Ministry can feel heavy even when you love Jesus deeply. In this episode of FrontStage BackStage, Bob Goff joins Jason Daye for an honest, encouraging conversation about staying close to Jesus when the work of ministry becomes weighty.

Ministry can be meaningful and heavy at the same time.

In this episode of FrontStage BackStage, Jason Daye sits down with Bob Goff for a deeply honest, pastoral conversation about what it means to walk with Jesus when ministry feels heavy.

Rather than focusing on performance, platforms, or productivity, Bob invites pastors and ministry leaders to return to closeness with Jesus, formation over information, and practices that keep faith grounded in real life.

Together, they explore:

• Why ministry often crowds out intimacy with Jesus
• How insecurity and pressure quietly shape leaders
• The difference between agreeing with Jesus and actually following Him
• Why formation matters more than more content
• How small, faithful practices can reshape the way we live and lead
• What encouragement pastors need when they feel tired, discouraged, or uncertain

Bob Goff is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and longtime advocate for living out a practical, love fueled faith. He is the author of several books, including his latest release, A Journey with Jesus, an interactive guide that invites readers to experience the life and teachings of Jesus through Scripture, story, and filmed experiences from the Holy Land.

This conversation is especially for pastors and ministry leaders who:

• Love Jesus deeply but feel stretched thin
• Are navigating pressure, expectations, and constant noise
• Long to stay spiritually grounded without burning out
• Want to lead from authenticity rather than obligation

FrontStage BackStage exists to care for the whole life of ministry leaders, both the public FrontStage and the personal BackStage, because healthy ministry flows from a healthy, well tended soul.

If ministry feels heavy right now, this conversation is for you.

Looking to dig more deeply into this topic and conversation? FrontStage BackStage is much more than another church leadership show, it is a complete resource to help you and your ministry leaders grow. Every week we go the extra mile and create a free toolkit so you and your ministry team can dive deeper into the topic that is discussed.

Visit http://PastorServe.org/network to find the Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide. Our team pulls key insights and quotes from every conversation with our guests. We also create engaging questions for you and your team to consider and process, providing space for you to reflect on how each episode's topic relates to your unique church context. Use these questions in your staff meetings, or other settings, to guide your conversation as you invest in the growth of your ministry leaders.

Love well, live well, & lead well

Complimentary Coaching Session for Pastors http://PastorServe.org/freesession

Follow PastorServe LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Jason Daye LinkedIn | Instagram...

Many pastors faithfully proclaim the gospel—yet quietly wrestle with a growing gap between what they believe about God and what they actually experience with God. In this honest and searching highlight from our longer conversation, Steve Cuss joins host Jason Daye to name a tension many ministry leaders feel but rarely articulate: the disconnect between preaching faith and living it from the inside out.

Steve reflects on a season where he began to wonder whether being a pastor itself had complicated his ability to experience God. He explores two powerful dynamics that often shape pastoral life—confusing our identity as God’s beloved children with our role as God’s employees, and neglecting our own inner lives in the name of mission, vision, and service to others. What can look like selfless devotion, Steve suggests, can sometimes mask anxiety, avoidance, and emotional disconnection.

Together, Steve and Jason unpack how pastors can become highly “others-focused” while remaining unaware of what’s happening within themselves. Steve vulnerably shares how a moment of “blind spot awareness” revealed this gap in his own life—realizing that while his head affirmed core truths of the faith, his body and daily experience did not. Rather than hiding this struggle, he chose to steward it openly, inviting his congregation into a shared conversation about doubt, freedom, and what it means to actually live the promises of the gospel.

This conversation is a must-watch for:

• Pastors and ministry leaders experiencing spiritual or emotional disconnect
  Leaders carrying anxiety, performance pressure, or inner exhaustion
• Those questioning why faith feels true but not transformative
• Churches longing for honest, embodied discipleship

Key Topics Discussed:

• The hidden disconnect between belief and experience in ministry
• Neglecting the self in the name of serving others
• Blind spots, self-awareness, and spiritual awakening
• Why many believers proclaim truths they don’t yet live

👉 Watch the full episode for deeper insight into how pastors and ministry leaders can move from merely preaching the gospel to actually experiencing the peace, freedom, and love it promises: https://youtu.be/EKHZrI39J5w?si=UOk25Z1jl5UWSVia&t=199

Looking to dig more deeply into this topic and conversation? FrontStage BackStage is much more than another church leadership show, it is a complete resource to help you and your ministry leaders grow. Every week we go the extra mile and create a free toolkit so you and your ministry team can dive deeper into the topic that is discussed.

Visit http://PastorServe.org/network to find the Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide. Our team pulls key insights and quotes from every conversation with our guests. We also create engaging questions for you and your team to consider and process, providing space for you to reflect on how each episode's topic relates to your unique church context. Use these questions in your staff meetings, or other settings, to guide your conversation as you invest in the growth of your ministry leaders.

Love well, live well, & lead well

Complimentary Coaching Session for Pastors http://PastorServe.org/freesession

Follow PastorServe LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Jason Daye LinkedIn | Instagram...

Pastors and ministry leaders often carry more than they realize. As they walk alongside people facing addiction, grief, trauma, and loss, the weight of those stories can quietly accumulate—leading to exhaustion, blurred boundaries, and burnout. In this compelling highlight from our longer conversation, guest Bethany Dearborn Hiser joins host Jason Daye to explore the often-overlooked reality of secondary trauma in ministry and the healing that begins when leaders finally acknowledge its impact.

Bethany shares from her own journey of recovery, naming how codependency, workaholism, and misplaced responsibility for others’ wellbeing can entangle a leader’s identity and health. Drawing on insights from recovery communities and her book From Burned Out to Beloved, she explains why the first step toward healing is a courageous admission: we’re not okay—and we can’t do this alone.

Together, Bethany and Jason unpack how ministry leaders can engage people with empathy without becoming consumed by their pain. They discuss the importance of healthy separation, examining inner motivations, and building intentional networks of support through spiritual direction, therapy, and trusted community.

The conversation also addresses the deep identity struggle many pastors face—when worth and value become tied to productivity, success, or helping others. Bethany offers a different vision: rooting identity in being beloved, not useful. Through spiritual practices like welcoming prayer, slowing down, and cultivating rhythms of rest, leaders can reconnect with God’s love and serve from a grounded, healthy place rather than guilt, shame, or the need to be needed.

This conversation is a must-watch for:

• Pastors and ministry leaders carrying the emotional weight of others’ trauma
• Leaders experiencing burnout, compassion fatigue, or blurred boundaries
• Those serving in recovery, care, or crisis-centered ministries
• Anyone seeking healthier, Christ-centered rhythms of leadership and rest

Key Topics Discussed:

• What secondary trauma looks like in pastoral ministry
• Recovery as a framework for healing ministry leaders
• Workaholism and unhealthy motivations in service
• Why identity rooted in “what we do” leads to burnout
• Being grounded as God’s beloved, not defined by outcomes
• Spiritual practices that foster healing, rest, and resilience

Looking to dig more deeply into this topic and conversation? FrontStage BackStage is much more than another church leadership show, it is a complete resource to help you and your ministry leaders grow. Every week we go the extra mile and create a free toolkit so you and your ministry team can dive deeper into the topic that is discussed.

Visit http://PastorServe.org/network to find the Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide. Our team pulls key insights and quotes from every conversation with our guests. We also create engaging questions for you and your team to consider and process, providing space for you to reflect on how each episode's topic relates to your unique church context. Use these questions in your staff meetings, or other settings, to guide your conversation as you invest in the growth of your ministry leaders.

Love well, live well, & lead well

Complimentary Coaching Session for Pastors http://PastorServe.org/freesession

Follow PastorServe LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Jason Daye LinkedIn | Instagram...