On The Line

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Dr. Joel Biermann to talk about the future of the LCMS, pastoral formation, synodical leadership, and the theological convictions that should shape the Church in a moment of real opportunity.Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestDr. Joel Biermann serves as Waldemar A. and June Schuette Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where he has taught since 2002. His work has focused especially on ethics, sanctification, vocation, the Christian life, and the proper role of the law for believers.🔗 Stay Connected with Us📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailmemento70.com

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Rev. Dr. Jamison Hardy to talk about the Concordia University System, church work formation, the future of Lutheran higher education, and the opportunities standing before the LCMS right now. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestRev. Dr. Jamison Hardy serves as President of the Concordia University System and previously served as Bishop of the English District of the LCMS.🔗 Stay Connected with Us📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mail

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Pastor David Ramirez to discuss generational fracture, family formation, and the real opportunity before the Church today. Why do older and younger generations increasingly struggle to understand one another? What happens when economic pressure, cultural collapse, political polarization, and the breakdown of family life all converge at once?Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestPastor David Ramirez serves as a thoughtful voice on questions of culture, family, and generational inheritance within the Church. In this conversation, he walks through extensive research on the growing divide between generations, the pressures facing young men and women today, and the practical ways congregations can better understand, support, and strengthen the next generation of Christian families.🔗 Stay Connected with Us📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailmemento70.com

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Dr. Christian Einertson for part two of our conversation on the Formula of Concord, Lutheran identity, sanctification, pietism, and the question of adiaphora. When does Lutheranism stop sounding like Lutheranism, even while keeping the name? How should Christians think about sanctification, spiritual discipline, ceremony, and the use of the law without falling into reductionism or confusion? This episode explores the shape of faithful Lutheran piety, the danger of flattening doctrine into slogans, and the need for churches to confess clearly in both teaching and practice. From sanctification and fasting to pietism and church ceremony, this conversation presses toward a fuller understanding of how Lutheran theology is actually lived.Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestDr. Christian Einertson is a pastor and theologian with a deep interest in Lutheran confessional theology, catechesis, and the practical shape of the Christian life. In this second conversation, he reflects on sanctification, the third use of the law, spiritual discipline, pietism, and adiaphora—showing how Lutheran theology guards both Christian freedom and doctrinal clarity.🔗 Stay Connected with Us📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailmemento70.com

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Dr. Christian Einertson to talk about catechesis, virtue, the Small Catechism, and the Lutheran logic of law, gospel, and good works. How is the Christian faith actually formed in people over time? Why do habit, story, liturgy, and repetition matter so much in raising children and teaching the faith? This episode moves from Paul, music, martial arts, and the saints into a deeper discussion of the Formula of Concord—especially the place of good works, the third use of the law, and the Lutheran tendency to fall off the horse in predictable directions. Rather than flattening the Christian life into slogans, this conversation argues for a fuller, more human, more scriptural account of formation, obedience, and sanctification. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/ Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s Guest Dr. Christian Einertson serves as a pastor and theologian with particular strengths in catechesis, Lutheran doctrine, and the confessional tradition. In this conversation, he reflects on Christian formation through habit, prayer, story, and virtue, while also offering a careful introduction to the Formula of Concord and the distinctly Lutheran errors it was written to correct.🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailmemento70.com

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Pastor Josh Raber to talk about campus ministry, catechesis, biblical interpretation, and the hunger young Christians still have for serious theology. Why are so many people drawn to the Bible’s deeper patterns, older Christian thinkers, and a more robust vision of the faith? What happens when Lutheran slogans become substitutes for the full counsel of God? This episode moves from Genesis, giants, and demons to preaching, discipleship, paradox, and the future of Lutheranism—arguing that shallow Christianity will not hold, but real formation still can.Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestPastor Josh Raber serves in campus ministry at Saint Cloud State, where he works closely with college students from both Lutheran and non-Lutheran backgrounds. In this conversation, he reflects on biblical literacy, catechesis, preaching, Christian formation, and the opportunities facing the Church as younger generations search for something deeper, older, and more substantial than modern religious minimalism.🔗 Stay Connected with Us📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailmemento70.com

Join us at the long table as we sit down with Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Boyle to talk about the fundamental differences between Lutheranism and evangelical Christianity. How do these traditions approach Scripture, baptism, and the role of the human will? Why does the way we speak about faith—especially phrases like “choosing God”—actually matter? We dig into the theological roots behind these differences, exploring catechesis, the sacraments, and the structure of the Christian life. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestRev. Dr. Geoffrey Boyle serves as a professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. His work focuses on pastoral formation, catechesis, and the theological depth of the Christian tradition, with particular emphasis on how Scripture shapes doctrine, practice, and the life of the Church.🔗 Stay Connected with Us📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mail

Eric Bednash, a Baltimore pastor who builds brotherhood and spiritual disciplines, discusses living with purpose amid distraction. He talks about accountability, confession, and daily practices. Conversations cover cold plunges and fasting, forming fraternities to fight loneliness, and practical hospitality like feasting and never eating alone.

Dr. Scott Keith, Executive Director of 1517 and author on Lutheran family life, reflects on raising children in the faith. He discusses baptism and church rhythms as primary forming practices. He explores work, marriage, vocation, cultural pressures against having children, male mentoring, and practical family habits like worship, discipline, and intergenerational support.

Dr. John Rasmussen, pastor and doctoral scholar in catechesis and apologetics, explains how Luther's Small Catechism shapes a Christian narrative. He discusses the catechism as a worldview framework, teaching approaches for children and adults, pastoral care for suffering, the role of sacraments and liturgy, and practical, question-led apologetics for engaging modern seekers.