Author: Todd Engstrom
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Revolutionary
We love to call things “revolutionary.” A new idea, a product launch, even a church ministry model—if it breaks the mold, we call it a revolution. The word has become shorthand for anything innovative or disruptive. But at its root, a revolution is simply a turning. One complete cycle—360 degrees. The earth makes a revolution…
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Settled
There’s a word I’ve been carrying with me lately: settled. It’s come up in conversation around our house. We’re getting settled into a new rhythm. Settled in our home. Settled, at least for this season. There’s a kind of peace in that. After a stretch of change—vocational shifts, family transitions, future unknowns—it’s a relief to…
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The Longing Beneath the Form: Ancient Future and Nostalgic Novelty
In a recent conversation with a friend I dearly love, we were talking about what people are longing for these days—particularly in the church. He described it as a hunger for the ancient future—a return to something old, something deep and rooted, that can still guide us into what’s next. The phrase stuck with me.…
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More Than Seen: The Better News of Being Known—and Indwelled
“I feel so seen.”It’s a phrase I hear often. And I get it—it names something powerful. To be seen is to be acknowledged, understood, even honored. In a world marked by loneliness and disconnection, to be seen is a gift. Language like this evolves to express our longings, and this one resonates deeply. Even in…
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Why Multiplication Feels So Far Away
For nearly 20 years, I’ve prayed for and pursued the multiplication of disciples and churches here in Austin, while also supporting the spread of the gospel overseas. I believe multiplication is at the heart of the Great Commission—Jesus calls us to make disciples of all nations, and that work necessarily includes both sending and reproducing.…
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When Life Seems Strange
Lately, I’ve found myself caught in a loop of thought: “Life shouldn’t feel this way.” But the truth is—it does. It feels uncertain. Disorienting. Foreign. And the more I sat with that, the more I began to realize: maybe that’s exactly the point. Scripture speaks of us as “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews…
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Fluent in Feelings, Silent in the Spirit?
Over the past several years, I’ve enjoyed the growing fluency in the language of emotion. Feelings wheels were used in a web design sprint I was involved in. Therapeutic language is more commonplace, for both good and bad. But this all is a vocabulary to help us name our experiences and emotion with nuance and…
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Re-Formation: How is God Reshaping the Church Today?
When we hear the word Reformation, our minds often go to the 16th century—Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and the dramatic upheaval of the Church. That moment in history was a turning point: The Reformation wasn’t just reform for reform’s sake—it was a Spirit-led recalibration around the authority of the Word and the centrality of the gospel.…
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Jesus Has All Authority—Stop “Releasing” People to Do Ministry
I was talking with two friends recently, and one of them was wrestling with something I’ve heard many times before: “I want to make disciples in my home… but I’m not sure if I have permission.” This kind of confusion is more common than we’d like to admit. In many churches, faithful believers are left…
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Extra Ordinary Prayer
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face… then I will hear from heaven…” —2 Chronicles 7:14 In recent weeks, I’ve been praying with different groups across Austin—listening for hunger. Hunger for God. Hunger for His Spirit to move again. Hunger for awakening. And while I’ve…
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Forerunning, Not Competing
I recently got back from a spring break trip to Florida—family, friends, sunshine, the usual mix of chaos and rest that comes with traveling with kids. I left a day early, though. My oldest had a playoff soccer game, so I packed up and hit the road solo while everyone else stayed behind. That night,…
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Lost and Led: Learning to Trust Jesus in the Unknown
I hate feeling lost. I love leading. Recently, I found myself in an environment where I had zero familiarity—a dance competition for my daughter. Let’s just say I’m not exactly a seasoned “dance dad.” I showed up feeling like I had been dropped behind enemy lines with no map. The dance world has its own…