Episode 22: A Conversation with Dr. Mac Brunson

Preaching
Written By Ben Smith

Dr. Mac Brunson (Photo Credit: Valleydale Church, Birmingham, AL)

Episode 22 of the "View from the Pulpit” podcast, hosted by Ben Smith, is an engaging conversation about ministry, preaching, and the lifelong pursuit of learning with Dr. Mac Brunson, Senior Pastor of Valleydale Church, Birmingham, AL. In this episode, Dr. Brunson shares his approach to Bible study, sermon preparation, and his lifelong pursuit of learning.

Show Notes: “View from the Pulpit” Podcast, Episode 22: A Conversation with Dr. Mac Brunson 

Episode Theme: Changes and Trends among Baptist churches in approaches to preaching

In this episode of “View from the Pulpit,” host Ben Smith talks with Dr. Mac Brunson, Senior Pastor of Valleydale Church in Birmingham, AL, about his approach to Bible study, sermon preparation, and lifelong pursuit of learning.

Key Highlights:

  • Early Days: Dr. Brunson chronicles how God has developed his preaching from his first church to his present ministry.

  • Exposure to and learning to preach expository sermons: Dr. Brunson recounts his first exposure to expository preaching and how he learned to preach expository sermons.

  • Sermon Illustrations: A gifted sermon Illustrator, Dr. Brunson, shares his insights into using illustrations for greater effect and where he finds his illustrations.

  • Honoring the ministries of former pastors while being honest about your own personality and giftedness: Dr. Brunson shares his experience of pastoring FBC Dallas and FBC Jacksonville while honoring the legacy and ministry of the pastors that preceded him.

  • Lifelong learner: Brunson shares how books and reading are crucial to a pastor’s pursuit of lifelong learning.

Join Ben Smith and Dr. Mac Brunson for an engaging conversation about ministry, preaching, and the lifelong pursuit of learning.

Host: Ben Smith

Guest: Dr. Mac Brunson 

Ben Smith is the pastor of Central Baptist Church, Waycross, GA.

Other podcasts by Ben Smith:

 

Dr. Mac Brunson is the Senior Pastor of Valleydale Church in Birmingham, AL. Prior to coming to Valleydale Church, Dr. Brunson served as senior pastor of both the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL, and the First Baptist Church of Dallas, TX. He holds a PhD, a DMin, and a MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, an honorary doctorate of divinity from Dallas Baptist University, and a B.A. from Furman University. He is an adjunct professor for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a sought-after conference preacher. He has published several books and articles, including the 2023 publication God is For You: Learning to Trust God's Wisdom through Life's Crises (2023)

Mac and his wife, Debbie, have three adult children and 16 grandchildren.

Follow Dr. Mac Brunson on X at https://x.com/brunson_mac.

Listen to Dr. Brunson’s latest sermons through the Valleydale Church Sermons podcast available in Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/valleydale-church-sermons/id1345039445

For more information on Valleydale Church, Birmingham, AL, visit https://www.valleydale.org/.

 

A special thanks to Jim Gibson for permission to use his recording of “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” for this podcast. You can find more information about Jim Gibson’s music and many other recordings at https://www.hickorycovemusic.com/.

Music by Jim Gibson. “Brethren We have Met to Worship.” Songs of the South III, @2003 Hickory Cove Music.

 

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Mac Brunson probably thinks we are crazy, and we have never (really) met.
Mac Brunson probably thinks we are crazy, and we have never (really) met.

It was early one Sunday morning while we were still at home getting ready for church. First Baptist Church of Jacksonville services was on our TV, and Mac Brunson was preaching. Molly said to me as she watched Brunson preach, "Dad, what you need to do is write down everything that he says and just preach that." I guess she recognized that his preaching was better than anything she had seen me do. I was a little wounded and asked her what she thought the difference was between his preaching and mine. Her response was simple and direct. She said, "Well, he is a pro."

And with that, a family joke was born. I told the story of our conversation during my sermon later that morning at church (watch the video here) and have told it many times since. Since then, whenever someone in our family wants to acknowledge someone's achievement, they call them a pro. Likewise, whenever someone recognizes a personal shortcoming, they say, "I'm not a pro." So, by the summer of 2016, being or not being a pro was a well-established family trope.

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Ben Smith

Originally from Columbus, GA, pastor Ben Smith has served churches in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. Ben and his wife Dana make their home in Waycross, GA, where Ben has pastored Central Baptist Church since 2012.

Pastor Ben preaches each Sunday at Central Baptist. An audio podcast of his sermons is published weekly. Pastor Ben also posts weekly to his blog, Ponderings.

https://bensmithsr.org
Next

Episode 21: A Conversation with Dr. Landon Dowden