Every shepherd needs a place to be shepherded.

"You're One Bad Decision Away From..."

We’ve all heard the warning after another pastor’s moral failure:

“It could easily be one of us.”

But acknowledging the risk is not the same as addressing it.

Scripture reminds us that we all stumble in many ways. Even the apostle Paul spoke openly about his struggles, and Martin Luther believed the entire Christian life should be one of repentance.

Yet many pastors have no place where that kind of honesty actually happens.

Pastors spend their lives caring for the spiritual health of others while quietly carrying burdens of their own.

Who shepherds the shepherd?

Shepherds’ Table exists to create a simple, confidential place where pastors care for their own souls while faithfully shepherding others.

What Shepherds' Table Is

Shepherds’ Table is a small, confidential gathering of pastors who meet regularly to guard their lives and encourage one another in ministry.

It's not about ministry strategy or networking. Nor is it primarily a support group or a coaching program. 

We all want to be supported, but you could be greatly supported while still quietly carrying struggles that could eventually undermine your ministry. 

Support doesn't prevent moral failure.
Honesty does.

Instead, we will focus on being a safe space where pastors can experience the kind of mutual honesty, encouragement, and accountability that Scripture describes.

Each cohort includes 6–8 pastors who meet online weekly.

Our time together focuses on:

• practicing ordinary confession and repentance
• guarding our souls and our calling
• praying for one another
• encouraging one another in ministry
• helping one another finish ministry well

There is no curriculum — just guided conversation, prayer, Scripture, and honest shepherding of one another.

Strict confidentiality allows pastors to speak openly and receive real encouragement.

What Happens in a Meeting

Most gatherings follow a simple rhythm:

1️⃣ Honest check-in about life and ministry
2️⃣ Confession and prayer together
3️⃣ Reflection on Scripture
4️⃣ Encouragement and prayer for one another

Simple. Unrushed. Honest.

No curriculum.
No pressure to perform.

Just pastors shepherding one another.

Do Pastors Really Share Honestly With People They Just Met? 

Many pastors assume deep honesty requires years of trust.

But in practice, trust often grows through honesty, not merely through time.

Most of us have been in small groups where people have known each other for years and yet never move beyond surface-level conversation.

The pivotal moment where trust begins is not waiting to be discovered — it is waiting to be created.

When one person has the courage to go first, others often follow.

If it helps put you at ease, I’ll gladly go first.

But this isn’t a dramatic tell-all. You can share as much or as little as you want, at your own pace.

Shepherds’ Table simply provides a structure that helps pastors move beyond surface-level conversation and experience the kind of mutual encouragement and accountability Scripture describes.

Why I Started Shepherds' Table

After more than twenty years in pastoral ministry, I began to notice something troubling.

Pastors talk often about guarding their lives and finishing ministry well — but many of us don’t actually have a place where we can speak honestly about our struggles, confess sin, and be prayed for by other pastors.

Most pastor gatherings focus on strategy, growth, or ministry ideas. Those things can be helpful, but they rarely create space for the kind of honesty and repentance Scripture describes.

Over time I became convinced that pastors need something simpler and more fundamental:

a regular place where the shepherd is shepherded.

Shepherds’ Table was created to provide exactly that.

Who Shepherds' Table Is For

Shepherds’ Table is designed for pastors who:

• want a place to be honest about struggles
• want regular accountability and prayer
• want encouragement from other pastors
• want to guard their lives and finish ministry well

Many pastors who join are:

• lead pastors
• associate pastors
• church planters
• bivocational pastors

The common thread is simple:

pastors who want to care for their own souls as faithfully as they care for their churches.

What Shepherds' Table is Not

Shepherds’ Table is:

• not a crisis ministry
• not a counseling program
• not a curriculum group

It is simply ordinary pastoral discipleship — pastors honestly shepherding one another.

The Commitment

Shepherds’ Table asks two kinds of commitment.

First, a commitment to show up, be honest, and care for the other pastors in your cohort.

Second, a $100 per month investment that helps sustain the cohort and allows new groups to form.

Many pastors pay personally, but churches often cover the cost as part of caring for their pastor.

Churches invest in conferences, books, and continuing education. Shepherds’ Table simply focuses that investment on something even more important:

the spiritual health of the pastor.

This commitment helps ensure that everyone who sits at the table takes the process seriously.

This is not another place for ministry comparison or performance.

Not a place to impress.

A place where the pastor is pastored.

The Invitation

I’m currently forming the first Shepherds’ Table cohort.

The first cohort will begin with a six-week pilot season as we establish the rhythm of meeting together.

If you are a pastor who wants a place to speak honestly, confess freely, and walk with a band of brothers committed to finishing ministry well —

you are welcome at the table.

Interested in Joining the First Cohort?

✔ Fill out the short interest form
✔ I’ll follow up personally to answer questions
✔ Cohorts begin as soon as 6–8 pastors are confirmed

(6-week pilot cohort forming now.)

[Interest Form Button]

Who Is Jeremy Plymale?

Founder, Shepherds’ Table
Founder, The One Anothers Project
Pastor, CrossHaven Church — Missouri

Jeremy has served in pastoral ministry for more than twenty years. He writes and teaches about discipleship and the "one another" commands of the New Testament, and how churches can create environments where believers help one another follow Jesus.

He is the author of several books on discipleship, including The Shepherds' Table, which explores why pastors need spaces for honest conversation, confession, and mutual encouragement. His books are available on Amazon.

His article about what's needed to prevent pastoral moral failure was recently published by Baptist Press.

Jeremy lives in Missouri with his family and continues to serve in pastoral ministry.

Feel free to reach out:
jeremy@oneanothersproject.com