Greatheart's Table Randall R. Greenwald

I’ve noticed over the years that it is somehow easy for Christians to become rather cynical about the idea of ‘love.’ The word and the idea have been used in overly sentimental ways, of course, but I sometimes wonder if the distance some put between themselves and the word comes from fear of the idea itself. To love at times may mean a loss of control, something repugnant to many. Anyway, I want to spend a couple weeks thinking about the place of love in the life of the Christian.







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EPISODE NOTES







Notes and resources relevant to this episode:







Dan Allender, Bold Love (United States: NavPress, 1992). (I swear this anecdote is in this book, though try as I might now, I can’t find it.)







Galatians 1:24; Ephesians 6:24







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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.

This is another one of our resets, episodes that aired some time ago which I’m re-recording and posting to allow me some space to catch up on other projects.







My son Seth is an artist, a musician, and a wise observer of my spiritual vulnerabilities. He knows the kinds of metrics I use to measure my worth, and he has the courage to call me out on it when I do. Repeatedly. So he was doing when this episode first aired in June of 2021. I share it again because we all need to be called out when we fail to find our worth solely in the eyes of the Chooser.







As always, thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table.















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EPISODE NOTES







Notes and resources relevant to this episode:







Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World (United States: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984). Soon after I read the book, MacDonald’s own private world was revealed to be a mess. Nevertheless, the book has value.







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.

Quite a few of you are new and may be uncertain of what we’re doing here or why, and many may wonder where the name comes from. For all such mysteries, I recommend that you scroll back and listen to episode 67 called “Mr. Greatheart and This Metaphorical Table.”







And if that doesn’t answer your questions, shoot me an email.







No doubt you’ve heard of a little thing called “Artificial Intelligence.” Companies and churches and, yes, pastors are scrambling to ask AI “what can you do for me.” In this episode I wonder if that is the right question to be asking.







Thanks for joining us around Greatheart’s Table.















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EPISODE NOTES







Notes and resources relevant to this episode:







Here is info about Gloo.







I’ve mentioned Gloo before here and here.







Here is the article about Gloo’s “hackathon.”







Mike Sacasas is much smarter, better read, and more articulate than I. Also, his posts are much longer than mine. He writes from within an orthodox Christian tradition, but he writes into a space that does not assume that tradition.







This post on technological liturgies gives a feel for the direction in which his thinking goes, as does this post on asking the right questions.







Neil Postman, Building a Bridge to the 18th Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future, (United States: Vintage, 2000), p. 55.







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Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / a href="https...

In this episode, we take a somber turn, and consider pastoral grief. I can’t recall this being addressed elsewhere, and yet as I’ve thought about it, it’s hard to think of a more consistent theme pulsing across the pastoral landscape than loss and the consequent experience of grief. My concern is what we do with all that grief.







Feel free to email me questions or comments. If you like what you find here, please review and rate it and, pass it along to others. Greatheart’s Table is free, of course, but we appreciate the support we get at Patreon.com.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.

I write Greatheart’s Table with pastors in mind, but I know that often the themes I address apply much more broadly, and so many of you are not pastors at all. This post, aimed towards sharpening pastoral ethical standards, nevertheless lands broadly. As Christians, not just as pastors, who we are may be far more important than what we accomplish.







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Thanks again for listening in to the conversation 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:







The Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists.







Pastoral Code of Ethics of the National Association of Evangelicals















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.

This episode is another reset, one that first aired in June of 2021, and it addresses a theme I’ve often returned to: the need for pastors and others in ministry to have friends.







As I get older and my friends move away or in other ways my friendships change I’m reminded of how difficult finding and keeping real friends can be. Nevertheless, as this post reminds us, the need is real lest we become strange and crotchety or worse.















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:







Patrick O’Brian, The Ionian Mission (United States: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992), p. 166.







If I make frequent references to these books it is because O’Brian’s insight into humanity is so rich. It’s also because I’m a fan.







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.