Pastors are expected to keep learning—just like doctors, teachers, and counselors. In this episode, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan unpack formal and informal ways to stay sharp: carving out daily reading, using journals and courses, attending conferences, leaning on study Bibles, pursuing study leave or targeted coursework (ThM/DMin), and even teaching as adjuncts. They also warn against using degrees as an escape from ministry and offer practical counsel for staying current on cultural issues while remaining focused on your flock.

Resources Mentioned:

• TGC’s Themelios journal
• TGC courses & pastors’ hub
• The Carson Center at TGC
• Study Bibles

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Suffering is not a glitch in the Christian life—it’s part of it. In this conversation, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan talk about how pastors can prepare their people to face pain with faith and endurance. They discuss what it means to view hardship through God’s providence, why the “victorious Christian life” often looks like just hanging on, and how preaching, hymns, and patient shepherding can help believers trust God when He seems silent.

Resources Mentioned:

• When Pain Is Real and God Seems Silent by Ligon Duncan
• Joni Eareckson Tada
• Mark Talbot, When the Stars Disappear
• John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life
• Psalm 88; Psalm 40; 2 Corinthians 4; Romans 8; Genesis 50:20
• Hymns: How Firm a Foundation, Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul, Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near

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Many pastors enter ministry to preach and shepherd, not manage spreadsheets—but good administration is deeply spiritual work. Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan talk with Jamie Dunlop (Capitol Hill Baptist Church) about how faithful administration protects unity, supports preaching, and strengthens trust in the church. They discuss deacons, elders, executive pastors, and practical ways to build systems that serve people, not just processes. 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• The Compelling Community
• Love the Ones Who Drive You Crazy 
• Budgeting for a Healthy Church 
• Deacons by Matt Smethurst 
• The Pastor and Counseling

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Every pastor wants a culture of care, but not every pastor feels equipped to counsel—much less to equip others to counsel one another. In this episode, Deepak Reju—a Delaware pastor who served for nearly 20 years as the counseling pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church—joins Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst to discuss counseling versus discipling, how to build a culture of lay counseling, advice for getting tooled up, tips for pastors who feel out of their depth, thoughts on medication and referrals, and more.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Cure of Souls by David Powilson
• Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness by David Powlison
• How People Change by Paul David Tripp
• How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks
• Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp
• The Art of Disagreeing: How to Keep Calm and Stay Friends in Hard Conversations by Gavin Ortlund
• The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need, by Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju
• Journal of Biblical Counseling
• New Growth Press Minibook Counseling Resource Pack
• Counseling Talk Podcast
• Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) Course

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Practicing church discipline is a vital biblical responsibility that’s often ignored in our modern age. In this episode, Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst discuss what church discipline is (and isn’t), why healthy congregations practice it, and why it’s actually a form of love. Drawing from experience, they also offer advice for fostering a culture in your church where discipline will seem faithful, not foreign.

Resources Mentioned:

• Is It Loving to Practice Church Discipline? By Jonathan Leeman
• What Should We Do about Members Who Won’t Attend? By Alex Duke
• Understanding Church Discipline by Jonathan Leeman
• Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus by Jonathan Leeman

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Ministry is about a lot of things, but central to the task is preparing people to die and face their Creator. This is deeply challenging, though, in a death-denying age. In this episode, Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst welcome Matt McCullough—a pastor in Nashville and the author of two excellent books, ‘Remember Death’ and ‘Remember Heaven’—to discuss how to shepherd God’s people to embrace their mortality, anticipate their heavenly inheritance, and make the most of their lives.

Resources Mentioned:

Remember Death: The Surprising Path to Living Hope by Matt McCullough

Does God Love Everyone? (Church Questions) by Matt McCullough

Remember Heaven: Meditations on the World to Come for Life in the Meantime by Matt McCullough

The Saints' Everlasting Rest: Updated and Abridgedby Richard Baxter, abridged by Tim Cooper

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Every church has the privilege of thinking about how to best serve the children and youth entrusted to its care. In this episode, Jared Kennedy joins Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst to discuss various ministry models and best practices, as well as wisdom for equipping parents, selecting curriculum, vetting volunteers, caring for children with special needs, and more.

Resources Mentioned:

• Accessible Church: A Gospel-Centered Vision for Including People with Disabilities and Their Families, by Sandra Peoples
• Did the Resurrection Really Happen?, by Timothy Paul Jones
• Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide, by Cameron Cole and Jon Nielson
• Same Lake, Different Boat: Coming Alongside People Touched by Disability, by Stephanie O. Hubach
• The Gospel Way Catechism: 50 Truths That Take On the World, by Trevin Wax and Thomas West
• Where Is God in a World with So Much Evil?, by Collin Hansen
• See Jesus Ministries (Paul Miller)
• Simply the Gospel: Resource Library

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Real friendship is an irreplaceable gift from God. Without it we will struggle—and shrivel—as humans made for one another. Pastors know this, and yet ministry can be exceedingly lonely. In this episode, Garrett Kell joins Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst to discuss how a busy pastor can foster (and maintain) meaningful, life-giving friendships amid the complicated dynamics of ministry.

Recommended Resources:

• Augustine of Hippo: A Biography, by Peter Brown
• Made for Friendship: The Relationship That Halves Our Sorrows and Doubles Our Joys, by Drew Hunter
• The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis
• Tim Keller on the Christian Life, by Matt Smethurst
• Wise Counsel, by John Newton

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In a special crossover episode of The Everyday Pastor and Gospelbound, Wesley Huff joins Lig, Matt, and Collin to discuss the role of apologetics in pastoral ministry. How can pastors excel in giving a compelling reason for the hope within us—and train others to do the same? Drawing from both academic expertise and personal experience, Huff offers various cautions and tips for everyday pastors and believers. He shares examples of good apologists today, recommends books, and answers a lightning round of classic objections to the Christian faith.

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How do you prioritize health? How do you stay sharp? Can you be friends with church members? How do you care for your wife? When’s a time you were wrong? How do you choose what to preach? And many, many more questions pastors may be asking.

In this special episode of The Everyday Pastor, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan answer listener-submitted questions, recorded live at TGC’s 2025 National Conference.

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