TJ Freeman sits down with repeat guest Bryce Asberg in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from childhood stories and picky eating to Bryce’s visit to speak at the Heart of Tioga pregnancy center banquet. Bryce previews his framework of “six bad responses”: apathy, distancing ourselves from “those Christians,” surrendering in discouragement, treating politics as the answer, treating politics as irrelevant, and separating pro-life work from the gospel. They discuss the unique challenges of taking a stand in small towns, the sobering cultural and political realities post-Dobbs, and why hope is still warranted because God is a God of resurrection. Bryce urges believers to see the unborn as neighbors and pursue faithful, varied forms of love, witness, and engagement.

In this episode of Rural Pastors Talk, Joe Wagner, Josh MacClaren, and CJ Dematatis open with a humorous “Pastoralax” skit before diving into what makes pastors grumpy and why a “holy heart check” matters in rural ministry.

They share personal stories including travel fatigue and traffic, tightly planned schedules getting disrupted, last-minute Sunday volunteer changes, losing a preaching slot, and discouragement over a church building situation and how the Lord used Exodus (especially Israel’s grumbling) and Scripture to expose pride, discontentment, and doubts about God’s sovereignty.

The guys discuss how grumpiness can poison a rural church by resisting change, harming welcome, and creating rifts, and they encourage drawing close to grumpy members with patience, good questions, prayer, and self-examination. They recommend Jerry Bridges’ The Discipline of Grace and close with a Spurgeon quote on catechizing your own heart.

In this episode of Rural Pastors Talk, TJ Freeman, Joe Wagner, and Josh MacClaren swap favorite vacation spots before pivoting to a needed conversation about rest for pastors. They discuss the common extremes: discouraged pastors who drift into laziness versus pastors who can’t shut ministry off. Then Josh lays out a biblical theology of rest from creation, the Sabbath, and the gospel, including the promised rest fulfilled in Christ and awaited in the new heavens and new earth. The guys talk practical rhythms like guarding a day off, setting boundaries with texts and phones, and how physical work can be restorative. TJ shares about taking a Lilly Endowment-funded sabbatical focused on unplugging, counseling, journaling, and family time, and encourages pastors to evaluate where they are on the “rest continuum” and take steps toward faithful, God-honoring rest.