Podcasts are on the rise. When Serial took the world by storm at the end of 2014, many were exposed to this medium for the first time. Since then it seems like new podcasts are appearing every week. As many have discovered, podcasts are an especially accessible way to consume content. For pastors and other leaders who spend much of their time on the go, podcasts can be a game-changer. With that in mind, we asked several evangelical leaders who are also podcast aficionados for their recommendations:

 

Dan DumasDan Dumas, @DanDumas


Senior Vice President for Institutional Administration, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Make sure to check out Exemplary Exposition, one exemplary sermon published a week for your progressive sanctification.

What are 3-5 podcasts you would recommend for pastors or other Christian leaders?

  • The Briefing: A daily news and cultural commentary by Dr. R. Albert Mohler.
  • Serial: A fascinating listen about true stories and plots as they unfold week after week.
  • Five Leadership Questions: Barnabas Piper and Todd Atkins ask 5 questions of various guest leaders. This is insightful and light-hearted.
  • Five Minutes in Church History: This is five minutes you will want to spend as Dr. Stephen Nichols travels back in time, condenses the history and makes it a digestible experience.

 

Trevin WaxTrevin Wax, @TrevinWax

Managing editor of The Gospel Project, a gospel-centered small group curriculum for all ages, published by LifeWay Christian Resources.

Don’t miss Trevin’s new podcast, Word Matters. Each week Trevin and Brandon Smith seek to help Christians understand some of the most confusing passages in the Bible.

What is your routine for listening to podcasts?

I listen to podcasts when I’m driving to the office, walking in the neighborhood, or when doing chores around the house. I usually set the podcast to 1 1/2 speed, to benefit from Apple’s “skipping” technique that speeds the podcast up without making everyone sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

I use Apple’s podcast app.

What are 3-5 podcasts you would recommend for pastors or other Christian leaders?

  • The best place to start is still The World and Everything In It, a half hour newsmagazine that summarizes the day’s top news and features commentary from a conservative Christian perspective. The quality is excellent, and you can forward to the next segment in case you’re not interested in what’s being discussed.
  • NPR is still king when it comes to masterful storytelling in an audio format. My three favorites in this genre are released weekly or twice a month. This American Life, long a staple of public radio, carries over well as a podcast. I don’t listen to every episode, but I rarely go a month without dipping into this series.
  • The Five Leadership Questions podcast hosted by Barnabas Piper and Todd Adkins comes out twice a week and features great topics and guests.
  • Thom Rainer’s podcast is also worth downloading. Rainer talks about different trends he observes in the landscape of churches and ministries in North America. Always food for thought here.
  • For more in depth conversations about religion, theology and public life, I recommend the weekly Research on Religion from Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and the monthly-released Thinking in Public.

 

Dan DarlingDaniel Darling, @DanDarling

Vice President for Communications, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dan is also the host of The Way Home, a weekly conversation with Christian leaders on church, community, and culture.

What is your routine for listening to podcasts?

My routine is that I listen whenever I can. I always, always have a podcast going while driving, unless my kids are in the car and torture me with their music requests. I have a half-hour commute, so this is fertile listening time. I don’t take phone calls in the car. I don’t listen to the radio in the car. This is time for podcasts (unless I’m listening to an audiobook, which I’ve been doing lately). I also listen while I’m walking in the morning. I typically take about a 2 mile walk in my neighborhood and listen. Then I also try to listen to podcasts while I’m doing some kind of mundane chore or other such things around the house.

I’m still pretty sold on the Podcasts app by Apple. This was a game-changer. Back in the day, it was a bit more cumbersome and involved syncing the phone to the computer and finding the “podcasts” tab in iTunes. Now that podcasts have their own app and update “over the air,” listening is a breeze. In the car, I hook the up via audio cable. Otherwise its either headphones (while walking) or Boze portable bluetooth speaker at home.

What are 3-5 podcasts you would recommend for pastors or other Christian leaders?

  • Signposts with Russell Moore (I’m biased, of course): Dr. Moore is very interesting and eclectic. He will talk difficult cultural issues one day and break down a movie or artist another day. Sometimes he’ll talk about his personal devotional life. Other times he will discuss a recent book he’s read. Whatever he’s talking about, it is must-listening.
  • Longform: If you enjoy good, longform journalism and storytelling, this podcast interviews the leading practitioners. Pastors need to read and understand about their world in order to bring God’s truth to bear upon it. This podcast features interviews with a wide variety of journalists and storytellers and offers a window into the human condition in a way that few do.
  • 9Marks Interviews: Great discussions on discipleship, church polity, and other important matters. Some are more compelling than others, but if you do nothing else, you should listen to the three part interview with Mark Dever and Tim Keller.
  • Rainer on Leadership: Hosted by Jonathan Howe and LIfeway CEO, Thom Rainer. This podcast digs into practical church matters like few do and is helpful for both large-church pastors or pastors of small, country churches.
  • The World and Everything In It: Produced by World Magazine. Perhaps the best-produced 30 minute audio newscast out there. Features explanation of headlines, interviews, and opinion on what is happening in the world.
  • The Axe Files: Interviews with leading newsmakers by David Axelrod, President Obama’s former chief campaign strategist. I know what you are thinking: why listen to a guy we agree with on virtually nothing? Because a) he is one of the best interviewers and b) it is good to hear the perspective of people on the other side of the issues.
  • Conversations with Bill Kristol: For the above reasons

Bonus recommendations: Presidential by Washington Post and Whistlestop by John Dickerson (if you are a presidential history nerd like me), Help Me Teach the Bible with Nancy Guthrie (The Gospel Coalition), Imago Dei Church (Pastor Tony Merida).

 

 

Bryan BaiseBryan Baise, @BryanBaise

Assistant professor of worldview and apologetics, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

What is your routine for listening to podcasts?

I listen to podcasts on my commute to work. It gives me close to an hour a day (to work and back home). I’ll also listen to them when I’m running. I use the basic Apple podcast app.

What are 3-5 podcasts you would recommend for pastors or other Christian leaders?

  • Whistlestop: A podcast of presidential campaign history, told by John Dickerson of Face the Nation. It’s really well done and informative. It gives a window into presidential history that is unique and really enjoyable.
  • Signposts with Russell Moore: This is a podcast where Dr. Moore has conversations about gospel ministry, politics, books, culture, etc. I’ve found it really helpful.
  • Conversations with Bill Kristol: In-depth conversations with leading figures and thinkers. It’s really well done.
  • Note to Self: A podcast about the relationship between our humanity and technology. As a self-professed lover of most things technology, it’s helpful for me to hear other perspectives on the promises and dangers of tech. They don’t always do exactly that, but it’s really excellent. And they’re relatively short episodes.
  • Longform: it’s an hour long podcast with writers, journalists, and the like about their careers, stories, etc. But it’s especially a podcast on writing as a craft. I’m not a gifted writer so I’m always looking for tips, advice, or stories from writers about how they were, once upon a time, the same as me!
  • Limetown: a fictional investigation into how the residents of Limetown — home to a mysterious research facility — vanished. All of them. At the same time. It’s riveting.

_______________

Colby Adams is the Director of Media Relations and Digital Communications at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he is also completing a Master of Divinity degree. He and his wife Amanda have been married since 2014 and have one child.