A few people have asked which podcasts I listen to. The list is fairly extensive but first a bit of background to explain why I’ve listened to so many.
For several years now I have been commuting a few days a week up and down the M40 to and from Solihull. For many people, this would be dead time spent listening to the radio. But not for me.
At the time our church had no full-time pastor and, while we had help from other local churches supplying preachers one or two Sundays a month, this still left two or three Sundays which more often than not would fall to me to fill.
With no formal seminary training, I looked at part time options but these were an expense not just financially but also in time: I would need to work 3 days, study 2 days then be left trying to somehow fit family and sermon preparation into what was left of the week.
I needed another option.
While I waited for the “right” answer, I chose to use my commute time for “informal” training. I selected a variety of podcasts that would fill the gaps in my studying. With care, I could select a range of voices all of whom could help me learn my Bible better and be a better and more effective elder.
Speed was the key
With just an hour in the car for each journey, getting through two 30 minute podcasts was clearly possible. However, I found that I could cope with listening at a faster speed. The built-in iPhone Podcast app allows you to change the playback speed. Some were understandable at double speed but in general, listening at 1.5x speed gave the best return. In practice it meant I could squeeze three podcasts into an hour and it took about 20 years off some of the older voices!
The list of voices
++ PASTORAL ++
Pastor’s Talk
Mark Dever & Jonathan Leeman (Weekly, Tuesday, 10-25m)
Jonathan “interviews” Mark on subjects around running a church. Worthwhile subscribing to the 9-Marks email as well for good articles.
Preaching and Preachers
Jason K. Allen (Weekly, Monday, 20-40m+)
Interview with a guest about a pastoral/preaching subject, generally with good pointers to application.
Ask Pastor John
John Piper (Mon, Wed, Fri, 10-20m)
JP answers ANY question sent in by listeners.
++ THEOLOGY ++
Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul
R.C. Sproul / Ligonier (Daily, 30m)
Bridging the gap between Sunday School & Seminary, this covers all sorts of theological subjects in a way that is immediately grasp-able!
5 Minutes in Church History
Stephen Nicholls (Weekly, 5m)
Very brief overview of a person or event from church history. Sometimes interviews with a current person of note. Always exactly 5 minutes!
Westminster Theological Seminary
Various (Ad hoc, 60m+)
Various lecture series such as “The Reformation”, “Medieval Church”, etc.
++ NEWS & ANALYSIS ++
The Briefing – Albert Mohler
Albert Mohler (Weekdays, 10-20m)
An analysis of the news from a Christian worldview. Great coverage from UK as well as USA & worldwide. Picks up on things that should be obvious but that aren’t always!
Mortification of Spin
Carl Truman, Todd Pruitt, Aimee Byrd / Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (Weekly, Wednesday, 20-30m)
A “casual conversation” about things that matter. Sometimes a current affairs subject, sometimes theology, sometimes a guest writer / preacher. Generally on point but cynical British humour abounds from Carl Truman. They’re Presbyterian, so you’ll hear various comments about PCA (Presbyterian Church of America), OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church) and PCA-USA (usually derogatory, as very liberal)
++ SERMONS ++
Grace to You: Radio Podcast
John Macarthur (Daily, 29m)
Sermons from JMac, edited to fit the 29m program space. You’ll often get an entire sermon over 2-3 days, sometimes more. Don’t bother downloading weekend editions – they’re just a repeat of one of the weekday editions. [Edit: they’ve dropped the weekend podcasts and just post Monday – Friday]
The Village Church – Sermons
Matt Chandler (Weekly, 60m+)
Sermons from someone who preaches in a different style to me. Keeps me on my toes.
In addition to those, I also listened back my own and others sermons from our church. This was good practice for reviewing and hopefully improving my preaching ability and style.
BEChurch Sermons
Me/others (~30m)
https://www.bechurch.org/
I also listen to the ESV Daily Reading podcast which means I listen to the entire Bible in a year.
All the above (apart from the BEChurch podcast) are searchable via the Podcasts app on your iPhone or Android device.
I’m sure there are other helpful podcasts out there but these are those I’ve found helpful and I hope they help you as well.