Letting God Burn Away the Fantasy Self (Featuring Todd Pickett)

About this episode

The episode explores the importance of personal spiritual formation through one's own story and the journey of Todd Pickett.

What if the most vital work of spiritual formation isn’t first in your church, but in the hidden story you’re already living with God? In this episode, join Bryan Rouanzoin and Todd Pickett for a conversation on what it means to truly be a contemplative, and the fruit of a life lived this way. Drawing from Todd’s journey through the university and into the local church, they explore how literature and poetry became his training ground for spiritual formation. Along the way, they discuss the essential questions underneath spiritual formation, every pastor’s temptation to make a name for themselves, and the invitation to let God burn away what Todd calls “our fantasy selves” so we can live as our real selves before God, for the sake of those we shepherd. The Rev. Dr. Todd Pickett (Ph.D.) is pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, CA. Prior to his leadership in the pastorate, Dr. Pickett served for 27 years as a professor, Dean of Spiritual Development and campus pastor at Biola University. To find more resources and experiences tailored just for you—the pastor—visit practicingtheway.org/pastor. This podcast and its episodes are free, thanks to the generosity of The…

People in this episode

Host: Bryan Rouanzoin

Guest: Todd Pickett

Topics covered

• spiritual formation
• contemplative life
• personal story
• literature and poetry
• pastoral identity

Keywords

• spiritual formation
• contemplative
• pastoral identity
• literature
• poetry
• true self
• God

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Biola University, Practicing the Way

More episodes of The Contemplative Pastor

• Discerning Weariness from Woundedness (Featuring Glenn Packiam) · September 3, 2026 · 37 min
• When the Yoke Doesn’t Feel Easy Anymore (Featuring Bill Dogterom) · August 27, 2026 · 39 min
• Pastoring in the Presence, Not Absence, of God (Featuring Alan Fadling) · August 13, 2026 · 48 min
• The Kind of Pastor the Kingdom Flows Through (Featuring AJ Sherrill) · August 6, 2026 · 46 min
• A Conversation Between John Ortberg and John Mark Comer (Part 2) · June 25, 2026 · 26 min
• A Conversation Between John Ortberg and John Mark Comer (Part 1) · June 18, 2026 · 31 min