Greatheart's Table Randall R. Greenwald

Welcome to Greatheart’s Table, the podcast for pastors and others who care about ministry. I’m Randy Greenwald, and, in the words of Firefly’s Malcolm Reynolds, “I aim to misbehave.”







Well, not much, really. I’m going to whine, and some may judge it to be in poor taste for a pastor to whine. But I disagree. Sometimes it is healthy, and we need to be given permission to indulge.







I’m delighted to have you listening. I encourage listeners also to subscribe to the written version found at Substack.com, as there is a third Monday post you might enjoy that shows up there. And if you’re able to support Greatheart’s Table at Patreon.com, that would be greatly appreciated.















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:







Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:30, 31)







1 Kings 19:10







External matters weary me as well. I’m tired of the way women or minorities or the vulnerable are treated in the church, for example. But then again, I’m tired of being expected to feel everything equally and all at once.







Books purchased using the links above help support Greatheart’s Table.















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.

Today’s episode is what I am calling a ‘reset’. This one was written in early 2021 and released on May 24th of that year. We were a year into the pandemic, and deep into ongoing concerns regarding race. Pastors were weary of trying to hold polarized churches together.







That was three years ago. Our challenges may be different now, but they are no less difficult. The call to stay true through difficulty – “to run for your living”, to pursue all that makes ministry worthwhile, is still very relevant.







My hope is that Greatheart’s Table can be at least one encouragement to keep us all persevering in a difficult, yet noble and rewarding, calling.







Thanks for joining us.















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 Russel Moore newsletter was found here.







Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I’m Dying (United States: Vintage, 2008)







Patrick O’Brian, The Truelove (United States: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993) p. 266, 277.







1 Corinthians 15:58















Books purchased using the links above help support Greatheart’s Table.















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.

Hi! I’m Randy Greenwald, the host and ringleader of this this gang we call Greatheart’s Table.







That’s strange talk, I know. But in this episode I think about the associations we seek, the gangs we join, and the way in which those choices form, or deform, us.







If you are not a regular member of the Greatheart’s Table Gang, we hope you would join. Follow the podcast or subscribe to the newsletter, or both. We may not be the cool kids, but we do want to help you nurture this craft called pastoral ministry.







And here’s an offer you can’t refuse: Greatheart’s table is free.







But, if you are able to offer tangible support, you can do so at Patreon.com.







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:







The info about gang motivations can be found here.







The essay on “The Inner Ring” is found here: C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory.















Books purchased using the links above help support Greatheart’s Table.















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.

Hello, again! Welcome to Greatheart’s Table, a place for pastors and others to hang out, talk, and reflect on ministry and life. I’m Randy Greenwald.







My favorite Narnian character is Puddleglum, the marshwiggle. I’m so fond that it’s a surprise that I didn’t name this podcast “Puddleglum’s Pad” or something like that. You can read his story in The Silver Chair. Puddleglum always expected the worst to happen, but pressed on to do the right thing anyway. In this episode I’d like to consider the good and the bad of our puddleglummish tendencies.







And if you like what you find here, please follow, rate, and review, and if you are able, some support this work at Patreon.com.







As always, thanks for joining us around Puddleglum’s Pad.















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 Atlantic article on subjective age can be found here.







.















Books purchased using the links above help support Greatheart’s Table.















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.

Though pastors don’t need more people telling us what to do, my concern in what I write is, more often than not, a desire to shape the pastoral attitude that underlies pastoral practice.







In this case, I want us to consider how we respond to the sin in those we care for. Since we always pastor with others looking over our shoulders, the pressure to look decisive in the face of sin can overwhelm a proper impulse toward patience and compassion. I know the pressure. I suspect you do as well.







If you like what you hear, please rate and review this podcast, and if your finances allow, please support it at Patreon.com.







Thanks 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:







Frederick Backman, A Man Called Ove: A Novel (United States: Atria Books, 2014).Yes, it is “Ove,” not “Otto.” It’s odd to me that the name had to be changed for the American movie going audience.







Harrison Scott Key, How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told, (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2023).







.















Books purchased using the links above help support Greatheart’s Table.















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.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Greatheart’s Table, “a newsletter and podcast,” as one listener put it, “for pastors (or other leaders) challenging the unreachable expectations for modern pastors and encouraging them to be comfortable in their own skin.”







I’m not sure I could have explained this any better. I do encourage pastors and others to be comfortable with who they are, but many there are defining for us what that skin is to be, and some of it is not helpful. As John Stott reminds us, the only model for us is Christ.







If you like what you find here around Greatheart’s Table, do rate and review the podcast. And subscribe to the Greatheart’s Table newsletter at Substack.com for occasional bonus material.







Thanks for joining us!















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:







Tim Chester, Stott on the Christian Life: Between Two Worlds (United States: Crossway, 2020).







The quote about boldness is attributed to Charles Spurgeon a 19th century London pastor. Spurgeon, though, like Mark Twain, Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, and a host of others, is often said to have said things he never really said. So, I am reticent to really burden him with this quote.







Quoted in George Marsden, Infinite Fountain of Light: Jonathan Edwards for the Twenty-First Century, (United States: Inter-Varsity Press, 2023), p. 121.







R. T. France, I Came to Set the Earth on Fire: a Portrait of Jesus, (United States: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975). It was also published as Jesus the Radical and has been republished under that title.















Books purchased using the links above help support Greatheart’s Table.















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,