Where does deep transformation in the church begin?

In this episode, Drew Hyun is joined by John Mark Comer to wade into the everyday pastor’s wrestle with the slow, often hidden work of formation in leadership. Together, they reflect on issues of patience and ego, community, vulnerability, burnout, and the tension between fostering a vision for renewal and staying faithful within the constraints of a specific church and season of life.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Los Angeles, California, in 2026. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

What if the burdens we often feel in pastoral work come from doing ministry for God, without God?  

In this episode, Drew Hyun invites pastors to honestly consider a painful tension that many leaders experience: the possibility of ministering for God while slowly losing their connection with Him. Drawing from his own story and the experiences of the early church, he explores the subtle ways ministry, activity, and even spiritual success can become disconnected from intimacy with Jesus, calling us back to a life connected to the vine of Christ.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Los Angeles, California, in 2026. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

If spiritual formation were the primary goal of your church, what might need to change?

In this episode, John Mark Comer invites us to consider whether the way we have organized church life is actually forming people into maturity in Christ, and the kinds of convictions that support a more intentional pathway of life-change. This is an invitation to a new, yet ancient pastoral imagination rooted in the way of Jesus — one that is slow, patient, and transformative.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Los Angeles, California, in 2026. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

How can you reorder your life for the sake of others? 

In this episode, Ken Shigematsu is joined by John Mark Comer to discuss how to turn the vision of the way of Jesus into a lived way of life. Together, they reflect on the challenges of reshaping our lives, the quiet resistance we often experience, and the invitation to move beyond good intentions into the often hidden work of transformation over time.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2023. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

What fruit is being produced by your devotion to God? 

In this episode, Ken Shigematsu invites us to reflect on who we are becoming in the rhythm of our lives and leadership. He shares the simplicity of his own Rule of Life and how it has nurtured a friendship with Jesus that is not only formative but also enjoyable. Ken’s teaching encourages us to slow down, pay attention, and honestly discern what our lives are truly producing.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2023. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

What could happen if we considered formation, not just information, in the discipleship process of our people?

In this episode, Dr. Gerald Sittser is joined by John Mark Comer to engage with questions from pastors and leaders about the depth and challenge of recovering a more robust, formational faith. They reflect on the catechumenate as a model of training beyond mere instruction, the risks of a “thin” spirituality, and what it means to cultivate communities where people genuinely learn to live the way of Jesus.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2023. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

How can our communities learn to follow Jesus in a way that is within, but not defined by, our surrounding culture?

In this episode, Dr. Gerald Sittser draws from the history of the early church to explore how the Jesus movement grew — slowly, relationally, and often in the margins. He reflects on the role of the catechumenate and the long, patient work of communities that learned how to follow Jesus in an opposing culture. This teaching offers a historical and deeply practical vision of formation, inviting us to consider what we are building and whether it can endure beyond the conditions that currently support it.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2023. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

How can the digital age challenge and reshape our understanding of church?

In this episode, Jay Kim addresses the unique pressures influencing life and ministry in our digital landscape, followed by a Q&A period alongside John Mark Comer. This discussion invites us to envision a thoughtful reimagining of our churches, encouraging us to resist the allure of the easy, immediate, and consumable, while instead fostering a slower, deeper, and countercultural way of following Jesus together.

This session was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2024. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

Where can you go as a pastor to find the safe relationships you need to flourish? 

In this episode, Dr. Todd Hall is joined by John Mark Comer to engage with questions from pastors about the tensions of leading relationally. They explore questions such as: How can we practice vulnerability while maintaining appropriate boundaries? How do we foster more relational safety within our staff teams? And where can pastors go to cultivate their own necessary, safe spaces?

This Q&A was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2024. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.

In what ways might your community be more spiritually impacted by their relational history than they realize?

In this episode, join Dr. Todd Hall, Bethany Allen, and Bryan Rouanzoin for part one of a conversation about how our relational history impacts our spiritual lives and the potential for the family of God to restore our relationships with one another and with God.

This teaching was held at the Practicing the Way Pastor Conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2024. 

To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor.

This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.