Friends For Life — LCMS Life, Health and Family Ministries

We’ve talked about what it means to love our neighbors. Now, what does this actually look like in practice? In this crossover series with the Friends for Life podcast, we’re exploring “loving your neighbor” from a variety of perspectives! In Episode 7, Darlene Chier (Director of Victory Resource Center, Chula Vista, CA) and the Rev. Tim Gerdes (Pastor at Victory Church in Chula Vista, CA) join Steph and co-host Sarah Gulseth (The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about the needs for a pregnancy resource center in Chula Vista, the community of Chula Vista and how Victory Church and Resource Center serve their neighbors, how this center was formed, and stories of the people who have benefited from the resources they provide.

Learn more about Victory Resource Center at victoryresourcecenter.org.

Find The Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Additional Resources:

1. Email us at [email protected]
2. LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

We’ve talked about what it means to love our neighbors. Now, what does this actually look like in practice? In this crossover series with the Friends for Life podcast, we’re exploring “loving your neighbor” from a variety of perspectives! In Episode 6, the Rev. Trae Fistler (Mid South District Disaster Response Coordinator) joins Steph and co-hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth (The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about what LCMS Disaster Response does, how showing God's mercy and love play a major role in disaster response, how volunteers are trained to respond to disasters, how this is both physical care and spiritual care, and how responders have shown love to their neighbors in the Mid South District.

Follow what happens in the Mid South District on Facebook by following Faith in Action Disaster Response LCMS on Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095452625389. Find LCMS Disaster Response at lcms.org/who-we-are/national-mission/disaster-response-and-training and local LERT training at lcms-lert.org.

Find The Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Additional Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

We've talked about what it means to love our neighbors. Now, what does this actually look like in practice? In this crossover series with the Friends for Life podcast, we’re exploring “loving your neighbor” from a variety of perspectives! In the first half of Episode 5, Rev. Max Phillips (Chief Executive Officer and Chaplain, Perry Lutheran Homes, Perry, Iowa ) joins Steph and co-hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth (The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about what prompted the development of Perry Lutheran Homes, what loving your neighbor looks like in the day-to-day at Perry Lutheran Homes, what makes Perry Lutheran Homes unique among organizations, why it seems harder to care for the elderly and people who are suffering, and how we can view care of the aging through the lens of Christ's cross. In the second half, Karen Carter (President, Bethesda Lutheran Disability Ministries) and Reuben Schmitz (Vice President, Bethesda Lutheran Disability Ministries) talk about how Bethesda Lutheran Disability Ministries was formed, how God's Word plays a role in their work, what loving your neighbor looks like in their day-to-day context, how we can view people with disabilities through the lens of Christ's cross, and the kind of care the church can give to those who are aging that we may not think of or intuitively know to do.

Find Perry Lutheran Homes at perrylutheranhomes.org.

Find Bethesda Lutheran Disability Ministries at bethesdaldm.org.

Find The Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Additional Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

What are the hard questions that affect how we love our neighbors? In this crossover series with The Coffee Hour podcast, we’re exploring “loving your neighbor” from a variety of perspectives! In the first half of Episode 4, Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann (Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary St. Louis) joins Steph and co-hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth (The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about whether loving your neighbor is always law-abiding, if we should take risks to love our neighbor, why these risks are often the small things right in front of us, and the things that challenge us about loving our neighbors. In the second half, the Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller (pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and Jesus Church of the Deaf in Austin, TX) joins Sarah and guest co-host Steph Neugebauer to talk about how love is often described and defined on social media, how a biblical understanding of loving your neighbor compares to modern social definitions of love, how we can talk with our kids about being loving in a social media age, and how we live in the tension between love and happiness.

Find The Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: amazon.com/dp/0684815001
• Day 7: For Work, Rest, or Play by Joel Biermann: cph.org/day-7-for-work-rest-or-play
• The Quiet Ambition by Ryan Tinetti: ivpress.com/the-quiet-ambition
• {The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge} Book Club Wrap Up: The Quiet Ambition - kfuo.org/2026/07/24/lutheran-ladies-lounge-episode-356-book-club-wrap-up-the-quiet-ambition
• {The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge} Kitchen Table Talk: The Quiet Ambition with Dr. Ryan Tinetti (Book Club Bonus!) - kfuo.org/2026/08/07/lutheran-ladies-lounge-episode-358-kitchen-table-talk-the-quiet-ambition-with-dr-ryan-tinetti-book-club-bonus

Additional Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

How does philosophy impact our understanding of God's command to love our neighbor? In this crossover series with the Coffee Hour podcast, we’re exploring “loving your neighbor” from a variety of perspectives! In Episode 3, Dr. Angus Menuge (Professor and Chair of Philosophy Program, Concordia University, Wisconsin) joins Steph and co-hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth (The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about philosophy and its implications on how we understand who we are as human beings, different philosophical influences on our culture, the difference between modernism and post-modernism and how both affect how we love our neighbors, and how AI affects our understanding of vocation and loving our neighbors.

Find the Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• A recent Roman Catholic Note on human beings and AI: vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20250128_antiqua-et-nova_en.html
• Dr. Menuge's paper, “Powers of the Soul Beyond AI”: mdpi.com/2077-1444/17/1/8
• A collection on mind-brain relationships Dr. Menuge coedited, "Minding the Brain": amazon.com/dp/163712029X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
• "AI, Vocation, and Human Dignity" by Dr. Angus Menuge: AI Vocation and Human Dignity

Additional Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life
• Find Every One His Witness at resources.lcms.org/general/every-one-his-witness-lutheran-evangelism-program.

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

What does "mercy" mean? In this crossover series with The Coffee Hour podcast, we're exploring "loving your neighbor" from a variety of perspectives! In Episode 2, Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor (Managing Director, LCMS Office of National Mission) joins Steph and co-hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth (The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about mercy. Deaconess Manor explores how we consider mercy and grace, how mercy is loving your neighbor, who is given to show mercy, if loving your neighbor always means sharing the Gospel at the same time, and if there's a difference in how we show mercy to Christians and non-Christians.

Find the Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life
• Find Every One His Witness at resources.lcms.org/general/every-one-his-witness-lutheran-evangelism-program.

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

What does it mean to love your neighbor? In this crossover series with The Coffee Hour podcast, we're exploring "loving your neighbor" from a variety of perspectives! In Episode 1, Rev. Dr. James Fickenscher (Assistant Professor of Exegetical Theology and Director of Certification, Concordia Seminary St. Louis) joins Steph and guest co-host Sarah Gulseth (co-host, The Coffee Hour podcast) to talk about "love" in Scripture. Dr. Fickenscher explores where "loving your neighbor" is recorded in Scripture, various Old and New Testament examples of love, gives an exegetical study of the words "love" and "neighbor," and shares what these words mean for us today as we live out our God-given vocations in our contexts.

Find The Coffee Hour podcast at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

A hallmark of childhood is asking a lot of questions. Kids will inevitably and eventually have questions about abortion. Deaconess Marissa Kroenke joins Steph to help prepare and equip parents with age-appropriate responses to some tough questions about abortion.

Bio:

Deaconess Marissa Kroenke is a graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary. In her first call she served Grace Lutheran Church & School in St. Petersburg, FL as Director of Parish Education. Currently she works with LCMS Communications supporting the Office of National Mission. Marissa enjoys finding new ways to serve the church while living out her vocations as wife to Andrew and mother to her three children.

Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life
• Common Questions and Pro-Life Answers: resources.lcms.org/reading-study/common-questions-and-pro-life-answers-a-quick-reference-guide

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor joins Steph to talk about the compassion, mercy, and forgiveness that Christ has for couples who have had abortions and how the church can care for men and women who are post-abortive.

Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life
• Search LCMS RSO’s at lcms.org/rso
• files.lcms.org/file/preview/M8t5yczDAyMjBMtUIbnD8z5lpeMuqdq3
• lcmslife.org/resource/2021-life-conference-after-an-abortion

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

Kari Smith from Lutheran Family Service joins Steph to talk about the many factors that may put a woman at risk for considering abortion and how the church can care for women vulnerable to abortion.

Resources:

• Email us at [email protected]
• LCMS Life Ministry: lcms.org/life

Not all the views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.