The Sovereign Grace Leadership Interviews feature a roundtable discussion among C.J. Mahaney (president of Sovereign Grace Ministries), Jeff Purswell (dean of our Pastors College), and Joshua Harris (senior pastor of Covenant Life Church). The three gather on a regular basis to discuss a wide array of theological and practical leadership issues.

In the second episode, the topic turns to care for the pastor’s own soul. Harris’ opening question sets the stage:

Pastors are obviously called to care for the souls of others, and yet today we want to turn the focus and ask: How does a pastor make sure that he is caring for his own soul? What does it look like for a man to pursue his own personal relationship with God and make sure he is growing spiritually?

The full hourlong podcast, “The Pastor and His Soul,” can be downloaded here.

On behalf of the many folks excited to make C.J.’s pastoral and practical wisdom more accessible to pastors, we announce the launch of the Sovereign Grace Leadership Interview Series podcast.

The interviews feature a roundtable discussion among C.J. Mahaney (president of Sovereign Grace Ministries), Jeff Purswell (dean of our Pastors College), and Joshua Harris (senior pastor of Covenant Life Church). The three gather on a regular basis to discuss a wide array of theological and practical leadership issues.

In the introduction to the first podcast, Jeff Purswell explains the origin of the series.

Well, as we talk about this series around here it gets a lot of laughs because the genesis has been so long in coming. C.J. contributes to the Pastors College (Sovereign Grace’s school where we train pastors for Sovereign Grace churches). C.J. and his wife, Carolyn, will meet with the students and their wives once a month in the evening to share wisdom, answer questions, share from their wealth of experience and so forth. And I used to sit in those every week or twice a month with C.J., and so many times I would be sitting there as he answers questions. And I would be amazed at the wisdom coming forth, the grace that is on C.J., and the wealth of experience he has. And I remember thinking, “Oh, this would be so good for so many pastors.” Actually, I talked to a pastor from another Sovereign Grace church and told him about this context. I will never forget what he said. “I would give my right arm to sit in that basement and listen to C.J.”

Lend your ear and keep your arm because those Pastors College contexts have been recreated, recorded, and made available for free download.

But beyond the wisdom of C.J., you will glean valuable insights from Jeff and Joshua, too. The combined wisdom of these three men—each with unique church leadership experiences—converges into an informative and lively conversation that will especially serve pastors.

The first episode—“The Pastor and His Reading”—covers the importance of reading, the priority of a developed discipline of reading, and gets down to specific book recommendations (check your book budget balance before listening).

Listen, download, and subscribe through the podcast page here. Below are links to all the resources mentioned in the podcast. Enjoy!

-------------

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

• Together for the Gospel blog
• Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions by Craig L. Blomberg
• The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington
• Adopted into God's Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor by Trevor J. Burke
• Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens by Paul David Tripp
• He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit by Graham A. Cole
• Engaging with the Holy Spirit: Real Questions, Practical Answers by Graham A. Cole
• The Cross of Christ by John R. W. Stott
• The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians by D. A. Carson
• Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen
• John Owen on the Christian Life by Sinclair B. Ferguson
• The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen and J. I. Packer
• Institutes of the Christian Religion (2 vols) by John Calvin
• The City of God by Augustine (Bettenson ed.)
• The Confessions by Augustine (Chadwick ed.)
• On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius
• A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life by J. I. Packer
• Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1: Prolegomena by Herman Bavinck
• Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2: God and Creation by Herman Bavinck
• Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3: Sin and Salvation in Christ by Herman Bavinck
• Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation by Herman Bavinck
• Person & Work of Christ by B. B. Warfield
• Inspiration and Authority of the Bible by B. B. Warfield
• Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos
• Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
• How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D. A. Carson
• Good to Great by Jim Collins