In January 2026, students of Midwestern Seminary's Global Campus gathered for an intensive week of class, worship, and fellowship. In this episode, Dr. Travis Montgomery gathers the professors teaching Winter Week classes—Colton Strother, Ken Parker, Dale Johnson, Wes Pastor, and Todd Chipman—for a conversation on friendship in ministry. They share their experiences of calling, mentoring, seminary friendships, loneliness in modern life, relational vulnerability, and the challenges and blessings of maintaining friendship while serving the church. The panelists offer biblical wisdom, seasoned pastoral insight, and practical strategies for cultivating healthy, life-giving friendships in ministry and in the local church.

About the Podcast

Local Theologians is a podcast for everyday Christians and ministry leaders from Midwestern Seminary's Global Campus. Learn more about online theological education at mbts.edu/global.

Keywords

friendship, ministry, seminary, pastoral leadership, loneliness, community, vulnerability, spiritual formation, relationships, church life

Takeaways

• Friendship is essential for long-term faithfulness in ministry and grounded in the relational nature of God.

• Many ministers are first encouraged toward seminary by pastors, mentors, or professors who see gifting and potential.

• Seminary friendships can become lifelong ministry partnerships, especially when grounded in shared calling and service.

• Loneliness is both a cultural and spiritual issue—exacerbated by digital life and healed through embodied Christian community.

• Vulnerability, honesty, and intentionality are key ingredients of meaningful friendship.

• Ministers must pursue friendship both inside and outside their churches, while also cultivating friendship within their families.

• Friendships require proactive effort—through hobbies, shared routines, text threads, or simply making space for people.

• Betrayal is an inevitable risk in ministry, yet the call to love and serve without demanding reciprocity remains central.

Sound Bites

• Real friends are few—and they require vulnerability.

• God uses friendship to steady us in ministry’s ups and downs.

• Loneliness thrives where self-focus grows; love pulls us outward.

• Love is often a one-way street—and that’s okay.

• We flourish when we risk being known and loved.

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introductions and Panel Overview

2. 01:50 Panelists’ Ministry Roles and Backgrounds

3. 04:20 Who First Encouraged You Toward Seminary?

4. 09:31 Seminary Friendships and Lifelong Ministry Relationships

5. 14:10 Loneliness in Culture and the Church

6. 17:41 Biblical and Practical Approaches to Isolation

7. 23:04 Vulnerability, Honesty, and Being Known

8. 24:58 Faith, Hope, Love, and Relational Health

9. 26:52 How Busy Ministers Make and Maintain Friendships