Podcast
Greatheart's Table
Hosted by Randall R. Greenwald · EN
Encouragement for Pastors and Those Who Care for Them
39episodes
Episodes
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145. Worship Is Boring
Dec 800:10:33Tap to summarizeHi, and welcome to Greatheart’s Table, the podcast for baseball lovers and those who care for them. Wait. That’s a bit skewed. But let’s run with it. Having grown up with baseball, I often see parallels between the sport and the Christian life. People tend to groan when I do mention baseball, so with this episode I want to work from a place where all can agree: that baseball is boring. So pull up a seat, and let’s see where that thought will take us. Greatheart’s Table is written and produced by me, Randy Greenwald, but it is marketed by you. As we aim for a new year, please reach out to a couple, or a couple dozen, friends and encourage them to subscribe. Thank you for doing so, and for listening. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: https://medium.com/joeblogs/baseball-night-in-america-2a3077ff1e05 Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →Reset 25. Run, Pastor, Run (or Walk, or Whatever)
Dec 100:07:02Tap to summarizeHi. Thanks for pulling up a chair around Greatheart’s Table, a community of pastors and others considering life in general, and life in the church particularly. This episode, a reset of one first aired four years ago, applies widely to men and women in all stages and walks of life: get out, detach, and let your mind roam freely. It’s hard, I know. But fruitful. Greatheart’s Table is supported by patrons – those who choose to support what we do here. If you want to join that cadre of sustainers, you can do so at Patreon dot come. But the greatest way you can support this work is to follow us on your streaming platform, and urge others to do the same. We are glad to have you here around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Letters of Samuel Rutherford (United States: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1984), p. ii. Psychologist Alter is Professor of Marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the author of the book Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →144. Double the Joy
Nov 2400:08:01Tap to summarizeHello everyone. Welcome to Greatheart’s Table. I’m Randy Greenwald. And welcome to the week of Thanksgiving, in the U. S. at least. This has put me in a playful mood. Perhaps you will judge this to be trivial. It may be. But I think Thanksgiving is a good time to back off from taking ourselves so seriously. It is a time to eat, drink, and be merry, together, for we are on a journey together. I trust you’ll join me in some of my own merriment. I’m thankful for you who listen, and for those of you who, kindly have supported Greatheart’s Table at Patreon. If you listen regularly, please follow the podcast, and rate and review it. Please share this with others. And this Thanksgiving share your joy with those close to you. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: https://doublethejoy.substack.com Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →RDC02A. Pastoral Sustainability, Part One
Nov 1700:25:41Tap to summarizeI’d like to welcome you to another “Rainy Day Conversation around Greatheart’s Table.” This episode first aired just after Christmas in 2024 and addresses those factors that help pastors persevere for the long haul, and those challenges that can cut that short. This is part one of my conversation with two experienced pastors, Mike Osborne and Paul Joiner. Part two will be released soon. If there are others you think I should invite into these conversations, or topics I should explore, let me know at randy at greatheartstable dot com. Please rate and review this podcast and, most importantly, refer others to it. Become a subscriber to the newsletter at Substack, and, if you are able, support what we do here at Patreon. As always, thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this. The studies mentioned are referenced below: Hartford Institute Study: “I’m Exhausted All the Time” Deshon and Quinn study on competencies Resources available for pastors: Geneva Benefits Standing Stone Leaders Collective The Rest Initiative Bent Tree Books mentioned include Marshall Shelley Ministering to Problem People in Your Church: What to Do with Well-Intentioned Dragons J. I. Packer, Knowing God Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →143. Randy’s Happiness Machine
Nov 1000:09:30Tap to summarizeThis post applies far beyond the pastoral office. We are a technological people. “Applied science,” as C. S. Lewis names it, has so shaped us that we never question it. We tend always to baptize it as good. It has been welcomed into our churches and homes and schools, not simply in the form of the tools we use, but as well in the shape of our work. What is a “men’s ministry” for example other than a new technology for shaping men? The wise suggest we slow down and ask why we are looking for technological solutions, and what those solutions are doing to us. We would do well to listen to them. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →142. Smaller, Simpler, Slower
Nov 300:07:48Tap to summarizeToday the words and voice that follow will not be mine, but that of a wise friend of mine. Mike Osborne and I have known each other since seminary. For the past fifteen years we’ve pastored churches in the same town. He’s a gift. Over lunch a few months ago, Mike, who now supports pastors through Standing Stone Ministries, and cares for seminarians as the dean of students at Reformed Seminary in Orlando, mentioned that ministry should be smaller, slower, and simpler. I love what he said then, and as I asked him to write it up, I love what he has produced for us here. I hope you do as well. Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Mike’s book: Surviving Ministry: How to Weather the Storms of Church Leadership Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1980). When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →141. Pastor, You Are Not Not Impotent
Oct 2700:10:25Tap to summarizeThe triple negative in the title of this episode is more than a gimmick. We have power, we are not to seek power, and we revel in our weakness. And that can be confusing. Pastors for the past forty years, in my experience, have been battered and attacked by vocal critics for not being more politically dynamic. We are called impotent. But we are being bullied. And I don’t like being bullied. Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →RDC05B – Professional Identity Formation, Part Two
Oct 2000:34:39Tap to summarizeHello, and welcome to this episode of Rainy Day Conversations around Greatheart’s Table. I’m Randy Greenwald. This is part two of our two part conversation with Dr. Jessie Swigart of Covenant Theological Seminary regarding professional identity formation. In the first part we began to discuss how a pastor comes to think, feel, and act as a pastor, and the implications of unpacking this idea. For pastors to see themselves as professionals is important and healthy, as long as that identity is properly framed. I’d love to hear what you think. I’m grateful for Dr. Swigart’s insight and her time. If you have not listened to part one, I’d encourage you to go back and listen. Dr. Swigart is the Dean of Academic Administration and Assistant Professor of Educational Ministries at Covenant Theological Seminary, and her research has focused on professional identity formation in early-career professionals. In the first episode Dr. Swigart helped us understand what these terms mean, and we began to explore what these mean with regard specifically to pastors. The thought that pastors should be considered professionals has been challenged, and Dr. Swigart’s research helps us to see that there are rich benefits in bringing pastors to see themselves as pastors, that they might think, feel, and act as the professionals they are. As we move the conversation forward, we begin to think then about how a professional identity is formed, and in doing so, many of the themes that we have tried to nurture here around Greatheart’s Table will be struck. And so with that, we plunge back into our conversation. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. Shownotes: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. Dr. Jessie Swigart is an educator and scholar committed to creating learning environments that are both challenging and compassionate—spaces where people grow together in their knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Her PhD research explored professional identity formation among early-career professionals in the helping professions, deepening her appreciation for the vital role of relationships in the lives of those who serve others. Dr. Swigart serves as Dean of Academic Administration and Assistant Professor of Educational Ministries at Covenant Theological Seminary, where she teaches courses on educational theory and the practice of teaching and learning within the life of the church. She holds a PhD in Educational Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL; a Master of Arts in Educational Ministries from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO; and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. She is a member of New City Fellowship in St. Louis and enjoys gardening and visiting with neighbors while walking her rescue dog, River. Books mentioned during the episode are the following: Albert M. Wolters, Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?: The Key to Transforming a Broken World When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
Transcribe →Reset 24. Futility Is Resistible
Oct 1300:07:24Tap to summarizeMinistry, like life, can be beautiful, and at other times confusingly messy. Sometimes we are given the opportunity to see the fruit of our labors. But at other times, we see no fruit, and we only sense the weight of what feels like futility. This is a reset of an episode first aired in November or 2021 that reminds us that such futility is resistible. I hope you agree. I’m grateful for all of you, and I’m especially grateful to those who are able to help support us financially. We are a micro operation, but there still are costs. If you are able, check the show notes to discover ways to support what we do. As always, thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: Andrew Solomon, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (United States: Scribner, 2015), page 244. When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Edith Schaeffer, Affliction: A Compassionate Look at the Reality of Pain and Suffering (United States: Baker Books, 1993). Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart’s Table, visit us here.
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