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.
Read moreCRUX Episode 16 - Holy Baptism
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 preaching primers.
Read moreCRUX Episode 15 - Comic Con Church
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.
Read moreCRUX Episode 14 - Confirmation
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.
Read moreCRUX Episode 13 - Recharging After Easter
Benedictine retreat centers, Tonto, Chrism, Eugene Petersen, and Lutheran Satire. Scott and Todd discuss how to recharge and recover from Holy Week. Oh, and camping. And the Library of Congress. That about covers it for Episode 13.
Read moreCRUX Episode 12 - Hitting the Wall
What do you do when you hit the wall, when things are piled up around you, and when there is no end in sight? Scott and Todd talk about everything from GTD to Taizé, with points in between. Oh, and they talk about shaving.
Read moreCRUX Episode 11 - Accepting a Call
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.
Read moreCRUX Episode 10 - Preaching Holy Week
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.
Read moreCRUX Episode 09 - Restless Sheep
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?
LINKS AND OTHER STUFF WE TALKED ABOUT
- Shepherd’s Staff
- IconCMO (What Peperkorn is considering)
- Luke 8:4-15
- How to Break Up with Your Church
- O Heiland Reiss die Himmel auf (organ postlude at the end of the episode. Used by permission.)
WHAT’S BRINGING JOY THIS WEEK
SCOTT
- Glenn Stanton, Loving My LGBT Neighbor
TODD
WHERE TO FIND US
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 feedback@thecruxofthematter.net
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
CRUX Episode 08 - Receiving a Call
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.
Read more