Ben Gladd — Encouraging Texts | Lunch with Awkward People | Transactional vs. Transformational Relationships
Shepherding TimeShow Notes
What does discipleship look like when most of your work happens alone at a desk? On this episode of The Shepherding Time podcast, Rush Witt and Joe Keller talk with Dr. Ben Gladd, executive director of the Carson Center for Theological Renewal, about how he stays relationally connected while working remotely on some of evangelicalism's biggest publishing projects.
Ben shares two simple, practical habits: sending quick encouraging texts to friends old and new, and intentionally going to lunch with local pastors and professors — including people he doesn't naturally click with, because the awkward relationships are often the ones that need it most. He and Rush unpack the difference between transactional relationships (task in, task out) and transformational ones (caring about who someone is, not just what they do), and Ben explains a small communication habit — a few extra seconds of warmth in every email or Slack message — that has changed how people relate to him over his whole career. He closes with a window into how he manages dozens of writing and editing projects at once, using a filter borrowed from D.A. Carson: only take on work the church needs, or work the church doesn't yet know it needs.
About Ben Gladd: Dr. Ben Gladd is the executive director of the Carson Center for Theological Renewal and a widely published New Testament scholar and editor, known for his work connecting Scripture across the biblical storyline. He is currently finishing a major commentary on Mark and co-leading an Old Testament companion to his Connecting Scripture project with Michael Morales.
This episode is a companion to the book Shepherding Time: A Pastor's Guide to Time Management by Rush Witt and Joe Keller (New Growth Press). Get your copy:
New Growth Press [https://newgrowthpress.com/upcoming-books/shepherding-time-a-pastor-s-guide-to-time-management/] Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Shepherding-Time-Pastors-Guide-Management/dp/1645076555/]
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Connecting Scripture (New Testament) — Ben Gladd Old Testament companion to Connecting Scripture — Ben Gladd and Michael Morales The Gospel Coalition (TGC) [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/] Carson Center for Theological Renewal [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/the-carson-center/]
Subscribe to The Shepherding Time wherever you listen, and share this episode with a pastor who needs it.
More from Shepherding Time
How do you lead a team of twelve through deep work in thirty minutes? On this episode of The Shepherding Time podcast, Rush Witt and Joe Keller talk with Jonathan Holmes, executive director of CCEF, about how he shepherds his time while stepping into a new ministry leadership role.
Why do church planters tend to overwork themselves more than almost anyone else in ministry? On this episode of The Shepherding Time podcast, Rush Witt and Joe Keller talk with Nate Akin, executive director of the Pillar Network and founder of Baptist 21, about the unique time pressures of pioneering ministry — and what he's learned, often the hard way, about managing them.
What happens when the life hacks stop working? On this episode of The Shepherding Time podcast, Rush Witt and Joe Keller talk with Tim Challies — pastor, author, and one of the most prolific voices in Christian blogging — about the season roughly a decade ago when his time management fully broke down, and what it took to rebuild it from the ground up.
How should a pastor think about time when just being "more efficient" isn't enough? On this episode of The Shepherding Time podcast, hosts Rush Witt and Joe Keller sit down with Reagan Rose — the Bible teacher behind Redeeming Productivity — to talk pastoral time management from a biblical, stewardship-first perspective.