Pete Briscoe has served since 1992 as pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas. He and his wife, Libby, have three children: Cameron, Annika, and Liam. Pete's parents, Stuart and Jill Briscoe, ministered for 30 years at Elmbrook Church in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mark Batterson is pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Lora, have three kids: Parker, Summer, and Josiah. They have lived on Capitol Hill since 1996. While not a pastor's kid, Mark married into a pastor's family. His father-in-law, Bob Schmidgall, planted and pastored Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois, for more than 30 years.

Growing up, what did you learn about ministry?

Pete: We often sat around the dinner table "talking church." While I'm glad for my seminary degree, my best training was table talk with Mom and Dad discussing church issues. Dad would throw out specific scenarios and ask each of us what we would do. It removed any rose-colored glasses and honestly faced the ...