Pastoral Theology books tend to focus on what pastors do much more than who pastors are. What is the relationship between the pastoral office and the individual bearer of that office?  And how does that impact what we might call self-disclosure? Scott and Todd discuss pastoral identity, confidentiality, and being true to yourself. But not in a cheesy way.

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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Pastors have struggled with how to faithfully baptize and care of their members since the time of Philip the deacon. In this episode Scott and Todd talk about why it is so difficult, and why it is such a joyful burden. Oh, and they talk about bumper sticker ethics and Lutheran preaching.

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Email the show at [email protected]

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After Todd visits a Comic Con, he and Scott discuss why we have such robust subcultures, what they mean for the life of the church, the joys and dangers of such, and how it is that each one of these subcultures becomes an imitation of the life in God that is the Church. Oh, and they also talk about Craig Donofrio, the Kindle Edition of LSB, and The Elfish Gene.

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Email the show at [email protected]

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

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What is confirmation and why do we do it? This week Scott and Todd start what will probably be an epic conversation about the ins and outs of confirmation in the Lutheran Church. They also talk about Bioethics, camping, first communion, Rev. Mark Surburg, and a few other random topics for good measure.

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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:

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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:

Pastors have to juggle short and long term planning against the day to day situations of parish life. But what do you do when the day to day just keeps coming, and when there is no end in sight? Todd and Scott discuss Pomodoro Technique, Getting Things Done by David Allen, Evernote, John Chrysostom, Thielecke, and Taizé. And shaving. And a few other things along the way.

• How the World Began

• Dr. Harold Senkbeil

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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:

In this episode Scott and Todd talk about Scott accepting the call to teach theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine, and they discuss the process of accepting a call more generally.

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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:

In this episode Scott and Todd discuss preaching Holy Week, why it’s hard, why it’s fantastic, and also offer some tips on finding inspiration for the 47th sermon of the season.

[Yes, I know that there are audio issues. I promise we'll do better!]

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’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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:

In this episode Todd and Scott talk about parishioners who tend to float from church to church, who are restless, and who leave one place and join another in what may appear to be a rather haphazard way. How do we care for them?

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

You may find Todd Peperkorn @toddpeperkorn on Twitter or facebook.com/toddpeperkorn on Facebook. He also blogs, posts sermons, and random nonsense at Lutheran Logomaniac and Dark My Road. Todd’s parish is Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, California. You can find his sermons & bible classes on YouTube HERE.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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:

Scott and Todd discuss the theology of the call from the perspective of the pastor receiving a new call. Scott also pushes his streak of not talking about the Pope to three episodes, and Todd completely messes up the title of a book.

• Dr. Robert Preus, "The Doctrine of the Call in the Confessions and Lutheran Orthodoxy"
• There is also a revised version of the same essay in “Church and Ministry Today: Three Confessional Essays”.

• Dr. William Weinrich
• • Articles by Dr. Weinrich
  • Interviews on Issues, Etc.

SCOTT

• Beyond Smells and Bells, the Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy, by Mark Galli

TODD

• Signs, Words, and Gestures, Balthazar Fischer
• Levenger Five-Year Journal

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

You may find Todd Peperkorn  @toddpeperkorn on Twitter or facebook.com/toddpeperkorn on Facebook. He also blogs, posts sermons, and random nonsense at Lutheran Logomaniac and Dark My Road. Todd’s parish is Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, California. You can find his sermons & bible classes on YouTube HERE.

You may find Scott Stiegemeyer @scottstieg on Twitter or Facebook.com/scottstiegemeyer on Facebook. Scott’s parish is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, Illinois. 

Email the show at [email protected]

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

https://thecruxofthematter.squarespace.com/podcast/?format=rss

To subscribe via iTunes, please go to:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-the-crux-of-the-matter/id959171811