accessible
• Build credibility and relatability
• Develop a lasting library of useful content
• Connect with clients, readers, listeners, collaborators, and communities
• Support coaching, consulting, speaking, books, courses, newsletters, and other work
• Serve the audience we have while continuing to grow

Read the complete Leaning Leadership Ladder article on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/youtube-more-than-monetizationit-leadership-tool-tom-sims-4wrtc

For practical planning questions, audience-mapping tools, content frameworks, and a 90-day YouTube strategy experiment, read the Substack companion:

https://tomsims.substack.com/p/build-your-youtube-strategy-before

Connect with me and explore more of my work:

https://linktr.ee/tomsims

You may not have expensive equipment, a production team, or a monetized channel. But you have something to say, and you have someone you can help.

Begin with what you have, where you are, serving the people you can reach today.