🎙️ Episode Title: Known and Needed: Why Vulnerability Among Pastors Helps Build Real Friendships

In this episode of the LovePastors Podcast, Gary Underwood sits down with longtime friend and fellow pastor Scott Feather, Lead Pastor at Gateway Church in Parkesburg, PA. Their friendship goes back to their Grace College days in the early ’90s—but this conversation is anything but nostalgic.

Together, they dive into what it really means to be known and needed in ministry—and why vulnerability among pastors is not a weakness, but a vital strength. Scott shares from his decades of experience leading and investing in others, and how creating space to be honest about the hard stuff has helped build deeper, lasting friendships that go the distance.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why so many pastors struggle to feel truly known

• How real friendships among leaders start with courage and honesty

• What makes a local pastor group feel safe and life-giving

• The long-term impact of vulnerability on your ministry and your soul

• Practical ways to build (or rebuild) trusted relationships in your life

If you’re tired of surface-level connections and hungry for deeper community, this episode will challenge and encourage you to take a risk—and find the kind of friendship every pastor needs.

🎙 LovePastors Podcast | Episode [20]
Guest: Eric Miller – Executive Director, Momentum Ministry Partners
Title: Investing in the Next Generation (and the Leaders Who Lead Them)

In this inspiring episode of LovePastors, we sit down with Eric Miller, Executive Director of Momentum Ministry Partners, to explore the incredible ways God is moving in the lives of high school students and the youth pastors who serve them.

Eric shares firsthand stories of transformation, the power of intentional ministry partnerships, and the unique calling of those working with the next generation. But we also dive deep into a topic often overlooked—how do we care for the caregivers? What does it look like to pastor pastors, and how can we walk alongside youth leaders as they discern their long-term calling and career path?

Whether you’re a lead pastor, youth leader, or simply someone who cares about the future of the Church, this conversation will both challenge and encourage you.

🔗 Learn more about Momentum Ministry Partners: https://buildmomentum.org/
📲 Subscribe & share to support more conversations like this.

#LovePastors #YouthMinistry #PastorCare #MomentumMinistry #NextGenLeadership #MinistryCalling #ChurchLeadership #EricMiller

🎙️ Episode Title: “Legacy, Leadership, and Creativity with Steve Shuman”

In this inspiring episode of the LovePastors Podcast, we sit down with Steve Shuman—a pastor’s kid, a father of three, a lifelong friend of LovePastors founder Gary Underwood, and a true kingdom-minded innovator.

Steve currently serves on the Elder Board at Evermore Community Church, but his influence extends far beyond the church walls. From his early days growing up in ministry, to pioneering creative partnerships with organizations like Iron Sharpens Iron, CBMC, Alpha, University Tees, and Church Merch, Steve brings a unique blend of pastoral heart and entrepreneurial insight.

We talk legacy, spiritual leadership, friendship that spans decades, and how creativity can fuel the mission of the Church in today’s world.

Whether you’re a pastor, a parent, or a ministry leader looking for fresh vision—this conversation will encourage and challenge you.

Podcast Episode Summary:

🎙️ Episode Title: Grieving with Grace: A Conversation with Bishop Joey Johnson

In this heartfelt and timely episode, host Gary Underwood sits down with Bishop Joey Johnson, founding pastor of The House of the Lord in Akron, Ohio, for a candid conversation on the critical need for pastors and leaders to grieve in a healthy way.

Bishop Johnson shares profound insights from his decades of ministry, emphasizing that grief is not a sign of weakness but a vital part of spiritual and emotional health. Together, they explore how unprocessed grief can silently erode leadership effectiveness, relationships, and personal well-being.

Listeners will hear:

• Why leaders often avoid grieving—and the cost of that avoidance

• The spiritual and psychological importance of naming and honoring our losses

• How grief can be a pathway to deeper empathy, resilience, and growth

• Practical steps leaders can take to embrace grief in a healthy, faith-filled way

• Bishop Johnson’s personal journey through seasons of loss and how he found restoration

Whether you're a pastor, ministry leader, or simply walking through your own season of sorrow, this episode is a powerful reminder that grief is not something to get over—but something to move through, with God’s help.

🔊 Tune in for a moving, grace-filled conversation that will inspire you to lead from a place of wholeness, not burnout.

He’s inspired thousands of people to believe in God and follow Jesus.

But he also remembers when a friend told him, “You never smile.”

It’s a conversation that stuck with Pastor Knute Larson for the rest of his life. As he preached for more than five decades and spent extra time coaching pastors and teaching in Seminary, Knute always brings a smile.

Why? What’s so important or game-changing about a seemingly small expression?

In today’s episode, Gary welcomes back Dr Knute Larson, beaming in from the shores of Lake Michigan to do it one more time - urge pastors to smile!

Perhaps it’s what you needed today as a leader. Maybe it will remind you to pursue joy in everyday life. If nothing else, some of Knute and Gary’s rabbit trails will make you laugh. You might even smile!

When You Follow A Legend: A Conversation with Pastor Daren Brake

What does it look like to take the reins after a beloved pastor has faithfully led a church for 50 years? In this episode, Gary sits down for a candid and heartfelt lunch conversation with Pastor Daren Brake of The House of the Lord in Akron, Ohio.

Together, they explore what it means to honor a legacy while stepping into a new season of leadership. Pastor Daren opens up about the challenges and opportunities of following in the footsteps of a legend, and how he’s navigating the deeply relational nature of pastoral ministry.

They also talk about the importance of protecting your time, setting healthy boundaries, and resisting the pressure to be constantly busy. Whether you're in ministry, leadership, or just trying to live with intention, this conversation will leave you encouraged, challenged, and inspired.

🔗 Links & Resources:

• The House of the Lord (Akron, OH):
  https://www.thehouseofthelord.com

• Learn More About LovePastors:
  https://www.lovepastors.com

Key issues covered in this episode include:

• Pastor Daren Brake

• The House of the Lord Akron

• church leadership transition

• following a legendary pastor

• legacy in ministry

• pastoral leadership

• relational ministry

• healthy pastoral boundaries

• avoiding pastoral burnout

• time management for pastors

• shepherding a church

• modern pastoral challenges

• leading a church after 50 years

• pastoral wisdom

• ministry and legacy

• mentoring new church leaders

• church succession planning

• spiritual leadership

• balancing ministry and life

• love pastors

• supporting church leaders

• Ohio churches

• Akron church leaders

• new generation pastors

• pastoral care and connection

• intentional leadership in church

• multigenerational church leadership

• healthy church culture

• pastoral transition stories

• church growth and leadership

• empowering the next generation of pastors

In some sense, Keith Minier is living every pastor’s dream. In 21 years as Lead Pastor, Keith has watched God grow Grace Fellowship from less than 100 attendees to more than 5,000 over multiple campuses and many weekly worship services.

Over the years, Keith has worked hard to keep his heart focused on Jesus and actually caring personally for his family, his church, and his pastor friends. He’s a lifelong learner who seeks out peers, mentors, and life-giving conversations with leaders. One of his favorite “projects” is serving as co-leader of the MomentumPRO pastors cohort and connecting with other pastor friends on the East side of Columbus, Ohio.

Today, he joins LovePastors to talk with Gary about pastoral friendships with each other, with church members, and with others in the community. What relationships are life-giving for Lead Pastors, and how can they find or create them and flourish? Pastoring can be a lonely or isolating role unless we take the initiative and pursue peer friendships and pastor groups. Thank you, Keith, for personally caring for and mentoring other pastors and leaders around you and around the country!

Being a pastor is a lot like being a doctor. You’re used to helping people who are in pain or in tragedies. You’re prepared to give comfort, help, and resources that can lead to restored health.

In today’s episode, Dr Jason Kolb joins us to talk about the realities of pastoring while facing pressure, stress, and sometimes trauma. Jason’s story and example of enduring a life-altering skiing accident is helping him, his network of friends and family, and thousands of others find God’s comfort and presence and hope in the midst of painful realities.

Jason and Gary have known each other since (roughly) 1983, and they’ve reconnected over the last eighteen months with a shared heart to help pastors and their families. This episode talks about anxiety, medication, sleep, coping mechanisms, and exercise for pastors. Take care of your physical and emotional health, and find encouragement from others like Jason and Gary along the way.

In today's episode, LovePastors host Gary Underwood reconnects with his grad-school roommate and lifelong friend, Kary Oberbrunner. Back in 1998, these two were pursuing Pastor training and Seminary degrees and very similar futures in church leadership. Less than a decade later, Kary began to express his inward journey and personal struggles through writing books like Your Secret Name and Fine Line. God started to draw Kary's heart and hopes beyond his pastoral job description to a radical new life as an entrepreneur, author, business leader, conference speaker, and igniter of souls. Was Kary "done" pastoring? Or was God enlarging Kary's pastor heart, network, and influence to transform people for Christ all around the world?

KARY OBERBRUNNER is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen books. As CEO of Igniting Souls and Blockchain Life, he helps authors, entrepreneurs, and influencers publish, protect, and promote their Intellectual Property and turn it into 18 streams of income. His companies are committed to: Setting Free World-Changing Ideas. An award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and inventor, he’s been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, CBS, Fox News, Yahoo, and many other major media outlets. 

As a young man, he suffered from severe stuttering, depression, and self-injury. Today a transformed man, Kary ignites souls. He speaks internationally on a variety of topics including leadership, personal growth, human performance, blockchain technology, and entrepreneurship. As a futurist, he often consults on marketing, branding, Intellectual Property, and Web3.

He has several earned degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts, Masters in Divinity, and Doctorate in Transformational Leadership. He also serves as the Berry Chair of Entrepreneurship at Cedarville University, where he teaches on the topics of Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing. Kary enjoys cycling, especially in the French Alps. He lives in Ohio with his wife Kelly and three children: Keegan, Isabel, and Addison.

What's it like being in a Pastor's family? What are some of the fun parts and some of the unique or challenging parts? How can we - as the Body of Christ - get more familiar with our Pastors and their families as actual people, and not just the roles they play or ministries they lead?

Today, Gary heads to Ohio Roasting Company and meets up with LovePastors Leadership Board member, Jada Yoder. A "pastor's kid" from a large family in the little town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jada has remained strong in her faith in Jesus. She currently serves as a Leadership Coach with GiANT Worldwide and HR Director at 3rd Street Community Church.

Jada's perspective and heart have connected her with many church friends, pastors, and leaders. She brings a compassionate wisdom and fresh ideas to LovePastors as not only a new organization, but a way of truly seeing and serving people who might otherwise go unnoticed.

Jada Yoder shares how Love Pastors exists to provide holistic care and support for pastors and their families, ensuring they feel seen, understood, and not overlooked. Whether it’s connecting them to local ministry leaders, adjusting staff expectations, or simply offering encouragement, the goal is to meet real needs in meaningful ways. Jada emphasizes the power of paying attention—listening for God’s promptings to reach out with a voice message, a prayer, or a small act of kindness. She encourages people to support their pastors without expecting anything in return, trusting that God cares deeply for those in ministry. Ultimately, the mission is to reflect God’s heart by seeing pastors and their families as whole people and serving them with compassion and intention.