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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]