Collars & Calluses: Episode 28 - Q&A - Fruit of the Spirit-Video Games-Pastoral Ministry

Bill and Rich answer listener questions on Collars & Calluses, inviting more submissions via [e-mail] and on X (@wrs2_, @Vicar1973). They discuss how the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) is relational and manifests differently in masculinity and femininity, arguing the church and culture have often privileged feminine expressions of virtue; they illustrate this through distinct motherly and fatherly forms of love and through sex-specific challenges in self-control. They address video games, saying gaming isn’t inherently wrong but can delay maturity, foster addictive habits, and substitute “virtual dominion” for real-world skills, so it should be bounded like other entertainment. Finally, they consider whether young men should enter pastoral ministry, urging a slower path with apprenticeship, maturity, external confirmation of calling, real-world work experience, and awareness of the unique pressures on pastors’ wives and children, while also noting a pastoral shortage.