Greatheart's Table

Third Monday / August, ’26 Hello! Third Monday posts are more incidental, personal, and situational updates touching on my life in general and on the possibilities and circumstances of ministry. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. […]

Someone somewhere has said that “comparison is the thief of joy.” It is also the seedbed of all kinds of misery and is the source of a toxicity that has been the ruin of many. It’s hard, especially for those laboring in small churches in small places to believe they share the same validity of […]

I like to think of myself as very orthodox in my Christian ethics, and admitted coward in the face of real or perceived conflict. So, when I am asked the question whether I would or would not tell a sinner to repent, the latter reality can overwhelm the former.  But the answer to that question […]

This is part two of my interview with Wayne Jacobsen and Tobie Van der Westhuizen concerning their book Just Love: How One Mistranslation Distorted the Gospel. In this half of the interview we hear how Wayne and Tobie understand the law of God, particularly as it is written upon the Christian’s heart. More than that, […]

We are joined by two authors who have written a book called Just Love, Wayne Jacobsen of California and Tobie Vander Westhuizen of South Africa.  After we recorded the conversation, Wayne told me, “I love that you can engage in conversation without having to agree on every point.” Which is true. I don’t agree with […]

I’m delighted here to introduce you to a friend of mine, Hannah Lane. Hannah is a 2026 Masters of Biblical Studies graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. She is a gifted writer and a thoughtful Christian who will soon begin work on a PhD at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Hannah is […]

When friends gather around a table, the conversation can be boisterous and full of laughter. Other times may call for quiet as a burden of sadness is shared around that same table.  For some of us, this is a time for the latter. But in such times, we need the company of others. Not conversation, […]

I’ve said that what I like to do here is to “think sideways.” That’s a weird idea, but what I mean is that I want to think about issues affecting pastors and others not from an automatic embrace of traditional answers, nor from a knee jerk rejection of those answers. Nor am I looking for […]

Welcome back to this Rainy Day Conversation around Greatheart’s Table with Dr. Elizabeth Pennock, the the Director of the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Dr. Pennock specializes in trauma and particularly how churches can care for the victims of trauma. She brings a great […]

We are joined in this episode by Dr. Elizabeth Pennock. Dr. Pennock is the Director of the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. She received her PhD at the University of Central Florida and her dissertation was titled “Trauma-Informed Clergy: An Investigation of Factors Predicting […]