A Pastor's Story

In this episode I get to talk to Carl Tuttle, author of Reckless Mercy, pastor, worship leader, songwriter.

This is part three of my conversation with singer/songwriter, John Barnett.

The final episode of my conversation with John Barnett. He packs a lot of reality into this one. Fasten your seat belts.

I continue my conversation with John Barnett and at the end you can hear John's scratch recording of his new song, "Some Bright Morning." Big thanks to John for spending time sharing his story and the story of this song.

In this new season of A Pastor's Story, I will be having conversations with people who have been big influences on my life, formation and my vocation. It will be a mixture of their story and mine as we dig into the stories that have influenced my story as a pastor. There's gold in here!

In this episode, Pastor Kent Moore shares his story, including the ups and downs of church planting through the mysteries and challenges of increase and decrease and the anxiety that church leadership can produce.

In this episode, we hear some of Darcy Knight's story of pastoral formation, how she became a pastor and what being a pastor means for her. Darcy is a UMC pastor and her story, like all the others, is unique and personal and full of treasure.

In this episode we hear the story of the pastoral formation and experience of Christopher Ryan Cole who pastors the Dansville Free Methodist Church in Dansville, NY. You can follow Christopher and Dansville FM at dansvillefreemethodistchurch.wordpress.com.

In this episode we learn some of the story of Pastor Doug Smith. Doug pastor's the McBain Baptist Church in McBain, Michigan. His is a story of perseverance and passion.

This episode features the story of Pastor Tim Caraway. You could say the path for Tim to become a pastor was a very short journey as he leads a church in the very place he grew up. But in his story you will hear about a journey much bigger than the geography it has covered. Tim is passionate about God and the people God has given him to pastor. You can find out more about Tim at the website for his church: www.freedomreignsinchrist.org

In this episode we hear the story of an unexpected calling. Pastor Jim Bleakley planted the Charlottesville Vineyard Church in Charlottesville, VA about 10 years ago. His journey of becoming a pastor is a fascinating story of discerning a calling to vocational ministry when you were already well on your way to another kind of life. You can follow Jim's story at the C'Ville Vineyard site: www.cvillevineyard.org

Season 2 begins with the story of Jeff McLain. Jeff is the Senior Pastor of East Petersburg Mennonite Church in East Petersburg, PA. You can read Jeff at his blog www.jeffmclain.com and hear him on his church's site www.eastpetemc.org. Thanks for listening!

This episode features the story of Pastor Rose Madrid Swetman. Rose was, until recently, a pastor in the Seattle, Washington area. She continues to serve the church she pastored as well as serve as a Regional leader for Vineyard USA and teach emerging leaders at a local seminary. You can follow Rose's ongoing adventures at: rosemadridswetman.com and learn more about the church she pastored at thepracticingchurch.org.

This week's episode features the story of Jason Coker, lead pastor at First Christian in Oceanside, CA. Here's his bio: Jason is a southern California native who has served churches in California, Utah, and Ohio. He is deeply in love with his wife Jenell, his three daughters Savannah, Judah, and Alannah, his books, his coffee, and all things Oceanside. He is also a member of the Human Development faculty at California State University San Marcos, where he teaches nonprofit leadership and human development courses. Jason earned his M.A. in global leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. You can check out his church's website at: fccoceanside.org

In this episode we hear from David Hayward, AKA the Naked Pastor. David shares some pages from his story of a pastor who leaves the local church but continues to function as a pastor in new ways and in new settings, including helping pastors who are leaving ministry. You can follow David on Twitter @nakedpastor and on his website nakedpastor.com as well as checking out his online community "The Lasting Supper" at thelastingsupper.com and finally, you can see his art at www.etsy.com/shop/haywardART.

In this episode we hear some of the story of Mike Raburn, new senior pastor of the Gainesville Vineyard in Florida. Mike's story is full of the unusual twists and turns that make a pastor's story so fascinating. One of these days we'll have a story of obvious steps that led to pastoring, but not today. You can keep up with Mike at his blog: mikeraburn.com OR subscribe to the podcast he produces with his wife, Amy: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/am-radio/id954072796?mt=2 AND at the church he's now pastoring: gainesvillevineyard.org AS WELL, you can pick up his book at: https://www.amazon.com/Lent-Heart-Prayers-Breath-Healing-ebook/dp/B06XCY5GP4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502907109&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+raburn

Today's episode comes from the road while my wife and I are on vacation. This is a "slice of our story" and the kind of conversation that happens between us when we're on a road trip. The topic we're discussing: disintegrated anticipation.

This episode features the story of Pastor Jim Holland. Jim shares his story with candor, vulnerability and with heart. Once again, we hear the story of pastoral formation that was unique, challenging and anything but obvious from the start. You can catch Jim's leadership video series at: youtube.com/watch?v=Q9gVQfN_hag

Today's episode features the story of Matte Downey, who pastors the Vineyard Montreal with her husband, Dean. Matte is "bi-vocational" - in quotes - because she sees her story integrated with her vocation no matter what "hat" she is wearing at the moment. You can hear more from Matte here: http://creative.vineyard.ca/index.php?board=21.0 Read more from her here: outword.blogspot.com And learn about her local church, here: vineyardmontreal.com

In this episode of APS, Shawn Branch tells part of his story as a pastor to pastors and evangelists through Threshold Ministries. You can keep up with Shawn's ongoing story by checking out www.thresholdministries.ca/ www.tsom.ca/ and www.shawnbranch.com/