What is the “American Interim” — and is the Church compromising its identity?

In this episode of LEAD TIME, Pastor Tim Ahlman sits down with Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Kloha (Dean for the Center for Missional & Pastoral Leadership) to thoughtfully respond to Rev. Karl Hess's presentation, “Pastoring Under the American Interim.”

See the video here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0IizshrQn9E

Together they explore:
- What is a Lutheran hermeneutic?
- Is Enlightenment liberalism replacing Christianity?
- Is equality a false god?
- Did the Church surrender during COVID?
- How should Christians think about slavery in Scripture?
- Are we soaking in secular assumptions without realizing it?

Rather than reacting emotionally, this conversation returns again and again to the central question:

How do we interpret Scripture faithfully in our cultural moment?

Dr. Kloha reminds us that our context may look less like 16th-century Europe and more like the world of the New Testament — pluralistic, politically complex, and spiritually contested.

And in that world, what did the apostles do?

They preached Christ.

This episode is not about winning political arguments.
It’s about guarding the gospel.
It’s about understanding narrative vs. prescription in Scripture.
It’s about loving neighbor while remaining faithful to Christ.

If you’ve wrestled with these tensions in your congregation, this conversation will equip you with clarity, charity, and courage.

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Is the LCMS in an “American Interim”? A Gospel-Centered Response