Episodes

  • Welcome To The Pastor's Table | S1E1

    Welcome To The Pastor's Table | S1E1
    Dec 23 2022
    Can ministry really be a gift? Even though ministry is riddled with challenges and filled with difficulty, Mark and Tara Beth share their stories of finding hope in ministry. The Pastor's Table helps you embrace your ministry as a gift! In the 1st episode, Mark and Tara Beth talk about their journies in ministry and why pastors need to gather and discuss the importance of theological integrity! Join the conversation @ https://www.thepastorstable.com Discussion Questions -  Mark & Tara Beth share their stories of being called into ministry. What is your story of being called to ministry?  What have been your most meaningful moments in ministry?  When has ministry been the most difficult for you?  What do you hope to get out of this podcast? Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.  
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • Ministry From a Theological Vision | S1E2

    Ministry From a Theological Vision | S1E2
    Dec 23 2022
    Pastors are often thrust into a system that prioritizes pragmatic results over faithfulness to a theological vision.  Paying attention to theological integrity has a tremendous opportunity to bring healing and vitality to the life and ministry of pastors. In this episode, Mark and Tara Beth explore how The Pastor’s Table Podcast will explore this vision and equip pastors to serve faithfully.   Join the conversation @ https://www.thepastorstable.com Discussion Questions -  Do you ever feel pressured to prioritize pragmatic results in ministry? If so, where is this pressure felt the most?  Tara beth and mark talked about giving pastors permission to lead as themselves. How does that make you feel? How would you describe the interaction between theology and practice in your church? What would you say are the most formative forces in your church? Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.   
    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • The Danger of Ignoring Theological Integrity | S1E3

    The Danger of Ignoring Theological Integrity | S1E3
    Dec 23 2022
    Countless pastors have flamed out, burned out, or behaved in such a way that has disqualified them from ministry. In this episode of the Pastor's Table Mark & Tara Beth talk more about what is theological integrity and why it is crucial for the life of pastors. The deception is subtle and dangerous when pastors are pulled from being faithful to a theological vision.  Join the conversation @ https://www.thepastorstable.com Discussion Questions:  How would you describe the importance of theological integrity in your own words?  Where do you wish your church had more of a theological vision? Tara Beth mentioned the sharp decline in trust in the clergy. Do you agree that the decline is in connection to the lack of theological integrity? Why or why not?  Where could you allow certain theological convictions to have a great impact on your church’s practices? Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.  
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • Incarnation | Setting the Table with Dr. Beth Felker Jones | S2E1

    Incarnation | Setting the Table with Dr. Beth Felker Jones | S2E1
    Jan 9 2023
    Why does the incarnation matter in the life of the church?  The American church has been overwhelming gnostic. Beth Felker Jones talks with Tara Beth & Mark about why the incarnation matters and how the implications of God in flesh can be lived out in communities who follow Jesus.  Discussion Questions:  When you hear the word “incarnation” what first comes to mind?  Jesus came to a “particular” location in His incarnation and that means your location matters. How does that make you feel about your ministry context?  Every human bears the image of God. How does the incarnation help you better see the image of God in your congregation? What does it mean to you that the incarnation enables you to know God as a person?   Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • Incarnation Means Embracing the Mess | Jenni Wong Clayville (Part 1) | S2E2

    Incarnation Means Embracing the Mess | Jenni Wong Clayville (Part 1) | S2E2
    Jan 16 2023
    The call to follow and serve Christ is a call to the Church. Jenni Wong Clayville reminds us that we bring what is both wrong and beautiful into the church. Anyone who has served in ministry knows ministry can be messy. Jenni invites those in ministry to embrace this mess with humility and serve God faithfully.   She helps give pastors a vision to serve in a way where we love God. Love each other and figure life out with our church communities.   Discussion Questions:  Jenni and Mark talk about how we can easily have a romanticized view of 1st-century churches. How would you describe your view of the early Christian communities seen in the New Testament?    Embracing the mess of real life was a theme that kept coming up in the conversation. What do you do to embrace the mess in your ministry?   Jenni shared with great honesty how she had to code-switch to the dominant culture as an Asian American. What did you learn about code-switching from her experience?  Tara Beth shared about embodying Jesus’ Kingdom means being willing to expand the table. Where could you expand who is around your table?   Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • Sanctified Differences | Jenni Wong Clayville (Part 2) | S2E3

    Sanctified Differences | Jenni Wong Clayville (Part 2) | S2E3
    Jan 23 2023
    Jesus’ vision for the church was never for it to be a group of people who look and think exactly alike.   Jenni unpacks with Mark and Tara Beth about her unique experience of pastoring as an Asian American Woman. What she helps us see is that the Incarnation of Christ suggests that Christ sanctifies our differences.  Serving as the person God has created you to be will give others the confidence to serve fully in the Kingdom.   Discussion Questions:  Who have you seen in the Kingdom of God that helped you feel like you could belong and serve in God’s Kingdom?    Mark suggests that Jesus may look more like Danny Devito than the image of Jesus in our mind. Describe Jesus’ physical description in your own words.   Jenni talked about serving and disciplining one on one. How do you view being present to the people in front of you in your local congregation?  The ministry challenges Jenni described from serving in Washington D.C. were unique to her location but also probably had similarities to yours. What were the similarities and differences you noticed?  Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Analog Church | Jay Y. Kim (Part 1) | S2E4

    Analog Church | Jay Y. Kim (Part 1) | S2E4
    Jan 30 2023
    Technology has led us to be more disembodied.  Jay Y. Kim has observed all these trends and more from his time living and pastoring in Silicon Valley. He also talks about his journey of deconstruction and how his community of faith helped nurture him along on his journey to experience Jesus more fully. Incarnation means physical presence matters.    Discussion Questions:  What are your initial thoughts on comparing and contrasting analogy vs. digital church? Jay talks about a process of deconstruction and reconstruction of his faith. Have you gone through any experience like this? If so what helped guide you through the experience? We are deeply impacted by the stimulus around us. What would you say are most influencing the people in your church?  They talked about Dallas Willard’s famous quote that says, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.” How do you see this reality of grace play out in the life of your church? Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
  • The Inefficiency of Incarnation | Jay Y. Kim (Part 2) | S2E5

    The Inefficiency of Incarnation | Jay Y. Kim (Part 2) | S2E5
    Feb 6 2023
    Fruit takes time to produce.  You can’t microwave the experience.   Jay Y. Kim talks with Mark & Tara Beth about the realization that incarnational ministry like Jesus can often feel “inefficient” and slow. However, it’s in that approach to ministry that God does His most profound work.  Could it be that in our efforts to stay relevant in our digital age, we've begun to give away the very thing that our age most desperately needs: transcendence? Could it be that the best way to reach new generations is in fact found in a more timeless path? Could it be that at its heart, the church has really been analog all along? Jay, Mark, and Tara Beth talk about all these questions and more on this episode of The Pastor’s Table.   Discussion Questions:  Jay talks about how they create “lingering spaces” around their services. What are the lingering spaces present in your church?  Jay, Mark, and Tara Beth talk about how the church is not to be a content generator. Rather, the church is an embodied faith where a community of people are formed. How do you feel about the church being called away from being a content generator and suggesting it should be focused on fostering a community of faith?      Jesus participated in “inefficient” ministry work. Do you feel in your ministry context you can participate in ministry like Jesus?  Check out Mark’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience.  SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Our theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins