I’ve been doing podcasts for some time now. They are fun. I learn a lot, and still have a lot to learn. Sometimes I ask questions that lead people to mention LCMS leaders by name. Sometimes people may say hard statements about others that I’m not prepared to respond to. Sometimes this takes me off guard, and I don’t defend the person being named, largely because I don’t know the person well, or do not know the story behind why the guest has struggled with a fellow brother or sister in the...

Ministry is a grind, and the grind is good. Sundays just keep coming. The youth keep needing you. Families continue to struggle. People continue to get sick and die. Staff continue to fight. You can’t please everyone, yet you’re still called to lead. You think you’ve been clear on the vision, but questions continue to arise. The future is cloudy. The present is shaky. Yet, you—yes, you, church worker—you continue to get up, and show up so that Jesus can show off. There is a discipline to...

“Living historically” is a phrase I recently heard on a history podcast. The podcaster was making the point that very few of us “live historically” today. We don’t think much beyond our lives. Many rarely even consider the end of their lives. We live for today, for what is in front of us, satisfying the flesh, in our heads, heads down, eyes down, isolated, anxious, angry, numb. I went to the gym today. I needed to pump some iron—get a good sweat on. I conducted an experiment. I didn’t wear...