The Crux of the Matter

The Lord of the Rings to Why Men Hate Going to Church. That’s the range of books Scott and Todd talk about in episode 37 of The Crux of the Matter.  Why is it that the range of knowledge and skills that a pastor needs are so far-reaching, and how do we continue to learn without going stagnant? Join us in this episode and find out how.

Quotation from Pope Francis’s UN speech:

"The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic. This common home of all men and women must also be built on the understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature.”

• Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We’re Not Emergent, from Two Guys Who Should Be (BONUS)

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

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Intro and Outro Music is “BWV 1103: Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort” (by J.S. Bach, recorded by James Kibbie). Licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Pope Francis is in the midst of making his first visit to North America. But why should Lutherans care? Scott and Todd discuss the Pope’s speech before Congress, his upcoming speech before the United Nations, and lament why he didn’t speak about Jesus Christ, the unborn, and the very least and lowest in our society. Hear more from Todd and Scott in Episode 36 of The Crux of the Matter.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music is “BWV 1103: Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort” (by J.S. Bach, recorded by James Kibbie). Licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

No pastor worth his salt likes talking about his own salary. But in order to care for his family and himself, he does need to be paid. What is the way of Christ? How are we to be faithful to both our families and our congregations? Join us for episode 35 of The Crux of the Matter.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music is “Handel - Entrance to the Queen of Sheba for Two Oboes, Strings, and Continuo allegro” (by Advent Chamber Orchestra). Licensed under the EFF OAL License (Open Audio License).

While Islam seems to be taking over the world, there is a small revolution taking place. One Lutheran Church, Trinity (SELC) in Berlin, Germany, has seen their membership grow from 150 to 600 members over the past two years. Trinity and their pastor, Rev. Gottfried Martens, have been getting press all over the wrold because of this phenomenon. Are these conversions real, or just political expediency? How do we tell? Hear Pastors Todd Peperkorn and Scott Stiemeyer get to the Crux of the Matter in episode 34.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com

Times of crisis are difficult at best. Who do I talk to and why? Where does the Church fit in to the conversation? Oftentimes, pastors are the last to know about a major crisis in the life of their parishioners. In this episode, Scott and Todd discuss what role pastors play in times of crisis, as well as what role(s) they should or could play if they knew about what was going on. Join us for episode 33 of The Crux of the Matter.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com

It is easy to say one is pro-life. It is much harder to actually do it in practice. In this episode, Scott and Todd talk about what it means to be a pro-life pastor today, how it affects preaching, catechesis, and pastoral care, and how things have changed over the decades. Join us for episode 32 of The Crux of the Matter.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com

It has been said that the struggles the Church faces today are much closer to the second century than to the sixteenth century. In this episode, Scott and Todd wrestle with what this means, what we can learn from the martyrs and apologists of the early church, and how it applies today.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com

It has been said that Protestants lack imagination, and that this is why they have a hard time with the Sacraments. In this discussion of preaching the Gospel, Todd and Scott discuss the role that the imagination plays in preaching, and especially how preaching the reality of God’s love for His people draws the hearer in with the mind and the heart. Oh, and they talk about the Pope again.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com

Lutherans have a difficult time occasionally in preaching to the whole person. In this episode, Scott and Todd try to unpack what it means to preach the text in a way that engages the mind, the body, the heart, and the imagination. This conversation goes from Dr. John Kleinig to Minecraft and the modern fascination with world building games. At the end, there is also a long overdue mention of the Pope.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com

What does it mean to be human? What did Naomi mean when she prayed that the Lord would "deal kindly" with Ruth? Can the preacher actually use the Law in a certain way, or is that the Holy Sprit's job? All this and more are the topics of discussion in episode 28 of The Crux of the Matter. Join Pastor Todd Peperkorn and Professor Scott Stiegemeyer as they tackle the issues of the day, written by pastors and for pastors.

Todd and Scott co-host THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott is an assistant professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine.

Email the show at [email protected]

To subscribe directly, please paste the following link into your pod-catcher of choice:

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

Intro and Outro Music Copyright © 2011 Varazuvi™ www.varazuvi.com. Used by permission.