View from the Pulpit with Ben Smith

Show Notes: “View from the Pulpit” Podcast, Episode 6

Episode Theme: The Preacher as Pastor

In this episode of “View from the Pulpit,” host Ben Smith talks with Rusty Grace, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Waycross, Georgia, about the vital role of preaching and pastoral ministry in today’s churches. Together, they discuss sermon preparation, a little church history, and the challenges of sermon illustrations.

Key Highlights:

Preaching and Worship Planning: Rusty discusses how he plans the worship service in relation to the text he will preach.

Preaching Illustrations: Rusty discusses the dangers and blessings of sermon illustration.

Join Ben Smith and pastor Rusty Grace for a helpful discussion on the importance of preaching and its relationship to the church’s worship and ministry.

Host: Ben Smith

Guest: Rusty Grace

For more information and resources from Pastor Ben Smith, visit www.BenSmithSr.org.

Follow Ben Smith on X at https://x.com/bensmithsr.

Other podcasts by Ben Smith:

All For the Kingdom is a weekly podcast of pastor Ben’s preaching ministry. https://www.bensmithsr.org/bensmith-allforthekingdom

Sermon Shorts is a podcast of sermon clips that are 5 minutes or less. https://www.bensmithsr.org/shortspod

Rusty Grace is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Waycross, GA, where he has served since 2019. He and his wife, Lauren Grace, currently have five children and anticipate soon the adoption finalization of their sixth. For more information about pastor Grace and his church, visit https://fpcwaycross.com/.

A special thanks to Jim Gibson for permission to use his recording of “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. You can find more information about Jim Gibson’s music and many other recordings at https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/.

Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren We have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music.

Show Notes: “View from the Pulpit” Podcast, Episode 5: A Conversation with Freddie Smith

Episode Theme: A lifetime of faithfulness

In this episode of “View from the Pulpit,” host Ben Smith talks with retired Freddie Smith about his 63 years of pastoral ministry and the insights he has gained. 

Key Highlights:

Importance of exhortation: Freddie Smith talks about the importance of exhortation in preaching. 

Importance of Calling: Freddie Smith explains how the call of God in his life has encouraged him and helped him remain faithful to preaching the gospel. 

Fear of God vs Fear of Man: Freddie Smith and Pastor Smith discuss how the fear of man will hinder faithful preaching and the importance of a healthy fear of God to compel a man to faithfully preach God’s word. 

Changes in church culture: Pastor Ben and Freddie Smith discuss the importance of approaching the pulpit with a sense of holiness and respect. 

Join Ben Smith and Freddie Smith for a helpful discussion of drawing on the wisdom gained from 63 years of pastoral ministry.  

Host: Ben Smith 

Guest: Freddie Smith  

For more information and resources from Pastor Ben Smith, visit www.BenSmithSr.org. 

Follow Ben Smith on X at https://x.com/bensmithsr. 

Other podcasts by Ben Smith: 

All For the Kingdom is a weekly podcast of pastor Ben’s preaching ministry. https://www.bensmithsr.org/bensmith-allforthekingdom

Sermon Shorts is a podcast of sermon clips that are 5 minutes or less. https://www.bensmithsr.org/shortspod

Freddie Smith has been preaching for over 63 years. He has served churches in Florida and Georgia, including First Baptist Church, Naples, FL; Central Baptist Church, Sanford, FL; and Sweat Memorial Baptist Church, Waycross, GA. He is the author of Revival Our Survival. Though retired from full-time ministry, Freddie continues to preach regularly. 

A special thanks to Jim Gibson for permission to use his recording of “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. You can find more information about Jim Gibson’s music and many other recordings at https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/.  

Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren We have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music. 

Show Notes: “View from the Pulpit” Podcast, Episode 4: A Conversation with Dr. Levi Skipper

Episode Theme: A preacher’s preparation and the role of preaching in the church

In this episode of “View from the Pulpit,” host Ben Smith talks with Dr. Levi Skipper, senior pastor of Sagemont Church, Houston, TX, about the process of preparing to preach, the role of preaching in the ministry of the church, and how technology has impacted the ministry of preaching.

Key Highlights:

The Details of Sermon Preparation: Dr. Skipper discusses his weekly sermon preparation process, from reading a scripture text to delivering a sermon. Levi discusses using a sermon manuscript and how his pulpit notes have changed over the years.

Helpful Criticism: Dr. Skipper advocates for the benefits of developing relationships with those who can give helpful criticism and coaching to help you become a better preacher.

Importance of knowing your congregation: Beyond the study and writing of sermons, Dr. Skipper describes how knowing your congregation is a requirement for every preacher.

Technology and the church: Online access has impacted how many connect with preaching. Dr. Skipper discusses how God has used technology to advance the reach of the church’s preaching ministry and its limitations.

Join Ben Smith and Dr. Levi Skipper for an honest discussion of the challenges and joys of preaching and how you can be more faithful in the pulpit.

Host: Ben Smith

Guest: Dr. Levi Skipper

For more information and resources from Pastor Ben Smith, visit www.BenSmithSr.org

Follow Ben Smith on X at https://x.com/bensmithsr

Other podcasts by Ben Smith:

All For the Kingdom is a weekly podcast of pastor Ben’s preaching ministry. https://www.bensmithsr.org/bensmith-allforthekingdom

Sermon Shorts is a podcast of sermon clips that are 5 minutes or less. https://www.bensmithsr.org/shortspod

Dr. Levi Skipper is the senior pastor of Sagemont Church, Houston, TX. He previously served as the Vice President of Church Strengthening for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, where he has been serving with the Georgia Baptist Convention since 2019. Levi has 22 years of ministry experience, of which 17 have been in the role of Senior Pastor. Levi is a graduate of Shorter University, Rome, GA. He went on to receive his Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctorate in Ministry from Luther Rice University.

Dr. Skipper was called at the age of 23 as Lead Pastor of Ewing Road Baptist Church in Austell, Georgia. In 2009, from his heart for evangelism and missions and a clear call from God, Levi founded First Day Ministry. At First Day Ministry, Levi has preached at evangelism conferences with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, revivals across the state, and has held numerous evangelistic crusades overseas. He has also been instrumental in founding a theological training school that has equipped over 300 pastors in Ethiopia. In 2010, returned to the pastorate as Senior Pastor at Concord Baptist Church in Clermont, Georgia. In 2019, he accepted the role of Director of Evangelism for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

Dr. Skipper is the author of many books and resources that include:

-The Domino Effect: Building an Evangelistic Culture in the Life of Your Church

- No Sweat Evangelism

- No Sweat Discipleship

- Ride the Waves

- Your Ministry Zone

- Time Management Training

- Spiritual Avalanche, https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Avalanche-Dr-Levi-Skipper/dp/1617775630

- Marriage In the Red: Transforming your Marriage One Color at a Time (2010), https://www.christianbook.com/marriage-transforming-your-one-color-time/levi-skipper/9781449703721/pd/703722?srsltid=AfmBOoqIzB8dqdCN7qaep1RMWKy-oRJp7xpHvzWjxEi08fb4eMPcZpiM

Follow Dr. Skipper on X at https://x.com/drjlskipper

You can find video of Dr. Levi Skipper’s preaching at https://www.sagemontchurch.org/media/on-demand/

An audio podcast of Dr. Levi Skipper’s preaching is available on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sagemont-church/id1774323850

A special thanks to Jim Gibson for permission to use his recording of “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. You can find more information about Jim Gibson’s music and many other recordings at https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/.

Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren We have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music.

In this episode of View From the Pulpit, Ben Smith sits down with Jarrod Everson, pastor of Deenwood Baptist Church in Waycross, Georgia, for a wide-ranging conversation on expositional preaching and pastoral faithfulness.

Jarrod describes his weekly sermon preparation process in detail, explaining why he manuscripts his sermons, how he works carefully through biblical texts, and how he balances study, pastoral responsibilities, and preaching both Sunday morning and Sunday evening. The discussion highlights his commitment to preaching consecutively through books of the Bible, including Romans, the Psalms, and Nehemiah.

The conversation also explores Jarrod’s experience growing up in a pastor’s home, the lasting influence of his father’s ministry, and the importance of perseverance, integrity, and patience in pastoral leadership. Ben and Jarrod reflect on cultural shifts within the church and why faithful, text-driven preaching remains essential in an era of declining cultural Christianity.

This episode offers insight and encouragement for pastors, church leaders, and church members who want to better understand the work of preaching and the calling behind it.

For more information and resources from Pastor Ben Smith, visit www.BenSmithSr.org

Follow Ben Smith on X at https://x.com/bensmithsr.

Other podcasts by Ben Smith:

All For the Kingdom is a weekly podcast of pastor Ben’s preaching ministry. https://www.bensmithsr.org/bensmith-allforthekingdom

Sermon Shorts is a podcast of sermon clips that are 5 minutes or less. https://www.bensmithsr.org/shortspod

Jarrod Everson is the pastor of Deenwood Baptist Church, Waycross, GA.

For more information about Pastor Everson and his church, visit http://deenwoodbaptist.org/.

Listen to Pastor Everson’s sermons at: https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-xaykw-5706b7

A special thanks to Jim Gibson for permission to use his recording of “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. You can find more information about Jim Gibson’s music and many other recordings at https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/.

Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music.

In this introductory episode of View From the Pulpit, Ben Smith invites listeners to think carefully about the place, purpose, and priority of preaching in the life of the church. Preaching is familiar to most Christians, yet it is rarely examined or thoughtfully considered by anyone other than the preacher himself. This episode seeks to recover a deeper understanding of why preaching is not simply one ministry among many, but the central ministry of the church from which all others flow.

Drawing from nearly twenty-five years of pastoral ministry and a lifetime spent under the sound of sermons, Ben reflects on how God has reshaped his understanding of faithful preaching. Through three formative lessons—conviction over education, substance over performance, and faithfulness over size—he explains how assumptions about style, personality, and numerical success can subtly distort what we value in preaching.

This episode is not only for pastors. It is for church members, leaders, and anyone who loves Christ and His church and desires to better understand how God uses the preaching of His Word to save sinners, sanctify the saints, and sustain the church. Ben also introduces the vision for the podcast: thoughtful conversations with pastors and church members about the labor, joy, struggles, and spiritual weight of preaching.

Listeners will hear why preaching is essential to the identity of the church, why crowd size is an unreliable measure of faithfulness, and why a recovery of preaching is vital for the health of the church today.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Jim Gibson for granting permission to use his recording of “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. In this episode, Ben shares his personal connection to Jim’s parents, James and Ella Gibson, and reflects on how their example and testimony of honoring the preaching of God’s Word had a profound impact on his own life and ministry.

Ben chose the hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” because its lyrics emphasize the centrality of preaching, both for the salvation of the lost and for the ongoing ministry to the church.

Music Credits

Music by Jim Gibson
“Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”
Songs of the South III
© 2003 Hickory Cove Music

More information about Jim Gibson’s music and additional recordings can be found at Hickory Cove Music.

New interviews begin March 17. Subscribe to View From the Pulpit to be notified when new episodes are released.

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.”

Why another podcast on preaching?

In this introductory episode of View From the Pulpit, Pastor Ben Smith introduces the purpose and vision of the podcast and explains why preaching remains central to the life of the church.

Preaching is more than a weekly tradition or a matter of personal style. It is God’s appointed means for proclaiming His Word, shaping His people, and building His church. In an age of endless content, digital media, and competing voices, this episode asks why faithful biblical preaching still matters—and why both pastors and church members should care deeply about it.

View From the Pulpit is a podcast devoted to thoughtful reflection on preaching from a biblical, historical, and pastoral perspective. While pastors and ministry leaders will find encouragement and sharpening, this podcast is equally for church members who want to better understand the preaching they hear each Lord’s Day.

Whether you are a pastor, seminary student, or a committed church member, this podcast invites you to think carefully about the preaching ministry God uses to feed, form, and mature His people.

Subscribe and join the conversation as we consider preaching—reverently, carefully, and biblically—from the pulpit.Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren We have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music. https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/