Religion & Spirituality

The Contemplative Pastor

by Practicing the Way

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Latest episodes

Loosening the Grip of Ambition (Featuring Drew Hyun)

October 29, 2026 · 50 min

What does it look like when spiritual maturity, emotional health, and holy ambition exist together? In this episode, join Jay Kim and Drew Hyun for a conversation about living “the mixed life” modeled by Jesus—one of contemplation in the…
The Pain You Don’t Want to Name (Featuring Jeff Hyun)

October 15, 2026 · 42 min

What does it mean to be a person who is attended to? In this episode, join Bryan Rouanzoin and Jeff Hyun for a conversation about the potential for pain to become the place of our deepest formation. Jeff shares the story of being left by…
Getting Free from the Weight of Secrets (Featuring Gavin Bennett)

October 8, 2026 · 44 min

What if confession could be a place of healing, not just pardon? In this episode, join Bryan Rouanzoin and Gavin Bennett for a conversation about the practice of confession—why we're afraid to embrace it, and the belonging that waits for…
Pastoring from the Ground, Not the Mountaintop (Featuring Beau Hughes)

October 1, 2026 · 42 min

What formation might we experience in choosing remaining over constant reinvention? In this episode, join Jay Kim and Beau Hughes for a conversation about choosing to keep showing up—to a church, to a practice, and to the pain of the…
Paying Close Attention to Your Season (Featuring Tara Beth Leach)

September 24, 2026 · 35 min

What would it look like to build rhythms that respond to lives that are always changing? In this episode, join Bryan Rouanzoin and Tara Beth Leach for a conversation about shepherding through the ups and downs of real life—our own and the…

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What Grows When We Stay (Featuring Jess Gracewski)

September 10, 2026 · 43 min

What might happen if we decided to stay—in a place, in a community, in a calling? In this episode, join Bryan Rouanzoin and Jess Gracewski for a conversation about what we might gain—and risk—by choosing to commit to a community and a…
Discerning Weariness from Woundedness (Featuring Glenn Packiam)

September 3, 2026 · 37 min

What happens when we make peace with the reality that there are no ideal conditions in which to pastor? In this episode, join Jay Kim and Glenn Packiam for a conversation on finding “your little patch of the world” to be the pastor God has…
When the Yoke Doesn’t Feel Easy Anymore (Featuring Bill Dogterom)

August 27, 2026 · 39 min

What if our weariness as pastors isn’t a sign of failure, but rather a sign that we’re measuring success by the wrong metric? In this episode, Bryan Rouanzoin and Bill Dogterom seek to reconcile Jesus’ promise of an “easy yoke” with the…
Letting God Burn Away the Fantasy Self (Featuring Todd Pickett)

August 20, 2026 · 48 min

What if the most vital work of spiritual formation isn’t first in your church, but in the hidden story you’re already living with God? In this episode, join Bryan Rouanzoin and Todd Pickett for a conversation on what it means to truly be…
Pastoring in the Presence, Not Absence, of God (Featuring Alan Fadling)

August 13, 2026 · 48 min

How can we pastor without sacrificing our own souls on the altar of hurry and anxiety? In this episode, join Jay Kim and Alan Fadling for a wide-ranging conversation on the inner pace of pastoral ministry. Drawing from over four decades in…
The Kind of Pastor the Kingdom Flows Through (Featuring AJ Sherrill)

August 6, 2026 · 46 min

What if your primary pastoral work isn’t building the Kingdom, but becoming the kind of person the Kingdom can flow through? In this episode, join Jay Kim and AJ Sherrill for a conversation about contemplative pastoring in an age of…
A Conversation Between John Ortberg and John Mark Comer (Part 2)

June 25, 2026 · 26 min

How can we suffer personally and alongside others without losing our joy? In this episode, join John Mark Comer and John Ortberg for the second part of their conversation exploring the possibilities and pitfalls in the pastoral vocation…

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About the show

For the pastor who longs to embody a less hurried, less overwhelmed, less CEO-like form of leadership, and to recover the ancient path of pastoring in the way of Jesus. The Contemplative Pastor invites you into illuminating conversations with guides and sages on spiritual and pastoral formation, and offers guided prayers and reflections to help you sit with the rich wisdom of each episode. Our aim? To shape a new, yet ancient, kind of pastor—more unhurried, more prayerful, more peaceful—and to see the formational role of the local church flourish once again. Welcome to The Contemplative Pastor. --- To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor. This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The Circle and other givers. You can learn more about The Circle or contribute toward future resources like this podcast at practicingtheway.org/give.