Greatheart's Table

I’m glad you’ve decided to join us here at Greatheart’s Table . Obviously, I speak that as a metaphor. There is no table and we are not gathered around it. But the metaphor is to encourage what it represents. Pastors need time to actually sit with others, with friends, to talk about life and ministry. We need relationships that encourage conversation and honesty. Pastoral ministry is a vulnerable...

At the same time there may be a gnawing uncertainty about that new strategy or technology. It’s that inner discomfort that we too often suppress that I want to address. We are called to be forward looking, but we also are called to be wise. As always, if you like what you hear here, subscribe, and tell others. I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. Thanks for listening....

Welcome to Greatheart’s Table, a podcast for pastors and those who care for them. My judgment is that most pastors are introverts. We are introverts who can’t be shy, but we are introverts nonetheless. This leads to introspection which can be good for our pastoral honesty and vulnerability. But can also lead to self-condemnation. If we are not careful, we can lose sight altogether of the very gosp...

Welcome to you who are new to the podcast! I encourage you to nose around to other episodes. I’m honored that you would join us. Some of you have reached out to me, given feedback, support, and encouragement, all of which is greatly appreciated. Really. If you are a regular listener, I hope you would subscribe and if you feel inclined, leave a review. That is all helpful in getting the word out. O...

Each episode of Greatheart’s Table begins as an 800 word newsletter post. This post and the accompanying podcast get released at the same time so that those who prefer their content in print and those who prefer it in audio can both be served. Those of you who are listening can help me have a better sense of my audience if you might also subscribe to the print newsletter. You can do so here . Than...

As you know, we begin each episode of Greatheart’s Table with Over the Rhine’s song “All My Favorite People Are Broken” (with the band’s kind permission, by the way). It’s not just a good song (you should listen to the whole thing – the link is below) but it expresses the heart behind this podcast – that pastors are not immune from brokenness. In fact, pastors are some of the most brok...

If you’ve listened to the previous two episodes, you know that I have issues with the expectations that American corporate leadership culture has placed upon pastors. Some fit easily within the roles defined for them, they become growth visionaries and ministry strategists. As my dad, a carpenter used to say, “they fit like they growed there.” But many of us don’t fit. Not in the way we are suppos...

I know that though I write with pastors in mind, not all of you are pastors. I’m actually glad for that, and particularly as we address the idea of just what the pastor is to be. Christian culture, we noted last time, says that we are to be visionaries who lead our churches to growth. While there is some way in which we are visionaries, the way it is framed tends to cause us to become more manager...

Mike Cosper’s Christianity Today podcast, “ The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill ” has been both fascinating and troubling. One of the themes of the podcast is the corrosive impact of the American love affair with growth. Size validates everything and covers a multitude of sins. And no matter how easy it is to mock Mars Hill Church, that conviction never goes away. This idea that Pastors are supposed to...

Thanks for checking in here at Greatheart’s Table. One of the things that I love about the metaphor of a ‘table’ is the way it suggests conversation. Obviously, direct and immediate conversation cannot happen, but I’m very interested in your responses, your questions, your pushback even, to what I say. My email address is in the show notes below, and I’d love to hear from you. This week’s episode...

One of the goals we have here is to take pressure off pastors to perform. We want pastors to feel free to love their people and use the gifts they have for God and his kingdom without the unrealistic expectations that have encrusted ministry and made it impossible for most of us. As such we don’t want to add responsibility to an already over-crowded set of expectations. But what if there were some...

I have spent the past several episodes talking about staying and leaving ministry and I wasn’t going to say anymore. But given my own experience of futility, joined with the publication of a couple of intriguing essays in The Atlantic, I wanted to make sure that I had taken seriously the current pressure on ministry. My heart here is to express that contrary to reason, and to the Borg, “Futility I...

Hi! Thanks for once again pulling up a chair to Greatheart’s Table. I can’t see you, but knowing you are out there is a wonderful encouragement. I’ve been addressing questions touching upon longevity in pastoral ministry. If you’d care to comment and add your voice to the conversation, I’d love to hear from you. You can do so using the email address in the show notes. In this post, the final of th...

Hi! Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We’re currently considering the question of pastoral longevity, which may sound rather dull to most, but it is a question never far from the minds of most pastors I know. If you find this helpful, please review us and encourage others to listen in. You have no idea how meaningful and important that is. In this middle post of the three, we explor...

Welcome back to Greatheart’s Table. As this is published three times each month, on the first, second, and fourth Mondays, there are occasional gaps that allow us to catch our breath. I appreciate your patience. With this post, I begin what is a three part series on pastoral longevity. Whether you are a pastor or not, I hope you find the content helpful. If so, please subscribe to and review the p...

Though this episode is tilted toward those of us who preach, it nevertheless touches upon resources in which we all can delight. Gather around the table and consider what I call “Uncommon Sources of Sermonic Wisdom.” Thanks for listening. You can help support this podcast by dropping a few coins in our tip jar. Thanks! EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Timothy Keller and...

The other day a friend and I were discussing what it was about pastoral ministry that makes it so stressful. He mentioned the fact, which we have addressed in the two previous posts, that everyone expected him to have an opinion on every issue that is being blogged about or debated on cable news. But we spoke as well about internal pressures, the expectations that churches place on pastors, and th...

Last time, we raised the question of Psalm 11 (which I embarrassingly mis-referenced) that “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). Particularly, what can or should the local church do or be in the face of the difficulties of the current world. What needs doing, it seems to me, is the quiet and faithful ministry of the church. The church’s real power lies in wha...

Here at Greatheart’s Table, we are especially grateful for those of you who are NOT pastors. I write for pastors and those who love them, as the tag line says. But many of you are not pastors. You are those who love Christ and his church and are enjoying finding kindred spirits with whom to live this Christian life together. Your presence here is an encouragement to me. This post is the firs...

Welcome to Greatheart’s Table, a place meant to encourage the ordinary pastor in the long grind of pastoral ministry. And encouragement is what we often need. Most of us here will never have a broad platform or a particularly large church. And most of us quite often question our calling and wonder about our relevance. And being serious sorts, we often let these things drag us down. With this unusu...

Thanks for joining us at Greatheart’s Table. If you like what we are doing here, please tell others to join us. And if you are able to drop some coins in the tip jar to help offset my expenses, that would be kindly received, but it is not expected. We are just glad to have you around. There have always been pastors with broad impact and what we might now call significant platforms. To learn from t...

Welcome to the fourteenth post in Greatheart’s Table . I’m glad you’re along for the ride. Feel free to forward these posts to others if you find them helpful. In this post I continue our conversation about busy-ness suggesting some pathways to lessen the stress. Where we end is always where we need to end: putting aside our desire for acclaim and being content with Jesus. So in this episode we co...

If there is anything that pastors can agree on, it’s that we are busy. We complain about it like we complain about the weather. Being busy is a badge many wear with honor. Busy-ness, we may think, is somewhere next to godliness. That’s an assumption that in this episode of Greatheart’s Table I’d like to challenge as we think about what it means to be a busy pastor. If anyone would like to help wit...

Recently I sat around a table with other pastors sharing stories about funerals and weddings that did not quite go as planned. It was wonderfully therapeutic. These other pastors are gifted people with vibrant ministries whose labors sometimes went awry. We laughed, as we pastors must do, and it was good. So, with a nod to Nat King Cole , I’d like to encourage us all to find ways we can “lighten u...

Hi. Welcome to mid-July at Greatheart’s Table. As you know I’ve promised to keep our time together short each week. Each newsletter post of 800 words translates into about 6-8 minutes on audio. I don’t want to consume too much of your time. Nevertheless, should you like to carry on the conversation, do so by emailing me, or posting comments on the newsletter. I’m encouraged by the interchange. Als...