In this episode we discuss...

• awareness regarding the value of rural churches in broader culture with special guest Dr. Glenn Daman, author of The Forgotten Church. He'll answer questions like:
  • Why do you care so much about churches most people overlook?
  • In your book, the church in forgotten places, you make an argument for the value of the rural church and you go so far as to say that the urban church cannot ignore the plight of rural America. Are you suggesting that the health of some small church in the middle of nowhere USA somehow impacts churches like Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC or Capitol Hill Baptist in Washington DC?
  • What are some ways rural churches and urban churches can work together?  Why should they?
  • How has the importance of the rural church changed since COVID?
• Reach Dr. Daman at:
  • ruralministry.net
  • [email protected]

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Need an affordable and stylish way to redo an old wall? Consider using faux shiplap!

Our Quote of the Day:

• Jesus calls us to his rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.  - A.W. Tozer, "The Pursuit of God"

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

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In this episode we discuss...

• the tone of the rural pastor in ministry.
  • There are moments where the pastor should be gentle, and stern in their tone.
    • When?
    • The heart behind the pastor's tone MATTERS!
  • Proverbs 15:1–2
  • Proverbs 15:4
  • Galatians 6:1
  • 2 Corinthians 10:1–2
  • Matthew 21:12–13

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Need tools that don't break the budget? Consider using Craftsman!

Our Quote of the Day:

• There is nothing more ugly than an orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion.  - Francis Schaeffer

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

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In this episode we discuss...

•  whether or not we should display Bible verses on the screen?
  • Is it more beneficial to display the Bible, or have a physical or digital copy in people's hand?
  • Practicality of having physical Bibles:
    • Give them away!
    • Teach people how to practically use their Bibles (like where the table of contents are, or why there are big chapter numbers and small verse numbers)

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Looking for a new band to listen to? Trevor reviews Psallos.

Our Quote of the Day:

• Pray to God to give you the same Spirit who wrote the Word, to enable you to delight in it.  - Edmund Calamy

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

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In this episode we discuss...

• rural churches and the cross with Brad Gray.
  • You left sunny Florida  for a church in a very rural part of Pennsylvania. What, Sir, were you thinking?
  • What is a theology of the cross? 
  • This is often talked about in comparison to a theology of glory.  What is the difference?
  • How does a theology of the cross impact rural ministry?  What are some practical implications?
  • What does it look like for a rural shepherd to teach and lead with a theology of the cross?
  • Find Brad here: https://www.graceupongrace.net/?fbclid=IwAR3WdTQgJQKVFTHtFQ0kq6x_iWiibCfDgbE__GUYox70wU4LtZb5tSTGOaA
  • Gerhard O. Forde's On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther's Heidelberg Disputation, 1518

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Need a bag or an old website to find one? Joe reviews the Condor Sector Sling Bag, and Brad reviews archive.org.

Our Quote of the Day:

• There was no counsel, no help, no comfort for us until this only and eternal Son of God, in his unfathomable goodness, had mercy on our misery and wretchedness and came from heaven to help us… Jesus Christ, the Lord of life and righteousness and every good and blessing. He has snatched us, poor lost creatures, from the jaws of hell, won us, made us free, and restored us to the Father’s favor and grace …he who has brought us back from the devil to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and now keeps us safe there.  - Martin Luther, Large Catechism (1529)

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

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In this episode we discuss...

•  ways rural pastors and the church can support families in the education of their children.
  • We must educate children:
    • Deuteronomy 11:18
    • Proverbs 22:6
    • 2 Timothy 3:14-15
  • But what about the rest of the education? Do we need to teach them 5x5 and how many electrons nitrogen has?
    • We take time to discuss through options around homeschool, classical school, private school, and public school
    • Then, we give tips for parents weighing these options

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Need a new pair of hiking sneakers? TJ reviews the shoe for you!

Our Quote of the Day:

• The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth.  It is the one business for which the earth exists.  To it all politics, all war, all literature, all money making ought to be subordinated; and every parent especially ought to feel, every hour of the day, that next to making his own calling and election sure, this is the end for which he is kept alive by God- this is his task on earth.  - Robert Lewis Dabney

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

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In this episode we discuss...

• missions and church planting in rural places
  • Today we interview Will Basham, church planter and lead pastor of New Heights Church in West Virginia.
  • Will answers questions like:
    • What is a holler?
    • Evangelism in rural places often looks like “tent revivals” and “altar calls.” What is your perspective on this practice? You mention in your book a more biblical altar call. What is that? Where do you wish altar calls were happening?
    • “I truly believe that in order to reach a generation of disenchanted people, our discipleship will have to be deployed.” What does deployed discipleship look like?
    • “When we create discipleship strategies that are designed for higher educated areas, we leave so many people out. And they’re not just dumb hillbillies.” Tell us about your model of Meet-Read-Pray!
  • Find Will at: https://newheightswv.com/leadership-will-basham
  • Order his book here.

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Looking for a new hobby? Consider building an AR-15 with a Polymer 80% lower!

Our Quote of the Day:

• 'You are no saint!' says the devil. Well, if I am not, I am a sinner. And Jesus came to save sinners! Other hope? I have none.  - Charles Spurgeon

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

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In this episode we discuss...

• should pastors leave a church for another?
  • Joe Wagner discusses the recent move he has made.
  • We hope you're encouraged and blessed by this discussion.

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Did you get headphones like Joe reviewed last week? Are your ears hurting with the stock in-ear tips? Get Comply Foam tips!

Our Quote of the Day:

• Have a blast loving Jesus, serving the church, minding your own business, and keeping your hand to the plow, and you won’t give a thin cent what people say about you.  - Jared C. Wilson

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

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Spotify

In this episode we discuss...

• Gap years and the local church.
  • Today we interview David Feister, executive director of the Planted Gap Year located at His Thousand Hills in Wellsboro, PA.
  • David will answer questions like:
    • What is a gap year program?
    • Who should consider it?
    • Who should not? 
    • What are the benefits?
    • Why are some of the dangers to watch out for?
    • Does a gap year program extend adolescence? 
    • Does a gap year program replace involvement in the local church?
    • What does your program offer that makes it unique? 
    • There are a lot of pastors listening who are shepherding young men and women, what kind of person in our congregations might the planted gap year be a good fit for?
  • Find David at: https://www.plantedgapyear.org/
    
    

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Listening to a sermon or podcast? Too much noise going on around you to focus? Joe shares with us Beats Studio Wireless Earbuds.

Our Quote of the Day:

• Fixing our thoughts on Jesus requires time, for true reflection cannot happen with a glance. No one can see the beauty of the country if he hurries through it on the interstate!  - R. Kent Hughes

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

Itunes

Spotify

In this episode we discuss...

• Cannabis and the Christian.
  • Today we interview Dr. Todd Miles, professor of theology at Western Seminary and author of Cannabis and the Christian.
  • What makes a book like this necessary reading for busy pastors today?
  • If the government makes it legal, and I use it in moderation in the privacy of my own home, am I really doing anything wrong?
  • What responsibility does a church have when a member is using marijuana?
  • What kinds of questions should a Christian considering using marijuana consider?

Small Town Jesus Summit:

• April 28-29 at Camp Susque

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Need a new knife? Joe talks to us about railroad spike knife forging.

Our Quote of the Day:

• Your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure. Therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and Heaven shall make amends for all!  - Thomas Brooks

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

Itunes

Spotify

In this episode we discuss...

• Jonathan Edwards and the rural pastor.
  • Dan Stegeman is our resident Edwards scholar.
  • You may know about his writings, but did you know about his heart for the pastorate? In particular, his flock in the rural landscape?
  • Sit down and consider this great theologian and pastor with us, and the legacy he leaves for us as rural pastors!

Small Town Jesus Summit:

• April 28-29 at Camp Susque

Stuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:

• Looking for one of the best conferences for teaching AND hospitality toward pastors? Consider going to Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church.

Our Quote of the Day:

• Work of ministers is to rescue the lost souls and bring them to eternal happiness, which is the work that Christ himself came into the world upon and shed his blood for.  - Jonathan Edwards

CONTACT

Call and leave a message at (570) 724-3741

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalk

Twitter: @ruralpastors

LISTEN

Itunes

Spotify