Ministry Minded

In this episode, I talk about why Jesus never used carpentry in any of his parables, why Tobias Crisp is the “Black Swan of Puritanism,” and why studying the Bible doesn’t necessarily have to have a goal in order for it to be profitable and beneficial. Sometimes God just wants us to go to the Word to enjoy it. Resources. “ The Tales the Carpenter Told ,” Todd Brewer “ Lost & Found: The Purpose of...

In this episode, I share a few brief thoughts on the recent reckoning in the Southern Baptist Convention before zeroing in on the truest hope for our times — namely, that God wastes nothing. Even the days that seem impossibly dark and incredibly inefficient are days in which God’s Word abides forever. Resources. “ How Should Baptists and Christians Respond to the SBC Task Force’s Report on Sexual...

In this episode, I share some thoughts on the recent hullabaloo surrounding the newest Disney/Pixar film Lightyear , plus why Lordship Salvation should be left behind. Resources. “ If ‘Representation’ is the Issue, Where Are Pixar’s Religious Characters? ” Samuel D. James “ Success Of ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ Puts Excuses For Disney’s Failed, Woke ‘Lightyear’ To Bed ,” Jordan Boyd The Preacher’s...

In this episode, I reflect a little on the recent “face-lift” the blog has received, courtesy of my dear friend Sara Bordner; plus I talk about some other stuff relating to social media and the understanding of the self, along with the incandescent hope that’s found in humor. Resources. Paint By S , Sara Bordner Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering , Kelly M. Kapic “ The D...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I get to share a conversation my dad and I were able to have during our recent vacation in South Carolina on how to live fearlessly with “sound of mind” (2 Tim. 1:7) in these evil days. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off!** Notes: Pastor Br...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some reflections on a much-needed vacation spent with family as well as some timely encouragement on the providence of God, whose sovereignty is never in doubt. What’s in front of us and all around might make us believe otherwise. We are very easily swayed into declaring the “end of all things.” But even when all seems dismal, the almighty wi...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I recap some sermons and talk about how God’s grace gives us the freedom to be present , right now, where we are. I also highlight some articles from around the web that have proven enlightening and encouraging. May you be blessed by this brief episode. Grace and peace. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some updates on this “beautifully exhausting” season of life and ministry, as well as the concrete hope of the Word to which the church can cling in times of doubt and fear and frenzy (Heb. 6:19). Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off!...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some personal and ministerial updates for the week, as well as confess my affections for the newest Christian phenomenon, a.k.a., The Chosen . May you be blessed by these reflections. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off!** Notes: Sto...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some encouraging excerpts from 9Marks’ newest online journal, The Ordinary Means of Grace—Or, Don’t Do Weird Stuff . I also talk through 1 Kings 17 and how it might just be the best chapter to illustrate the habit of God to work in and through and with our suffering in order to reveal his saving power. Connect with the show: https://graceupon...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I am thrilled to share mine and Josh Hedger’s discussion of the pastorate and how modernity’s expectations of pastors can create unhealthy and unsustainable ministry environments. May you be blessed by this conversation notwithstanding your current ministerial context. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http:...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I get to reflect on some prescient thoughts and themes that I’ve been considering lately through the course of my sermon series on Philippians, especially as it relates to the ways God confounds our sense and challenges our faith through his divine and sovereign “Deep Magic.” Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some updates on the podcast itself as well as talk through this past week’s sermons and why Psalm 131 constitutes, perhaps, the best picture of what it means to live the life of faith. I also get the thrill of sharing another conversation between myself and my dad, as he and I reflect on the past year of pastoral ministry and the unique chall...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I consider (again) Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount and I also highlight some recent articles from around the web that articulate the growing need for pastor-theologians. It is my aim to encourage the listener that theology isn’t meant to be sequestered in the halls of scholastic thought — it’s meant to richly rejoiced in, lived, and loved by one and all,...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I am thrilled to be joined once again by my dear friend, Obbie Tyler Todd. In this lengthy dialogue, we reflect on an assortment of life- and church-lessons learned through the course of the pandemic. We also dissect his newest book, The Moral Governmental Theory of the Atonement: Re-Envisioning Penal Substitution , in which he endeavors to dissemina...

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some time-management advice via Oliver Burkeman. Also, I get to interact with that massive GQ cover-story profiling the life of troubled pop-star, Justin Bieber. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off!** Notes: Stonington Baptist Church...

It’s time for another edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast. In today’s show, I get to share some reflections on 1 Kings 11 and how the decline of Solomon’s empire actually points to the resolute truth of the God of all grace and the Governor of all history. Indeed, the fact that this history is extant for us at all points to a divine author behind it all. Connect with the show: https://graceupon...

I’m back with another episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast! This time, I share some general thoughts on pastoral ministry before diving into some recent articles which have helped concretize my own convictions concerning the office of pastor. As a young man in ministry, I am so grateful to soak up resources like this which put me on a trajectory for long-term shepherding. Connect with the show:...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on last week in which the Church celebrated Easter Sunday and the good news of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. I spend some time talking through some events and ministry moments that encouraged me in the knowledge the fact of the resurrection, which, I think, is the point of the whole thing. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I chat about a slew of articles that I’ve been chomping at the bit to share with you, including one that shows how Rush Limbaugh and Martin Luther were similar in use of language to make courageous stands for the truth. Of course, Limbaugh and Luther operated in very different fields of expertise, not to mention different centuries, but the truth hol...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I get the privilege to talk with two-thirds of the Theocast crew, pastors and podcasters Jon Moffitt and Justin Perdue. In this encouraging and enriching discussion, we chat about the sufficiency of Christ throughout the life of the Christian and why it’s so important to know that all things are settled already because of Jesus’s work. You can rest,...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I take some time to think out loud about how to deal with the egregious failings of ministry leaders. How can you make sense of their platform life and their personal life? What hope is there for them in the midst of their failure? And what grace is there for those feeling the repercussions of their fall? This is my attempt to articulate some of thos...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on the gospel of God’s comfort and the specific reason why it’s so comforting — namely, because we have a Substitute. I also talk about why Jesus is the true and better hero and why a religion of scorekeeping can never last. Soli Deo Gloria! Amen. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshr...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I think through several different instances and examples which given evidence for the necessity of God’s truth — specifically, the solid rock truth of Christ made sin for us. Such is the only message the world needs to hear. And good thing, too, it’s the only message the church has. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted...

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I think through what it means that Jesus is our “great high priest” and why his is a ministry of mercy for the desperate. I also share some thoughts on the unfolding narrative of the Bible and why Christians everywhere ought to be gorging on the Scriptures. May you be blessed by these thoughts. Grace and peace! Connect with the show: https://graceupo...