The New Year presents a renewed opportunity to take an honest assessment of our spiritual health, to intentionally connect with a Christian community, and to resolve to dig deeper in our own faith and discipleship. In this introductory conversation Pastors Clint and Michael explore how easily our faith can become hindered and how small steps, carefully chosen, can help shape us into women and men of deep faith.

Beginning next week, the Pastors will share a spiritual self-assessment each week that will accompany the conversation. Please consider taking the first step on this journey by subscribing and sharing this conversation with others so that they might be part of the journey with us.

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Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

Join Pastors Clint and Michael as they start a new series called Unhindered. Throughout this seven-week series, they will offer a new survey tool every week to assess the strengths and growth areas of your own personal faith along with practical tools to make 2022 a year of deep faith and Christian discipleship.

Please share this series with anyone who you think would like to deepen their faith this year!

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

Have you ever thought about your Christmas traditions theologically? Join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the rich variety of Christmas stories and themes and discuss how these things direct our attention, intentionally and unintentionally, on things other than Christ. At the end of the day, we discover that it isn't the stuff of Christmas that is the problem, but unwillingness slow down and allow the true Christ to reign in our hearts.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in exploring the deeper meaning of Christmas with us during this Advent season.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

Have you ever considered how your Christmas decorations and family traditions affect your family's celebration of the birth of Christ? Today, Pastors Clint and Michael dig into the history, theology, and practical implications of our holiday traditions. Regardless of how you deck your halls, you will likely learn something new about the celebration of Christmas and be encouraged to reconsider those traditions as an opportunity to teach the deeper meaning of this Christian celebration.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in exploring the deeper meaning of Christmas with us during this Advent season.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

Christmas is a strange season where sacred and secular blend together. Today the pastors discuss what Christians should think and do about all of the Christmas entertainment? Is there any sacred left in the songs and movies of a culture obsessed with Santa Clause and White Christmases? Join Pastors Clint and Michael for a lively conversation (that exposes very different assumptions) about what Christians should do with all of our "Christmas" entertainment. Parents, stay tuned to the end for some advice for helping your kids navigate these questions!

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in exploring the deeper meaning of Christmas with us during this Advent season.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

How long has Christmas been celebrated like what we think of as Christmas? In today's episode, we learn that, surprisingly, it hasn't been very long. Join Pastors Clint and Michael as they explore the nuanced history, culture, and impact that our changing Christmas celebrations have had on Christians' celebrations of the birth of Christ for thousands of years. Starting with the fundamental awareness that Christmas can't be simply boiled down to one basic practice will become the backbone of all our Christmas conversations in the following weeks.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in exploring the deeper meaning of Christmas with us during this Advent season.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

The Pastor Talk weekly podcast will be taking a couple weeks off for the Thanksgiving break but we will be back on December 2nd for a 4 week Advent series we are calling “Too Much Christmas?” This series will be a light-hearted look at Christmas through the lenses of Scripture, culture, tradition, and nostalgia. We hope you will join us as Pastor Michael (a self-described Christmas fanatic) and Pastor Clint (often called Grinch by his family) square off to consider the merits and pitfalls of this beloved holiday season and the Holy day that occasioned it.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in exploring the deeper meaning of Christmas with us during this Advent season.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

In this series conclusion, Pastors Clint and Michael explore the many questions left behind by the missional conversation, especially how these conversations become practical in the life and practice within a church. Be sure to stay tuned to the end for when the Pastors make predictions as to what challenges and strategies that future generations of the Church might engage in their efforts to be faithful to the Gospel. Though this series raises far more questions than it answers, we sincerely hope that it sparks a generative conversation about the nature of the church and our own identities as followers of Jesus Christ.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in rediscovering a missional Christian identity with us.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

Today Pastors Clint and Michael welcome Dr. Darrell Guder to the Pastor Talk podcast. Dr. Guder has written several influential works in missional theology and served for much of his career as a professor of missional theology. In fact, it was that capacity that both Clint and Michael had the opportunity to study with him during their time in Seminary. Today's conversation invites us to consider both the history and present state of missional theology and to consider how our missional theology should shape our identity and vocational calling.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in rediscovering a missional Christian identity with us.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.

Today Pastors Clint and Michael are overjoyed to welcome Amgad Beblawi to the Pastor Talk podcast. Amgad is the Mission Executive for three PC(USA) Presbyteries in northwest Iowa and he is actively involved in helping over 100 churches foster and grow in their missional identities. Today's conversation explores how Amgad's understanding of the the missional church has been shaped by his international church and missionary experiences and why that identity is so essential for every Christian and their local church.

Be sure to share this with anyone who you think might be interested in rediscovering a missional Christian identity with us.

Pastor Talk Quick Links:

Pastor Talk is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake, IA.