Pastor Writer: Conversations on Reading, Writing, and the Christian Life: Recent Episodes
Chase Replogle
The Pastor Writer podcast is a series of conversations and reflections on the Christian life through reading and writing. From interviews with authors to thoughts on scripture and culture, Chase Replogle offers a wide range of topics and explorations. Chase is a church pastor and writer. You can follow more of his work at pastorwriter.com
Jared Wilson is an award-winning author of over 20 books and a popular speaker at churches and conferences around the world. A 30-year ministry veteran, he is especially known for his passionate gospel-centered teaching.
Jared serves as Pastor for Preaching and the Director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri and as an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Author in Residence at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri.
Jared is a great writer, and it's been my honor to have him on the podcast before. Today, he joins me to talk about one of his new releases, The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship.
Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast, The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.
Patrick Schreiner is an associate professor of New Testament and Biblical theology at Midwestern baptist Theological Seminary. He is also an elder at Emmaus Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author numerous books, including Matthew, Discipels and Scribe; a commentary on Acts, The Ascension of Christ; and The Kigndom of God and the Glory of the Cross.
Patrick joins me on today's episode to discuss his new book, The Transfiguration of Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Reading. We take a closer look at Jesus's transfiguration and why it matters for how we read the gospels and think about Christ.
Brian Croft is the former Senior Pastor of Au-burn-dale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky and is the Founder of Practical Shepherding. He is also Senior Fellow for the Mathena Center for Church Revitalization and an Adjunct Professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Ronnie Martin is founder and lead pastor of Substance Church (EFCA) in Ashland, Ohio. Before pastoral ministry, Ronnie was an internationally known recording artist, producing and releasing over 15 albums for the Tooth and Nail Records label. In addition to pastoring Substance, Ronnie is also the Director of Leader Renewal for Harbor Network, a church planting collective based out of Louisville, Kentucky. He has authored 6 books, including The God Who Is With Us, and regularly speaks at conferences for pastors and church planters.
Brian and Ronnie join me to discuss their new book on the unhurried pastor and how we can redefine productivity for a more sustainable ministry.
Ryan Rush, serves as pastor of Kingsland Baptist Church, in Katy, Texas.
He has spent more than 20 years working in ministry, and during that time, he has been on a mission to connect church and home life, becoming a national voice for the “Faith at Home” movement.
In over a decade serving as Adjunct Professor at Liberty University, he has taught more than 1,500 students the course he helped to design, “Theology of the Family.” Ryan currently teaches Doctoral students in the Marriage and Family program at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Ryan is a graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and holds a PhD in Christian leadership with a ministry concentration from the Cook School at Dallas Baptist University.
He is the author of several books, Home on Time, Why Everybody’s Stuck, and his latest book, Restore the Table: Discovering the Powerful Connections of Meaningful Mealtimes. In today's conversation, we'll be exploring the place of tables in the ministry of Jesus and how meals are an important part of the Christian calling.
David Kaywood is a senior pastor at Eastside Community Church in Jacksonville, Florida. He is the author of A Call to Contentment: Pursuing Godly Satisfaction in a Restless World. He is the founder of gospelrelevance.com and a contributor to The Gospel Coalition. He lives in Jacksonville Beach, Florida with his wife and two children.
In our conversation, we explore the Christian call to contentment in a restless world. How can Christians experience contentment, and how can we, as Christian writers, do our work without the restless anxiety it often causes?
I'm joined on today's podcast by Editor Todd Hains and Illustrator Natasha Kennedy. Together, they have been working on Lexham's new series of children's books, known as the FatCat series. We discuss the current state of Christian children's literature, Catechism, and Classical Education, and how we can be intentional about teaching our children the language and the theology of our faith.
Drew Dyck is the author of multiple books, including Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets To Self Control From The Bible And Brain Science (2019), and the book he joins me to talk about today, Just Show Up: How Small Acts of Faithfulness Change Everything (2023).
Drew is an editor at Moody Publishers and the former managing editor of Leadership Journal. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, and CNN.com.
Drew grew up in Canada and now lives in the Portland area with his wife, Grace, and their three children.
Mark Fugitt has been a pastor for eighteen years and an adjunct professor for a decade. He has a bachelor’s in history; master’s degrees in history, theological studies, and theology; and his PhD in biblical studies and historical theology. He lives with his wife Laura and four children on a farm in the hills of Missouri.
He joins me to talk about his new book: Lost Shepherd: What Believers Once Knew About Paslm 23 That the Modern World has Forgotten
Since the beginning of the Pastor Writer podcast, I've dedicated the last episode of each year to a reflection on some of my favorite books. I think it's a great practice for anyone. I looked back through my Amazon orders, my bookshelves, my Kindle and Audible apps, and noted books that stood out. For me, books are never just read, they represent the things I've been thinking about, working on, and areas I'm trying to grow.
This year, the books really reflect my ongoing writing project, but hopefully, there are a few that will be interesting to you. Let me know what you've been reading. I'm always grateful for recommendations on books or authors that you think would fit the show.
Cary Schmidt serves as the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newington, Connecticut.
He and his wife, Dana, have been blessed with three children and have enjoyed thirty four years of marriage and ministry together. Cary's passion is to love God, love his family, and point people to Jesus Christ through teaching, preaching, and writing. He hosts the "Leading in the Gospel" podcast to encourage Gospel-shaped leadership, and "Growing in the gospel"—a daily devotional on Youtube.
He has written fifteen books, including Stop Trying, Live Lighter—Love Better, Off Script, Passionate Parenting, Real Christianity, and others. he joins me to talk about his recently released book, Steady Strength: Reversing Ministry's Dangerous Drift Toward Depletion.
Randall Wallace is the Oscar®-nominated creative force behind the epic storytelling of such critical and box-office hits as BRAVEHEART, WE WERE SOLDIERS, PEARL HARBOR, SECRETARIAT, and HEAVEN IS FOR REAL. Along with his work in film, Randall is the author of nine books, including five original novels, three novel versions of the screenplays of his films, and his first work of non-fiction, LIVING THE BRAVEHEART LIFE.
Harold Senkbeil is executive director emeritus of Doxology: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care.
His pastoral experience of nearly five decades includes parish ministry, the seminary classroom, and parachurch leadership. He is author of numerous books, including the award-winning The Care of Souls, Christ and Calamity, and Dying to Live.
Alex McFarland is a speaker, author, and advocate for Christian apologetics. He is the founder and president of the national apologetic conference, Truth for a New Generation. Alex is the author of over twenty books on apologetics and the Christian faith. For more than a decade, Alex and Bert Harper have cohosted Exploring the Word, a nationally syndicated, live Bible-teaching program heard daily on American Family Radio. He is a graduate of Liberty University and lives near Greensboro North Carolina with Angie, his wife of over thirty years.
Alex joins me to talk about his new book, 100 Bible Questions and Answers for Families, and how the work of apologetics is changing.
We’re excited your family is joining us in talking about the Bible. We’re Chase, Ashley, Will, and Charlotte.
We enjoy talking about the Bible and the world in which the Bible stories actually happened. We hope our conversations can help inspire conversations in your family. We wanted to create a podcast that the whole family could enjoy and learn from. Too often, kid's content is dumbed down. We think kids are capable of far more than sometimes our Bible conversations reflect. So we’ve aimed high with our conversations. There will certainly be plenty of new words and ideas that might not be familiar to kids, but that’s how you learn. Questions are what always start great conversations.
When not talking about the Bible, you’ll find us sailing, reading, and taking care of all our animals (horses, chickens, cats, and dogs).
The EVERY MOMENT HOLY series of books by Douglas McKelvey and published by Rabbit Room Press brings new prayers and liturgies for the ordinary events of daily life. These prayers are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose even when, especially when, we are too busy or too caught up in our busyness to notice. The prayers are accented with linocut illustrations by Ned Bustard.
Collectively, Every Moment Holy has sold over 300,000 books across two volumes and five editions.
DOUGLAS MC-KELVEY grew up in East Texas and moved to Nashville in 1991 to participate in the early work of Charlie Peacock’s Art House Foundation, an organization dedicated to a shared exploration of faith and the arts. In the decades since, he has worked as an author, song lyricist, scriptwriter, and video director. He has penned more than 350 lyrics recorded by a variety of artists including Switchfoot, Kenny Rogers, Sanctus Real, and Jason Gray. He and his wife have three grown daughters and two sons-in-law.
Tommy Brown is the pastor for spiritual and community formation at Generations United Church in Freeport, Florida. He has a BA in pastoral ministry and master’s degrees in divinity and management, and he is the author of The Seven Money Types: Discover How God Wired You to Handle Money.
He joins me to talk about his new book: The Ache for Meaning: How the Temptations of Christ Reveal Who We Are and What We're Seeking.
Description:
In The Ache for Meaning, Tommy Brown journeys through our questions and temptations into the deeper invitation Jesus offers. In the mindsets and practices Christ embodied, we discover what kept him centered on his identity and purpose—and what equips us to do the same. Because when you know where you’ve come from and where you’re going, daily temptations toward security, approval, and power to control pale in comparison to your most significant reality: You are a child of God.
Austin Carty lives and pastors in Anderson, South Carolina. He holds degrees in literature and divinity from High Point University, Wake Forest University, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Emory University. He is a lover of theology and the arts, and is particularly passionate about good literature.
He joins me to discuss his book, The Pastor's Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for MInistry.
Andrew Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Andrew writes and researches in areas of theology, ministry, culture and younger generations.
His most recent books are Churches and the Crisis of Declineand the book he joins me to discuss today, When Church Stops Working: A Future for Your Congregation beyond More Money, programs, and Innovation.
John Dyer holds a Phd from Durham university. He currently serves as the VP for Enrollment and Educational Technology and Assistant Professor of Theological Studies for Dallas Theological Seminary. He has also been a technology creator for more than 20 years, building tools for Apple, Microsoft, Harley Davidson, the Department of Defense, and Dallas's NPR affiliate, and his open source code is part of the WordPress core. He lives near Dallas, Texas, with his wife, and two children.
He joins me on the Pastor Writer podcast to discuss his new book, People of the Screen: How Evangelicals Created the Digital Bible and How It Shapes Their Reading of Scripture.
It’s been over a year since I released The 5 Masculine Instincts. I wrote the book because, as a pastor, I saw the way so many men were wrestling with questions about masculinity and how the broader cultural conversation seemed to be leading to more online debates than actual Christlike growth in the lives of men. That trend continues. There are more books, more articles, and more controversies. Drop the word masculinity on Twitter, and like raw meat thrown into the river, the piranhas swarm. Some do it simply because they enjoy that show (You know, some people keep Piranhas as pets).
That’s never been my goal. From the beginning, I wanted to try and carve a way forward. No one is unaware of the problems. And while it’s easy to draw attention with hand grenades thrown back and forth between the trenches, there come moments in each of our lives when we must determine to become better men. I wanted to help individual men grow in character. Online debates have never proved much help in those real-world moments of temptation and discouragement. I wanted to write a book that could guide those moments.
Read more at the5masculieninstincts.com
Dr. Sean McGever has a PhD from the University of Aberdeen. He is an Area Director for Young Life in Phoenix, Arizona, and an adjunct faculty at Grand Canyon University. He speaks, teaches, and ministers across the United States, Canada, and the UK. He joins me to talk about his recently released book, Evangelism. It is a part of Lexam’s The Care of Souls Series.
The Lexham Ministry Guides, edited by Harold L. Senkbeil, are designed to offer practical, proven wisdom for the church.
John Meador has served as a lead pastor for 40 years, most recently at Cross City Church, in Euless, Texas since 2006. The church is intergenerational and multi-ethnic.
He and His wife Kim have been married for 44 years and are the grateful parents of six grown children. John loves sports—and enjoys working on and driving around in his old Ford truck.
He joins me to talk about his new book, God’s Not Done With You: Encouragement from the Bible’s Greatest Comeback Stories.
Jeremy Writebol has served in vocational ministry as a pastor for over 20 years. A graduate of Moody Bible Institute (B.A. 2001) he currently is the lead campus pastor of Woodside Bible Church's Plymouth, MI campus.
Alongside his pastoral ministry, Jeremy is the Executive Director of the publishing and resourcing ministry Gospel-Centered Discipleship. He is married to Stephanie and is the father of two children.
He joins me to talk about his new book: Pastor, Jesus Is Enough: Hope for the Weary, the Burned Out, and the Broken.
Andrew Peterson is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and author of the Wingfeather Saga. He’s also the founder of The Rabbit Room, an organization that fosters community through story, art, and music. Andrew and his wife, Jamie, have two sons, Aeden and Asher, and one daughter, Skye. They live in the Nashville, Tennessee, area on a wooded hill in a little house they call the Warren—where they are generally safe from bumpy digtoads and toothy cows.
The Wingfeather Saga is being released in Paperback to coincide with its release in animation. Andrew joins the Pastor Writer podcast to discuss writing the series and bringing it to television.
Robert Wolgemuth has been in the media business for thirty-nine years. A former president of Thomas Nelson Publishers, he is the founder of Wolgemuth & Associates, a literary agency exclusively representing the writing work of more than one hundred authors.
Robert is a speaker and best-selling author of over twenty books.
Among his professional accomplishments, he has served two terms as the Chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. He is a 1969 graduate of Taylor University, where he also received an honorary doctorate in May 2005.
He joins me to talk about his new book, Finish Line: Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life.
Collin Hansen serves as vice president for content and editor-in-chief of The Gospel Coalition, as well as executive director of The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He hosts the Gospelbound podcast and has written and contributed to many books, most recently Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation and Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential.
He has published with the New York Times and the Washington Post and offered commentary for CNN, Fox News, NPR, BBC, ABC News, and PBS NewsHour. He edited Our Secular Age: Ten Years of Reading and Applying Charles Taylor and The New City Catechism Devotional, among other books.
He is a member of Iron City Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and he is an adjunct professor at Beeson Divinity School, where he also co-chairs the advisory board.
David Kim is the discipleship pastor at WestGate Church in Silicon Valley, California and author of Made To Belong: Five Practices for Cultivating Community in a Disconnected. He completed M.Div and Th.M from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his children's book on dealing with change was selected for Oprah's Favorite Things list. He cares deeply about the intersection of spiritual formation, theology, mental health, and the cultivation of authentic Christian communities. He lives with his wife and two daughters in San Jose, California.
Terry Glaspey is a writer, an editor, a creative mentor, and someone who finds various forms of art—painting, films, novels, poetry, and music—to be some of the places where he most deeply connects with God.
He has a master’s degree in history from the University of Oregon, as well as undergraduate degrees emphasizing counseling and pastoral studies.
He has written over a dozen books and has been the recipient of several major national awards for his writing. In December, he released a new C. S. Lewis biography entitled Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis.We discuss Lewis: his life, work, and writing.
Brian Smith is on staff with Athletes in Action. A former track and cross-country athlete while in college, he now spends his time ministering to athletes. He writes regularly for athletesinaction.org.
He likes the Detroit Lions probably a little too much, and graduated with a degree in Communications and Journalism from Wake Forest University.
He joins me to talk about his recent book, The Christian Athlete: Glorifying God in Sports
It’s been my tradition to spend the last episode of the year looking back on my favorite reads from the past twelve months. This time of year, just about everyone is putting out their top list of books and awards.
What I want to offer you are the 10 books that have impacted my thinking most this year. They aren’t necessarily the best books I have read or even the most important, but they are the books that have been shaping my own life and thinking this past year.
What I’d love to hear is what you’ve been reading. It’s actually really helpful to go back through your Amazon orders or Audible library and think about what you read this past year. What books are you still thinking about? Which books left an impact? What are you planning on reading in 2023?
Andrew Arndt is the lead pastor of New Life East, one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Prior to joining New Life's team, he served as the lead pastor of Bloom Church, a network of house churches in Denver.
He is the host of the Essential Church podcast, a weekly conversation designed to strengthen the thinking of church and ministry leaders. Andrew received his MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently working on his DMin with Western Theological Seminary.
He joins me today to talk about his new book, Streams in the Wasteland: Finding Spiritual Renewal with the Desert Fathers & Mothers.
Jonathan Hardy has a passion for helping local churches reach their communities. He has served in various pastoral roles and now helps lead two online platforms, training and equipping pastors and local churches: Leaders.church and Church University.
Jonathan recently released his first book, Arrow Striker: Live with Purpose and Leave an Eternal Impact… Every single Day. He joins me to talk about the book and how as believers, we can recognize and make the most out of every God-given opportunity.
Aaron Damiani serves as the lead pastor of Immanuel Anglican Church in Chicago and is the author of Earth Filled with Heaven: Finding Life in Liturgy, Sacraments and other Ancient Practices of the Church. Aaron writes and regularly speaks about spiritual formation, leadership, and recovering the gifts of the ancient church for today’s challenges. Aaron and his wife Laura live with their four kids in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood.
Jim Cymbala has been a pastor for more than fifty years at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
He has a strong burden for the local church and has been blessed with the opportunity to encourage thousands of pastors around the globe. He is the bestselling author of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire and several other titles.
His next book, Fan the Flame, will release in September 2022. He joins me to talk about the book and how pastors can keep their call alive during times of discouragement and burnout.
Jim lives in New York City with his wife, Carol Cymbala, who directs the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.
Chris Nye is a doctoral student at Duke University’s Divinity School and the author of Distant God and Less of More. For fifteen years, he has served as a local church pastor. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and various other publications.
He recently released a new book, A Captive Mind, Christianity, Ideologies, and Staying Sane in a World Gone Mad. Chris joins me to talk about his new book and how ideologies can impact our faith and the church.
Jonathan Dodson is the founding pastor of City Life Church in Austin, TX which he started with his wife, and a small group of people.
He is also the founder of Gospel-Centered Discipleship.com, which produces resources to help make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus.
He is the author of a number of books, including Here in Spirit, The Unbelievable Gospel and Gospel-Centered Discipleship.
He joins me to talk about his most recent project, a new book: The Unwavering Pastor: Leading the Church with Grace in Divisive Times. The book discusses Biblical wisdom to help ministry leaders cope with church division and leadership stress
Scott Sauls is senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. Before serving in Nashville, he served with Tim Keller at New York City's Redeemer Presbyterian Church as a lead and preaching pastor. In addition to his books, Scott's work has been featured in Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, as well as other publications.
Scott Joins me to talk about his new book that was just released, Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen: How God Redeems Regret, Hurt, and Fear in the Making of Better Humans.
Trevin Wax is vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board and a visiting professor at Wheaton College. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin is a regular columnist at The Gospel Coalition and has contributed to The Washington Post, Religion News Service, World, and Christianity Today, which named him one of 33 millennials shaping the next generation of evangelicals.
He is the author of multiple books, including The Multi-Directional Leader, Rethink Your Self, This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, and Gospel Centered Teaching.
He joins me to talk about a couple of books including a new devotional he organized through the Psalms.
I believe it is a truth that a mother is made over a matter of months, but you always become a father in a single moment. I remember that moment well. The birth of our first child was full of complications. Hours of labor were induced by a rising blood pressure, alternating cycles of magnesium and then Pitocin, and platelet levels too low for an epidural.
After being diagnosed with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, the first dose of magnesium gave my wife enough time to sleep before the induced contractions began. I alternatively spent my midnight hours googling preeclampsia in the dark delivery room corner. That was a bad idea...
Read the rest of the article at: The 5 Masculine Instincts
Jessica Hooten Wilson is Louise Cowan Scholar in Residence at the University of Dallas. She is the author of several books, including Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov, which received a 2018 Christianity Today book of the year in arts and culture award.
She writes on the great books and literature, including O’Connor, Doestovesky, and Walker Percy.
She has a new book out entitled, The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your imagination In the Company of Literary Saints. She joins me to talk about the new book and how literature can shape a believer's pursuit of holiness even when it is a scandal and trips us up.
Jay Kim serves as the lead pastor at WestGate Church in the Silicon Valley and on the leadership team of the ReGeneration Project. His writing has been featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Missio Alliance, and Relevant Magazine. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and two children.
It’s Jay’s second time on the podcast. We previously discussed his first book, Analog Church, a great read. The book won numerous awards including Outreach Resource of the Year and The Gospel Coalition Book Award.
He joined me in this episode to talk about his soon-to-be-released second book, Analog Christian: Cultivating Contentment, Resilience, and Wisdom in the Digital Age.
Daniel Grothe is the associate senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He is a pastor, speaker, drummer, and author of Chasing Wisdom and The Power of Place. Daniel and his wife, Lisa, live on a hobby farm outside of Colorado Springs with their three children and a whole lot of animals.
Andrew Klavan is an award-winning writer, screenwriter, and media commentator. An internationally bestselling novelist and two-time Edgar Award winner, Klavan is also a contributing editor to City Journal, the magazine of the Manhattan Institute, and the host of a popular podcast on DailyWire.com, The Andrew Klavan Show.
His essays and opeds on politics, religion, movies, and literature have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times.
He joins me to talk about his newest book: The Truth and Beauty: How the lives and works of England’s greatest poets point the way to a deeper understanding of the words of Jesus.
Chris Martin is a content marketing editor at Moody Publishers and a social media, marketing, and communications consultant. He writes regularly in his newsletter, Terms of Service, and just published a book by the same name with B&H Publishing. Chris lives outside Nashville, Tennessee with his wife and their daughter.
Chris asks listeners a simple question. Do we use social media, or are we being used by it?
Social media is brilliant and obscene. It sharpens the mind and dulls it. It brings nations together and tears them apart. It perpetuates, reveals, and repairs injustice. It is an untamed beast upon which we can only hope to ride, but never quite corral. What is it doing to us?
Jason Patterson is the lead pastor of Parkside Church in Fisher, IN. Before founding the church he traveled widely speaking at churches and events.
Jason lives with his wife and three children in Indianapolis. He’s also a long-time friend and the author of a new book, From Your Biggest Fan. He joins me to discuss optimism and a pastor's responsibility for believing in people.
Russ is a pastor and author living in Nashville, Tennessee. His books include Struck, and the Retelling the Story Series. He joins me today to talk about his soon-to-be-released new book, Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith.
Aside from his books, Russ has written for The Rabbit Room, The Gospel Coalition, Crossway, among other blogs, podcasts, and printed media.
This week, The 5 Masculine Instincts is finally released. If you haven't bought a copy yet, it would mean a lot to me if you would consider it. I also wanted to say thanks for your willingness to spend the last eight weeks listening and thinking about The 5 Masculine Instincts. In this final episode, we'll be wrapping things up and discussing the time it takes to grow in character and as a man.
Next week, we'll be back to our regular author interviews. I've got some great interviews scheduled for the Spring and I can't wait to share them with you.
Having learned about the 5 masculine instincts, you might be wondering, what comes next? What should I do with what I've learned?
We'll take a closer look at Paul's advice to Timothy about how to watch your life and doctrine closely. We'll see how the Christian gospel offers a different path to character and why character is best infused into our life by the power of the gospel.
Shakespeare recorded man's fifth stage as a retreat. He uses the phrase, the world now too wide. He captured what is a natural instinct for so many men, apathy.
The longer we live the more we realize how little control we have. The world feels increasingly complicated and ourselves increasingly less capable of fixing it. We naturally begin to disengage and retreat into hobbies and comfort. Doubt and sin are certainly risks to faith, but rarely do we recognize the risk of apathy.
Through the story of Abraham, we'll look at the instinct of apathy and how God tested Abraham to keep him engaged with his faith.
Shakespeare described this fourth stage as the professionals. The man now dresses the part, cuts his beard, and says what is expected. By this point in his life, he has achieved some success and with it a reputation, a reputation he cares more and more about protecting.
That instinct is central to the lives of both Saul and David as they struggle to live into the expectations of their throne while remaining honest and true before their God. It is a question of integrity and their ability to confess.
We'll see how this instinct is at work in men today and how we keep it from leading us to the same ruin.
Shakespeare described the third stage of man as a warrior, quick to quarrel, given to strange oaths, and determined to change the world. He is a man of ambition. But ambition can be a perplexing experience. One minute, ambition swells us with a sense of divine calling and optimism, the next it leaves us discouraged and disillusioned. Nowhere is that experience more clear than in the life of Moses.
Moses's life was driven by ambition, by both its success and failure. Moses helps us understand the full range of ambition's drive. And Moses also helps us learn why rest is critical to checking ambitions pursuit. Far from a life hack to gain more productivity, Sabbath is a tool for perspective, a tool for limiting ambition's control.
Shakespeare described man’s second stage as the lover. He was describing a romantic view of life that is driven by a need for adventure, quests, and experience. Samson was driven by this romantic need for adventure. Restless and determined to find himself, he constantly wandered off to Philistia.
Through his story, we come to realize how easily we abandon what God is doing looking for our own story. Real adventures are received not achieved. Peter and I discuss how to recognize this instinct and why discernment and commitment are the necessary counterbalances of faith.
Shakespeare described the first stage as the reluctant schoolboy, dragging himself to school. He is you and immature and perhaps worst doesn't realize it. We find his companion in the story of Cain, the firstborn of creation and equally reluctant to take up God's divine lessons. Sarcasm can be funny but often it serves as a tool to mask contempt. We'll take a closer look at the instinct and how it can be balanced leading to a better character.
Shakespeare described the world as a stage and pointed out that a man plays many parts throughout his life. Shakespeare's stages helped me start to recognize some of these unique instincts at work in myself and the men I know. But I also began to recognize them in the men of the Bible.
If you read the Biblical stories carefully, it becomes clear that the men of the Bible don't make for great heroes. Their lives are too complicated and messy. They are instead, companions. They expose the complexity of our own lives, and by their lessons, help us find a better way forward as well.
In this new 9-part series, we're taking a closer look at The 5 Masculine Instincts. The series will lead us up to the book's launch on March 1, 2022.
In our first conversation, we discuss the question of men and meat, how masculinity has become so controversial, and why men feel a sense of cultural malaise.
If you're interested in the book, you can learn more by visiting the5masculineisntincts.com. There you can find information about pre-ordering as well as some special bonuses including all of these interviews in video format.
Each year, as Christmas comes around, I sit down to make a list of the ten books that most impacted my thinking in the previous year. It’s an interesting exercise for anyone to do. I look through my amazon orders, my bookshelves, and my audible account and I try to recognize the books that impacted me most. In this episode, you'll find a list and explanation of those 10 books.
I’d also love to hear what you’ve been reading. Maybe you would create your own list and share it with me. Post it in the Insider’s Facebook group or on social media.
Books, and authors who write them, depend on us talking bout them and sharing them. So let’s do it. What did you read that impacted you most in 2021? I can’t wait to hear about it and maybe add some books to my reading list for 2022.
Preston Ulmer is the founder and director of the Doubters’ Club, an organization that teaches Christians and atheists to model friendship and pursue truth together.****
Additionally, he serves as the director of network development for the Church Multiplication Network (CMN), the church planting arm of the Assemblies of God.
Before joining CMN, he served in ministry for years as a youth pastor, young adult pastor and church planter. Preston has two master’s degrees, one in religion and one in divinity. His experience and education led him and his family to plant a church in Denver, CO, where he also founded the Doubters’ Club.
Preston’s book, The Doubters’ Club: Good-Faith Conversations with Skeptics, Atheists, and the Spiritually Wounded, released from NavPress in September 2021.
Tom Nelson is president of Made to Flourish (MTF), a network that seeks to empower pastors to lead churches that produce human flourishing for the common good. He has also served as senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas, for almost thirty years.
A council member for The Gospel Coalition, Tom is the author of Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work, Five Smooth Stones: Discovering the Path to Wholeness of Soul, and Ekklesia: Rediscovering God’s Design for the Church. He speaks regularly on faith, work, and economics.
He joins me today to talk about his book, soon to release, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership. It's out from IVP December 14.
Lee Strobel is a former award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune and a New York Times best-selling author of more than forty books that have sold fourteen million copies in total.
He currently serves as Founding Director of the Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christian University.
Lee has been described in the Washington Post as “one of the evangelical community’s most popular apologists.”
You probably know him best for the Case for Christ. Lee has won national awards for his books The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator, and The Case for Grace. His latest books are The Case for Miracles and the one he joins me to talk about today, The Case for Heaven.
ERIC METAXAS is a #1 bestselling author whose books have been translated into twenty-five languages. The host of a nationally syndicated radio show and the acclaimed conversation series Socrates in the City, he is a prominent cultural commentator whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, The Atlantic, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives with his family in New York City.
He joined me to talk about his new book, Is Atheism Dead?
Gary Schnittjer teaches biblical Hebrew and Old Testament for the School of Divinity at (CArn) Cairn University. He is the author of the new book, Old Testament Use of Old Testament. It is a reference book for students and ministers of the word with chapters on every book of the Old Testament as well as a chapter on looking “Toward the New Testament.”
He is currently doing research for writing projects under contract with Baker Academic, B&H Academic, and Zondervan Academic. He is also finishing work on the second edition of Torah Story.
Todd Miles is Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches theology, church history, hermeneutics, and ethics. Prior to becoming a seminary professor, he was a nuclear engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
He joined me to talk about his new book, Cannabis and the Christian: What the Bible Says about marijuana.
Pastor Ray Ortlund was ordained into the Christian ministry in 1975. He taught Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School from 1989 to 1998. His primary ministry, for 28 years, has been as a pastor in California, Oregon, Georgia and Tennessee.
In addition to numerous essays and articles, Pastor Ortlund has published eight books. Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel, was named “2017 Christian Book of the Year” in the category Bible Study.
He also served as an Old Testament translator for The New Living Translation and The English Standard Version of the Bible. He contributed the introduction and study notes to the book of Isaiah in The ESV Study Bible.
He is also the President of Renewal Ministries and serves on the Council of The Gospel Coalition.
He joins me today to talk about his new book out this month, The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility.
Alan Bandy a Professor of New Testament and Greek at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Previously, he was the Assistant Director of the Ph.D. program at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and an Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at Louisiana College.
Alan's area of expertise is the New Testament with a specialization in The Apocalypse of John.
He has published The Prophetic Lawsuit in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament Monograph Series. He co-authored a book entitled Understanding Prophecy: A Biblical-Theological Approach.
He has edited and compiled the notes for the Greek Reader's Apostolic Fathers.
And he has also published several chapters and articles in various books (including Devotions on the Greek New Testament, Holy War in the Old Testament, and The Baker Dictionary of Biblical Backgrounds.
He has recently released the Baker Illustrated Life and Ministry of the Apostle Paul a book he joins me today to talk about.
Kevin Weaver is the President and Co-Founder of The Warrior’s Journey.
The Warrior's Journey recognizes that the military creates a set of unique challenges that most people don’t understand. They have worked to build a team of veterans to triage and help our warriors create a personal plan to navigate those challenges so they can experience strength and resilience.
Kevin is a former pastor and also a US Air Force veteran. He served in the USAF Security Forces at the 24th SPS and in the Office of Special Investigations at U.S. Southern Command in the Republic of Panama from 1983-1987.
He joined me to talk about current events in Afghanistan and the unique challenges our veterans face. We discuss how pastors and churches can care for those who have served and sacrificed for us.
Joel Kilpatrick is an award-winning journalist and author whose work has been featured in Time magazine, the Washington Post, USA Today, CBS Radio, the Dallas Morning News. He has authored and ghostwritten more than 40 books, including a New York Times bestseller. He has reported from disaster zones and civil wars in seventeen countries and received numerous prizes for writing and reporting.
Joel has worked with many leading ministries including Rick Warren, Michael Hyatt, TBN, Nancy Alcorn, Convoy of Hope, the Dream Center, and more.
He was the founder of LarkNews.com, a religious satire website that won the Dove award for humor from the Gospel Music Association in 2005.
Joel has been profiled in Time magazine, Christianity Today, and on NPR, and has been featured twice in USA Today. He earned a Master's degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York and now lives in California with his family.
Jon Tyson is a pastor and church planter in New York City. He is originally from Australia and moved to the United States over two decades ago with a passion to seek and cultivate renewal in the Western Church.
He is the author of Sacred Roots, A Creative Minority, The Burden is Light, and Beautiful Resistance. But he joins me to talk about his soon-to-be-released book, The Intentional Father: A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character.
Jon lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children. He serves as the Lead Pastor of Church of the City New York.
Robert Wolgemuth has been in the media business for more than forty years. A former president of Thomas Nelson Publishers, he is the founder of Wolgemuth & Associates a literary agency exclusively representing the writing work of more than one hundred authors.
Among his professional accomplishments, he has served two terms as the Chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
He is a speaker and best-selling author of over twenty books. His books include, She Calls Me Daddy, the notes to the Dad’s Devotional Bible, and Gun Lap, a book we'll be talking about in this episode.
He has also collaborated on works include Men of the Bible and The Most Important Year in a Man’s Life.
Brad Lomenick is passionate about raising up great leaders around the globe. He is a business entrepreneur, speaker, sought-after leadership advisor, author and longtime president of Catalyst, largely credited with growing the organization into one of the largest and most recognized leadership brands and gatherings of young leaders in the US.
Prior to running Catalyst, Brad spent several years working for legendary leadership author John Maxwell, as well as executive producing large simulcast and stadium events. He continues to inspire leaders by speaking at conferences and events around the world.
What you may not know - for several years he rode horses and was a ranch foreman in the mountains of Colorado, has played American football in Australia and New Zealand, was once in a rap group, and hopes to one day play golf on the Senior PGA tour and have his own hunting TV show.
Jared C. Wilson is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Author in Residence at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, General Editor of For The Church (and host of the FTC Podcast), and Director of The Pastoral Training Centerat Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO. He also co-hosts The Art of Pastoring Podcast published by Christianity Today.
Jared is not a catalytic "agent of change" or a visionary anything. He is a failed church planter and once made a mess of his marriage. But he knows Jesus loves him.
Jared was a guest on the Pastor Writer podcast way back in episode 76. There we mostly talked about his prolific writing as a non-fiction author, but Jared is also a novelist. Which I'm excited to dig into today.
Matt Morton is a teaching pastor at Grace Bible Church in College Station, Texas. Prior to his current role, he has served as a worship leader, a college pastor, and a communications pastor.
He has a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry.
He is the co-author of the Ordinary Greatness Bible study series (NavPress, 2012). He has written for Relevant, Bible Study Magazine, and bible.org.He also writes a monthly religion column for The Bryan-College Station Eagle.
Paul Batura is vice president of communications for Focus on the Family. In his role, Paul is responsible for media and guest relations.
He has more than two decades of experience in the news media, broadcast journalism, publishing, and non-profit administration. Paul has been with Focus on the Family since 1998. Prior to serving in his current capacity, he served as a top writer and adviser to both Focus’ founder, Dr. James C. Dobson, and its current president, Jim Daly.
He’s authored books including Chosen for Greatness: How Adoption Changes the World, Good Day! The Paul Harvey Story, and written Mentored by the King: Arnold Palmer’s Success Lessons for Golf, Business, and Life.
He and his wife, have had the privilege of adopting three young boys and they join countless other families in celebrating the courageous decision of birthmothers and birthfathers who choose life.
Paul is also an active member of his church, where he serves as an elder and Sunday School teacher.
With 30 years of experience in book and Bible publishing, Tom Dean is a publishing insider who helps authors smoothly navigate the often confusing process of publishing a book and marketing it.
Tom spent almost two decades with Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins in marketing, product development, and acquisitions roles - including six years as Vice President of Marketing for Zondervan Books. He has worked with a number of New York Times bestselling authors and multiple music, entertainment, and sports celebrities.
Tom is now offering his expertise directly to authors and publishers and working as a literary agent.
I've had the privilege of working with Tom and consider him one of the best. I'm excited to discuss the place of marketing, how book marketing is changing, and does writing a good book even matter anymore?
According to ancient historians, most of the Jewish families sitting on that Galilean hillside listening to Jesus teach would spend every day of their lives on the edge of hunger and starvation. Some days were better than others, but they never escaped hunger for long. By some estimations, as much as 85% of a Galilean’s wages/time went toward acquiring food. By comparison, the average US family spends 9.5% of their annual budget on food.
The gospel writer, John, records that there were 5,000 men seated there. With wives and children, the crowd would have been well over 10,000. As the day drew on, the disciples recognized they were facing a logistical dilemma. Where would these people find food? They didn’t have the money to feed them. They suggested to Jesus that he call it quits and let the crowd disperse to nearby towns to find food for themselves.
But Jesus instead found a boy with just five loaves and two fish. He blessed it and began breaking it and passing it out to the people. John records that every person there ate until they were filled. They all sat reclined on the hill with full bellies, satisfied. Nowhere else in the New Testament is that language used for another meal. Jesus had fed them to their fill. Many had probably never experienced enough food to have to stop eating.
It’s no surprise that the crowd responded by attempting to seize Jesus and make him king....
Kurt Willems is a pastor, writer, and spiritual director. After several years in student and adult church ministry in Central California, he partnered with the Brethren in Christ to plant a Christian community in Seattle called Pangea Church.
Kurt maintains a resource website, which hosts articles and podcasts, called Theology Curator (formerly called, The Paulcast). He is passionate about taking dense ideas and communicating them in ways that are empowering for people in all walks of life.
He holds a master of divinity degree from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and a master's degree in comparative religion from the University of Washington (where he focused on the historical Paul within Judaism and the Roman Empire). Kurt also completed a two-year training program to become a spiritual director called, Stewards of the Mystery.
His first book, Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems our Pain, released this last month.
Cory Verner began in the audiobook industry in 2003 when the market was 90% cassettes. In 2004, he founded christianaudio, a niche audiobook publisher focused on thoughtful Christian audio content. christianaudio's first sale was a download on christianaudio.com, one of the initial few audiobook download sites.
He and his wife Crissy began an audiobook production company in 2005 – Ver-ity Audio Productions – which works with all of the major publishing houses as well as niche Christian companies and ministries and produces hundreds of titles a year though that name and ONE Audiobooks.
ONE Audoibooks specializes in nonfiction, inspirational content. They are disrupting the audio space with innovative solutions for publishers, authors, and ministries.
Dr. HB Charles is the Pastor-Teacher at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida, where he has served since 2008.
Prior to joining the Shiloh Church, he led the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles for almost eighteen years. Succeeding his late father, he began pastoring at Mt. Sinai at the age of seventeen – a senior in high school.
He is a regular speaker at churches, conferences, and conventions around the country.
He is also the author of several books including…
- It Happens After Prayer
- On Preaching
- On Pastoring
And he is the host of The On Preaching Podcast – the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.
Win Collier was a Pastor for twenty-five years, founding All Souls Charlottesville. He now serves at Western Theological Seminary as Director of The Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination & Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Christian Imagination. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia where his work centered on the intersection of literary fiction and religion, particularly the sacramental landscape of Wendell Berry’s fictional town of Port William.
This month Winn releases his official authorized biography of Eugene Peterson. He joined me to discuss how the project came about, tackling the overwhelming amount of material, and deciding what to include.
Thomas Umstattd, Jr. is an author, speaker, and consultant helping authors better market their writing. He provides online tools and advice through his company Author Media.
He has worked with numerous publishers on marketing strategies and also worked as a literary agent. Thomas is the host of the Novel Marketing Podcast and the Christian Publishing Show podcast. It’s one of the writing podcasts I listen to weekly.
He is a friend of the podcast making his second appearance to talk with me about an author's personal branding.
K.J. Ramsey is a licensed professional counselor and writer.
Her writing has been published in Christianity Today, RELEVANT, The Huffington Post, Fathom Magazine, Health Central, and more on the integration of theology, psychology, and spiritual formation.
Last year she released the book This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers. She joined me to talk about her own suffering, how suffering can be a witness to God's grace, and also about writing. How can you use your own story to help others?
Dr. Leland Ryken (PhD, University of Oregon) is Professor of English at Wheaton College. He has authored or edited several books, including The Word of God in English, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, and The Complete Literary Guide to the Bible. He is a frequent speaker at the Evangelical Theological Society and served as literary stylist for The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
He joined me to talk about teaching literature, the Bible as literature, and his new book, Recovering the Lost Art of Reading.
Pastor Rob Ketterling founded River Valley Church in an elementary school in 1995. It has since grown into a thriving church in and around Minneapolis.
He is the author of the books such as Change Before You Have To, Front Row Leadership, Fix It, and his latest release, The Speed of Unity.
In addition to leading River Valley, he also serves on several organizational boards including the Lead Team of the Association of Related Churches (ARC) and speaks at events and conferences around the world.
In our discussion, we explore the speed of unity but also how books can be used for increased generosity.
Dr. James Emory White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; President of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture and he hosts the website and, ChurchAndCulture.org.
He is a ranked adjunct professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. He is the author of more than twenty books that have been translated into ten languages.
Recently, he published an article on the crisis of character facing church leaders. He wrote, "Oh, for a generation of leaders who would pick up the basin and towel in exchange for platform and notoriety." He joins me to talk about the crisis and a better way forward.
Nate Pickowicz is pastor of Harvest Bible Church in New Hampshire. He is the author and editor of several books including Reviving New England, Why We're Protestant, and The American Puritans.
He has also written for Tabletalk and Credo, and is one of the founding members of Reformada, a ministry to promote sound doctrine.
He recently released a new book entitled How to Eat Your Bible: A Simple Approach to Learning and Loving the Word of God. He joins me to talk about studying the Bible and offers a simple approach for a deeper and teacher engagement with scripture.
Dr. Chapman is the senior associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C.
He holds several academic degrees including a Ph.D. in adult education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He’s also an international public speaker and the best-selling author of numerous books including The Five Love Languages which has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated into 50 languages.
He joins me to discuss the five love languages and a newly released book, Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World.
Mark Buchanan is a professor, a former pastor, and an award-winning author of several books including Your God is Too Safe, The Rest of God, and Spiritual Rhythm.
He has a new book out, this past summer, entitled, God Walk: Moving at the Speed of Your Soul. In it, Mark asks a simple question, what if the Bible's command to walk in the Spirit is also literal. Mark explores one of the Bible's most recurring things: walking.
John Starke is lead pastor at Apostles Church Uptown in New York City. He is the coeditor (with Bruce Ware) of One God in Three Persons. In 2020, he published The Possibility of Prayer: Finding Stillness With God in a Restless World. John lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.
In our conversation, we discuss why prayer feels difficult, how we should go about developing a deeper prayer life, and why recognizing that the possibility of prayer is good news frees us to pray in new ways.
John opens his gospel account with a prologue. In a brilliant literary move, he opens his tale of Christ's life and ministry with an epic image. He was the word of God. With God. He was God. John makes sure that we read the story of Jesus in the fullness of the story.
As we anticipate the start of a new year, what are the stakes of our own story? What are we in on that 2020, has kept us from fully realizing.
In this week's episode, I want to encourage you to recognize and experience more of Christ this year and I want to offer you some updates and plans for the year ahead.
The end of the year is almost upon us. Come January, the Pastor Writer podcast will be three years old. That’s hard for me to believe. I want to say a big thank you to so many listeners who have made it an incredible experience. It’s become such a part of my weekly routine I can’t imagine life without out.
I’m really excited about the upcoming year. I’ve got some big announcements coming up, some new opportunities for you as listeners, and already some amazing guests scheduled for the new year. I want to keep having conversations with great authors to learn about the topics their passionate about and how they go about writing their books.
But for today, as we wrap up 2020 and as I’ve done for the last few years, I want to share with you my list of favorite reads from the past year. Looking back over what you have read is a really interesting way of thinking about what has snapped you how God has been at work growing you.
For me, this list is slightly different from previous years. I’ve spent most of 2020 working on a manuscript that is currently titled, Five Masculine Instincts. I’ve been reading a ton of books as research for that manuscript. So a lot of my reading was biased by this topic I’ve been digging so deep into. I just finished the first-fish draft of that manuscript this week, so stay tuned for more updates.
So, without further ado, my favorite reads of 2020.
Ethan is a writer and storyteller and is convinced baseball helps tell some of the best stories. His baseball stories have landed him an invitation to the White House for the Kansas City Royals World Series celebration, a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to read his baseball poetry, as a background ballplayer in an Emmy-award winning documentary First Boys of Spring, and a brief appearance in an ESPN 30-for-30.
Ethan played catch every single day of 2018, traveling more than 12,000 miles in an effort that came to be known as Catch 365. The stories from that adventure are featured in a recently released book, A Year of Playing Catch: What a simple daily experiment Taught me about Life.
Ethan joins me to talk about baseball, his experience playing catch, and how we went about writing it all down.
Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author. Since 2005, she has been speaking to audiences in the US and abroad, including national platforms such as the Aspire Women’s Events, She Speaks Conference, and the UMC Leadership Institute.
She is also the author of multiple books including a Surrendered: 40 Days to Help You Let Go and Live Like Jesus Devotional, Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua and Enough Already: Winning Your Ugly Struggle with Beauty.
Recently began work as a literary agent with Books & Such Literary Management. She joins me to talk about her ranging career, the challenges of publishing, and the role of a great literary agent.
Visit logos.com/pastorwriter for a special listener discount.
I use Logos Bible Software just about every day. I can't imagine pastoring without it. I can't imagine writing without it. And more than ever before, it's a tool I believe every believer would benefit from owning. Logos recently released version nine with some amazing new features. In this week's episode, I'm joined by Scott Lindsey to talk all things Logos.
Scott Lindsey is the Executive Director of Faithlife, the parent company of Logos Bible Software. Scott is a nationally renowned expert on the future of digital Bible study and has been a conference presenter and trainer for 20+ years.
“Scott, as the ambassador of Logos, greatly helped me learn how to customize Logos and master its best features. I heartily recommend him and his training to anyone who wants to get the most out of their studies using Logos Bible Software.” — Tim Keller – New York Times Best Selling Author and Founding Pastor of Redeemer in New York City
Angela Perritt is the founder and director of Love God Greatly, a nonprofit online Bible study ministry reaching thousands of women in over two hundred countries around the world.
Started in 2014, Love God Greatly has published more than 37 studies in over 30 languages. Angela is passionate about God’s Word and believes one woman in God’s Word can change a family, community and ultimately a nation. She has degrees from Baldwin Wallace University and Bowling Green State University.
She's also a General Editor for the newly released Love God Greatly Bible, which includes personal testimonies from women around the world and over 150 devotionals.
She and her husband live in Dallas, Texas with their three daughters.
Eric is the founding pastor of Colbert Presbyterian Church in Eastern Washington where he has served since 1997. His first book, Wade in the Water, represents a pastoral perspective on the power of baptism.
He joins me to talk about two books he recently released: Letters to a Young Congregation and Letters to a Young Pastor a collection of letters written by Eric's father, Eugene Peterson.
Together, Jeff and Terra have co-founded the counseling and organizational development firm Living Wholehearted and also a grass-roots movement, Courageous Girls that helps moms walk with their daughters in every stage of their growing years.
Jeff is an executive coach and organizational development specialist. Terra a licensed marriage & family therapist. The two host the Living Wholehearted Podcast and are coauthors of the recently released book, Shrinking the Integrity Gap: Between What Leaders Preach and Live.
In our discussion, we explore the topic of integrity and the gaps between what we preach and what we live.
Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.
The church also owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse, The Miracle Theatre, as well as the DC Dream Center.
Mark holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University and is the New York Times best-selling author of 18 books including, The Circle Maker, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Wild Goose Chase and he has recently released Double Blessing, Whisper, and Play the Man.
Harold Senkbeil was a parish pastor for 31 years prior to accepting a position as Associate Professor of Ministry and Mission at Concordia Theological Seminary.
Since 2008 he has served as Executive Director and Emeritus Director for Spiritual Care for DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel and spends his time teaching and encouraging pastors to hone their skills in the ancient art of the cure of souls.
Last summer, he released the book, The Care of Souls: Cultivating A Pastor's Heart. The book has since won:
- The 2020 Christianity Today Book Award for Church/Pastoral Leadership
- 2019 Gospel Coalition Ministry Book of the Year
- 2020 ECPA Christian Book Award Winner for Ministry Resources.
Herold has also recently released another new book entitled Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley. He joins me to talk about the success of his book and about pastoring during these challenging times.
Dane Ortlund is the former chief publishing officer and Bible publisher at Crossway. Recently, he has left Crossway, receiving a call to full-time pastoral ministry. He has served as an editor for the Knowing the Bible series and the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series and is the author of several books, including Edwards on the Christian Life and a book I recently finished reading: Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.
Brandon O'Brien is Director of Content Development and Distribution for Redeemer City to City, an organization that supports church planting in global cities.
Brandon is the author of several books, including a recently released book entitled Writing for LIfe & Ministry: A Practical Guide to the Writing Process for Teachers & preachers. He lives with his wife, Amy, and two children in Uptown Manhattan.
Adam Griffin is the lead pastor of Eastside Community Church in East Dallas, Texas. He previously served as an elder and spiritual formation pastor at the Village Church.
This month he released a book he co-authored with Matt Chandler entitled, "Family Discipleship: Leading Your Home through Time, Moments, and Milestones." He joined me to talk about how the book came about and how parents can better take responsibility for disciplining their families.
Eugene Cho is the director of Bread for the World, a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision-makers to end hunger at home and abroad. He is also the founder and former Senior Pastor of Quest Church – an urban, multi-cultural and multigenerational church in Seattle, Washington.
Eugene has been featured in multiple news outlets including The New York Times, The Seattle Times, Christianity Today, The Guardian and numerous other media outlets. For his entrepreneurial work and spirit, He was honored as one of 50 Everyday American Heroes and a recipient of
the Frederick Douglass 200—a list of 200 people around the world who best embody the spirit and work of Frederick Douglass,
His first book, Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?, released in 2014 and his second book, Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging in Politics, released in March of this year.
As a pastor and a parent, I know personally how hard it is to keep up with the culture my kids are consuming. I also know the impulse to ignore it and pretend it’s all ok. But the world isn’t that simple. Culture is a complicated mix of opportunities and risks. We have little chance of guiding our kids through that landscape without learning to discern a way first for ourselves. The Pop Culture Parent is the perfect companion for that endeavor. Full of theological and practical help, it belongs on every parent’s nightstand.
A few weeks ago I announced I had signed a publishing contract with Zondervan. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the manuscript and due to have it completed by the end of the year. Unfortunately, this past week we received some bad news about the project.
Karen Stiller is a freelance editor and writer. You can read her writing in Reader's Digest Canada, The Walrus, and Christianity Today. She is a senior editor of Faith Today (Canada's Christian magazine) and host of the Evangelical Fellowship fo Canada podcast. She lives in Ottawa with her husband Brent who serves as an Anglican priest.
She joins me to talk about her new book, The Minister's Wife which was released this past May. In it, she shares her personal experience of faith, doubt, friendship, loneliness, forgiveness, and more
We so easily occupy ourselves with things too great for us. Psalm 131 is a maintenance psalm, a kind of soul pruning for our hearts and eyes. The psalm teaches us to have hope in God, a kind of hope that leads us to a deeper rest and contentment in him.
It is a lesson many of us need to be reminded of. As the world seems to unravel, we focus our hearts and eyes on what matters most. Psalm 131 brings us back to our proper place and offers us hope. Hope in the Lord, now and forevermore.
For several decades the church has given a lot of attention to the topic of leadership. There are conferences, podcasts, books, and academic programs all helping pastors become better leaders. In this episode, we discuss the pastoral interest in leadership and what might be missing from those conversations.
In 2015, Jim published the book, Lead So Others Can Follow. It was a call for a different kind of leadership, what he calls “Spiritual Leadership.”
After graduating from Brigham Young University, Derwin played professional football in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and with the Carolina Panthers. During that time, he and his wife Vicki began their journey with Christ.
Derwin and Vicki eventually began an itinerant speaking ministry in 1999 and Derwin went on to graduate from Southern Evangelical Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree, with a concentration in Apologetics.
Following God’s call on their lives, the Lord transitioned Derwin from his primary role of an itinerant speaker to serving as the Lead Pastor of Transformation Church in January of 2010.
In addition to his role at Transformation Church, Derwin teaches at conferences nationwide and is the author of several books including Hero: Unleashing God’s Power in a Man’s Heart (2010), Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future (2013) and, recently released, The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches About Finding True Happiness (2020).
Dr. Gene Getz, Host and teacher of Renewal Radio, has been a Senior Pastor, Professor, and is the author of more than 60 books.
He has been a church-planting pastor in the Dallas Metroplex since 1972 and has served as an adjunct professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. Gene is President of the Center for Church Renewal and serves as Pastor Emeritus of Chase Oaks Church in Plano, Texas.
After transitioning from his role as Senior Pastor more than ten years ago, the Life Essentials Study Bible is now the centerpiece of his ministry. Its unique format includes 1500 “principles to live by,” each with a QR code providing access to a total of 250 total hours of video teaching.
Scott James works as a pediatric physician in Birmingham AL. He also serves as an Elder at The Church at Brook Hills. He and his wife, Jaime, have 4 children.
Scott is the author of 2 family worship books, The Expected One: Anticipating All of Jesus in the Advent; Mission Accomplished: A Two-Week Family Easter Devotional, as well as the illustrated children's books The Littlest Watchman(The Good Book Company, 2017) and Where Is Wisdom? (B&H, 2020).
He joined me today to talk about writing kids' books and how books can impact the spiritual life of your family.
Well, I have some big news to share with you at last. I’ve been working for over four years to be able to release this episode. A few weeks ago I received an offer of publication from Zondervan. This past week, I finally signed the contract. But for those of you who have followed the show and know about the Samson book I’ve long worked on, it might surprise you to know that isn’t the book that was purchased, at least not exactly.
One of the awkward parts of this podcast has been that I’ve been talking about publishing and writing for the past two and a half years having never published anything in my life. This is the part where I finally get to tell you how I did it; how all my plans have paid off; how you only need to do what I’ve done and… Boda bing, bada boom!
The truth is, this has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and there have been times when I didn’t know if it would ever happen. There have been some really challenging obstacles and some twists I didn’t expect. My agent admitted it was one of the longest processes she has ever gone through. My path has been unconventional, providential, and generally speaking not something I could have expected or suggest others follow. At least, I hope it isn’t like this for everyone.
The other thing you should hear me say right at the beginning is that a publishing contract is not what you think it is and it won’t do for you what you might think it would. That being said it is also a gift and one that I am deeply humbled by and grateful for.
During our stay at home orders, I introduced my son to one of my favorite childhood movies, Cool Runnings. The main character was obsessed with making it to the Olympics and taking home a gold medal. His coach offered him a piece of wise advice. I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. “A gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.”
Abdu Murray is Senior Vice President of Ravi Zacharias International MInsitires and is a regular speaker at churches, college campuses, and business and government gatherings. He also hosts the podcast The Defense Rests.
Abdu is the author of many articles and three books, including Grand Central Question and Saving Truth: Finding Meaning and Clarity in a Post-Truth World.
For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim who studied the Qur’an and Islam. After a nine-year investigation into the historical, philosophical, and scientific underpinnings of the major world religions and views, Abdu discovered that the historic Christian faith can answer the questions of the mind and the longings of the heart.
Abdu holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School. As an attorney, Abdu was named several times in Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyer.
He joins me today to talk about the legacy of Ravi Zacharias and about a recently released book he coauthored with Ravi titled Seeing Jesus from the East: A Fresh Look at History's Most influential Figure.
Alex Bryant has been in full-time ministry since 2000, serving Churches around the country and formerly as the Director of the St. Louis Dream Center. At the Dream Center, he worked to help make a difference in the inner city of St. Louis by meeting people's physical needs in an effort to introduce them to Jesus.
He is married and has 5 kids. He and his wife Angie are both licensed ministers and together they lead Alex Bryant Ministries which exists to help reconcile people with God, themselves, and their fellow man.
Alex just released a new book entitled Let's Start Again: A Biracial Couple's View on Race, Racial Ignorance, And Racial Insensitivity.
Jonathan Dodson is the founding pastor of City Life Church in Austin, TX.
He is also the founder of Gospel-Centered Discipleship and is author of a number of books including Here in Spirit, The Unbelievable Gospel, and the book he joined me to talk about Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes.
He joined me to talk about the meaning of crisis and how the beatitudes are a tool for overcoming moral chaos.
Chuck DeGroat is professor of pastoral care and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He is also a senior fellow at the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. He served as a pastor at churches in Orlando and San Francisco and founded two church-based counseling centers.
He is a licensed therapist, spiritual director, and the author of Toughest People to Love, Wholeheartedness, and the recently released book When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse.
Ron Dart teaches in the Department of Political Science, Philosophy, and Religious Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia. He has authored or coauthored thirty-five books that deal with the interface between literature, spirituality, and politics, including The North American High Tory Tradition and Christianity and Pluralism.
He joined me today to talk about a recently released book for which he served as editor and contributor. The books is Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson: A Christian Perspective.
Dr. Phil Collins is currently the co-executive director at Taylor University’s Center for Scripture Engagement. As a part of his work, Dr. Collins has lead workshops on how to effectively engage with the Bible.
He holds his B.A. in Bible Literature and Christian Education from Taylor University, an M.A. in Christian Education from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Purdue University.
Ordained in 1994, Dr. Collins served 6 years in youth ministry with Youth for Christ as well as 10 years of ministry as Youth Pastor in a church setting.
In addition to his role as the general editor for The Abide Bible, Dr. Collins has been a full-time Christian Ministries professor at Taylor University since 1999.
He joins me today to talk about the Abide Bible. The Abide Bible is a unique tool for discovering Scripture at a deeper level. Specially crafted prompts guide readers to engage biblical passages with more depth and imagination than ever before. By considering scriptural truth via classic art, journaling, and praying biblical texts, readers enjoy fresh, life-altering encounters with God and His Word.
I've long wanted to do an episode on poetry. Unfortunately, many had a bad experience and long ago concluded they just aren't the poetic type. But Jeff Munroe was the perfect guest to help explain why an appreciation of poetry is critical for reading the Bible and why its worth a second chance.
Jeff Munroe is an executive vice president at Western Theological Seminary, where he also teaches writing. He was a charter member of the advisory board of the Buechner Institute of Faith and Culture, and is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America.
He is the author of 2019 book, Reading Buechner: Exploring the Work of a Master Memoirist, Novelist, Theologian, and Preacher. Jeff is also a poet, blogger, and essayist. His work has appeared in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, US Catholic, and The Reformed Journal.
And as his bio says, he’s the only guy on his block who knows both who played shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 and the closing lines of Middlemarch
Poems Discussed:
- What do poems do? by Brian Doyle
- The Summer Day by Mary Oliver
- The Way it Is by William Stafford
- The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins
The Villiage Church is one of the leaders in innovating Christian education opportunities for all believers. Mason King currently serves as the Director of The Village Church Institute, overseeing adult theological training within the local church. Those environments train disciples to know their sacred text firsthand, and pursue formation into the way of Jesus.
He joined me to talk about the state of Christian education and how pastors, believers, and churches can continue to learn and grow.
In the last decade of ministry, Mason has helped launch two church campuses and served as an elder and Spiritual Formation Pastor at The Village Church Fort Worth. He earned a B.A. in Speech Communication from Texas A&M, a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary, a DMin in Executive Leadership from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he wrote on forming Christian disciples. And he is currently working on a PhD in Church History from The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, focusing on the work of Jonathan Edwards.
Jay Kim serves on staff at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, overseeing teaching and leadership. He also serves on the leadership team of The ReGeneration Project. His first book, Analog Church, released this month from InterVarsity Press.
Jay recently released Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Thinkings in the Digital Age. It's one of the most important books I've read this year and the conversation couldn't have been more formational and practical to our current context of separation. I hope everyone listens to this conversation.
Karen Swallow Prior is an award-winning Professor of English at Liberty University. She earned her Ph.D. in English at SUNY Buffalo. Her writing has appeared at The Atlantic, Christianity Today, Washington Post, Vox, First Things, Sojourners, Relevant, and Think Christian. She is a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, a Senior Fellow at Liberty University's Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement, and a member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States. She and her husband live on a 100-year old homestead in central Virginia with sundry horses, dogs, and chickens. And lots of books.
Karen joined me to talk about her new project, a set of classic books she is curating and editing with B&H Publishing. In addition to the highest quality hardback binding, Karen has provided introductions and discussion questions to these classics.
Seth’s first book Coming Clean: A Story of Faith received a Christianity Today Award of Merit in the publication’s 2016 book awards. Seth’s poetry and prose have been featured in various publications, including In Touch Magazine, Fathom Magazine, and on his personal website at SethHaines.com. He makes his home in the Ozarks with his wife, and their four sons.
Seth joined me to talk about his recently released work, The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life.
Max Lucado says he “writes books for people who don’t read books.’ But even so, his best-selling books have sold over 100 million copies across 54 languages worldwide. Perhaps Lucado is converting non-readers with his poetic storytelling and homespun humor. Perhaps readers can sense that his encouraging words flow from the heart of a pastor.
Every trade book Max Lucado has written during the last 30 years began as a sermon series for his home church Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas.
Since his first book On the Anvil was published in 1985, Max Lucado has been sharing the promises of God in sermons, books, articles and media interviews. His writing is also featured in videos, devotionals, songs, plush toys, greeting cards, booklets, Bible studies, and Bible commentaries. 130 million of these products have been sold around the globe. His books regularly appear on national bestseller lists including the New York Times.
National press has noted the global influence of this unassuming Texas pastor. Max Lucado was dubbed “America’s Pastor” by Christianity Today, and Reader’s Digest called him “The Best Preacher in America.” The New York Times has named Max one of the most influential leaders in social media. He has been featured on countless media outlets including USA Today, “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” NPR, CNN, and “Fox & Friends.”
Peter Leithart is President of the Theopolis Institute, a Christian study center and leadership training institute in Birmingham, Alabama. He is author of numerous books, including The End of Protestantism, Deep Exegesis, Delivered from the Elements of the World, and of commentaries on 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, and Revelation.
He joins me to talk about his recently released book on the Ten Commandments and how Jesus fulfills these 10 Words.
My son Will is five and my Daughter Charlotte just turned three. One of their favorite games is to endlessly repeat whatever my wife and I say. My daughter will even try to imitate my deeper voice. Every kid plays this game. Mimicking is actually a necessary part of growing up.
As Carrie Shrier, writing for Michigan State University, put it:
“Infants love to copy facial expressions. In fact, babies as young as just a few hours old can copy an adult who sticks their tongue out. If you smile, they will try to smile back. As babies get older, they get even better at copying your actions. Holding the phone as you do, brushing your hair, mimicking your actions, and copying your words and tone of voice.”
Honestly, I find it terrifying. What comes out of my mouth soon comes out of theirs. And watching my son grow up is strangely like looking at some sort of time machine mirror. I constantly catch glimpses of myself. You come to realize just how much you shape their earliest self-identity.
But eventually, my son and daughter will learn their own voice, their own vocabulary and experiences, and traits. There will always be something of our family there, a foundation beneath them, but parents want to see their kids grow into their own voice and lives. What’s cute at three seems stunted by if still the same at twenty-three.
We often talk about voice when we describe the way a person writes or speaks. It’s more than the sound vibrating vocal cords, we are speaking about the uniqueness of that person's perspective and the way in which they express themselves. Voice is something we all recognize and love about our favorite writers and preachers, but after almost 100 interviews with writers, I’ve met very few who enjoy talking about it. When I ask about voice, it's like I’m asking what their wearing... it's strongly too personal. I feel it too.
As critical as it is, having a unique voice, it still sounds awkward and superficial to talk about. Early on as a writer and a pastor, I thought a lot more about it. What I wanted to sound like, what kind of writer I wanted to be.
Eventually, though, you come to realize that a voice is not something you can construct but something which must be uncovered, something there but too often shuffled to the back, forced out by more pressing expectations and insecurities.
What I mean is, the work of cultivating voice is really a process of subtraction, not addition. You must get all the stuff out of the way.
Jeremey is the lead campus pastor at Woodside Bible Church's Plymouth Michigan campus where you'll find him preaching most Sundays. He is also the Executive Director for Gospel-Centered Discipleship, a resourcing ministry that exists to help make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus.
As a writer, he's been published in several books, as well as writing for publications like He Reads Truth, Christ and Pop Culture,and For The Church.
Jeff Munroe is the executive vice president at Western Theological Seminary, where he also teaches writing. He was a charter member of the advisory board of the Buechner Institute of Faith and Culture, and is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America.
He is also the author of 2019 book, Reading Buechner: Exploring the Work of a Master Memoirist, Novelist, Theologian, and Preacher. I named the book one of my top reads of 2019.
Jeff's book is a wonderful introduction to Buechner's work. Our conversation motivated me to pick up new books and add some Buechner novels to my 2020 reading.
Philip Yancey worked for 10 years as an Editor and then Publisher for Campus Life magazine.
In 1980 he and his wife Janet moved to downtown Chicago where he began a career as a freelance writer.
In 1992, they moved to the foothills of Colorado, where Philip continues to write today, now having written over 30 books, most of them still in print.
Three of those books he coauthored with Dr. Paul Brand, who he has said influenced him more than any single person.
You are no doubt familiar with many of his books including, What's so amazing about Grace, The Jesus I Never Knew, Where's God When It Hurts, Prayer, and his recently released book, Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of bearing God's Image
Philip describes himself as a pilgrim, still "in recovery" from a bad church upbringing, searching for a faith that makes its followers larger and not smaller.
For more than 15 years, J.R. Briggs served in pastoral roles in mega-churches, church plants, and house church networks.
In 2011 he started Kairos Partnerships to serve hungry leaders through leadership coaching, consulting, speaking, teaching, equipping and writing. Since starting Kairos Partnerships, JR has served and invested in pastors and kingdom leaders in 28 states and Canada in over 40 denominations.
He is the author, co-author or contributor of ten books and Bible studies on a wide variety of topics. He has also published articles in publications including Christianity Today, Huffington Post, Preaching Today, American Bible Society, N.T. Wright Online, Missio Alliance, Relevant Magazine, Outreach Magazine, and Faith & Leadership, among others.
He is the co-host of the Monday Morning Pastor podcast.
One of the books that is on my must-read list for pastors is one he published in 2014 entitled, Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure. Don't take my word for it, it comes with a foreword by Eugene Peterson.
J.R. joins me to talk about the role of failure and how to handle it. How do you know when a challenge is God calling you to persevere faithfully or call it quits?
Dan Darling is the Vice President for Communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC). Dan is a bestselling author of several books, The Dignity Revolution, The Characters of Christmas and the forthcoming, A Way With Words, releasing in September 2020.
Dan is a prolific writer for a wide variety of publications, including contributions to In Touch Magazine, Made to Flourish, Core Christianity, Christianity Today, Facts and Trends, and The Gospel Coalition. His op-eds have appeared in USA Today, CNN, Washington Times, Time, Huffington Post, National Review, Washington Post and First Things. He has also appeared on CNN, FOX and on MSNBC.
He hosts the popular weekly podcast, The Way Home, where he interviews Christian leaders, politicians, and journalists.
Dan also continues to serve the church. He has served churches in Illinois and Tennessee. He and his wife Angela have four children and reside in the Nashville area. They attend Green Hill Church in Mt. Juliet. There, Dan serves as Pastor of Teaching and Discipleship.
Michael grew up in Brisbane, Australia before joining the Army and serving as a paratrooper, intelligence operator, and then chaplain's assistant. It was during his time in the military that he came to faith from a non-Christian background, and soon felt a call to ministry.
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Queensland and currently serves on the faculty at Ridley as a lecturer in Theology since 2013.
As a researcher, Michael has written and edited over thirty books in the fields of Septuagint, Historical Jesus, the Gospels, St Paul, Biblical Theology, and Systematic Theology. Its also worth checking out his blog, euangelion.
He joins me to talk about his latest work, a New Testament introduction written with N. T. Wright.
Our culture considers a person’s ability to speak their opinion not just a right but a kind of necessity. To not have an opinion is to be dull at best and irrelevant and transparent at worst. If a person chooses not to speak are they even still a person? In the digital age, maybe not.
The question is not whether we should speak or not speak, it's, have we cultivated the wisdom to even recognize we have the choice.
How do we read James' advice in the age of the internet? "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."
Curtis Sergeant is an MK (missionary kid) from Asia who served with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board as a missionary among unreached people groups in China and as a global trainer in missions.
He has also served as a VP (for Global Strategy) with the IMB before leaving to help start the P.E.A.C.E. Plan at Saddleback Church where he directed their church planting efforts for five years.
He served as a VP with e3 Partners Ministry for three years before moving to Alabama. He continues to serve with them as a consultant along with a number of other organizations for which he conducts training.
He recently released a new book entitled, The Only One: Living Fully In, By, and For God, which is available for free at theonlyonebook.com.
Curtis joins me to talk about his work in global church planting, discipleship movements, and what we can learn from them.
Nathan Foster is the Director of Community Life at Renovaré as well as a licensed clinical social worker and certified addictions counselor. Prior to Renovaré he was an associate professor and Andrews Chair in Spiritual Formation at Spring Arbor University.
Nathan hosts Renovaré's Ordinary Life with God podcast which airs each Monday.
Nathan is the author of The Making of An Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines (2014) and Wisdom Chaser: Finding My Father at 14,000 Feet (2010).
He joins me to talk about his relationship with his father's work and how it led him to a season of living out the spiritual disciplines.
Matt Carter serves as the Pastor of Preaching & Vision of The Austin Stone Community Church.
In addition to pastoring at The Austin Stone, Matt is a cancer survivor, author, and speaker for camps and conferences nationwide. He holds an MDiv from Southwestern Seminary. His writing has ranged from a commentary on the Gospel of John to a historical fiction book exploring the relationship of Charles Spurgeon and his unlikely friendship with the former slave and missionary Thomas Johnson.
He joins me to talk about his recently released book The Long Walk Home: Discovering the Fullness of Life in the Love of the Father.
Combining their interest in history and passion for ministry, Joel & Troy have set out to revive long-forgotten sermons. From Augustine to Whitfield, the two are recording long-forgotten sermons form some of history's greatest preachers and sharing them through their podcast, Riving Thoughts.
They join me to talk about the show, preaching, and how these historical thoughts can rescue us from the feedback loop of our modern times. Check out their show: Reviving Thoughts Podcast
Harold Senkbeil was born and raised on a Minnesota farm and his rural background has shaped his approach to work and people.
He was a parish pastor for 31 years prior to accepting a position as Associate Professor of Ministry and Mission at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Since 2008 he has served as Executive Director for Spiritual Care for DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel and spends his time teaching and encouraging pastors to hone their skills in the ancient art of the cure of souls.
This summer, he released a new book, The Care of Souls: Cultivating A Pastor's Heart. He joined me to talk about the book and how the church has confused its model of pastoral ministry.
I can't recommend Harold's book more and I found this conversation to be deeply impactful. I think it's one of the most important conversations I've had on the podcast.
The past years have seen a massive spike in debates, articles, and books on the topic of masculinity, most centered around a call to redefine what masculinity means. What does it mean to be a man?
We call for it constantly. Be a man. Act like a man. Man up. Real men don’t…
But it’s worth asking yourself, do you have a good definition for it? How would you define what it means to be a man?
Prefer to read the blog: A Good (Definition of) Man Is Hard to Find
Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer joins me to talk about his newest book, Hearers & Doers. The book aims to help pastors better form disciples through theology and doctrine. It provides a great combination of theological reflection, scripture, and cultural awareness. Dr. Vanhoozer's writing draws from a deep appreciation for the arts.
In our conversation, we talk about what it means to "do theology" and how pastor's are being pulled away from their true vocation. I think pastors and any thoughtful believer will find the conversation both challenging and fascinating.
I do realize that for two years I've been talking about writing, publishing, and my own book on Samson. For two years you've listened to me give ask and talk about proposals, agents, and publishers. The obvious question is, am I ever going to publish anything?
I wanted to take a pause from our interviews to give you an update and offer some of the lessons I've been learning along the way, the primary lesson being: writing is waiting.
Chad Allen is a full-time writer, editor, speaker, and writing coach. His background is in the traditional publishing industry, where he spent over 20 years as an editor, acquisitions editor, and the last seven as editorial director for Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
He is also the creator of Book Proposal Academy and BookCamp.
Chad joins me to talk about the components of a strong book project. Particularly, we talk about a book's concept—its hook. The concept is a critical part of the book and can always be stronger.
Scott Kedersha serves as the Director of Marriage Ministry at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. He writes about marriage, family, leadership, and ministry, and is the author of Ready or Knot? 12 Conversations Every Couple Needs to Have before Marriage.
Writing is long and hard work. It requires time, attention, and often money. But few of us write with unlimited quantities of those categories. We take up this new work in the context of relationships and pre-existing responsibilities. Important writing—even Christian writing—is no excuse for sacrificing our greater priorities. Scott joins me to discusses how to approach writing within these relationships.
Andrew Peterson is a recording artist, songwriter, producer, filmmaker, publisher and award-winning author of The Wingfeather Saga.
He is also the founder and president of The Rabbit Room, which fosters Christ-centered community and spiritual formation through music, story and art.
Peterson has also been named “one of the foremost singer/songwriters around” and has received multiple “best album of the year” nods from critics along with two Dove Award nominations.
Taking his hits and fan favorites on the road, Peterson’s touring draws capacity crowds at venues around the world, including several sold-out events at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
I had a chance to review an advance copy of his soon to be released book, Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making. Andrew joins me to talk about creativity, community, writing, and the mystery of making.
Frank Viola is a speaker, blogger, and bestselling author. You might be familiar with his books, Pagan Christianity, Insurgence, From Eternity to Here. His blog—frankviola.org—is regularly ranked in the top 5 of all Christian blogs on the Web and his podcast - Christ is All - has ranked #1 in Canada and #2 in the USA on iTunes.
He is committed to helping serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply so they can experience real transformation and make a lasting impact.
Viola's writing is characterized by boldness and a passion for changing conventions. In our conversation, we talk about how he approaches his writing and how he knows when he has an idea worth writing about.
Dr. Jim Denison is the CEO of Denison Forum. His Daily Article and podcast globally reach over 160,000 subscribers. Dr. Denison guides readers to discern today’s news—biblically. He is the author of multiple books and has taught on the philosophy of religion and apologetics at several seminaries.
Prior to launching Denison Forum in 2009, he pastored churches in Texas and Georgia. He holds a Ph.D and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He joins me to talk about writing to culture and his process for producing a daily article. For more than two decades, Dr. Denison has been using his writing to shape culture. I hope our conversation helps you think about how your writing might do the same.
Jared C. Wilson is a prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction. He is an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Spurgeon College and is an Author in Residence at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also services General Editor of For The Church.
Jared joins me to talk about his career in writing and pastoral ministry. We discuss the role of writers in the work of the church and how writers can sustain the work even against a complicated and overwhelming publishing process.
As a part of our summer reading series, Alisse Goldsmith-Wissman joined me to talk about her role at InterVarsity Press and some of their upcoming releases. In addition to new releases, Alisse also shares some of her favorite IVP books.
I've been extremely impressed with IVP's work and added several new books to my list based on this conversation.
Tommy Brown is a pastor and a published author, having published the book, Seven Money Types, with Zondervan in 2017. Tommy joins me to talk about how his idea developed into a publishing contract and a best-selling book.
If you have ever thought about publishing a book, there is a lot of helpful advice and perspective in this episode. We talk about the significance of a book's concept and how that concept can even help overcome a limited platform. Tommy was candid and honest about the process and it will be helpful for so many of you.
Dr. Andrew Root is a professor at Luther Seminary since 2005. He is often mentioned as one of the leading scholars in youth ministry and practical theology in the world. His first book, Revisiting Relational Ministry (IVP, 2007) presented a new trajectory for youth ministry, offering the field one of the first robust theological projects. Since then, he has published sixteen books.
His latest project is a three-volume series with Baker Academic called “Ministry in a Secular Age.” Volume one was released as Faith Formation in a Secular Age in October 2017. Volume two, titled The Pastor in a Secular Age released this past Spring 2019, with volume three to follow.
In this series Dr. Root uses Charles Taylor’s thought to explore the challenges of ministry, offering a theological and ministerial response.
Can you imagine Ron Swanson waking up to discover he was suddenly allergic to meat? No steaks, no brats, no bacon, no cheeseburgers. Can you imagine his reaction? It would have made a great episode, but maybe it sounds too far fetched. Believe it or not, a meat allergy is a real thing, and I was as horrified to discover I had it as Ron Swanson would have been.
Two years ago, I developed what I thought was strep throat. I found myself with a cough and having trouble swallowing. Quickly it worsened into headaches and then dizziness and then the hives—hives on my chest, back, arms, and face.
The doctor was confident it was an anaphylactic reaction, but we couldn’t determine to what. I had never been allergic to anything, not even poison ivy. I didn’t even know what hives looked liked until I had them. We tried everything. I changed soap, and laundry detergent, and vitamins, but for three weeks, I continued to deteriorate. Each afternoon I would lay under a fan in my underwear, dizzy, short of breath, and miserable with hives. But things would get much worse.
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Patrick Shcreiner teaches New Testament at Western Seminary in Portland Oregon. His Ph.D. work was on spatial theories and their relationship to the kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew.
In addition to his dissertation work, he is also the author of, The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross(A part of the crossway Short Studies in Biblical Theology Series), and the soon to be released Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus.
I was interested in talking with Patrick about ongoing study. How do pastors and writers continue to learn and study seriously outside of the seminary or academic setting?
We also discussed his writing process and how writers can find their own personal ways to stay organized, knock out drafts, and produce better edits.
When C. S. Lewis was asked where he wished his book royalties to be paid upon his death, Lewis responded, "after I've been dead five years, no one will read anything I've written." For all Lewis got right, he predicted that one wrong.
Lewis's impact has only continued to grow. It's hard for me to estimate just how influential Lewis has been on my faith and thinking. Gary S. Selby's new book on Lewis captures this deep love and respect for Lewis's writings.
Pursuing and Earthy Spirituality is neither a biography nor an academic textbook, it reads as a friendly appreciation to Lewis's work and a deep dive into the major themes which drives Lewis's intellect and imagination.
If you have read Lewis or plan to, I think Selby's book should be a part of your approach. I can't recommend it highly enough.
This year’s debate between Jordan Peterson and Slavoj Žižek was marketed as one of the greatest intellectual debates of the century. At one point, tickets were being scalped for over $1,500 a seat. To many’s disappointment, but probably for the best, the event went off without the anticipated drama. Peterson and Žižek managed to find significant common ground.
The debate, which lasted over two and a half hours, has been watched online by more than 350,000 viewers. The interest in Peterson and Žižek represents a growing online audience who are routinely consuming multi-hour lectures and debates through youtube and podcasts. Figures like Žižek and Peterson are having a profound influence on, particularly, young men. While Peterson describes himself as a person who “lives as if there is a god,” his precise views on Christianity are complex and intentionally hard to categorize. Alternatively, Žižek describes himself as an atheist but provocatively contends that the only true path to atheism is through Christianity.
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As a part of our summer reading series, Jenaye White joined me to talk about her role at B&H Publishing and some of their upcoming releases. In addition to new releases, Jenaye also shares some of her favorite B&H books.
Her recommendations include non-fiction, memoir, children's, and even a cookbook. I hope a book catches your interest and might become a great summer read for that upcoming vacation.
One of the greatest joys in life is finding a really really good book. That doesn’t happen nearly as often as I would like. But every once in a while, you come across a book, and something about it, usually it only 10 to 15 pages, you just know this book is going to impact your life.
Honestly, so much of my reading is just searching for that. To be fair, there is some reading you do just because you are trying to learn something about a particular topic. But everyone in a while you find one of those books.
So the real challenge is figuring out what to read next. That’s actually not an easy question. What’s selling isn’t always the right answer. Some books sell because the author has a big audience or they manage to capture a moment or a topic. But I’ve always been fascinated by books that manage to outlast the moment of attention.
Samson is everything a man might imagine becoming. I like to imagine him in Ray-Bans, a man bun, and a CrossFit t-shirt, hiking through some remote red stone canyon, documenting his adventurous life on Instagram. He is the model man, driven by passion and restless for adventure and romance. He was fascinated with the seductive nature of Philistia, the risk of roaming into enemy territory only making it all the more adventurous.
Samson’s story is the millennial story—pursue your desires and individuality against any expectation that would hold you back. Your true self is out there on the horizon. Seize it. Don’t let your parent’s stuffy traditions or your community’s prudish tendencies hold you back.
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Phil Ayres is a pastor serving what he describes as a small church just north of Orlando, Florida. Phil blogs and writes about the challenges of doing ministry in a small church setting.
He has published two books, How to Survive Ministry and Flannel-Graph Jesus. And he is also the host of the Bible Revealed podcast.
In our conversation, we explore pastoring in a small church setting and the personal benefits of writing. Phil shares the challenges of getting started writing and how those challenges evolve over time. It's an encouraging conversation for anyone who has ever thought about writing and struggled to get started.
I recently found a computer emulator for playing vintage Super Nintendo games. And who knew you could buy USB Nintendo controllers on Amazon for eight bucks. Two days of waiting for our Prime package to arrive, and I sat down to introduce my son to the video games of my childhood. The first game I downloaded was Aladdin.
Like so many of the other 30-somethings packed into this past Saturday evening’s showing, I was nervous and excited for the remake. Disney’s recent streak of live-action remakes has been pretty hit and miss. Overall, the new Aladdin was entertaining but predictably less than the one of my youth. At first, I found the casting of Will Smith as a blue genie hard to buy into. But eventually, with his Fresh Prince hip-hop take on Robin Williams classic character, I started to enjoy it. The songs are all there, along with a few new ones. But some changes felt odd and, by the end, had me shaking my head...
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Jon and his brother have spent the past 12 years building software for the faith-based community. But they have always had a passion to redesign the experience of listening to the Bible. With the help of their supporters, the Dwell Bible App became the #4 most funded app on Kickstarter.
Today, the Dwell app is supported by a large and passionate community of users. With a rich feature set, customizations, and careful attention to the user experience Dwell really has changed the way people are listening to the Bible. Jon is generously offering Pastor Writer listeners a limited time 33% discount to the app. Learn more at https://dwellapp.io/pastorwriter.
Jon joins me to talk about the app but also about how listening to the Bible has become a lost art, and how rediscovering the practice can impact you and your church.
This May, Chis Nye is releasing his second book, Less of More: Pursuing Spiritual Abundance in a World of Never Enough. Chris is a pastor in the Bay area and his writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and RELEVANT Magazine.
Chris is passionate about the craft of writing and has thought deeply about how writing has impacted him as a pastor. If you enjoy episodes on writing, this one's for you.
Alan Noble articulates a need for a kind of Christian witness which can break through the secular and distracted lifestyle dominating our culture. Unfortunately, much of how we practice and preach Christ may only be contributing to the challenges we face.
Alan's book, Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in A Distracted Age, calls for a kind of witness which disrupts the ways we spend our time the ways we typically evaluate new ideas.
We also explore how Christian writers can take up this disruptive task. What does it look like for writers to offer readers a disruptive witness?
Get Disruptive Witness for Free: audibletrial.com/pastorwriter
If you are familiar with the gospel of Mark or have paid close attention to your bible’s footnotes, you know there are major questions about how Mark intended to end his gospel. The gospel of Mark ends with chapter 16, and most Bible's include this strange note between verses eight and nine. The ESV puts it, “Some Of The Earliest Manuscripts Do Not Include 16:9–20.”
I think Mark was making a literary move. I think Mark intended for his gospel to conclude with an open ending. I think he had good reasons for it.
Adam Lewis Greene is the designer behind the top Kickstarter Bibliotheca campaign to redesign a reader-friendly version of the Bible.
David Rawlings joins me to talk about his transition from copywriting and non-fiction to novels. David just released his debut novel, The Baggage Handler, and is under contract with Thomas Nelson for two more. David's books are modern parables that help readers discover Christ's kingdom through story.
We discuss making the transition to fiction and how studying fiction can impact non-fiction writers. There is a lot of helpful information for both fiction and non-fiction writers and encouragement for writers trying to figure out what to do with that novel idea.
Pierce Taylor Hibbs serves as the Associate Director of the Theological English Department at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is the author of "The Speaking Trinity and His Worded World: Why Language Is at the Center of Everything" and "Finding God in the Ordinary."
At the core of our conversation is the question, is there such a thing as Christian writing? Are there qualities that Christian writers should possess.
Glenna is a pastor's wife, a mom to two boys, a musician, and writer. She released her first solo album, Hold Me fast, in 2017. You can find her music on Spotify and iTunes. Her first book, The Promise is His Presence: Why God is Always Enough, releases this summer with P & R Publishing. And she already has another book, Everyday Faithfulness, set to release from Crossway in 2020.
I enjoy sharing lessons I'm learning from my writing. This episode addresses my attempts at humor and the disturbing discovery those jokes have lead me to.
David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at Cities Church in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines.
Dan Herod joins me to talk about his deepest sufferings and how they have shaped his story and ministry. Pick up his book, Suffer Well: Walking Victoriously Through Your Valleys.
John serves as pastor of Cornerstone Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church.
Matt Perman has taken up the task of reshaping productivity with a commitment to Gospel centrality. His advice is practical and deeply theological.
The second in our series, Scripture Can Teach You to Write, we take a look at how the author of 1 & 2 Samuel uses setups and payoffs to keep the reader's attention through the story.
Kate Motaung is the author of the memoir, A Place To Land: A Story of Longing & Belonging as well as the newly released book, co-authored with Shannon Popkin, Influence: Building A Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me).
The Bible is an incredible work of literature. With careful attention, there is a lot you can learn about writing from it.
Jonathan Rogers is a writer and educator. Through his weekly emails and online courses, he helps writers improve their craft, overcome the fear of grammar, and create new writing habits.
I've compiled my top 10 reads of 2018 and some additional thoughts on buying books in the new year.
Jeff Medders is a pastor, author, and host of the Home Row Podcast, a show with writers on writing. He joins me to talk about writing tools and what he calls the "sin of platforming."
Daniel Im is the Director of Church Multiplication for NewChurches.com at LifeWay Christian Resources. He's also the author of two books including, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that Will Transform Your Ministry.
I'm joined by Karen Ball & Erin Taylor Young, cohosts of the Write from the Deep Podcast. From their experience as authors, editors, and coaches they describe why so many writers give up.
You need to know why you write. One of the things I've learned from a year of interviews is that authors write for very different reasons. What matters is knowing why you do.
Scott Lindsey is the Executive Director of Faithlife, the parent company of Logos Bible Software. Scott is a nationally renowned expert on the future of digital Bible study and has been a conference presenter and trainer for 20+ years.
“Years ago a good friend of mine, who was a few years my senior, told me I was behind the curve on bible software. Since then I have found Logos to be the most intuitive and complete bible software out there. Scott, as the ambassador of Logos, greatly helped me learn how to customize it and master its best features. I heartily recommend him and his training to anyone who wants to get the most out of their studies using Logos Bible Software.” — Tim Keller – New York Times Best Selling Author and Founding Pastor of Redeemer in New York City
Benjamin Vrbicek is the author of the soon to be released, Don't Just Send a Resume and has written for Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, and For the Church.
Drew Dyck, Acquisitions Editor at Moody and Editor for Christianity Today Pastors, joins me to talk about his experiences with Eugene Peterson, his writing and legacy.
Doug Wilson is a prolific author across a wide range of topics: from education and history to parenting and cultural issues. He joins me to talk about his book, Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life.
Zack Eswine is the author of the book, The Imperfect Pastor: Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus. It's on my must-read list for pastors.
Heath Adamson is the author of the recently released, Grace in the Valley: Awakening to God's Presence When He Feels Far Away. The book offers a personal and contemplative look at Psalm 23.
George P. Wood has reviewed hundreds of books. Amazon users have recognized his work, by ranking him as #543 in all Amazon reviewers. His passion for books and reading supports his work as the executive editor of Assemblies of God Publications.
One of the most obvious takeaways from my conversation with George is how seriously he takes his reading. It's long been a mantra that "leaders are readers." George demonstrates the importance of thinking more deeply about what you read. And deciding what to read next is not as easy as it might seem.
George offers advice on how he chooses what to read and the responsibility Pastors bear to read well and engage the reading of their congregation.
Writers pay attention to the first sentence. Writing great first sentences is an art worth practicing.
Karl Vaters is a pastor and author of Small Church Essentials. He blogs at NewSmallChurch.com and for Christianity Today. He joins me to talk about writing and success in a small church context.
Thomas Umstattd, Jr. is an author, speaker, and consultant helping authors better market their writing. He is also the co-host of the Novel Marketing Podcast.
Dr. Karen Swallow Prior is a professor of English at Liberty University and the author of the recently released On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books.
Barnabas Piper is an author, blogger, podcaster and Marketing Manager at the publisher, B & H Academic. He joins me to talk about his book, The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life.
Tim Challies joins me to talk about his work reviewing more than 15 years of Christian books, plus his own journey as a writer.
Why is so much of the advice about writing how to make money as a writer? And what is a professional writer anyway?
Janet McHenry is the author of The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus. She joins me to talk about the relationship between writing and prayer.
Russ Ramsey is a Nashville pastor and the author of the recently released Retelling the Story series. He joins me to talk writing, art, and biblical interpretation.
Janet Grant is the President and Founder of Books & Such Literary Management. She joins me to talk realistically about the journey of traditional publishing.
Peter Scazzero is the author of The Emotionally Healthy Leader and two bestselling books: The Emotionally Healthy Church and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.
Chris Martin is the Co-Creator and Chief Content Officer at LifeWay Social. He helps a select group of authors to engage with their audiences online. He joins me to talk about social media and platform.
Ryan is a church planter and author of Paul and His Team. We talk making the transition from academic writing, handling influence, and our images of leadership.
Scott Sauls is a pastor and published author. He joins me to talk about how writing impacts a congregation and the pitfalls of success and platform.
Os Guinness is one of the world's foremost Christian thinkers. His books such as The Call, have already become modern Christian classics. Os joins me to talk about the lost art of persuasion and how pastors and writers must learn to be subversive.
As a long time editor and writing coach, Mick knows how to spot a good idea, and he knows how to help clarify your idea into a book project worth working on. Mick joins me to share his questions for evaluation.
Michelle Ule is the author of Mrs. Oswald Chambers, the story behind the world's most popular devotional My Utmost For His Highest. She joins me to talk about the Chambers' story, writing, and biographies.
Every writer knows to avoid cliches, but we still can't help ourselves. Like garden weeds, we pluck them only to find them growing again the next day. Good writers keep weeding, but why do cliches come so naturally? What do they suggest about our writing? They are more dangerous than you might expect.
Matt Smethurst is an author, church elder, and editor at the Gospel Coalition. He joins me to talk about his role in editing and his Bible Study on 1 & 2 Thessalonians.
Drew Dyck is an acquisitions editor for Moody Publishers, a senior editor for Christianity Today Pastors, and the author of Generation Ex-Christian and Yawning at Tigers. He joins me to talk writing and publishing.
Writing is hard. But it's hard for more reasons than the grammar and vocabulary. Revising requires a certain amount of self-awareness and great writers learn to keep themselves off the page.
Doug Newton spent 40 years as a pastor and ministry leader. He knew writing was a part of his call and this year published a three-part book series entitled Fresh Eyes. We discuss his process and organizational techniques.
Mike Loomis is the author of Your Brand is Calling: Build a Personal Brand to Reflect and Connect. He is a strategic partner to bestselling authors, non-profits, and publishers, helping them develop compelling and authentic brands.
Rachelle Gardner joins me to discuss the traditional publishing process. From finding an agent to the proposal process, Rachelle walks us through the process and landscape of the Christian publishing industry.
Pastor, author, and coach, Alan Baker joins me to discuss books. From pastoral resources to reading for the spiritual life, your Amazon wish-list is about to get a lot longer.
I'll be answering the questions as Thien Doan, host of The Prolific Christian Writer podcast, talks with me about lessons learned and my latest project, Discontented: How Your Heart's Desires Betray You.
Mary DeMuth is one of the best known Christian writers coaching and teaching other writers. She has written over 30 books and mentors hundreds of writers through her site, Book Launch Mentor. Our discussion moves from learning to trust your voice to surrounding yourself with good advice.
Getting published can be an obsession. There is so much to learn, so much to do, so much advice to take. In this episode, I share how I have struggled and come to terms with my own obsession with getting published.
Dick has been a missionary, a pastor, a coach and a writer, but one theme permeates his entire life—friendship. Dick lives it and teaches it. We were created for relationships. We lead by it, write by it and live by it.
Dr. Qualls joins me to talk about communication trends in the church. We discuss why pastors should consider how they communicate and how it relates to writing. Without consideration, we run the risk of blindly participating in a form of communication more shaped by consumerism than the gospel.
Blake Atwood joins me to talk editing and why every writer needs an editor. We spend time discussing the stages of editing and tips you can use to be more objective in editing your own writing. You'll enjoy Blake's honesty and willingness to serve writers with his own blog, podcast, conferences, and advice.
Michelle Derusha joins me to talk about memoir and the challenge of telling your own story. We discuss how an author decides what to include and what gets cut, we talk about writing as a form of prayer, and we discuss the challenges of focusing your attention on the discipline of writing. You’ll appreciate Michelle’s honesty and vulnerability—hallmarks of good memoir.
Mick Silva is a freelance editor and writing coach who has spent nearly 20 years in the Christian publishing industry. He has worked for Focus on the Family Books and WaterBrook & Multnomah, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Why do we find it so hard to get started writing? Why do we prefer to read about writing more than actually doing it? How can wanting to be a writer get in the way of writing? I explore my own struggle to get started and why it matters.