The Pastor as Gardener | Matt Erickson скачать в хорошем качестве

The Pastor as Gardener | Matt Erickson

In this episode of The UpWords Podcast, host John Terrill welcomes pastor and author Matt Erickson for a rich, thoughtful exploration of pastoral ministry through the lens of agrarian imagery. Drawing from his new book The Pastor as Gardener, Matt Erickson shares how the rhythms of soil, seasons, and cultivation offer a renewed vision for ministry in a time when many pastors feel depleted, disoriented, or discouraged. Together, they discuss: • Why gardening is such a powerful and biblical metaphor for ministry • The pressures pastors face today — cultural polarization, unmet expectations, leadership models, and soul-level exhaustion • The liberating shift from control to cultivation • Scriptural roots of agrarian leadership (1 Cor. 3:6; Genesis 2; the resurrected Jesus as gardener) • How place, soil, and local context shape faithful ministry • Technology, AI, and the crisis of control — and how agrarian spirituality grounds us again • Seasons of leadership, the “wall,” and finding hope in times of limitation • A hopeful vision for the future church — diverse, listening, burden-bearing, and rooted in resurrection hope This conversation offers encouragement for pastors, ministry leaders, and anyone longing for a more grounded, faithful, and hopeful way forward in Christian leadership. 📖 The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry (Eerdmans, 2026) = https://www.eerdmans.com/978080288414... ⏰ Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction 01:00 – Who Matt wrote the book for 02:30 – Matt’s childhood connection to land and agriculture 05:50 – How pastors are doing today 09:10 – Why prevailing leadership models often damage the pastoral soul 11:30 – The pressure of expectations and the erosion of pastoral identity 15:00 – Key scriptures that shaped this book 18:00 – Place, culture, and why ministry must be local 23:00 – Agrarian imagery and re-enchantment in a secular age 25:30 – Practices of a “pastor-gardener” — above-ground & below-ground work 30:20 – Technology, AI & the myth of control 33:00 – Matt’s own crisis of limitation and how gardening imagery helped 37:50 – Seasons of the soul and seasons of leadership 44:30 – Why hope is the defining virtue of pastoral ministry 48:00 – A vision for the church’s future 51:30 – What’s next for Matt's leadership and writing