Inglorious Pastords

With Guest Marie Griffith, the pastords discuss prime numbers, Mattress Mack's gambling, hiking the Big South Fork, the Lord's Prayer, answered prayer, the prayer God always answers, the power of "your will be done," owing apologies, listening prayer, solitude, the benefits of prayer, prayer warriors, bears and rest.

In this episode, the pastords end up talking about forgetting stuff, UT football, sponsorships, perfume, the praise of people, picking clothing, living under the fear of what people think, report cards, total freedom, living for an audience of one, courage, the opposite of fear and why free people can't be manipulated.

In a typically rambling conversation, the Pastords talk about Tennessee Vols football, the NFL Patriots and Broncos, dying, living next door to each other, dualism,  disputable issues in the Bible, dialogue with "intellectual humility," learning from people you don't agree with, syncopation, spiritual health, discerning right and wrong as well as better and best, concussions, ideas that are "obvious," Kid Rock and love that seeks out the best of others.  

Guest pastord, Marie Griffith, joins Bruce and Roger to talk about Marie's pastoring, spartan racing, leaving people behind, Bruce's 2018 health issues, discipleship through suffering, hiking downhill, the dark night of the soul, letting God carry you, bear canisters, intellectual humility, unlearning,  deconstruction, God's delight in us, total freedom, restoration and entering God's rest.

The Pastords end up talking about exhaustion, funny dreams, where Bruce lives, Adam and Eve, the male-ness and female-ness of God, seeing God, marriage reflecting the glory of God, frogs, identity, toilet seats, running late, true freedom, what life looked like before sin, horror movies and the relationship between choice and love.

Another lively episode where the pastords discuss birthdays, football rankings, interceptions, next-door neighbors, tractor pulls, piddling, trying to follow Jesus like someone else does, golf-scorekeeping, spiritual disciplines, confession, and a creating a culture of encouragement.

Pastord brothers, Bruce and Rog catch up after a lengthy break and talk about how to pluralize nouns, the reason for their hiatus, who should be making disciples, apostles, mobile church, ministry specialists vss amateurs, backyard football, Bruce's two epiphanies, Christians as messengers of hope, America as "post-Christian," churches as private clubs, church building programs, seeing lost people as enemies, Jesus sending the 70, and helping move people toward Jesus every day.

The pastords find a way to talk about buying tractors and mini-bikes, Bruce's makeup moment, failure, celebrity fascination, losing Ann Voskamp, ordinary people, ordinary serving, benefactors, the pull of money, Roger wanting to be discovered, mixed motives, a limerick, and the God who sees and says "well done."

The pastords have a rambling conversation about the closing on Bruce's farm, polk salad, Esther, eating Kudzu, how God loves to partner with us, serving God in Ukraine, people who said yes to God, the antonym to influencer, failure analysis, perseverance, saying maybe to God, Gideon, Jonah, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Ann Voskamp.

After a hiatus, the Pastords are back talking about how to pronounce Machu Picchu without embarrassing yourself, hiking at high elevation, how to pronounce LIV golf, the turmoil around LIV golf, the dearth of dialogue about almost anything, all-or-nothing polarization, how experience influences Bible interpretation, the similarity between compromise and repentance, identity in Jesus or in a political position, and whether the church believes more in the power of fear than the power of love.