Project Pastor Podcast

Matt Hyam started Southhampton Vineyard Church at the age of 23, and led it for 29 years. Matt has a passion for learning and teaching theology, because he believes it should be simple, and that the task of theology is to dig through the dirt to recover that simplistic faith. He's influenced by Anabaptist and Orthodox theology and has a particular interest in exploring Patristic teachings. Matt posts most days with thoughts and theological reflections under the name Matt musing... He runs occasional online seminars to address theological issues that affect Christians and also post snippets of teaching regularly on social media. Matt has written three books - "I Still Have More Questions Than Answers" (2002), "Life Before Death" (2018) and "There Must be More to This" (2021).

What if we got real? Really real, first with God and ourselves, then with others. What would change? How would we change? How would our churches change?  How would the world around us change. In  It's what we're discussing in a new series on Project Pastor. In this first episode we talk with Todd Morrison, pastor, author husband , dad and recovering addict. Let's get real and see how we all change!  

John is a follower of Jesus, husband to Andrea, and father to four great kids. He holds degrees in Bible, Education, and Counseling, is a certified speaker, trainer and coach with the John Maxwell Team, and serves as the Lead Pastor of Core Creek Community Church in Langhorne, PA.   John is an adjunct professor at Cairn University, where he teaches courses on church planting, theology, and counseling.  He also serves as the Director of the National Mission Board which is a ministry that is focused on church planting and church health. John hosts three podcasts, "The Chapter-A-Day Audio Bible," “Daily Devotions with Pastor John,” and "Dwell on These Things." At present, his shows have been downloaded over 5.5 million times by listeners throughout the world. All three podcasts can be freely accessed via your favorite podcast app or by clicking here.

A cross over interview brought to you by This Undivided Life.Andrew Arndt is the Lead Pastor of New Life East (one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs), where he also hosts the Essential Church podcast, a weekly conversation designed to strengthen the thinking of church and ministry leaders. Prior to joining New Life's team, he served as Lead Pastor of Bloom Church: a neo-monastic, charismatic, liturgical, justice-driven network of house churches in Denver. He received his MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and has written for Missio Alliance, Patheos, The Other Journal, and Mere Orthodoxy. He lives in the Springs with his wife Mandi and their four kids.

Dr. Dee Stokes is a spiritual advisor, speaker, coach, author, and educator who focuses on ministry, purposeful leadership, and education in an effort to "Build Influential People Who Change the World and Live Out the Gospel Practically." Dr. Stokes has spent over 25 years in higher education as a basketball coach and professor.  After 18 years as a coach, her dreams and desires turned to full time ministry. Although not roaming the sidelines, she still has a passion for athletes, coaches, and the game she loves: Basketball. Her passion allows her to impact coaches and stay involved in the game.

We talk about Matthews new book, Hope Always. It is the first practical, biblically-based, scientifically-grounded book that takes a holistic view of suicide. It explores why God is unequivocally for life, and what forces tempt us to choose death. Through the stories of patients and timeless truths of Scripture, it equips us to ask questions, seek help, and advocate for life.

Doug Bursch co-pastors Evergreen Foursquare Church with his good friend pastor Dan Behrens.  Along with pastoring, Doug is an evangelist and writer. He is the author of Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It and The Community of God: A Theology of the Church From a Reluctant Pastor. He also occasionally teaches theology classes. Doug hosted a daily radio show entitled “Live from Seattle with Doug Bursch” on 820 AM KGNW from 2010-2015. He currently hosts The Fairly Spiritual Show Podcast.

Daniel Grothe is married to Lisa Carol, and moved to Colorado Springs as a newly married couple in July of 2005. He has spent all of those years working at New Life Church where he serves as an associate senior pastor. He’s the author of Chasing Wisdom: The Lifelong Pursuit of Living Well  He’s married to Lisa and has three children—Lillian, Wilson, and Wakley. They are the delights of their lives. He’s received his undergraduate degree in theology from Oral Roberts University and completed a Masters in Theology through Fuller Theological Seminary. He loves writing, and has spent a lot of his life playing drums for wonderful singer/songwriters like GUNGOR, The Brilliance, Darrell Evans, and Michael Rossback. 

Is it possible to live a crazy happy life? Yes. Join Troy as he interviews Daniel Fusco, husband, father of three, pastor and author of multiple books including Crazy Happy: Nine Surprising Ways to Live the Truly Beautiful Life. We talk food, Jazz, beauty, gratitude, joy and the keys to living a whole and integrated life. A life of joy and true happiness. 

Troy interviews Brad Gray the senior pastor of Stonington Baptist Church in Paxinos, Pennsylvania, where he lives and serves with his wife Natalie, daughter Lydia, and son Braxton. He is currently pursuing an M.Div. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He blogs regularly at Grace Upon Grace and hosts a podcast, Ministry Minded.  

What if the church, specifically the Western American church fuly embraced its role? What would society look like? How would it change? We discuss this and more with Pastor Jesse Bradley at Grace Community Church in the Seattle area. He's a former professional soccer goalkeeper (played in Zimbabwe Africa, Aberdeen Scotland, and Minnesota), radio host, author, and speaker. A graduate of Dartmouth College, his curiosity about faith and Jesus began there. In an Introduction to World Religions course, he began to read the Bible for the first time. Jesse graduated with a Master's Degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Jesse really enjoys authentic conversations with people of all ages and cultures. After surviving several close calls with death, Jesse is truly grateful for every new day and opportunities to encourage people in their journey and faith. Adoption and God's greater work of unity in the Sound and the nation are close to his heart. Jesse and his wife Laurie have four children and a fun dog named Bella.

John Lynch is a speaker, author, and former pastor. After 27 years as the teaching pastor at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix, Arizona, John joined Trueface in 1997 and began speaking nationally and both authoring and coauthoring many resources such as The Cure and TrueFaced, and his own story in On My Worst Day. As an outlet for his love of writing and performing, John co-founded and was both a playwright and actor for Sharkey Productions, a theater troupe focused on Gospel-anchored theater productions for those still seeking Jesus. John and his wife Stacey have three grown children and a growing troupe of grandchildren.

Tony Miltenberger is the lead pastor of Restoration Church Centerville, a thriving United Methodist congregation in Ohio. He is also the host of The Reclamation Podcast, a show that “helps busy people reclaim good practices of faith and life,” and the co-author of “UnBreakable: Forging a Marriage of Contentment and Delight,” one wife 3 kids. which is based on his own marital struggles, and his experiences spearheading workshops for soldiers returning from deployment away from their families.  

Scott and Troy discuss pastoral isolation. They talk about the why's and how's of becoming isolated and some ways to embrace our own humanity which can lead to healing. By embracing our weaknesses we come to rely on Christ as well as community. We take a quote from Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobels book The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb We also reference the interview Troy did with Jamin and Kyle it's episode number 85

Lo Alaman is a spoken word poet, writer, preacher, and  He is the Director of Community Life at The Harvest Church in The Woodlands, Texas, but his passion and gift is bringing words to life His most recent creative work is We Sang a Dirge on the subject of lament, and he shares with us the inspiration behind this project, and more on the intersection of art and holiness.

David Zach is the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band Remedy Drive as well as an advocate in the fight against human trafficking.  The band has recorded two concept albums to shine a light on slavery and to celebrate the modern day abolition.  The band's community and fan base has contributed around $350,000 in donations and in-kind donations to the counter trafficking organization The Exodus Road.   We talk about losing our lives in order to really live. How we're all creative, and how we can use our creative ways to love ourselves and others well. 

Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He enjoys reading widely, preaching and writing on contemplative spirituality, justice-related matters, and the art of preaching. He's been married to Rosie since 2006 and they have two beautiful children, Karis and Nathan. His first book, The Deeply Formed Life, is now available wherever books are sold.

Adam Weber lives in Sioux Falls (that’s in South Dakota). He’s the founder and one of the pastors at a multi-site church called Embrace. He quips that he  still can’t believe he’s a pastor. He’s written two books Talking With God and most recently have Love Has A Name. He’s married to his beautiful wife Becky and has 4 kids: Hudson, Wilson, Grayson, and Anderson. He likes typewriters, drives a 1936 Chevy, cheers for the Cincinnati Bengals, has a collection of animals including, seven chickens, two dogs, & three fish, but what he really wants is a sheep.

Scott and Troy discuss how covid has changed the way we approach ministry. Some of it's challenges, with not meeting in person to our often reliance, maybe even addiction to the building we met in.  What Now, What Next Video link.

Through writing, speaking and leading, Thom has served the faith community for 40 years. He’s the founder of Group Publishing and Lifetree Café. He’s the author of many books, including “Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore.” Thom also directed the documentary film “When God Left The Building.” And he’s the founding director of Group Serves, which organizes volunteer mission experiences to help disadvantaged families throughout the world.

Dr. Dee Stokes is a spiritual advisor, speaker, coach, and educator who focuses on ministry, purposeful leadership, and education in an effort to "Build Influential People Who Change the World." She is the new CQ director for Fresh Expressions Dr. Stokes has spent over 25 years in higher education as a basketball coach and professor.  After 18 years as a coach, her dreams and desires turned to full time ministry. Although not roaming the sidelines, she still has a passion for athletes, coaches, and the game she loves: Basketball. Her passion allows her to impact coaches and stay involved in the game.  

The Rev. Chad E. Jarnagin is a recognized musician, priest, & speaker. He is host of The Luminous Podcast as well as the Learning to BE Podcast, and the Founding Rector of Luminous Parish, an Anglican Mission to Nashville | Franklin, TN. He is an ordained priest within the Anglican Communion (via AMiA). He is also a postulant to the Rule of Saint Benedict. Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (2003-2009).  Fr. Chad’s debut book, Learning to Be: Reconstructing Peace, and Spiritual Health will release on November 5th, 2019 (eBook) and February 11, 2020 (paperback, Morgan James Publishing). He possesses a unique combination of talents and skills as a shepherd, artist, and thinker. Chad is a certified Enneagram Teacher, (an ancient personality typing system that identifies nine types of people and how they relate to one another and the world). Chad grew up around Cincinnati, OH and has lived in the Nashville area for over 22 years. He has a brilliant wife and three talented boys and is continuing his family's baseball heritage by coaching in the local youth league.  In addition to being rector at Luminous Parish, Chad continues to schedule a limited number of events speaking on Learning to BE, curating Contemplative Enneagram spaces for Spiritual Direction, and caring for church and organization staffs. Fr. Chad is a proficient communicator on topics include: Portions of Learning to Be (forthcoming debut book), sacred rhythms for spiritual health, contemplative practices and postures, as well as Anglicanism. Chad attended Carson-Newman University, Berklee College of Music, and is pursuing a M.A. of Biblical Studies, as well as a psychology certification (Cognitive Behavior Therapy).

Matthew Sleeth is an author, speaker, and advocate of creation care. A former emergency department physician, Sleeth wrote his first book, Serve God, Save the Planet, in May 2006. Since then, he has spoken more than 900 times in churches, schools and to media outlets about the biblical mandate to care for the Earth.

Dr. Glenn Previn Packiam, is a Malaysian-American Christian musician, guitarist, pianist, worship leader and pastor, who serves as an Associate Senior Pastor at New Life Church and the Lead Pastor of New Life Downtown in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

KEN HARRISON serves as the Chief Executive Officer of WaterStone, an organization that releases resources to support Christian humanitarian efforts worldwide. Currently WaterStone oversees donations of millions of dollars per month and manages a fund of $400+ million. He started his career as a Los Angeles police officer in the infamous 77th Division of South-Central Los Angeles, better known as Watts or Compton. There he received numerous commendations and awards. After leaving the LAPD in the 1990s, Ken went into business and built a small local company into one of the largest of its kind in the United States. He has served on multiple boards, and recently stepped into the role of chairman of the board of Promise Keepers, a well-known organization ministering to Christian men. Harrison is also the author of Victims & Victors. He has been married to his wife, Elliette, for 27 years and they have three children.

Scott and Troy discuss their favorite books of 2018. Scott even adds a great one for the "geeks, nerds and gamers" or for anyone who likes a fun novel. Here's a list with a description of each book. Trust For Today: By the Trueface Team This 365 day devotional from the Trueface team invites you to experience trust each day, from the mundane to the exceptional, from the deeply sad to hilarious. Touching on business, family, donuts, friendship and Adirondack chairs, Trust for Today invites you to grow in trust one day at a time. The Divine Conspiracy: Dallas Willard In this classic, one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of our times and author of the acclaimed The Spirit of Disciplines, Dallas Willard, skillfully weaves together biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice, revealing what it means to "apprentice" ourselves to Jesus. How to Think: Alan Jacobs How to Think is a contrarian treatise on why we’re not as good at thinking as we assume—but how recovering this lost art can rescue our inner lives from the chaos of modern life. Intimate Partners: Patterns in Love and Marriage: Maggie Scarf What goes on in our intimate attachments? What patterns of relationships do couples tend to follow, and why? The bonds we create affect every aspect of our lives, and yet our grasp of them is limited by our emotional reactions and learned responses. Now, in Intimate Partners, bestselling author Maggie Scarf gives us the classic book on marriage–on how love relationships are formed and how they change over the course of the marital cycle. Intimate Partners is a book that changes not only how we view love relationships, but also how we live them. Parables of Judgment: Robert Capon Quote from the book... “Grace doesn’t sell; you can hardly even give it away, because it works only for losers and no one wants to stand in their line. The world of winners will buy case lots of moral advice, grosses of guilt-edge prohibitions, skids of self-improvement techniques, and whole truckloads of transcendental hot air. But it will not buy free forgiveness because that threatens to let the riffraff into the Supper of the Lamb.” Scandalous Stories: A Sort of Commentary on Parables : by Daniel Emery Price, Erick Sorensen Parables are some of the most familiar stories in the Bible, yet their interpretations and applications are anything but uniform. Scandalous Stories is a "sort" of commentary on these familiar stories that are steeped in God's offensive grace and loving mercy for sinners and saints alike.  

Scott and Troy discuss the question...How is your relationship with Jesus different than it was at the first of the year, and how would you hope it becomes different in the coming year?

As a world-class communicator, John is a vital Trueface staff member. In addition to speaking internationally with the Trueface team since 1997, John has co-authored The Cure, Bo’s Café, Behind The Mask, and his own story, On My Worst Day. John also powerfully delivered the classic Two Roads Two Rooms allegory, which the co-authors created for The Cure. This message can be heard or seen on the internet. John served for 27 years as teaching pastor at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix, Arizona. The authenticity, longevity, and playfulness of these two communities, Trueface and Open Door, bring real-world reality and potency to the message of Trueface. John used his love for theater as a playwright and actor in Sharkey Productions, a troupe focused on gospel-anchored theater productions for those still seeking Jesus. John and his wife Stacey often create inviting environments on their backyard patio and elsewhere for people to enjoy authentic community. They are passionate parents to their three children, Caleb married to Kali, with granddaughters Maci and Payton; Amy married to Cody, with grandson Ridge; and Carly.

Ken knows the stress overload of pastoring from the inside. After hitting a wall as the Senior Pastor of a large church, he went through a painful exit and sought counseling and spiritual direction. His season of personal healing, reconciliation, and learning opened up a new intimacy with Jesus for him and propelled him into a ministry of helping pastors and leaders resolve their spiritual/emotional conflicts. Today he brings 25 years of pastoral ministry to his role as the Pastor to the Campus Pastors at Saddleback Church, along with helping leaders from other churches and in business. He has a doctorate in Discipleship from Talbot Theological Seminary and a certificate from Soul Shepherding in “Spiritual Formation and Soul Care Ministry.” Ken’s unique discipleship ministry is based on a holistic biblical theology, infused with findings from psychology and neurology. 

Scott and Troy discuss the question... Are you grateful in all circumstances? Not for all circumstances but in all which is a huge difference.

Scott and Troy discuss the question ....What is the state of your spiritual life? 

Scott and Troy discuss the question...Are you living a prioritized life?

Scott and Troy discuss the question...Who or what do I need to see in a different way?

Scott and Troy discuss the question.... what is the most important work you're involved in?

Scott and Troy discuss the question... When you struggle do you ask God to for an escape or to walk with you? Are you looking for yo God as a cosmic escape button, or are you depending on Him?

Scott and Troy discuss the question...Are you going thru your day mindful or mindless? Are you thinking, or are you just going through the motions throughout your days? Have you taken the time to pause, seek solitude at times and commune with God, or are you so busy that business fills even those in between moments?

Scott and Troy discuss and ask the question...Are you depressed? We talk about how leaders, especially pastors are vulnerable. In Barna's latest state of the pastor's study they noted that nearly half of all pastor's suffer from depression. 

Scott and Troy discuss the question....How did we get here? Often as individuals and as organizations we find are selfs where we don't want to be, we get off track, lose our way.  

Paul Angone is the author of three books including his latest 101 Questions You need to Ask in Your Twenties (and let’s be honest your thirties too). He is a national speaker at universities and organizations, frequent contributor for publications such as Business Insider, Huffington Post, and Relevant Magazine, a business consultant with a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership where he helps companies and Millennials work better together, and the creator of, AllGroanUp.com, which has been read by millions of people in 190 countries. Facebook Twitter Instagram  

Scott and Troy discuss some of their favorite books, movies and stories. 

Scott and Troy the question...What are your three nonnegotiables in life & work? And how are you filtering your decisions through those nonnegotiables?

Brad Gray is a Christian husband and father who’s adamantly resolved to sharing the gospel of “grace upon grace” for the weary and the worn out. Brad currently serves as the Assistant Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Southwest Ranches, Florida. Brad's mission is to encourage lives with the eternal truths of the gospel of grace, which alone can transform lives and spur them to pursue God. You can find Brad and his writing and his podcast at https://graceupongrace.cc/  

Scott & Troy discuss the question... What does it mean to be hospitable? How does it affect our lives as well as others. 

Rusty George is the Lead Pastor at Real Life Church in Southern California; a multi-site church with campuses in Canyon Country, Valencia and a large online community. Under Rusty’s lead, Real Life has become one of the fastest growing churches in America–growing by 111% in 2011 alone. Beyond leading his church of 6,000+ members every weekend, Rusty is a global speaker, leader and teacher focusing his message on helping people find and follow Jesus. Rusty has also written several books and writes regularly here at pastorrustygeorge.com. Aside from being a loyal Chiefs, Royals and Lakers fan, Rusty is first and foremost committed to his family. Rusty has been married to his wife, Lorrie, for over twenty years and they have two daughters, Lindsey and Sidney. As a family they enjoy walking the dogs, watching the Food Network and playing board games together.

Scott & Troy discuss the question... What is it about what we do for church that causes people to value it so little? We talk about the attitudes and views towards gathering together in community. Ho w are own selfishness gets in the way of becoming the body of Christ.

Scott & Troy discuss the question... Are we using words the same? in other words, do the words we use to communicate have the same meaning we intend or are others interpreting other meanings from them.

Our problem as humans, we want our ministers to be perfect and they're not, never will be. We are all broken and would be better off accepting someone who stands before us and speaks of God as just a regular "Joe" with warts, pimples and yes ear rings, or nose piercings, tattoos. When we polish something, then it takes continual polishing, that will eventually tarnish.  // J. Slinkard Tullian is a graduate of Columbia International University, where he received a degree in Philosophy, and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, where he earned his Master of Divinity. A grandson of (Evangelist) Billy and Ruth Graham, Tullian was the Founding Pastor of the former New City Church (in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) which merged with the historic Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 2009. He served there as Senior Pastor until June 2015. During his time at Coral Ridge, Tullian founded LIBERATE—a ministry that sought to “connect God’s inexhaustible grace to an exhausted world” through annual conferences (2011–2015), training, book and music publishing, daily blog posts, a daily radio program, and a weekly TV broadcast. Tullian has written eight books including, It Is Finished: 365 Days of Good News (2015), One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World  (2013), Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free (2012), and Jesus + Nothing = Everything (2011) which won Christianity Today’s Book of the Year in 2011. Both “Glorious Ruin” and “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” were ECPA finalists for Book of the Year. He has also served as a Contributing Editor to various magazines and journals. Tullian has traveled extensively around the USA to speak at conferences, churches, universities, and seminaries. After a season of self-destruction leading up to, and following, his resignation from Coral Ridge in June 2015, Tullian is now married to Stacie, and together they have five children and one grandchild. They live in Fort Myers, Florida, and are members of Living Faith Church. Tullian longs to see broken people encounter God’s boundless love...  

Scott & Troy discuss the question... where do you find find refuge?

Scott & Troy discuss the the question... Are there those who you believe don't deserve grace? or is Grace conditional?

Karl Vaters is a small church pastor. He could be accurately called a small church champion. After nearly 25 years of ministry as a small church pastor he finally discovered this. He's written two books The Grasshopper Myth and his latest book Small Church Essentials.  If you're a small church pastor you should be following anything Karl writes.  Below is a quote from Karl's Pivot Blog... "Pivot (Karl's blog the resides @Christauanity Today) wants to help change our thinking about that. To encourage the body of Christ that small churches can be healthy, innovative and world-changing - just like they've been for the last 2,000 years. We don't want more churches to be small, we want small churches to be great! We want to see better, stronger, healthier small churches, led by passionate, prayerful, capable, innovative and loving pastors. We believe being small is not a problem to fix, but a strategy God wants to use. Most small church leaders have not been told that - at least they haven't been told it enough. If we can help turn up the volume on that message, we will have done what we set out to do."

Scott & Troy discuss the question ... who do you have to fill in for you? Who is it you trust that can fill in and give you some much needed rest?