The Pastor's Table

Author, pastor, and Honor Summit founder Faith Eury Cho shares her remarkable journey from spiritual curiosity as a child to church planting during a global pandemic. With warmth and honesty, Faith reflects on her evolving intimacy with God, how motherhood reshaped her theology of presence, and why pastors must stop chasing “moments” and start building lives centered on God’s presence. 🎙️ In This...

What if we stopped fearing lament in church, and started embracing it as holy? In this powerful follow-up conversation, pastor and author Aubrey Sampson joins Tara Beth and Mark to talk about leading while grieving, pastoring through pain, and creating sacred space for sorrow in the church. 🎙️ In This Episode: How unprocessed grief distorts our leadership and faith The courage it takes to bring yo...

What if your calling was never modeled for you—and your grief hit harder than your training ever prepared you for? In this episode, pastor and author Aubrey Sampson joins Tara Beth and Mark to share the winding, beautiful, and painful road of planting a church while navigating personal loss, theological wrestling, and the loneliness of leadership. 🎙️ In This Episode: Why Aubrey never imagined hers...

What happens when your gender, age, and relationship status seem to speak louder than your call? In this episode, Pastor Elizabeth Bair returns to The Pastor’s Table to reflect on the quiet tension of pastoral identity, learning to relax into the authority God has given, and why she's not chasing titles, but transformation. 🎙️ In This Episode: The burden of “proving yourself” in ministry as a youn...

What happens when you follow your calling, only to find yourself profoundly alone? In this episode, youth pastor Elizabeth Bair opens up about stepping into ministry at age 22, navigating life in rural Michigan, and wrestling with loneliness as a single, young woman in a church leadership role. Her honesty is both refreshing and deeply relatable for pastors who feel isolated or unseen. 🎙️ In This...

What if the secret to church health isn’t strategy, but vulnerability? In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Pastor Paul Dazet opens up about pastoring through cancer, exhaustion, and loss. He found these limitations became a surprising gateway to renewal. With honesty and humility, Paul describes how letting go of performance gave birth to a church culture rooted in healing, authenticity, and...

What if success in ministry is what’s breaking you? In Part 1 of this compelling conversation, Paul Dazet joins Tara Beth Leach and Mark Quanstrom to reflect on his unexpected path to faith, his climb through the ranks of church leadership, and the moment it all came undone. From a picnic table conversion to the painful fallout of cancer and burnout, Paul shares what it took to stop pretending—and...

Read Tara Beth's substack here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-163159975 How do pastors hold space when words fall short? In this deeply personal and reflective episode, Tara Beth Leach reads from her Substack essay, “The Sacred Threshold That is Hospice,” sharing the journey of walking with her mother through dementia and hospice. Joined by co-host Mark Quanstrom, they unpack the theology of pr...

What happens when God leads you somewhere you never imagined—but you say yes anyway? In Part 3, Pastor Ivan Ramirez reflects on his transition from the city streets of Chicago to leading a small-town church in Wisconsin. With humor, vulnerability, and pastoral wisdom, Ivan shares how cultural challenges, ministry mergers, and personal growth have shaped his approach to leadership—and why “let’s se...

What happens when freedom finds you before a courtroom does? In Part 2 of this gripping conversation, Pastor Ivan Ramirez shares how he left gang life, survived trial, and discovered God’s call through unlikely mentors, a Moody dorm room, and a courtroom bench. From early ministry mistakes to a doctoral degree, Ivan’s story is one of grace that keeps showing up. 🎙️ In This Episode: The unexpected...

How does a gang-involved teenager from Chicago become a pastor in Wisconsin?  In Part 1 of this gripping conversation,  Ivan Ramirez  shares his remarkable story of searching for belonging, spiraling into despair, and encountering Jesus while facing a murder charge in solitary confinement. What begins as a tale of survival becomes a testimony of grace. 🎙️  In This Episode: Growing up without churc...

Pastor Scott Moore returns for a vulnerable, soul-level conversation on what happened after his breaking point. From a life-changing fishing trip with strangers to a tearful reconnection with his family and church, Scott reflects on the slow work of reintegration. With honesty about the setbacks and sacred practices that help him stay tethered, this episode is a call to resist isolation, embrace c...

What happens when ministry feels less like a calling and more like survival? In this raw and courageous conversation, Scott Moore shares his story of stepping into a conflicted congregation, facing impossible expectations, and slowly losing himself in the isolation of unacknowledged burnout. 🎙️ In This Episode: How Scott moved from a thriving ministry to a pastor-killing church The early warning s...

Why do pastors feel so disoriented the day after Easter? In this honest, unscripted conversation, Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom reflect on the emotional and spiritual aftermath of Holy Week. From packed services and buffet lunches to depression dips and pastoral guilt, they name what many church leaders feel—but rarely say out loud. 🎙️ In This Episode: Why post-Easter exhaustion is real a...

What does it mean to lead with conviction—without copying someone else’s model? In Part 2 of their candid host recap, Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom reflect on the pressures pastors face to mimic big-box ministry models or speak out on every cultural issue. From franchise churches to the idolization of family and politics, they unpack the theological convictions that keep them grounded—and...

Why do pastors keep showing up when ministry gets hard? In this honest and vulnerable host recap, Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom revisit the origins of The Pastor’s Table and unpack the convictions that continue to drive the show. From painful memories to surprising grace, this episode explores why the Church is still worth loving—and leading. 🎙️ In This Episode: How the podcast began in a...

Is the Church more than a symbol? In Part 2, Jason Micheli returns to explore what it means to preach the gospel when life itself feels fragile. He shares how cancer reshaped his theology, why the Church must reclaim its sacramental identity, and how sermons should declare—not just instruct. 🎙️ In This Episode: The theology of the cross vs. theology of glory Why every sermon should offer a promise...

What happens when the preacher becomes the patient? In this vulnerable and deeply pastoral episode, Rev. Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom welcome Jason Micheli , United Methodist pastor, author, and writer of The Tamed Cynic . Jason shares his unexpected call to ministry, his battle with mantle cell lymphoma, and how cancer has shaped both his preaching and his relationship with his congrega...

What does it mean to pastor with presence in a world that prioritizes efficiency, technology, and disconnection? In this episode, Rev. Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom continue their conversation with Ryan & Danny Quanstrom , digging into the theological convictions that shape their ministries. From embodying the gospel in a rural town to creating third spaces for belonging , this episod...

What’s it like growing up in a pastor’s home—and then becoming a pastor yourself? In this special family edition of The Pastor’s Table , Rev. Tara Beth Leach takes the lead, sitting down with Ryan & Danny Quanstrom , both senior pastors in Michigan and the sons of co-host Dr. Mark Quanstrom . This conversation explores how faith is formed in the home , the unexpected twists in their calls to m...

What makes a church healthy—not just successful ?  In this episode, Rev. Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom continue their conversation with Randy Frazee , exploring how culture—not just strategy—determines a church’s future . Randy shares how his leadership philosophy has shifted over the years —from top-down leadership models to team-based collaboration , from focusing on numbers to prioriti...

What does it take to leave well as a pastor? In this episode, Rev. Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom sit down with Randy Frazee , Pastor Emeritus of Westside Family Church, to talk about his intentional journey of succession, the emotional weight of stepping away, and what it means to let go with grace . With over 36 years in ministry , Randy reflects on the wisdom, courage, and planning that...

What happens when the sacramental, the charismatic, and the evangelical converge?  In this episode, Tara and Mark continue their conversation with Derek Vreeland , diving into how these seemingly distinct streams of faith are coming together in a new movement of worship and discipleship. Derek shares why weekly communion, historic prayers, and Spirit-led worship are forming his church in deep and...

What if following Jesus meant rethinking everything you were taught—without ever walking away?  In this episode, Rev. Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom sit down with Derek Vreeland , discipleship pastor at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Derek shares his journey from a Southern Baptist upbringing to the charismatic movement and, eventually, a sacramental, ecumenical faith —all wh...

What if success in ministry isn’t about speed, numbers, or strategy—but about trusting God’s timing?  In this episode, Rev. Tara Beth Leach and Dr. Mark Quanstrom continue their conversation with pastor and church planter Laura Tarro , exploring how patience, trust, and a few unconventional worship spaces (yes, a donut shop and a brewery) have shaped her ministry. 🎙️ In This Episode: The unexpecte...