Heart the Mission Podcast

Episode 7- Chad Merrell: I Should Not Be a Pastor

Chad Merrell should not be a pastor. He was a 22-year-old warehouse supervisor married to a full-blown opiate addict. He found his 3-year-old son locked out in ankle-deep snow, in a diaper, while his wife watched from the window upstairs. He lost his driver's license. He drank himself into oblivion every weekend his kids weren't with him. He was the guy in your church you'd quietly wish would stop showing up. Then his pastor and his dad called him within 16 hours of each other and told him the same thing: "It might be more sinful for you to stay than to leave." Then a Pennsylvania judge, in the most father-hostile family court in America, wrote him an airtight custody order so unprecedented it's now illegal to write. Then a hungover Saturday morning happened in a pool house in Pennsylvania, where a woman named Amy grabbed his face with both hands and prophesied that he would one day pastor God's people. Six years later, he was sitting in an auditorium when the pastor of First Baptist West Monroe announced, to him and everyone else, that he was their new recovery pastor. He had no idea. This is one of the most honest pastor stories we've ever put on this channel. If you've ever felt like your past disqualifies you, this episode is for you.

Episode 6- Dwight Easler: Loss, Identity, and Leading Through the Unthinkable

What do mission and identity look like when grief has taken everything from you? In this episode I sit down with pastor and AMS leader Dwight Easler, who lost his son Benji in a tragic accident. We talk about the overwhelming weight of that loss, what it does to a leader's sense of calling, and how Dwight has continued to show up faithfully in ministry in the middle of his own devastation. This is not a how-to episode. It is a testimony, and it is one worth hearing. If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe to the Heart the Mission newsletter at heartthemission.com for regular content designed to help pastors and church leaders lead with clarity and courage.

Episode 2- Will Gunter: The Power of Leading from Your True Identity

So many leaders are burning out, driven by unsustainable momentum instead of a clear, God-given mission. The problem often starts with leading from a "borrowed identity." This episode is the solution. In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Will Gunter to discuss the most important foundation for any Christian leader: Personal Identity. We explore the "BURDEN" of leading from a place of validation-seeking or "shoulds" and how to find the "MISSION CLARITY" that comes from authentic, God-given purpose. This is the core of the Heart the Mission pathway.

Episode 5 - Adam Spurlock: Faith, Responsibility, and the Day Everything Changed

Adam didn’t get a pause button. In this episode, Adam shares what it looked like to lose his father and keep leading anyway. While his family grieved, he stepped into a new reality overnight, carrying the weight of pastoral leadership and the responsibility of becoming the patriarch in his family. This is a conversation for the leader who is still showing up while life is falling apart. In this episode, we talk about: • What grief does to your focus, energy, and leadership decisions • How to lead a church when you feel emotionally empty • What changes when you become “the man of the family” overnight • The difference between performing strength and living with steady conviction • What it means to persevere without going numb If you’re carrying weight you didn’t ask for, this one will help you name it and lead with a steadier footing. Subscribe for more conversations that help leaders see what’s blocking their mission and move forward with confidence and courage. Want coaching or a mission reset for your church or team? Visit Heart the Mission at heartthemission.com.

Episode 4 - Pat Gillen: Church Planting, Burnout, and the Identity No One Talks About

This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s an honest conversation about ministry, identity, burnout, leadership, and what happens when calling costs more than you expected. Pat Gillen shares the real story behind church planting, team failure, resilience, family pressure, and learning to trust God when success disappears. No hype. No formulas. Just lived experience and hard-earned wisdom. If you’re leading, pastoring, planting, or wondering who you are when the work falls apart—this one’s for you.