In this episode, I am joined by Pastor Kris Estep to talk about the state of preaching in the modern church and why preaching expositionally through the Bible is so important for the good and the health of the local church. Kris Estep pastors Barberville Baptist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina, where he lives and serves with his wife Becky, a…

In this episode, I share some thoughts on what ought to undergird every sermon and why the good news of the gospel can be likened to a thunderstorm of grace. Resources. “God Goes Belonging,” Sam Bush “Preaching That Connects,” Todd Brewer “Rainstorms and Reformations,” Sam Schuldheisz Grace: So Much More Than You Know and So Much Better Than You Th…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded podcast, I share a helpful way to make heads-or-tails of the timing of Holy Week, along with some thoughts on the remarkably subversive story of Easter. Resources. “Raised for Our Justification,” Michael Bird “Something to This Story,” David Clay “The Hero Dies in This One,” Sam Bush “Was Jesus in the Grave fo…

In this episode, I’m joined pastor and writer Randy Greenwald to talk about his newsletter, “Greatheart’s Table,” and why pastoral efficiency is a bad thing, along with a host of other topics relating to ministry in the local church. Randy Greenwald is the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oviedo, Florida, where he lives and serves with his…

In this episode, I talk about the recent proliferation of articles and essays that speak to the negative side-effects of social media, and how this negativity can be discerned just by examining the ways in which social media has changed since ts inception. I also talk about the good news of God’s rest as found in Christ and why Thomas Jefferson’s “…

In this episode, I reflect on some articles that talk about the emergence of the “therapeutic gospel” which, in effect, leads congregants into functional atheism. I also reflect on Bono’s Christian testimony and what falls within a pastor’s remit. Resources. “A therapeutic church is an atheist church,” Brad East “Sin, preaching, and the therapeutic…

In this episode, I reflect on the holiday season and welcome the New Year by talking through a myriad of holiday-themed articles I’ve been chewing on recently, each of which serve to remind us of the one-way love of Christmas. Resources. “O Come All Ye Faithful, Except When Christmas Falls on a Sunday,” Ruth Graham “There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’…

In this episode, I reflect on the scene where the doubt of poor ole “Doubting Thomas” was quelled — and why we, too, can find so much solace in the Christ of God condescending to his disciple’s deepest fears. I also highlight a new book from David Zahl and an essay by longtime friend Obbie Tyler Todd. Resources. “Fearless Thomas Apart From Christ,”…

In this episode, I talk about why Jesus never used carpentry in any of his parables, why Tobias Crisp is the “Black Swan of Puritanism,” and why studying the Bible doesn’t necessarily have to have a goal in order for it to be profitable and beneficial. Sometimes God’s just wants us to go to the Word for the enjoyment of it. Resources. “The Tales th…

In this episode, I share a few brief thoughts on the recent reckoning in the Southern Baptist Convention before zeroing in on the truest hope for our times — namely, that God wastes nothing. Even the days which seem impossibly dark and incredibly inefficient are days in which God’s Word abides forever. Resources. “How Should Baptists and Christians…

In this episode, I share some thoughts on the recent hullabaloo surrounding the newest Disney/Pixar film Lightyear, plus why Lordship Salvation should be left behind. Resources. “If ‘Representation’ is the Issue, Where Are Pixar’s Religious Characters?” Samuel D. James “Success Of ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ Puts Excuses For Disney’s Failed, Woke ‘L…

I’m back! I know it’s been a while since the last time an episode dropped in the Ministry Minded feed, but I’m aiming to get back at it. And what better way to do that than to reflect on the recent “face-lift” the blog has received, courtesy of my dear friend Sara Bordner! She’s the brains behind all the new branding and logos that you see everywhe…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I get to share a conversation my dad and I were able to have during our recent vacation in South Carolina on how to live fearlessly with “sound of mind” (2 Tim. 1:7) in these evil days. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some reflections on a much-needed vacation spent with family as well as some timely encouragement on the providence of God, whose sovereignty is never in doubt. What’s in front of us and all around might make us believe otherwise. We are very easily swayed into declaring the “end of all things…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I recap some sermons and talk about how God’s grace gives us the freedom to be present, right now, where we are. I also highlight some articles from around the web that have proven enlightening and encouraging. May you be blessed by this brief episode. Grace and peace. Connect with the show: https://g…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some updates on this “beautifully exhausting” season of life and ministry, as well as the concrete hope of the Word to which the church can cling in times of doubt and fear and frenzy (Heb. 6:19). Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroas…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some personal and ministerial updates for the week, as well as confess my affections for the newest Christian phenomenon, a.k.a., The Chosen. May you be blessed by these reflections. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com …

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some encouraging excerpts from 9Marks’ newest online journal, The Ordinary Means of Grace—Or, Don’t Do Weird Stuff. I also talk through 1 Kings 17 and how it might just be the best chapter to illustrate the habit of God to work in and through and with our suffering in order to reveal his savin…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I am thrilled to share mine and Josh Hedger’s discussion of the pastorate and how modernity’s expectations of pastors can create unhealthy and unsustainable ministry environments. May you be blessed by this conversation notwithstanding your current ministerial context. Connect with the show: https://g…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I get to reflect on some prescient thoughts and themes that I’ve been considering lately through the course of my sermon series on Philippians, especially as it relates to the ways God confounds our sense and challenges our faith through his divine and sovereign “Deep Magic.” Connect with the show: ht…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some updates on the podcast itself as well as talk through this past week’s sermons and why Psalm 131 constitutes, perhaps, the best picture of what it means to live the life of faith. I also get the thrill of sharing another conversation between myself and my dad, as he and I reflect on the p…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I consider (again) Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount and I also highlight some recent articles from around the web that articulate the growing need for pastor-theologians. It is my aim to encourage the listener that theology isn’t meant to be sequestered in the halls of scholastic thought — it’s meant to ri…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I am thrilled to be joined once again by my dear friend, Obbie Tyler Todd. In this lengthy dialogue, we reflect on an assortment of life- and church-lessons learned through the course of the pandemic. We also dissect his newest book, The Moral Governmental Theory of the Atonement: Re-Envisioning Penal…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share some time-management advice via Oliver Burkeman. Also, I get to interact with that massive GQ cover-story profiling the life of troubled pop-star, Justin Bieber. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ …

It’s time for another edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast. In today’s show, I get to share some reflections on 1 Kings 11 and how the decline of Solomon’s empire actually points to the resolute truth of the God of all grace and the Governor of all history. Indeed, the fact that this history is extant for us at all points to a divine author behin…

I’m back with another episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast! This time, I share some general thoughts on pastoral ministry before diving into some recent articles which have helped concretize my own convictions concerning the office of pastor. As a young man in ministry, I am so grateful to soak up resources like this which put me on a trajectory …

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on last week in which the Church celebrated Easter Sunday and the good news of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. I spend some time talking through some events and ministry moments that encouraged me in the knowledge the fact of the resurrection, which, I think, is the point of the whole th…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I chat about a slew of articles that I’ve been chomping at the bit to share with you, including one that shows how Rush Limbaugh and Martin Luther were similar in use of language to make courageous stands for the truth. Of course, Limbaugh and Luther operated in very different fields of expertise, not…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I get the privilege to talk with two-thirds of the Theocast crew, pastors and podcasters Jon Moffitt and Justin Perdue. In this encouraging and enriching discussion, we chat about the sufficiency of Christ throughout the life of the Christian and why it’s so important to know that all things are settl…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I take some time to think out loud about how to deal with the egregious failings of ministry leaders. How can you make sense of their platform life and their personal life? What hope is there for them in the midst of their failure? And what grace is there for those feeling the repercussions of their f…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on the gospel of God’s comfort and the specific reason why it’s so comforting — namely, because we have a Substitute. I also talk about why Jesus is the true and better hero and why a religion of scorekeeping can never last. Soli Deo Gloria! Amen. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrac…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I think through several different instances and examples which given evidence for the necessity of God’s truth — specifically, the solid rock truth of Christ made sin for us. Such is the only message the world needs to hear. And good thing, too, it’s the only message the church has. Connect with the s…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I think through what it means that Jesus is our “great high priest” and why his is a ministry of mercy for the desperate. I also share some thoughts on the unfolding narrative of the Bible and why Christians everywhere ought to be gorging on the Scriptures. May you be blessed by these thoughts. Grace …

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on the God who wrestles with us out of the story of Genesis 32; I share the reason why the church can be “calm, cool, and collected” even when the “end of all things is at hand”; and why brotherly love means much more than you think it does. Soli Deo Gloria. Connect with the show: https://gr…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I chat about why church is so essential and the One who make it so. Plus I share some thoughts on the New Year, the importance of childlike Bible reading, and the resonance of Pixar’s new feature film, ‘Soul’. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.fres…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on this past Sunday’s sermons and the ramifications of a God who sits with us when life is going to pieces. Plus, I share an article which leans into “the gospel of Tenet.” Blessings! Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.c…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I wish you a very Merry Christmas by sharing some thoughts on the “reason for the season” along with a reflection on my favorite Christmas movie. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com → Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off! Notes: “…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I talk through my sermons from this past Sunday and reflect on the grandest miracle of all: the necessity of the Incarnation, of Jesus’s taking on human flesh. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com → Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10%…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share a brief personal update announcing my upcoming break from seminary studies, along with some “Christmas-y” reflections regarding the God who willingly steps into our catastrophic world of sin in order to redeem it. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: htt…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I offer up this brief edition of “Pastor Brad’s Corner” to recap the Thanksgiving holidays and share some thoughts that have helped me think through the kingdom of God. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ t…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I am thrilled to be joined by fellow blogger and budding theologian, Blake Long, to talk about his upcoming book — ‘Gospel Smugness’ — and the important role tone plays when testifying about God’s grace. Connect with the show: https://gra…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, you’re invited back to “the corner” where I reflect on last week’s sermons and offer some insight on how to make your morning routine better. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off! --- This epi…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I share a surplus of thoughts that have been on my mind lately — namely, the fracturing of our illusion of control, and where grace and peace can be found in the midst of that. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GR…

In this episode of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I am thrilled to be talking with the Provost and Professor of Historical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Jason Duesing, to talk about the necessity of ministerial training and theological slow-cooking. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, you are invited back to “the corner” as I share some musings on these recent days of chaos and how the gift of grace ought to be esteemed in even greater importance during these times. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use …

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I offer some of the lessons I have learned throughout this season of surgery recovery as well as what it means to be okay with God’s plans. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroastedcoffee.com **Use code ‘GRACE10’ to get 10% off! This is a publ…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I spend some time reflecting on last week’s sermons, which included themes of God’s answer to loneliness and God’s grace for sell-outs. I also share an encouraging passage on preaching Christ crucified. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: http://www.freshroaste…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, you’re welcomed back to “Pastor Brad’s Corner” as I reflect on last weekend’s ordination service for my friend Caleb and the significance of that moment in light of what he and his family have endured the last few years. I chew on some thoughts relating to that on the subject of suffering and also tal…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I invite you back to “Pastor Brad’s Corner” to talk about two weeks worth of sermons, including how to live peacefully in this present life that’s full of disruption, as well as what makes for a truly “successful” ministry. Connect with the show: https://graceupongrace.net/ Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee: h…

In this edition of the Ministry Minded Podcast, I reflect on some developments I have made in my sermon writing process, specifically as it regards to including quotes in my sermons. I also chew on Ecclesiastes 1 and the fallacy of living for sand, as well as the lesson on ministerial disappointment we can learn from the life of Elijah. Connect wit…