Pastor Talk

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss how Christian hospitality is so much more than just simply hosting others. At it's core, Christian hospitality invites us to practice loving our neighbor even as we are loved by Jesus Christ. This practice, even more than some others in this series, may surprise you with how much deeper our Christian practice can take us than we expect...

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss how pursuing simplicity can help us identify the stuff that threatens to become overly important in our lives. By intentionally pursuing simpler schedules, homes, relationships, etc. we discover a fundamentally important spiritual discipline. Though not always an easy practice, the pursuit of Christian simplicity can often be life-chan...

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss how gratitude is an essential practice of the Christian life. Though we set aside Thanksgiving as a season to think about the material blessings of our lives, Christian gratitude is rooted much deeper in the life and love of Jesus Christ who gave himself for us so that we might know eternal life. Following Christ's gift, everything els...

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss different ways to grow in the faith through self-reflection and Bible study. Whether you are drawn to a new kind of journaling, scripture study, or the examen , everyone will find a way to practice their faith through more intentional reflection. Have a different kind of reflection that has been more meaningful to you? Feel free to sha...

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss how our everyday physical practices can serve as gateways to a growing spiritual awareness. From prayer walks to "normal everyday routines" we can begin to see new signposts to God's presence in our lives and his love that constantly surrounds us. The physical aspect of the historic practices of the faith can be challenging, especially...

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss how last week's conversation about a Christian understanding of confession naturally leads to a fuller conversation about forgiveness. Whether we are talking about receiving forgiveness for ourselves or offering forgiveness to others, most people find forgiveness easy to understand but yet hard to do. We must not forget that Jesus proc...

Join Pastors Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke as they discuss the difficult and yet necessary Christian practice of confession. The two Pastors discuss how often the spiritual practice of confession is misunderstood as celebrating overwhelming feelings of personal guilt. Everyone is welcome to join the conversation as the Pastors explore how a healthy practice of confession should be an active ga...

In this conversation about the foundational spiritual practice of prayer, Pastors Clint and Michael discuss how prayer can be much more varied and creative than we often consider. Turning to scripture and the wisdom of the historic church, the Pastors explore how we might all reimagine prayer as an ongoing conversation with a living God. This gracious and life giving invitation is available to all...

In this introductory conversation, Pastors Clint and Michael kick off a new series exploring Spiritual Practices called "Practicing Faith." These Biblical and ancient Christian practices allow Christians to deepen their faith and create a greater awareness of God's presence in their lives. In this introductory conversation, the pastors help define a broad understanding of spiritual awareness and w...

In this final episode of the Presby-What? podcast series, Pastors Clint and Michael discuss their own individual histories in the Presbyterian Church and their experience of both its strength and weaknesses. What follows is an engaging conversation about congregational vitality and the universal calling of every Christian to play their part in the growth and faithfulness of the church's ministry....

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the present and future challenges of the Presbyterian church. The pastors argue that for Presbyterians to recover from our long period of decline, congregations will need to learn to thrive in their ever changing communities. Yet, this need for adaptation brings its own challenges including discerning between our core identity as Presbyteri...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they survey the modern challenges of the national American Presbyterian church and its implications for local congregations. As the surrounding culture has changed, Presbyterian churches have tended to focus on the resulting theological implications of those changes. More recently, the Presbyterian church has focused on the challenges of church revitali...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the Presbyterian church governance and its impact on the life and ministries of local Presbyterian congregations. Upon close inspection, the PC(USA) organization is deeply connected to our Reformed theological understanding of human sinfulness and has been thoughtfully constructed to encourage partnership and connection between churches. We...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the distinctive historical foundation of Presbyterian thought and its implications for our denominational culture. Join us for a wide sweeping conversation through human sinfulness, God's sovereign power, election, civic engagement, and institutional order. Buckle up and prepare for a lively conversation about what makes Presbyterians uniqu...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they survey the fundamentals of Reformed Theology. If you haven't already, be sure to listen to last week's episode about the history of Presbyterianism as we build upon that conversation this week in order to unpack the historic theological emphasis of the Presbyterian Church. While the next episode will explore the Presbyterian theological distinctive...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they begin a new series called "Presby-What?" Whether you have been a Presbyterian your entire life or just visited a Presbyterian church, these conversations will explore the history, theology, and current challenges that make Presbyterians unique. Today's conversation about Presbyterian History begins with the Reformation and traces how Presbyterians...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they conclude the Real People of Faith series. Surveying both the characters of the Old and New Testaments it becomes clear that though each character had their own personal and family struggles, God was faithful to go with each man and woman of faith and use them in his salvific plan for the world. We can all be encouraged by the knowledge that the sam...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the life and faith of the Apostle Paul. There may not be another single writer in the entire Bible whose writings are as extensive as the Apostle Paul. On the other hand, few other characters make such a radical transformation in the course of their lives. Paul goes from being a zealous Pharisee dedicated to exterminating the Christian chur...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the lives and faith of the Jesus' parents Mary and Joseph. Though the scriptures include few details about much of their lives, Mary and Joseph are excellent exemplars of Christian faithfulness and courage. Both were young people who responded to God's plan for their lives, kept their faith through many trials, and were given the supreme ho...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the lives and faith of the New Testament disciples. The disciples were a diverse group of men and represented everything from common fishermen, to a hated tax collector, to a religious zealot. Despite their lack of formal religious training or leadership experience, these unlikely disciples eventually became the authoritative witnesses to t...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the life and faith of John the Baptist. John is the perfect bridge between the prophets of the Old Testament and the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. John's call to repentance and water baptism become the foreshadowing of Christ's own perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. We find in John the Baptist a reminder that we are called to...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the lives and faith of the Old Testament prophets. The prophets were a diverse group of people who spoke on behalf of God, challenging, correcting, encouraging, and comforting the people of Israel. The prophets often lack much biographical information but we continue to find in their words a challenge to keep God at the center of our lives,...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the life and faith of Esther. Esther is a magnificently written story about a young woman's courage, faithfulness, and leadership. It is an exceptional glimpse into God's ability to use real people to effect real change in the world. Esther's story contains many surprises, some humor, and is unequivocally one of the most celebrated women in...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the life and faith of Jonah. Though the book of Jonah is only four chapters long, it offers a deeply personal glimpse into bis ongoing struggle with God's calling. Jonah's story is well known for the "great fish" that swallows him for three days but also offers a surprising glimpse into God's vast desire to offer grace and forgiveness to ev...

This week, join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the life and faith of King David. David's life is full of examples of deep devotion to God, wise leadership, foolish mistakes, and also calculated murder. David was a warrior, writer of many of the Psalms, a musician, and a statesmen. No doubt, he is a complex character that the Biblical writers paint with vivid colors and therefore a very...