The Pastor Theologians Podcast

Ryan Fields joins the podcast again to share a sermon he preached on 1 Peter 2:12, calling the church to pursue commendable conduct "among the Gentiles" in the turmoil of a divisive moment in America's public and ecclesial life. What does God call us, the church, to pursue, both among fellow believers and in the public sphere? Living Church - Awe and Presence

Chris Ganski shares his story of faith and ministry in one of our Becoming a Pastor Theologian episodes. He shares how his journey has been a series of continuing conversions towards deeper faith and how the Lord worked through various experiences to lead him to the pastorate. How does a PhD relate to pastoral ministry? How can a liberal academic context help to foster faithful evangelical witness? What does it look like to preach faithfully in a politically divided age? All this and more on this new episode. Living Church - Awe and Presence

Coleman Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite join the podcast to discuss their recently published book Ancient Wisdom and the Care of Souls: Learning the Art of Pastoral Ministry from the Church Fathers (Crossway, 2024). They talk about why the wrote the book and the need that it meets for busy pastors today. Why should we learn the art of soul care from the church Fathers? What corrections can they bring to contemporary models of pastoral ministry? What does riding a bike have to do with this conversation? All this and more on this week's new episode! Living Church - Awe and Presence

Carmen Joy Imes joins the podcast to discuss her books Bearing God's Name and Being God's Image, as well as previewing what she will be talking about at this year's CPT conference Kingdom Politics. Carmen shares her story of faith, ministry, and education, as well as her heart to serve the church. What does it mean to be made as his image? What does it mean to bear his name? What might that mean for theology, ethics, politics? All this and more on this fascinating episode! Living Church - Awe and Presence

Jack Franicevich, a parish priest in the Anglican Church of North America, joins the podcast to discuss his book, Sunday: Keeping Christian Time (Athanasius Press, 2023), that focuses on the nature of the Sabbath, what it means in the biblical narrative, and how the social imaginary of Christians might be formed by a deep understanding of the Sabbath. What does the Sabbath mean for rest? For the hope of Christians? For the rebuke of anti-God powers? All this and more on this new episode. Living Church - Awe and Presence

Dan Brendsel joins the podcast to discuss his recent book Answering Speech: The Life of Prayer as Response to God (Crossway, 2023). Paul commands the church to "pray without ceasing." What does that mean? In what ways do we misunderstand prayer? How might reframing prayer as a whole-life response reform and renew the lives of the saints and the life the church? All this and more on this new episode. Living Church - Awe and Presence

Joel is joined by Brad Gray, CEO of Walking the Text, a non-profit organization that specalizes in helping pastors and Christians understand the cultural, linguistic, and literary context of the Bible. What are the "lenses of context" for reading scripture? How does understanding this context correctly enable Christians to live out the vision of scripture and be conformed to Christ?SPONSOR: The Living Church, The Human Pilgrimage Conferencelivingchurch.org/eventsUse code "CPT" for 10% registration. Living Church - Awe and Presence

For our July episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading:Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (2024)Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot (1975)Cynthia L. Haven, Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard (2018) Living Church - Awe and Presence

Kaitlyn Schiess joins the podcast to talk about her recent book The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here (Brazos, 2023). She shares her background of education and how she began interacting with the question of the relationship between church and state, Christians and the politics of the world. What makes America a "Bible haunted nation"? Should Christians think of their nation as a "city on a hill"? What gifts can careful readers of Scripture offer to the contemporary political realm? All this on more on this new episode!This episode sponsored by The After Party. Living Church - Awe and Presence

Russell Moore, Editor-in-Chief of Christianity Today, discusses the impact of fiction on his thinking, American church's struggle with cultural nominalism, need for repentance and conversion, and the biblical meaning of hope. Exploring challenges in the church's involvement in politics, theological influences, upcoming conference on kingdom politics, and importance of repentance for renewal.