Greatheart's Table

Randall R. Greenwald
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  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Encouragement for Pastors and Those Who Care for Them

  1. 2D AGO

    Reset 29. The Dreamer

    If you’ve listened to the previous two reset episodes from January, 2022, you know that I have issues with the expectations that American corporate leadership culture has placed upon pastors. Some fit easily within the roles defined for them, they become growth visionaries and ministry strategists. As my dad, a carpenter used to say, “they fit like they growed there.”  But many of us don’t fit. Not in the way we are supposed to.  And that is okay. I want to free us from those expectations. But once freed, what then?  In this episode I invite pastors to dream. Freed from the cultural expectations what might your vision, your real, deep, heartfelt vision for ministry be? That will be what will make your heart flourish in ministry. Let’s consider that. 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: Harrison Scott Key, Congratulations, Who Are You Again?: A Memoir, (United States: Harper Perennial, 2018), p. 87. 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.

    7 min

  2. FEB 2

    Reset 28. The Planner

    I know that though I write with pastors in mind, not all of you are pastors. I’m actually glad for that, and particularly as we address the idea of just what the pastor is to be. I’m concerned about the expectations that churches place on pastors that turn them into more strategist than shepherd.  This is the second of three resets from January 2022. Were I to write it today, there would be much to add, but little to change. I’d love to know what you think.  Thanks for listening, for reviewing, and referring Greatheart’s Table. This is the only way this will be heard above the cacophony of the internet. I’m grateful for your support, and for your presence.  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.

    7 min

  3. JAN 26

    Reset 27. The Visionary

    Pastors, I think you would agree, are not a monolithic set. They come in all shapes and sizes. They have different gifts, different personalities, different reasons for being. But though this is true, too often only one variety of pastor is valued. And that is a shame, and a hard pill to swallow for many pastors who are serving the church well, but who do not fit the valued model. In this, the first of three resets that first were released in early 2022, I want to explore ideas that swirl around pastoral self identity. First, we consider the visionary. Please rate, review, and refer Greatheart’s Table, and if you can support us at Patreon dot com. 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://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/354846-the-rancher-shepherd-divide.html https://www.mecklenburg.org/senior-pastor 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.

    7 min

  4. JAN 19

    RDC06B. Getting Idolatry Right

    With this episode I’m joined again by Dr. Trey Martin as we conclude the conversation we began previously on the subject of idolatry and our lives lived before the only true and living God. There are things that can threaten the devotion we have to God, things that can become larger to us than they should In the first portion of this conversation, Dr. Martin helped us understand some definitions and biblical background surrounding idolatry, and in this second part we will begin to address some questions about how this is worked our in real life and ministry.  If you’ve not listened to the first portion of this conversation, I encourage you to do so. One of the things that Dr. Martin did in that episode was to help us distinguish between real and metaphorical idols, and to see how metaphorical idols can be as damaging, if not more so, than physical ones.  But here, now, we begin to turn the conversation away from the theoretical and more to the practical. We’ll pick up the conversation with a question that moves us in that direction. 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. Dr. Trey Martin  The article that stimulated this conversation: A COUNTERFEIT IDOL: RESIGNATION AND FAITH IN TIMOTHY KELLER’S COUNTERFEIT GODS, by Dr. Trey Martin. Used by the kind permission from Covenant Theological Seminary. For information about the academic-pastoral journal Presbyterion, go to https://www.covenantseminary.edu/publications. Timothy Keller, The Reason for God Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ 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.

    29 min

  5. JAN 12

    148. Cursing in the Pulpit

    When I was a kid, I was taught not to cuss. It was a tricky feat for someone given to frustration and anger, and so I found a loophole by saying, “I don’t mean to cuss, but . . .” and then saying whatever had come to mind.  I’ve been wondering recently how many times I, inadvertently, cuss, or curse, from the pulpit. I don’t mean in the style of Die Hard’s John McLain. I’m thinking of a more insidious, and unhelpful, accidental cursing. That’s what I want to explore and I’m grateful that you trust me enough to tag along.  If you can, please rate, review, and refer Greatheart’s Table and subscribe to the print version at Substack.com. Now, about that cursing . . . . 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: Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,rising early in the morning,will be counted as cursing. (Proverbs 27:14) Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor, (United States: Eerdmans Publishing, 1993). When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart’s Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! ChargeDownload 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.

    8 min

  6. JAN 5

    147. Working on a World We Will Never See

    t’s the beginning of a new year, for some an exciting time of possibilities and opportunities. For others, it’s the beginning of another year of slogging through life feeling blind insignificant. Whatever our emotional state, the fact remains that though we may never see the significance of the work we do, the significance is there. I first encountered the language of working on a world that we will never see when I saw Iris Dement sing it at the 2022 Nowhere Else Festival. It’s a captivating, and encouraging, thought. If you like what you find here, please rate and review it, and most importantly, refer this to others. And 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: 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.

    7 min

  7. 12/29/2025

    RDC06A. Getting Idolatry Right

    With this episode we begin another two part Rainy Day Conversation. These are quarterly conversations with smart and gracious people whose wisdom is brought to bear upon life and ministry and the church.  The focus of this conversation, with Dr. Trey Martin, is how we as Christians and as pastors think about our affections in the wake of the late Dr. Tim Keller’s helpful, but potentially confusing, teaching about idolatry. Are we over or under applying this teaching?  I’m grateful to Dr. Martin, a man who has thought deeply about this, for joining in this conversation. The question is how the concept of idolatry can be helpful, and at times unhelpful, personally as we live our lives before God and pastorally as we lead our congregations to love and follow Jesus.  In some quarters of the church it has become popular to label many things as ‘idols’. But are they? What might be gained, or lost, by seeing them in that way? How ought we to understand our affections? Can we love a thing without it being a god in place of God?  In this first half of the conversation, we’ll lay the groundwork for the practical application which will come in the second. 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. Dr. Trey Martin  The article that stimulated this conversation: A COUNTERFEIT IDOL: RESIGNATION AND FAITH IN TIMOTHY KELLER’S COUNTERFEIT GODS, by Dr. Trey Martin. Used by the kind permission from Covenant Theological Seminary. For information about the academic-pastoral journal Presbyterion, go to https://www.covenantseminary.edu/publications. Timothy Keller, The Reason for God Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ 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.

    28 min

  8. 12/22/2025

    146. Are You My Father?

    This last episode of 2025 lands just a few days before Christmas. And while the content may not seem very Christmas-y, it actually is.  With the incarnation, God sets the trajectory that leads to the cross. The two are linked, and are both motivated by the same love of God for his people. For you. For me. But how do we understand that love?  I sense a great divide however in the church, though we treasure the same doctrine. That divide falls along an understanding of who God is, and who we are before him.  Let’s explore that a bit.  It’s good to have you here. Please follow on your streaming platform and let others know that we are here. 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: Are You My Mother? 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.

    10 min
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About

Encouragement for Pastors and Those Who Care for Them

Information

  • Creator
    Randall R. Greenwald
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021, Randall R. Greenwald
  • Show Website
    Greatheart's Table

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