Field Notes for Pastors

In this episode, we sit down with Vincent Bacote to consider how pastors faithfully lead their congregations amid cultural, racial, and political complexity. We reflect on the pressures ministry leaders face in polarized environments and explore how theological depth and spiritual maturity shape wise pastoral guidance. We discuss how pastors form communities that engage the public square without b...

In this episode, we welcome spiritual director Kelly Erickson to explore spiritual direction and its vital role in sustaining the pastoral and ministry calling. We discuss how spiritual direction creates a sacred space of listening, silence, and attentiveness to God, especially for those carrying the pressures and expectations of leadership. We reflect on how practices like solitude, silence, Sabb...

In this episode, we sit down with artist and photographer Asher Imtiaz to explore what it means to truly see others through practices of attention, presence, and connection. Drawing from Asher’s experience as a Christian minority from Pakistan and his long-term work with refugees and asylum seekers, we reflect on seeing as an act of love that requires time, vulnerability, and a willingness to be c...

In this episode, we talk with pastor and author Daniel Grothe about the importance of place, presence, and agrarian imagery in shaping a faithful approach to ministry. Together, we explore how practices like gardening, shepherding, and rootedness help us resist abstraction and rediscover the incarnational nature of Christian leadership. Daniel shares stories from his own life and church that revea...

In this episode, we talk with Shanthini Baskaran about spiritual formation, soul care, and the inner life of those called to ministry. Together, we explore how busyness, identity, and constant demands can quietly erode our attentiveness to God, even when we are doing God’s work. Shanthini invites us into a vision of prayer, rest, and community that is rooted in deep intimacy with Jesus and sustain...

In this episode, we explore Steve Smith’s journey through ministry, burnout, and the rediscovery of his identity as God’s beloved. We reflect together on how performance, busyness, and the “empire church” shape us, and how practices of silence, solitude, and Sabbath can reawaken our souls. We consider the courageous inner work that leads from exhaustion to renewal and talk about the invitations Go...

In this episode, we explore how metaphors and stories shape the way we understand ministry, leadership, and even our own souls. Together with Greg Marshall, we reflect on why storytelling is not just a communication tool but a framework that gives meaning, alignment, and direction to churches and organizations. We discuss the power of agrarian metaphors—especially gardening—for pastors, and how th...

In this episode, we talk with Mandy Smith about the calling of the pastor as a vocation of paying attention—to God, to ourselves, and to the communities we serve. We explore vulnerability, human limitation, and the difference between living from a false self shaped by expectations and a true self grounded in God’s call. Together, we reflect on authority, creativity, discernment, and what it means...

In this episode, we reflect with Bishop Walter Harvey on the deep connection between pastoral calling, long-term faithfulness, and attentiveness to context. We explore what it means to shepherd people over decades, cultivating flourishing through healthy marriages, prayerful lives, friendships, and humility. Together, we wrestle with the importance of exegeting both church and community, learning...

In this episode, we reflect with Winn Collier on pastoral calling and identity, returning again and again to the conviction that being a pastor is fundamentally about God, not performance, personality, or success. We talk honestly about the cultural pressures that distort pastoral ministry and the fear that keeps us from embracing weakness, vulnerability, and humility. Together, we explore how fri...