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 (EFC…

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 m…

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 convers…

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 th…

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…

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 …

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 t…

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. H…

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 …

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 sy…

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 …

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 pr…

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: …

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 Boo…

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 Decline and the book he joins me to discuss today, When Church Stops Working: A F…

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 Dalla…

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 mo…

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 o…

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 tru…

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 Disciplesh…

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 i…

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 acc…

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…

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 de…

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 studie…

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 …

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 r…

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 churc…

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 Im…

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. A…

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 S…

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, Ch…

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 Unbelie…

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 publ…

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…

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 ep…

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’C…

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 pre…

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 pol…

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…

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 responsibil…

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, Crossw…

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 t…

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 l…

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 disen…

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 t…

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 tha…

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 …