Podcast
Lutheran Answers
Hosted by Remy Sheppard · EN
Lutheran Answers aims to take you on a profound exploration of the Christian Faith through the historical Lutheran lens. We delve into the historical Gospel of the early church, rooted in Lutheran Confessions and the Holy Ghost's power to save. Our podcast invites inquisitive minds and seeking souls to discover the timeless theological truths that bridge the gap between the past and the present. Join us for thought-provoking discussions, captivating theology, and heartfelt, Spirit-led insights that illuminate the core tenets of Christian theology. Our goal is to foster a deeper connection to Christ through the teaching of sound doctrine.
18episodes
Episodes
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Season Finale: Lisa Cooper
Mar 17, 202501:11:49Tap to summarizeThe final episode of Lutheran Answers features a conversation with Lisa Cooper about her new book of poetry: Hasty Corporeal Ink I'm taking a break from this for now. It's been cool podcasting, I've learned a lot, but I need to step away for a bit.
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Matt Whitman from Ten Minute Bible Hour
Feb 27, 202501:22:33Tap to summarizeMatt Whitman of The Ten Minute Bible Hour joins Lutheran Answers for a wide-ranging discussion on faith, theology, and the shifting landscape of Christian thought. From exploring his own theological journey to discussing shrewdness, church structure, and the challenges of religious taxonomy, this episode is an insightful and engaging conversation. In this episode, Matt Whitman, known for his Ten Minute Bible Hour YouTube channel, shares his background, theological journey, and thoughts on the broader Christian landscape. He reflects on his upbringing in a faith-based home, his period of questioning and rediscovery of the Bible, and how that journey shaped his approach to Christian content creation. He also discusses the evolution of his online presence, from early Bible studies to deep dives into different Christian denominations, and how his conversations with people across traditions have broadened his perspective. A key theme of the discussion is the importance of shrewdness in Christian life, as encouraged by Jesus in Matthew 10:16. Matt and Remy explore how different Christian traditions approach theological authority, the institutional structure of churches, and the balance between tradition and reform. They also touch on the influence of social media on religious discourse, the effects of AI on theological discussions, and the ways in which digital technology is forcing transparency on religious institutions. The conversation further delves into Matt’s experience attending an AFLC (Association of Free Lutheran Congregations) church, his appreciation for Lutheran theology, and how his background in the Evangelical Free Church influences his current perspective. Other topics covered include the theology of the holiness movement, the Mormon Church’s evolving doctrine, and the tension between tradition and adaptability in Christian history. Things To Check Out: Follow Matt on Elon Musk's X Matt's TMBH Website The Ten Minute Bible Hour YouTube Channel The Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast (Also on YouTube!) No Dumb Questions Ironwood Rhino Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet
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With Rev. Jeremy Latzke
Feb 20, 202500:59:22Tap to summarizePastor Jeremy Latzke, an LCMS pastor, shares his journey from resisting the call to ministry to embracing pastoral life. He discusses the joys and challenges of preaching, teaching, and shepherding a diverse congregation, along with reflections on faith, vocation, and the complexities of church life. In this episode of Lutheran Answers, Pastor Jeremy Latzke joins the conversation to discuss his life and ministry in the LCMS. He shares how he initially resisted going into church work, having come from a long line of Lutheran educators and pastors. Originally aspiring to be a sports broadcaster, he ultimately felt God’s call to ministry during his time at Concordia Chicago, where he shifted from a teaching path to pre-seminary studies. The discussion delves into his experiences at Concordia Seminary St. Louis and his journey into pastoral ministry, including his early struggles, the impact of COVID-19 on his congregation, and the challenge of maintaining unity in a time of deep division. He also discusses his approach to Bible study, how to engage both seasoned believers and those returning to the faith, and the joys of preaching—especially at funerals, where the Gospel can be proclaimed most clearly. Pastor Latzke also shares his experiences working with a group of Pakistani Christians, walking them through Lutheran doctrine and welcoming them into the church. The episode closes with reflections on faith, pastoral care, and trusting God's guidance in difficult situations. Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet
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Medievalism & AI, with Megan Maldonado
Feb 13, 202501:05:19Tap to summarizeMegan Maldonado, a medievalist and doctoral student, explores the richness of medieval literature and its contemporary relevance. From discussing Dante's Divine Comedy to addressing the challenges of AI and technological shifts, this episode bridges the past with the present in a thoughtful and engaging dialogue. This episode of Lutheran Answers features Megan Maldonado, a medieval literature scholar and Lutheran, sharing her insights on the enduring significance of the Middle Ages. Megan recounts her journey into medieval studies, sparked by a love for English literature and a pivotal class on Dante’s Divine Comedy. She highlights the interplay of theology and literature, emphasizing how medieval works allow for a nuanced exploration of faith and morality in an academic context. The discussion also touches on misconceptions about medieval life, such as myths about holiday frequency and idealized portrayals of peasants' lives. Megan critiques the oversimplifications of medieval history and literature often perpetuated online, advocating for a more informed and nuanced understanding. Additionally, she delves into modern topics like the rise of AI, its impact on education, and the challenges of navigating misinformation in the digital age. Throughout, Megan underscores the timeless human struggles found in medieval works, offering camaraderie across centuries. Things To Check Out megan maldonado (@megievalist) / X Megan Maldonado - YouTube Divine Comedy Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript Remy: Then we'll have a podcast episode and if something weird happens, then we will have had a fun conversation. Megan: Sounds good. Remy: Okay, great. Megan, thank you for being on the Lutheran Answers Show. Megan: I'm happy to be here. Thank you for having me. Remy: Tell me, are you a Lutheran? Tell me more. Megan: I am a Lutheran and I have been one since I was about a month old. That was when I was baptized into an LCMS church and I have been lifelong lcms. There was a time where I was close to becoming a Calvinist or Reformed Baptist. I was kind of taking, not membership classes, but I was doing a Bible study with the wife of a pastor at a Reformed Baptist church when I was, I think just out of high school, but narrowly escaped that. And here I dodged a bullet. Dodged a bullet, yeah, indeed. I. I have a lot of love and respect for those people, but the theology just wasn't. There's the issue of the sacraments is actually where we got into a little bit of an argument. Remy: So still Lutheran, your husband, is he lifelong Lutheran or did you missionary date him in. Megan: Oh, no, he was. When was he baptized? He was baptized as a child, not as an infant. Yes. So he was already also lcms Lutheran by the time I met him. So solid. Yeah, yeah. The missionary dating, I think is. I, I understand why, especially for women, it can be hard to find. Well, depending on where you are, it can be hard to find men in the church, even the Lutheran Church and the church in general. But yeah, no, I didn't have to do that, thankfully. Remy: That's awesome. That's so great to hear. So you're moderately Twitter famous. Megan: Am I? I've got like 1300 followers. Remy: 1300. I was actually just pulling up your Twitter account to look at it. Megan: Not that I keep track exactly of my 1300 and I don't know what it is. Remy: Yeah, no, I don't keep track of my 1,372 Twitter followers. You're moderately Twitter famous. And also you have a YouTube channel, which I also totally knew about. I promise I did. I'm subscribed to it, so I did know about it. Megan: It's still pretty new. And I'm still. It's not that I'm thinking up more content is that I think I was putting in too much thought thought into how like detail oriented it needed to be. And then I. The more I'm on Twitter and the more I'm posting about medieval stuff, the more I'm realizing like, oh, like even what is to me very basic level knowledge could actually just be What I need to do. And I think I was hyping myself up too much of like, oh, I need to read this book first before I can even talk about King Arthur. Like, no, I don't need to get there. Remy: That's the. That's the trap I fall into myself, honestly, where I'm like, oh man, I need to read this and learn more about that before I can talk. A. And then I. The thing that helped me was Dr. Cooper, Dr. Jordan. Jordan B. Cooper. He did not give me any advice on this at all whatsoever. But I realized that the. The compulsive need to read a book and thoroughly understand a topic before making an hour and a half video on it is. That's what Dr. Cooper does. And he does that really well. And I don't need to do that. You know what I mean? I can just, you know, my. My most popular video is like a. Like a 15 second video where it just has a splash screen and it's like, is the coin shortage a sign of the end times? And it just cuts to me saying no and then it. That's it. That's the end of the video. Megan: Yeah, that's right. Remy: That's where I'm at. Megan: Yeah. I think I am so concerned about positioning myself as like semi expert that if I get a thing wrong or I misspeak or I don't give the appropriate context, then I have this ide that like my advisors from my dissertation committee will track me down and punish me. Like not literally, but it's. That's the kind of vibe. But yeah, I. More. More to come on the YouTube channel and especially with the beginning of the year, I think once the Christmas season ends, because I'm not doing New Year's resolutions personally, but I think once Christmas ends then we can kind of begin in earnest and some more reading together. Remy: Absolutely. So you. You do. We've already said it. You do medieval stuff on Twitter. Megan: Such. Remy: Tell me more. Why are you into that? Megan: Good question. So, long story short, I got into medieval literature because I failed at the actual thing that I wanted to do in undergrad. I really wanted to. I knew I wanted to study English. I really enjoyed writing and I wanted to have a focus in creative writing. So I went to community college. I transferred to UCLA and I applied for the creative writing workshop because at that point I was a junior and I didn't get in because I didn't. Well, I was told by a director I didn't have any of the kind of preliminary workshops. This is becoming longer than I Intended it to be. Remy: It's fine. We have, like, a lot of time to fill. Just go for it. Megan: So I had to take my backup class that I scheduled, which was a Dante in English class. Now, by this point, I had read Chaucer. I'd done, like, my general survey of the pre1750 or pre1800 English lit. That's a very standard course for the major. And so I had some medieval experience, literary speaking, literarily speaking. But I got into the Dante in English, and I really enjoyed it. Not just because it's an amazing read. This was almost the entirety of the Comedy. So not just the Inferno, which is typically what you get assigned. Yes, it's amazing. Yes, the language is really rich. It's a beautiful work. But I had felt like I could talk about theology and have it be treated as a serious philosophical and moral undertaking. One that was academic, not just, you know, fundamentally academic, but, you know, it had an academic component to it where I could be taken seriously, I guess. And that was an insecurity I was going into college with. For whatever reason, I think God's not dead had already come out. There was already this vibe of like, you're gonna have the atheist professor, you know, bullying you into whatever didn't actually happen. I mean, some you could have who are just a little more condescending than others. But the going assumption really is that most people are not believers, especially at a higher academic level. But I. I really enjoyed that. I could kind of dig into theology, but also, it didn't have to be just like I was doing religious studies. It was also the marriage of literature and something that was very personal to me, which is my faith. But it was also a little bit removed because I'm Lutheran, I'm not Roman Catholic, so the stakes were low for me and kind of exploring or seeing any issues or contradictions or problems, you know, because literature is all about, I think, looking at problems. And so from there, I got really into some other research stuff. Took more classes in my own major, English for Medieval Things. Wrote a senior thesis covering some medieval English literature. And, yeah, I debated going to grad school. Worked two years at an elementary school after graduation, and I thought, you know ...
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Reverend Matthew Fenn
Feb 6, 202501:03:19Tap to summarizePastor Matthew Fenn, a former Jehovah's Witness and repentant Canadian, shares his remarkable journey from cultic beliefs to the Lutheran faith. In this episode, he discusses doctrinal contrasts, cultural shifts, and the profound impact of encountering the gospel of grace. This episode of Lutheran Answers features Pastor Matthew Fenn, an AALC pastor and former Jehovah's Witness, sharing his story of theological transformation. Pastor Fenn discusses his upbringing within the Jehovah's Witness tradition, highlighting its unique doctrines such as denying the Trinity, rejecting the immortality of the soul, and advocating a works-based salvation. He explains how studying Scripture, particularly Philippians 3, led him to question Jehovah’s Witness teachings and ultimately embrace Lutheran theology. Pastor Fenn also shares insights into the cultural differences between Canada and the U.S., reflecting on his move to Iowa and his experiences as a "repentant Canadian." The episode concludes with a discussion about law and gospel, the challenges of pastoral ministry, and the joys of living in grace-centered theology. Things We Discussed Follow Pastor Fenn on X Proper Distinction of Law & Gospel The AALC ALTS Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript Remy: Foreign commences Pastor Matthew Finn. Welcome, sir, to Lutheran Answers. Pr. Fenn: I'm on Lutheran Answers. Remy: Oh, yes, unfortunately, you are. I know Jordan has probably warned you away from it. Pr. Fenn: It's okay. We can, you know. Did I beat Jordan? He hasn't been on yet, has he? Remy: No. Pr. Fenn: Okay, good. Remy: No, he won't return my calls or emails or anything. Pr. Fenn: Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to have to be on. Remy: Yeah. So I posted a video with Gage Garlinghouse in which we talked about sacred hours. The Lutheran Daily Office. Pr. Fenn: Yes. Remy: And immediately after that went up, your lawyers sent me a cease and desist, saying that unless I had you on to give you full credit for the book, I could not keep that episode up. So you are actually not Gage, you are the mastermind behind that book. Pr. Fenn: I am the mastermind behind that book. That book exists because I was frustrated with all the other books that exist. Remy: That's. I feel like the story behind most books, actually. Pr. Fenn: In all fairness, though, I mean, the treasury of Daily Prayer is an excellent resource. The Brotherhood Prayer Book is also an excellent resource. Oremus. Also very good resource. Those are the big three. But I have gripes with all of them. Remy: Why is yours better? Pr. Fenn: Because I made. Remy: It works for me. Pr. Fenn: No, ours is different. It's not intending to do the same thing. So the treasury of Daily Prayer gives you the lecture, the daily lecture that's in Lutheran service book that is not intended to be a lectionary for both matins and vespers every day. It's intending to give you an Old Testament lesson and a New Testament lesson, each of about 25 verses apiece to give you an overview. So it's not intending to try to cover the Old and New Testaments and the Psalms in. In a year. So. So. And. And it doesn't always have everything that is required to pray, that's traditionally required to pray. The daily office. It doesn't have the daily. The collects from the previous Sunday. It has other resources that are great, but it just didn't do exactly what I want. The Brotherhood Prayer Book is far closer to what I was looking for, except for it's in King Jameth, and I don't pray in King Jameth. And it. Not only is it in Elizabethan English, it's in Gregorian chant notation. And those. Those things are hindrances. But the. On the other side of that, it. It's also focused. It's also an actual breviary with all seven hours. And that's not what I wanted exactly, because the Reformation took the old service of Matins and prime or lauds. So matins and lauds and put them together to make what we know as matins. And then we took vespers. Yeah, vespers and compline and put them together as what we call vespers. And then we took the daytime hours and dropped them completely and took parts of prime and made it the suffrages. And that's what comes into the Common Service book in the 1800s, late 1800s. And that gets into service book and hymnal and TLH in the two streams in American Lutheranism. So having those twin sides of morning and evening, that goes back to like the Old Testament and the morning and evening sacrifice. There's good reason to have morning and evening prayer. It's even in our catechism. And so I felt that while I really love Brotherhood Prayer book, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. And so the Sacred Hours went back to the Common service tradition and updated it. And when I thought of, well, how am I going to do that? I don't want to have to rewrite all these collects and, and all that. I went to the Book of Common Prayer 2019, which was a. It's a good conservative update to a lot of this material. A lot of these collects are the same. A lot of. And it's unlike the Book of Common Prayer 1979, which was very like kind of liberally and that kind of thing. It was in a conservative revision of. Of the Daily Office. And so they graciously just gave us permission to use that as our starting point. Just absolutely. The. The publisher said, long live the Daily Office. That was his email to me. Remy: Amazing. Pr. Fenn: So they free and clear as long as we had the credit citation. And so that's how it got started. I made the book that I wanted to use. I wanted like all of the seasonal things in one spot so that you. Not in five spots or in the case of treasury, you have to grab five books. You have to have your treasury of Daily Prayer. And you've got to get, you know, the altar book or the Pastoral Care Companion or the propers book to get the. The prayers from Sunday. I just wanted one book in my Bible. And so that's how the. That's how the project started. We already have to make a second edition because there are errors and typos that we missed and some feedback that we got. So there's a second edition coming very soon. It'll just replace the first edition. So when you go to the page after it's up, it'll. It'll just replace it. So there'll be a second edition. So that's, that's great. We had a new, a new editor jump on board for the second edition to help us. Aaron Overly Graham did a great job finding some typos that we missed. You know, it's silly things in the second edition. Like we were inconsistent in how we approached pronouns to deity. Do you capitalize you or do you small? So we decided to capitalize well, so we have to go through the whole book and capitalize. So stuff like that. Remy: Okay. Pr. Fenn: Is coming in a second edition very soon. Maybe like next week or the week after Chant. Remy: Chant tones anywhere. Pr. Fenn: We have a. One of the other editors on that is Alex Lancaster, a fantastic musician, has a master's in. I believe it's music composition. He's working on it. It's slow. We've previewed some of it at our, at our seminary retreat last year we previewed a hymn and compline and that was, that went very well. And so he's in the process of writing that music. The. I think there's a. Rome has a book that they use for the sacred for the daily office. That's all the chant tones and all the, the music. And he didn't think he could use it. And then he realized, oh, it's it. Because it was from the 60s and 60s stuff is still under copyright. Well, this stuff was put into the public domain. And so that's, so that's a, that's a great boon. So we're able to use some pretty traditional chant tones. But he also wants to make it easy and singable and in modern notation. So as he's working on that, we want to make the, the second edition or the second edition, the music edition. We want to make it a premium edition, you know, leather cover, you know, something nice. And so we're just not sure how to do that yet because Justin Sinner is a, is a small time publishing operation and we use Amazon. Remy: Take that, Dr. Cooper. Pr. Fenn: I mean I could say that I'm on the board, so. But it's, it's small and, and you know, we use print on demand services, Amazon whatnot. And you can't print on demand a leather cover and you know, gilded edges. Yeah, so. So we're gonna, we're looking into how we might be able to, you know, logistics of doing that besides putting them in Dr. Cooper's garage. He doesn't want to do that. Remy: Yeah, you, I mean you would have to, you would have to do that though, right? Bulk order. You Know, like a. Like traditional publishing and then fulfill yourself. Pr. Fenn: Yeah. So...
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Christian Finance, with Daniel Catone
Jan 30, 202501:19:36Tap to summarizeCatholic financial advisor Daniel Catone joins Lutheran Answers to explore how Christians can steward their finances in ways that honor their faith. From ethical investing to the virtues needed for financial success, this episode offers practical and theological wisdom for navigating the world of money. In this episode of Lutheran Answers, Daniel Catone, a Catholic financial advisor and founder of Arimathea Investing, discusses the intersection of Christian values and financial stewardship. The conversation explores how Christians can align their investments with their faith, focusing on avoiding support for industries that conflict with Christian ethics, such as abortion, pornography, and anti-family policies. Daniel shares his expertise in helping religious organizations and individuals manage their assets conscientiously, offering insights into Catholic investment guidelines and the moral implications of financial decisions. The discussion also covers broader financial topics, including the pitfalls of speculative investments like cryptocurrency, the behavioral aspect of financial success, and critiques of mainstream financial advice figures like Dave Ramsey. Daniel emphasizes the importance of virtues like prudence and courage in navigating financial decisions and stresses that all wealth ultimately belongs to God and should be stewarded accordingly. Things We Discussed Follow Daniel on X Arimathea Investing The Psychology of Money Fooled by Randomness RCC 2021 Guidelines to Ethical Investing Parting Thought Every dollar we manage is ultimately God’s treasure, entrusted to us for His purposes. As Christians, our financial decisions should reflect our faith, guided by virtues like courage and prudence, ensuring that we honor God not just with our words but also with our wallets. Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript Remy: Should be it. Yeah. This is live. So anyway, the way my apartment is set up behind me over here is the kitchen and then that's my front door. Daniel: Oh, funny. Remy: So I can't. This is the only place I can put my computer because it's like an open floor plan. Oh. Daniel: Yeah. Remy: So I just have the old shower curtain. I. It's funny, I. Sometimes I put it like upside down or sideways so, like the books are wrong and so far no one has noticed. Daniel: So, I mean, I would have noticed, brother. Backgrounds are kind of fun, man. It's like I spent a lot of time on my background actually. You can actually see some of my artifacts. I have a lot. Quite a collection of artifacts. We can talk about that too. Remy: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, so far the only thing that I'm getting out of this is that you're a Catholic billionaire. Once again, that's. That's, that's what I'm getting. Daniel: I don't think that's a good idea. Remy: I. I don't have artifacts. No, no. Daniel: You talk about that a little bit. I. It's funny. Every year I try to find one or two topics that I both know nothing about and have no interest in. And my theory is I don't have an interest in it because I don't know anything about it. Everything, in a way, is fascinating if you really think about it. I think, yeah. And one year, this is years ago I thought, you know, I don't know anything about Egypt and I have less than zero interest in Egypt. I started taking some online courses and I found basically it was the love of my life. It was one of the most fascinating subjects I've ever studied. And wow, dove in head first and started collecting artifacts. Went to Egypt a bunch of time. Been to Egypt. You know, that's like much times. It's fine. It's great. Archaeologists and stuff out there helped me out and done a little digging. Remy: Wow. So this actually, I think initially we were going to talk about finance because that's what you do. Daniel: Yeah, right. Remy: But it actually, this gets me into. I joke about you being a Catholic billionaire or whatever, but you are an incredibly successful person. Daniel: Thank you. Remy: I would say financially, materially, like in the world, but also familially. You seem pretty. Daniel: Thank you. Remy: Pretty successful. It seems like you get a good family and spiritually as well. You're. You seem to be a very well studied, devout Catholic. Daniel: Thank you. Remy: So I guess. Well, it's, it's just the truth, man. It's just what I'm seeing and I I, I guess what I want to ask is. So like, you appear to be a very high functioning individual. Yeah, you said you're very regimented and all that. Uh, do you think that's, do you think that's part of it? Do you think that's required for attaining a certain level of success or, or what have you? Daniel: It's an interesting question. You know, it's like a chicken the egg kind of situation, isn't it? Yeah. You know, Nassim Taleb, I think his name is, he wrote a book called Fooled by Randomness. It's a very good book actually. The first 2/3 of it's very good. The last third is. Gets in a little philosophy and he doesn't know what he's talking about, but he's an economist, a statistician, and it's not a math book per se. There's a little bit of math in it. But he makes an interesting argument. He basically says that success is randomized and that we over emphasize our contribution to the success of whatever it is. He's talking about portfolio management, but he kind of extrapolates it to other areas of life too. Remy: You know, studies have shown that. Daniel: Oh yeah, oh, oh yeah. And then people who become successful, you know, we just get pride and arrogance and think, well, you know, I did all this and the reality is you're born in the right place at the right time, the right parents and you know, this and that happened. What we would think is seemingly random. It's not, of course, it's God's will, but you know, the sun shines on the good and the evil alike and the rain falls and the good and evil of like. And so it's. I would not say that my quote unquote, financial success or career success or things like that is indicative of some hidden trait or characteristic that I have that I could reveal to your audience or to you. I mean, and everybody can just apply that and suddenly it works. I mean, I certainly have some peculiarities of the way in which I engage in the world professionally and personally and other things too. I'm not a goal setter, for example, I mean, a lot of people are like, you know what? Remy: She's. Daniel: I watch these like TikTok videos and it's like somebody telling you, you do these three things and you're going to be successful. And one of them is like set goals or something. I'm not, I'm more of a virtue guy. So. And the idea is we lean into the virtues because whatever comes our way, it's filtered through the lens of virtue and works out to our benefit. So, you know, if you're a courageous man because you've practiced courage your whole life, you know, whatever comes, you can apply that particular skill like a violinist can apply the skill of playing a violin. If you have practiced courage and other virtues and things like that, you just apply those to the decision in front of you. And I think the outcomes are generally better. Remy: Yeah. Have you read the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell? Daniel: No, I'm familiar with it. My favorite business book is Nicomachean Ethics, which is Aristotle, but that's a whole other thing. Remy: Yeah, well, so it's, it's not necessarily a business book either. It's just, it's just about sort of general success and winners and losers and what makes winners and losers. And it's fascinating because you take someone like Bill Gates and you say, oh, well, he, you know, he started Microsoft in his parents garage. Daniel: Right? Remy: Well, he did, but prior to that he also had completely free and unlimited access all through high school to the MIT computer lab because of a guy his dad knew. And that like, that makes a significant difference in his story. Right, like, so there it's, it's the idea that we are in fact fooled by randomness. We, yeah, we think he was the guy that worked hard and you know, camp, but really he just, he had a good connection and was able to leverage that. Daniel: Well, you know, it's evidenced in the story. Morgan Housel wrote a book too, called the Psychology of Money. Highly recommend that I recommend anybody I work with professionally read that book. Morgan Housel. H O U S E L Anyways, he's a finance journalist and he wrote about Bill Gates too. And he said, you know, there are three guys. It was Bill Gates and what was his partner? ...
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Presbyterianism & Reconquista, with Redeemed Zoomer
Jan 23, 202500:56:58Tap to summarizePresbyterian YouTuber Redeemed Zoomer joins Lutheran Answers to discuss his journey from viral Minecraft videos to advocating for reform within mainline Protestant denominations. He dives into Calvinist theology, the challenges of internet fame, and the bold Reconquista movement aiming to restore historic church institutions. In this episode of Lutheran Answers, the guest is "Redeemed Zoomer," a Presbyterian YouTuber and advocate for reforming mainline Protestant denominations. The discussion begins with his background, theology, and unique position as a Calvinist who values ecumenical dialogue. He describes his journey from being a viral Minecraft YouTuber to becoming a prominent voice in theology and his advocacy for the Reconquista movement—a strategy for reforming liberal mainline churches from within. The conversation covers Reformed theology, including views on predestination, perseverance of the saints, and baptism. Redeemed Zoomer explains the nuanced goals of the Reconquista movement, emphasizing loyalty to historic church institutions and the need to influence them positively rather than abandoning them. He also critiques various Christian traditions, shares his experience with internet fame, and highlights the challenges of balancing public theology with personal conviction. The discussion closes with thoughts on his theological influences, providence, and his enduring faith in the face of challenges. Things We Discussed Redeemed Zoomer on X Redeemed Zoomer's YouTube Operation Reconquista Church Map Crossbearer Jordan Cooper Bryan Wolfmueller Consider Contributing to Lutheran Answers! Feel free to submit articles, answers, or volunteer to be on the podcast. We're always looking for as much help as possible in making this thing happen! Either Join the Discord or Email Me! Parting Thought God's providence is evident in the small and great moments of life, guiding His people through challenges to fulfill His purposes. Whether reforming churches or simply holding onto faith, we must be sure to trust Him and remain steadfast in the work He has set before us. Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript [00:00:08] Remy: And people take that doctrinal agreement to then mean like a ton more than it does. But the AALC has a slightly different polity, and we have a completely different history from the lcms, you know, and we like those distinctions and we want to keep them. I don't know. What about you? I was told I. I put it out there to. I'm recording now, by the way. We're going. This is it. Welcome to the show. I put it out there that I was gonna. What should I ask you? And I was told. I was told to ask you. Why are you the way that you are? [00:00:48] Redeemed Zoomer: Why am I the way that I am? I'm just like this. It's. It's not because I'm from New York. It's not because of my Jewish background. [00:00:58] Remy: I'm just like, excellent. Okay. It's just the way that you are, and that's fine. We love the way that you are. [00:01:06] Redeemed Zoomer: I was predestined to be that way, so I. I can. [00:01:10] Remy: Excellent. Are you. Are you a Calvinist on that front? [00:01:17] Redeemed Zoomer: Yes. I'm Presbyterian. [00:01:19] Remy: So I don't know. I don't know anything about your personal theology. All I know. Let me tell you what I know about you. I saw a video, and it was the all the denomination video. I think that was your first one to go, like, super huge. [00:01:32] Redeemed Zoomer: Yeah. [00:01:32] Remy: And I was pleased with how fair it was across the board. And then occasionally I see that you have takes on Twitter that come across my timeline and I'm like, I don't agree with that, or that's a good take. And I think the trying to take over the PC USA is Sisyphean task. And that's it. That's all I know about you. [00:02:01] Redeemed Zoomer: All right. Well, I'm Presbyterian and my beliefs are just the normal Presbyterian beliefs. I don't have, like, my niche unique theology. I mean, I have my takes on nuances and stuff like supra Lapserianism or Mercersberg theology, but all of it's within the scope of just general Presbyterian beliefs. So there's nothing really that special about what I believe. I do believe in evolution, so I know that Lutherans generally don't like that. But, yeah, I'm just a Calvinist. I believe all the things that Lutherans don't like about Calvinists. I believe in double predestination. I believe in limited atonement. I believe in spiritual presence, in the Lord's Supper, all those things. [00:02:44] Remy: Oh, excellent. Okay, great. What. Why are you here? Why are we doing this? [00:02:54] Redeemed Zoomer: Well, I really respect Lutherans I've always had a lot of respect for the Lutheran tradition because Lutherans still, actually still have a historic institution in America. So often when people are, like, inquiring into, like, Catholicism or Orthodoxy, I'll just defer them to Lutheranism because I'm like, if you try to become Presbyterian, we have a mess we have to clean up right now, and you might not want to get involved in that. So just go Lutheran for now. That's what I often tell people. And, you know, Jordan. [00:03:26] Remy: Oh, that's good. God bless. [00:03:27] Redeemed Zoomer: Yeah, thanks. Jordan Cooper taught me more about Reformed theology than any Reformed pastors on the Internet back then did, because there's really a severe lack of Reformed resources on the Internet. Very recently, there's this New Presbyterian guy who made a channel. His name's Reverend Don Baker, and he's great. But we're talking, like, three weeks ago is when he started existing. When I first started. [00:03:49] Remy: Oh, wow. [00:03:50] Redeemed Zoomer: Yeah. When I first started doing YouTube, there were no Presbyterian resources on the Internet that were, like, any good that went into any theological depth. And some people say, oh, what about you? No, I don't count as a good resource. I'm a Minecraft YouTuber who accidentally went viral for talking theology and decided to keep doing it. But I'm only meant to be a gateway drug. And I do have a map that millions of people look at, and I have tons and tons of lcms and AALC churches on that map. And people like Brian Wolfmiller have told me that people have gone to their church because of my map and stuff. So I promote Lutheranism. I support Lutheranism, even if I believe all the horrible things. Even if I believe is means is, as long as the definition of is is not, is. [00:04:34] Remy: Okay, good. Fair enough. Fair enough. I actually, in the interview that I just posted last with one of my fellow Lutheran seminarians, Gage, we joked around for a few seconds about the Reformed view of baptism, where it is baptismal regeneration, but the time the regeneration happens. Right. The promise of the baptism and the event of the baptism are not necessarily coupled in time, so that it could happen at any point in the person's life that regeneration is not, while attributed to maybe not directly coupled temporally with baptism. And I was thinking, doesn't that just make baptism an outward sign of an inward faith? [00:05:27] Redeemed Zoomer: I mean, you actually did not straw man our belief. That is literally exactly what we believe. That is exactly what the Westminster Confession says. And I would say in a purely, like, scientific and analytical sense, then, yeah, the actual event of being baptized with water doesn't do anything. But we believe that there's more than just the physical and the scientific thing going on because we believe in predestination. We believe God's outside of time. We believe God's writing the whole story. An author of a story can choose to have a future event, even somehow cause a past event. And that's the Reformed theme. The Reform theme is shut up. God does what he wants. So, yeah, it's okay. We know that our view is mental gymnastics. We know that our view is kind of hard to understand. But I would say, like the Trinity and Christology, like the orthodox view of both of those things is a lot harder to understand than the various heretical views that show up. Like, it's. It's a lot easier to say that the persons are just three forms of God than to say there's three distinct persons that are like distinct hypostasis, even though that they all ...
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Christ in the Old Testament
Jan 16, 202501:01:24Tap to summarizeDr. Chris Caughey joins Lutheran Answers to uncover the rich tapestry of Christ in the Old Testament, exploring types, shadows, and promises fulfilled in Jesus. From Moses’ intercession to Jonah’s struggles, this episode reveals the deep Christological threads woven through Scripture. In this episode of Lutheran Answers, Dr. Chris Caughey, Lutheran pastor and scholar, discusses the presence of Christ in the Old Testament. The conversation explores how key figures like Moses, Abraham, David, and Joseph serve as types and shadows pointing to Christ’s ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises. Dr. Caughey explains the purpose of the Mosaic Law, Israel's need for a perfect representative, and the significance of Old Testament events and symbols, such as the Passover and manna, as precursors to the Eucharist. The discussion also delves into more nuanced topics, like biblical theology, the organic growth of God’s revelation in Scripture, and how figures like Jonah and Esther embody themes that ultimately point to Christ. Through lively dialogue, the episode illuminates the profound interconnectedness of Scripture and its focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ. More From Dr. Caughey Follow Dr. Caughey on X The Tale of Two Adams Parting Thought As the Old Testament clearly reveals, God’s plan for salvation has always centered on Christ. Each figure and event in Scripture points us toward the one who fulfills the law, bears our sin, and leads us to the ultimate promised land. In Christ, we find the better Adam, Moses, and David—the perfect Savior who brings life and redemption to all. Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript [00:00:00] Remy: I have written my thesis, obviously, my outline. I've got at least a draft done, and I'm working on, you know, building that out. None of that. I've got an outline. I've definitely done the research, and I've got mental notes. [00:00:31] Dr. Caughey: So that's as much of the paper as is done, huh? [00:00:35] Remy: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't tell my professor. [00:00:39] Dr. Caughey: Okay. It'll be our little secret. [00:00:42] Remy: Excellent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I. I do have time slated to work on it, though, so. Oh, hiding your background. [00:00:55] Dr. Caughey: Well, I'm just wondering if I should. [00:01:00] Remy: I'm leaving all this in. They've already seen the background. [00:01:05] Dr. Caughey: Very nice. Okay. [00:01:15] Remy: Oh, oh, from beyond the void or. Oh, interesting, interesting, fascinating. Dr. Cahi, thank you for volunteering to be on my show. [00:01:38] Dr. Caughey: Well, thank you, Remy. It's good to be here. [00:01:40] Remy: Yes, sir. How long have we known each other now? [00:01:46] Dr. Caughey: Oh, my goodness. At least two years, doesn't it? [00:01:51] Remy: Two years? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because it was the 2023 Pastors Conference. I think we have, like, really met for the first time. [00:02:01] Dr. Caughey: Right. But we may have bumped him into each other in a. In a, you know, class or something before that. [00:02:09] Remy: Yeah. And I think Twitter as well. [00:02:12] Dr. Caughey: Yes. [00:02:13] Remy: There's a lot of people that I like. I like, joke around with on Twitter. I'm mutuals with on Twitter. And then like, I show up to conferences or conventions or whatever for the aalc, or I show up to a class and it's like, oh, you're my Twitter mutual. That's weird that you're a real person. [00:02:31] Dr. Caughey: That happened at this last pastor's conference. I can't remember his name, but you. You had a Twitter mutual that joined us for. [00:02:40] Remy: Oh, yeah. Ian. Yeah. Always showed up after hours. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and it also happened with Will Green in this class, this church history class, because Will and I have been following each other on Twitter for a while and we even talked on the phone. I don't really remember this, but he was thinking about whether or not he should apply to alts, and he asked if he could call me and talk to me. And we swapped numbers and we talked. And then I don't know, I guess he joined alts. He enrolled. So I get like a commission check now. I don't know how that works. I'll figure that out. But yeah. And then we were Twitter mutuals for a while, and then he was in class and I was like, oh, you're the Twitter guy. You know, Great, Wonderful. And then I ended up spending a lot of time with Will at This pastor's conference. And God, I love that man to death. What a great guy. I need to get him on, too. [00:03:35] Dr. Caughey: Oh, you could have conversations with him. [00:03:38] Remy: Yeah, yeah, for sure. So, Dr. Cahi, tell me a little bit about yourself. [00:03:45] Dr. Caughey: Well, I am a pastor of two churches in rural Kentucky. There's an LCMS congregation in Maysville, Kentucky, and then at AALC congregation in Augusta, Kentucky. And I've been serving them for two years now. I arrived November 2022. And I also teach church history and Old Testament for alts. And yeah, I think that covers most of the basics. [00:04:24] Remy: Okay, very good that the alts getting a lot of love from me this season. It's really, it's not intentional, but like, everybody. I've talked about it with like, just about everybody now, so I, I'm planning a time to have Dr. Lyons to come on to like, literally just talk about alts, which I. Great. So you are Dr. Chris Caughey. The Reverend Doctor Most Honorable Chris Caughey. What are you a doctor of? [00:05:02] Dr. Caughey: My Ph.D. i guess would technically be in historical theology. I studied a handful of Puritans from across the Atlantic. So that's my terminal. [00:05:19] Remy: Okay. Okay. And you're. You started out Reformed, huh? [00:05:27] Dr. Caughey: Yes, I did. Well, I mean, I started out life as a broad evangelical, but I discovered Reformed theology when I was in high school and ended up going to Westminster Seminary, California. And I was deeply convinced of Reformed theology for probably a good 25 to 30 years. And then it was actually, it was actually my PhD that pushed me out. I realized I just. If that was Reformed, I couldn't do that anymore. [00:06:00] Remy: So not what we're going to be talking about tonight. And I know a whole bunch of people probably were just like, dang it, because that would make. That would make a heck of an episode. But I would like to touch on it just a little bit, if you don't mind. And just what were, what were some of the things you were studying? You said like the Puritans and whatnot. What were some of the things you were studying that pushed you out of Reformed theology? And then how did you land in Lutheranism? [00:06:33] Dr. Caughey: Well, okay, I knew about Lutheranism because way back when I was an Undergrad, in the mid-90s, I was listening to the White Horse in radio show on terrestrial radio. So I knew about Rod Rosenblatt, and if it hadn't been for him, I might not know what Lutheranism was. But then also because of some really bad stuff that I went through in Reformed churches, I was listening on repeat to Rod Rosenblatt's talk, the Gospel for those broken by the church. And I was super impressed with the fact that he could look me in the eye and tell me that Christ died for me and not flinch. He wasn't crossing his fingers behind his back. He was sincerely convinced of that, and that was deeply attractive to me. I wanted that, but I wasn't there yet. So Westminster Seminary California had set me up to believe that Reformed equals Puritan, Puritan equals Reformed. And so I thought that when I dove into studying these Puritans, I was going to find exactly what I had gotten in seminary. And it just turned out not to be the case at all. I mean, there was just morbid introspection, a grinding legalism. I remember the very first day that I started reading for my PhD. I read about how there were even suicides in England among Puritans because they just couldn't deal with the demands of that religious system. So that's when I realized, okay, if this is Reformed, I can't be Reformed. And so I started consuming as many Lutheran podcasts as I could while I was over there. And it really was when I got back to the United States that I discovered Dr. Jordan Cooper and Brian Wolf Mueller, and they were extremely helpful. [00:08:46] Remy: Yeah, yeah. Both of them. Yeah. Very good, Very good. And now you're on the greatest Lutheran podcast that has ever been. So that's. That's. That's really. That's neat. Full circle. [00:09:02] Dr. Caughey: I'm finally going to get some Lutheran answers tonight. [00:09:05] Remy: That's right. Yeah. Ask. Ask away. Any q...
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with Jeremy Abrahamson
Jan 9, 202501:05:27Tap to summarizeLutheran, Fantasy Writer, Imperfect Human Being. This episode of Lutheran Answers features Jeremy Abrahamson, a Lutheran author and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS). Jeremy discusses his upbringing as the son of a long-serving pastor, his own educational journey, and his experiences as a writer. He introduces his new book, a dark fantasy novel titled Eight Witch Hunters, blending themes of tragedy, Christian theology, and gothic storytelling. Jeremy elaborates on the book's inspiration, mentioning influences like Cormac McCarthy, Glenn Cook, and Tolkien, as well as his approach to integrating subtle Christian themes into a violent, brooding narrative. The discussion also touches on broader themes such as the nature of writing, the balance of faith in storytelling, and the challenges of staying authentic as an author. Jeremy shares anecdotes about his influences and his writing process, including his motivations, inspirations, and the theological and philosophical underpinnings of his work. Check Out Jeremy's Stuff Jeremy's X Jeremy's Linktree Eight Witch Hunters The Chain - and other short stories Other Things We Discussed Books Blood Meridian The Black Company Book One Book Two Book Three Book Four The Lord of The Rings The Hobbit The Silmarillion A Canticle for Leibowitz The Complete Harry Potter Series The Book of the Long Sun Book One Book Two Book Three Book Four Messiah: The Greatest Sermon Ever Sung Movies No Country for Old Men The Last Jedi Video Games Spec Ops: The Line Elden Ring The Reverend Doctor Jordan Bartholemew Cooper Rev. Dr. Jordan B. Cooper Just & Sinner Previous Episodes We Mentioned Tony Pittenger's Episode Lisa Cooper's Episode Parting Thoughts Don’t shy away from challenging material—whether in literature, faith, or life itself. Growth often comes through grappling with what’s difficult, sitting with it, and letting it refine your understanding. Resist the urge to skip past the hard parts; instead, return to them with patience and curiosity, trusting that perseverance brings deeper wisdom and insight. Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript [00:00:00] Remy: Welcome to Lutheran Answers. Today I am joined by Jeremy Abrahamson. Jeremy, how you doing, bud? [00:00:13] Jeremy: Doing all right yourself? [00:00:14] Remy: I'm doing well, thank you. Thank you. How is it being the son of Abraham? [00:00:21] Jeremy: It has been the source of many jokes throughout my life, and I hope that eventually, when God blesses me with children, they do not cease. [00:00:28] Remy: Excellent, Wonderful. That's good. That's good. But, like, you'll be joking on them, and they will be joking back on you. [00:00:35] Jeremy: See, my thought is, what was the scribe's name? I need to name one of my kids Baruch because of my name. And then we'll just keep it going. [00:00:48] Remy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great. Wonderful. So, Jeremy, tell me about yourself. You're a Lutheran? [00:00:58] Jeremy: Yep, I am a Lutheran. I'm a member of the ELS Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Northwest. I am the son of Joseph Abrahamson, who has served in the ministry for about 20 years and runs a article on pagan holidays and. Or claims of pagan sourcing for holidays and debunking those. The. As far as that background, most. Most of our careers are very different because he's educated and I am not. I am somebody who likes to read, and education never sat well with me, so I never got into it. [00:01:46] Remy: Okay, so you're the second ELS guy I've had on. Tony Pittenger is an ELS pastor who wrote a book on Handel's Messiah. That's a wonderful, wonderful companion to seeing it live. [00:02:02] Jeremy: I have listened to that episode. [00:02:04] Remy: Yeah. Yeah. [00:02:05] Jeremy: And I do not know if Tony knows me, but I have met him on a few occasions. [00:02:10] Remy: Excellent. Yeah, it's. I tell you, I mean. Well, he'll know you after this. I mean, I don't know if you know, but this is the big leagues here. [00:02:19] Jeremy: So, honestly, welcome color. That's probably the big sign. He knows. He knows my dad for sure. Because the ELS is so small that everything. Everybody knows. If you served in the ministry at all, everybody has strong opinions on everybody else. So the moment they see my name and my hair, they'll know who I am. [00:02:38] Remy: So the els, that's the only group in fellowship with the Wells, huh? [00:02:44] Jeremy: Yep. We left the lcms. My understanding is when they kept fellowship with the people who became the elca, and then since you guys parted ways, we never got back in touch. [00:02:59] Remy: That was us. They. Yeah, they maintained fellowship with the. I think the ALC and then the AALC. [00:03:10] Jeremy: The. Because when the ELCA went off the rails in the 870s or 80s, my history is not great on that era, but you guys eventually parted ways with them, but we had already broken fellowship between our two Senates, and we just haven't gotten that smoothed out yet. [00:03:28] Remy: Yeah, yeah. We. The ELCA, the LCA, ALC merger was in 1986 to form the ELCA, and the AALC was formed out of 12 churches that abstained from that merger. And then I want to say it was in 88 or 89, two or three years afterwards that we were able to establish a fellowship with the lcms. [00:03:58] Jeremy: Okay. The. And Jordan. You say you're in the same fellowship as Jordan Cooper, then? [00:04:04] Remy: Yes. Yep, yep, yep. I. I hope I get to meet him one day. [00:04:09] Jeremy: He. [00:04:10] Remy: He seems very nice. [00:04:13] Jeremy: I hope you tell him every single class you have. [00:04:18] Remy: He's taught me a few times. He's taught me a few times. [00:04:21] Jeremy: So my. My main video Luther. I guess technically you'd call him Luther now, but video game guru that I follow, that I mentioned in your chat room the other day, Razor Fist just wound up in a conversation with Dr. Cooper on the application of the papacy. And I was like, that is one of the most surreal events. [00:04:43] Remy: I never thought I would expect crossovers you don't expect to see. [00:04:47] Jeremy: And it was like, yeah, there's a cordial conversation. They understood each other, knew what they were talking about. [00:04:52] Remy: That's amazing. Yeah. And. And, you know, that's really. That's also a testament to that gentleman's intelligence, because every time I've ever talked to Dr. Cooper, I'm going to be honest with you, I have no idea what we're talking about. He is really smart, and he makes me feel not very smart at all. [00:05:10] Jeremy: So I assume his social skills are better than that from his podcasts. [00:05:16] Remy: His socials. No, his social skills are amazing. I'm an idiot. See, that's the problem. I'm dumb. [00:05:21] Jeremy: Well, then...
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Mark Parsons, of Truth In Love Ministries
Jan 2, 202500:56:33Tap to summarizeAre Mormons Christians? Click Here for our full article. Make sure to check out Truth In Love Ministries and support their efforts. Truth In Love Ministries Jesus Is Enough Be Ye Perfect Get The book! Speaking The Truth In Love by Mark J. Cares Please Consider Giving Nifty Links: ? Join the Community ? Click Here to Check Out the Store ? Click Here to Donate ? Greatest Theology Newsletter on the Planet Transcript [00:00:03] Mark: We didn't. [00:00:04] Remy: Great. [00:00:04] Mark: This was perfect. This was just. Let's. Let's visit and catch up. [00:00:10] Remy: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Pastor Mark, thank you so much for willing to. Being willing to come back on to the show, huh? [00:00:21] Mark: Absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity. [00:00:24] Remy: Yeah, you're. Your episodes were some of my favorite last season. Some of my favorite that, that I, that I've ever. [00:00:40] Mark: Thank you. [00:00:40] Remy: Yeah, I actually, I started watching a. An ex Mormon and so many Mormons deconstruct into atheism, which is sad because they're just as lost. Right. And that's, that's so depressing. And I got to watching this girl on YouTube named Alyssa Grinfell. [00:01:11] Mark: I think, yes, she is the up and coming ex Mormon influencer, if you want to call her that. [00:01:17] Remy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. She. I mean, I have watched probably most of her videos start to finish and there's long man. They're like, she puts out really long form content, but it's so captivating. And I'm trying to get her on the show honestly, just to chat, but she doesn't respond to my emails. [00:01:37] Mark: Mine either, so we're the same boat. [00:01:41] Remy: But I was watching one of her videos and it was something she said and I don't know if she worded it exactly like this or kind of like this, but it made me realize her videos that if you're a woman in the LDS faith, the best you can hope for. The best you can hope for is. And it's, it's. I'm sorry, this is harsh and it's like a hard way to put it, but the best thing that there is for you in eternity is to be. [00:02:15] Mark: A sex slave and perpetually pregnant. Propagating your worlds. Yeah, yeah. [00:02:22] Remy: And that's it. And like that's for LDS women. That's like, that is LDS men are the ones that get all of the, all of the blessing. You get to be a God of your own planet and do all this. LDS women, you get exalted, but your only purpose is to provide spirit children to populate the world. And you talk to LDS people about this and they. I've tried it a few times and they get really defensive because it's a very offensive thing to say. But then you ask them questions. You say, well, what does Heavenly Mother do in our daily lives? Are we allowed to pray to Heavenly Mother? No. And then here's the real big one. Is there only one Heavenly Mother? LDS doctrine doesn't actually clarify that. [00:03:17] Mark: It doesn't. It is one of the most under expounded upon doctrines but overly embraced doctrines of Mormonism. And when it comes to specifically women that are leaving the church today, I would say Alyssa is really resonating with them because she's helping them unpack some of the trauma that they've experienced while in the church. And one that most would not have realized was just this trauma of like, you're on this path that you really felt was all about your physical family and bringing them together in this forever family. But the plan of salvation doesn't really work that way. You don't actually get to live with your physical family forever because they need to be doing the same thing as. As their own unique husband, wife, divine being entities propagating their own lives. And so, yeah, the whole facade of Mormonism and its forever families doesn't actually work even in their plan. [00:04:20] Remy: It's heartbreaking. It's. It's really heartbreaking. So you guys launched when. When we last spoke, we timed it to sort of coincide with the launch of a new thing y'all were doing called Jesus is Enough. How's that going? Tell me about that. [00:04:43] Mark: Yeah, so the crazy idea came about three years ago to film a number of ex Mormon now Christians sharing the stories of how they left Mormonism for biblical Christianity. And our crazy plan was we're going to film a bunch of content, produce it, and distribute it all within a year. We are two years in and we're still working on getting that content distributed. So last January, in the January of 2024, we did launch our first episode. And after that, it was about once a month until the summer and took a break. And we just released our seventh of nine episodes. Two more will come out in December to wrap up the story of Eric Briggs and his wife Emily. Three kind of episodes for their story, but overall, the reception has been very positive, both from Christians who are using it as a tool to better understand how to witness to and engage with Latter Day Saints. But we have also really hit our target audience of those that have one foot in and one foot out and really just need to almost see a different path that they could take, rather than going the path of so many before them into atheism or agnosticism. Recently we had a comment on one of the YouTube videos where a woman, frankly, it this way. She said, thank you for showing me a better way to go astray. And at first I thought that was a really intriguing comment. And then I thought about it more. I'm like, you know what? She's right. That's really what this is. And that's how we designed it is there is so much ex Mormon atheist angry content out there that does not lead people into a relationship with Jesus. And so we designed it to be the alternative for Mormons that are struggling in their faith to watch these. And we're finding them both. Those that were already headed out, those that are on their way out, those that didn't know they were on their way out, are reaching out to us in many different ways, directly through YouTube, over social media, by email, phone calls. We really try and leave our door open in as many ways as possible. [00:07:03] Remy: That's awesome. Really having the impact that you all were hoping for here. [00:07:11] Mark: Yeah. In some surprising ways. We weren't sure with putting it onto YouTube as our distribution platform, what kind of viewership it would receive. And it has not necessarily received a viral viewership. The most views on any single episode right now are about 20,000, but maybe the average is 5. And what we would have to say is they are quality views in the sense that we are hearing from people that are saying, like, I have watched this whole thing with my family or with my extended family, with my congregation as a witnessing tool, or for families that are unpacking their faith, they pulled it up on their living room TV and watched the whole thing together multiple times. So we would say they're very quality views. And with the number of people that have watched, even the number that are reaching out for a time, we could not keep up with. And I went to our board of directors saying like, hey, we put this stuff out there and people are responding and I can't keep up with all of the people that need guidance as they're leaving Mormonism. And one of our board of directors said, mark, that's not a good problem. That's like having a suicide helpline that we've been advertising for. And people are calling and we're saying, no, nope, we're too busy working on more content and more advertisement to actually deal with you. And so we actually slowed down our distribution, slowed down any, any paid ads behind it. We're just coming back to doing that now because the blessing of saying this, this is being blessed by God. People are resonating with the content is. We were able to bring on three part time interns. They are all still in training to be Lutheran pastors. And now they are each serving 15 hours a week from their location in Mequon, Wisconsin. And it is just a cool blessing because we brought kind of a full time pastor on 40 a week really just to do evangelism. And they Oversee our social media channels. They respond to emails, they do phone calls, they meet with local missionaries. It has been a huge blessing this year. [00:09:17] Remy: That's really awesome. That's so great to hear. How are, how are the, how are the other arms of the ministry still doing, still doing well, I suppose y'all. Y'all still get out and do door. [00:09:32] Mark: To door stuff and they really are. So we are gearing up for our annual mission trip to Gilbert, Arizona. We take a group of Lutheran high school students or college students on this one. Yeah, Gilbert, it is a very heavily Mormon populated area. So that'll take place in January. And then we're already gearing up for a new location, Idaho Falls, Idaho. We'll be going to this summer. We're expec...
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