Under the Fig Tree

In this episode, hosts Rev. Tom Schlund and Katie Gaschler are joined by one of Concordia Seminary's newest professors, Dr. Ryan Tinetti. While studying journalism during his undergraduate years at Michigan State University, Tinetti felt a call toward ministry. After graduation, he followed God's call with a few different stops along the way. He says, "Ministry is a trailhead, not a terminus. When you get into

After serving in the parish for more than 10 years, Tinetti now is a professor in the Seminary's Practical Theology department. He shares some of his passions as a professor and what excites him about the courses he teaches. He also gives some insights into his specialty as a homiletics professor and shares his favorite things about St. Louis and the Seminary Community.

When discussing future students and people considering full time church work or applying to the Seminary, Tinetti shares, "My advice to anyone is not to rule yourself out... There are so many different paths [to Seminary]. What's important is the

Do you like eating toasted ravioli? Find out who does during the recurring segment "Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree." You'll also find out who enjoys camping, who goes blueberry picking and how everyone feels about Imo's Pizza.

Interested in vocational ministry? Start a conversation with our admissions team at https://ask.csl.edu/register/Request-Information. Learn more about Concordia Seminary at http://www.csl.edu or by contacting the admissions team at [email protected] or 800-822-9545.

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, Rev. Tom Schlund and Kati Gaschler sit down with President Dr. Thomas J. Egger who gives some updates about things around Concordia Seminary. They discuss with Egger the excitement and joy of starting a new school year, looking back on Orientation and looking forward to the year ahead. They reflect on the impact of having these new students on campus, each with their own story and journey to the Seminary. Egger shares, "It's always inspiring when you see the new students coming in. You just remember the Lord is at work in his church. And here are a whole bunch of people who He has placed His gospel in their hearts in such a way that they want to offer themselves to serve the church in the name of Christ with that word of hope."

Other updates include changes to faculty and staff on campus, with an emphasis on the experience of visitors to our campus. We see this particularly in the Admissions and Recruitment departments and the process of calling two new admissions officers, as well as with Campus Events and Hospitality. Schlund shares some of his experience in taking his call to the Seminary as a recruitment officer. He says, "It didn't take very long for me to realize... that God is a God of physical means. He's always using people and things to accomplish his tasks. And so, I discovered that the role we play is one of encourager and director along the way... It's not just collecting applications after the Holy Spirit has done his secret work. There is real, useful and important work to be done."

Egger also shares some comments on this year being the 100th anniversary of the Clayton campus, which brings with it a variety of physical maintenance and improvements that must be done. He also gives an overview of the large-scale Campus Plan. Schlund remarks, "Generation after generation, there's always been this investment ensuring there is a place to train and form pastors to go out and serve."

The episode ends with advice from Egger for future students and those considering attending, "Read your Bibles ... Don't wait to start that process of filling yourself with God's Word. Read the Scriptures ... Trust that through his Word, God gives wisdom."

In the recurring segment "Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree," find out everyone's opinions on a couple classic (or not so classic) movies and star athletes of Major League Baseball and the Women's National Basketball Association.

Interested in vocational ministry? Start a conversation with our admissions team at https://ask.csl.edu/register/Request-Information. Learn more about Concordia Seminary at csl.edu or by contacting the admissions team at [email protected] or 800-822-9545.

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added throughout the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

After a summer off, Under the Fig Tree is back! In this episode, Rev. Tom Schlund joins Kati Gaschler as a new host of the podcast. They sit down with President Thomas J. Egger and take a deep dive into the 2024-25 academic year theme "Let Us Fix Our Eyes on Jesus," based on Heb. 12:2. Egger shares some behind-the-scenes about the selection process the theme and why this year's choice rose to the top. He encourages listeners, "Don't let Jesus come into the world and be right near you and find yourself looking everywhere but [at him]...There's no one so worthy of our gaze and our attention as Christ through His Word and through His Sacraments." They discuss the importance of being daily reminded to keep Jesus the focus of our lives. 

When giving advice to future students, Egger shares, "The church is certainly saying to young people who are looking at 'What should I do in life? How can I serve my

During the recurring segment "Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree," find out how everyone feels about pumpkin flavor, if they enjoy the fall task of raking leaves and if hay rides and apple picking are on their fall to-do lists.

Interested in vocational ministry? Start a conversation with our admissions team at https://ask.csl.edu/register/Request-Information.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” hosts Rev. Micah Glenn and Kati Gaschler sit down with Concordia Seminary alum (’96, ’05) Rev. W. Max Mons, who is pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel and University Center in Iowa City, Iowa, and also chairman of the Seminary’s Board of Regents.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” hosts Rev. Micah Glenn and Kati Gaschler welcome back Dr. Benjamin Haupt, the former podcast host and founder who has been on sabbatical during the spring semester. The two men share big announcements that they both are moving on to other calls: Ben as global executive director of PLI and Micah as head of school at Sierra Lutheran High School in Carson City, Nev. Kati surprises Micah with some pineapple pizza, a recurring topic on the podcast, which he agrees to eat and continues to loathe. The two men also share some words of advice and parting words. “Concordia Seminary not only shaped and formed me to be a pastor my first time around as a student but deeply molded, shaped, formed my life to be a witness for Jesus in profound ways, ways that I will never understand,” Ben says. “This is a fantastic place to come and learn the Word of Christ and to study who God is and to learn what it means to serve Christ’s church among people who absolutely love His church. Listeners, hear loud and clear that Micah and I absolutely love this place. And you would do very well to check out Concordia Seminary.” Micah thanks everyone for listening and told them not to lament. “This isn’t the end of the podcast,” he says. “There’s something that happens when you come to study here,” Micah says. “You are blown away. You’re completely overwhelmed. You probably have a little bit of imposter’s syndrome. In the midst of all that, you are growing closer and closer to your classmates. You’re growing closer and closer to the faculty members. You’re growing closer to God’s church. And before you know it, somebody’s calling you to be their pastor. God has blessed me with this experience. … There is no other place in the world like Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.” In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how the trio feel about cold pizza, grilled pizza, McDonald’s McCrispy chicken sandwich, stargazing and more!

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” hosts Rev. Micah Glenn and Kati Gaschler sit down with Concordia Seminary alum Rev. Mark Renner (M.Div. ’20), one of the pastors at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Janesville, Wis. During the episode, Mark shares what led him to go into ministry as a pastor and discusses his recently published book, Curious Cases: A Series of Short Pastoral Case Studies (2024, Wipf and Stock Publishers). “We can empathize with other Christians or with non-Christians by reading this and understand where they are headed,” said Mark.

He also reflects on encountering difficult societal issues in ministry. “All of the problems, all the issues that are taking place in our society, we [as Christians] are either directly or indirectly dealing with. We’re influenced by society. And we have security in our Baptism to discuss difficult things,” he said. “That’s the real world that we’re encountering and trying to responsibly share this message of grace.” In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how he feels about pineapple on pizza, Wisconsin Dells, the new Star Trek movies and Vibram shoes. 

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” hosts Rev. Micah Glenn and Kati Gaschler sit down with Concordia Seminary alum Rev. Will Hanke (M.Div. ’07), who shares some highlights from his time serving as a student recruitment ambassador for the Seminary. As he thinks of creative ways to connect prospective students to the Seminary and help them discern God’s direction for their lives, Hanke said, “What it means is that I get to be a pastor at my church, but then I get to occasionally go and spend time at events recruiting people. If you know somebody, just pass them to me, and I’ll help them get connected with the Seminary. It doesn’t have to mean that their life-changing decision is right now. We just want to start that conversation with them.” Hanke also shares some advice for prospective students. “Ask pastors you know and be ready to talk about it now,” Hanke said. In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how he feels about pineapple on pizza, prickly pear, walking in wet grass, kayaking, spaghetti squash, tofu and more. 

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” host Rev. Micah Glenn and fill-in host Kati Gaschler sit down with Concordia Seminary alum Rev. Chaplain Kyle Mietzner (M.Div. ’10), who shares his path to chaplaincy. He shares how he discovered that chaplaincy is a beautiful ministry standing where chaplains serve alongside soldiers and provide religious support. “God has gifted me with something that I could never see coming …,” he shares. “There is no one standard path to the ministry, and mine is all over the place.” Kyle also shares some advice for prospective students, “If you can do something else, do that. You will have to have internal motivation that comes only from the Holy Spirit to do this job. It’s a wonderful life; it’s a beautiful life.” In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how Kyle feels about pineapple on pizza, potato wedges, kale smoothies, “That ’70s Show,” conversations with Uber drivers and more. 

https://youtu.be/k-0eidk3Sds

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” host Rev. Micah Glenn and fill-in host Kati Gaschler sit down with Deaconess Studies student Abby Reynolds, who shares her unique path to the Seminary. She offers details about how God nudged her from being a pre-medical student to a deaconess student. “I had to really switch my mindset from caring for people in the medical field to people in ministry,” Abby shares. “I think if I had known about a deaconess and the options in high school, I probably would have done that.” Abby also shares some advice for prospective students. She encourages them to pray and ask “God to reveal your motivations to go into church work.” In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how Abby feels about pineapple on pizza, string cheese, the Shrek series, avocado toast and the song “Careless Whisper.”

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” host Rev. Micah Glenn and fill-in host Kati Gaschler (while Dr. Benjamin Haupt is on sabbatical) sit down with Master of Divinity (M.Div.) student Erik Johnson and his wife, Erin. The couple shares the unique pathway to Seminary after Erik served as a Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) in New York City. They offer a few details about how they decided to move to St. Louis to study more and complete the M.Div. degree. “I did a couple of years as pastor in the office, but it seemed that things were such that this was the direction that we needed to go. There was a lot of discernment in that process,” Erik says. “To use the cliché, that this was the open door, and … one thing led to another, and we found ourselves here at the Seminary.” The couple also share some advice for prospective students and their wives. “This is a journey that is impossible without your faith,” Erik says. “And living your faith out with the people God has placed around you as you take that journey.” Erin added, “Attend the orientation because that is where you learn where everything is and that you are part of this process as much as your husband. The second thing is, no flashcards at dinner.” In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how the couple feels about pineapple on pizza, Peeps, RomComs, IKEA, fruit cake and public transportation!

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.