

On The Line
Bryan Stecker
OTL is the Lutheran, Long-Form podcast that engages Theology and Culture. New Episodes Every Monday!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 23, 2026 • 1h 38min
Eric Bednash: Why Men Are Lost Today (And How to Fix It)
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.

Mar 19, 2026 • 2h 28min
Dr. Scott Keith: Recovering the Christian Family
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.

4 snips
Mar 9, 2026 • 1h 25min
Dr. John Rasmussen: How the Small Catechism Forms and Defends Christian Faith
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.

Mar 2, 2026 • 1h 59min
Bishop Torkild Masvie: A Confessional Lutheran Renewal in Europe
Bishop Torkild Masvie, a confessional Lutheran leader from Norway who helped rebuild historic Lutheran witness in Scandinavia. He discusses the decline of state Lutheranism, the costs of state funding and liberal theology, strategies for planting and training pastors, the appeal of classic liturgy to young men, and the challenges of pastoral families and sustaining nationwide growth.

Feb 23, 2026 • 2h 16min
Dr. Geoffrey Boyle: The Divine Council: God’s Heavenly Assembly Explained
Dr. Geoffrey Boyle, Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions known for exegetical clarity, guides listeners through the biblical idea of a heavenly assembly. Short takes cover visions in Job and Isaiah, Psalm 16 linked to Christ, debates on angelic beings, spiritual warfare, and how scripture’s supernatural worldview shapes preaching and faith.

Feb 16, 2026 • 2h 3min
Dr. David Talcott: Classical Education and the Renewal of the West
Join us at New Saint Andrews College as we sit down with Dr. David Talcott, professor of philosophy, to discuss classical education, gender, family, and the renewal of Christian culture. From Genesis and natural law to modern individualism, contraception, IVF, and the collapse of marriage as a cornerstone institution, this conversation explores what has gone wrong in the modern West—and what faithful reconstruction might look like.If the family is the cell of civilization, what happens when we neglect it? And what might it mean to rebuild Christian community, education, and vocation with intentionality, courage, and hope?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. David Talcott serves as Professor of Philosophy at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho. His work focuses on ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Plato and Aristotle, while also engaging contemporary debates surrounding gender, sexuality, education, and cultural renewal. He previously taught at The King's College in New York City.🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailhttps://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Feb 9, 2026 • 1h 24min
Tracy Rugg: Why She Left the Homosexual Lifestyle
Tracy Rugg, a licensed clinical social worker who transitioned from youth work to adult therapy, shares a faith-centered testimony of leaving a homosexual lifestyle. She discusses childhood attractions, the turning point of meeting a pastor, relearning relational skills, daily practices for sanctification, and how churches and culture shape responses to sexuality.

Feb 2, 2026 • 1h 38min
Vincent Shemwell: Usury, Mammon, and the Question the Church Stopped Asking
Join us at the long table as we examine wealth, usury, and Christian conscience in light of Scripture and the Church’s historic teaching. From the Church Fathers to Luther and Walther, we explore why lending at interest was long understood as a moral and spiritual problem. Pastor Shemwell calls the Church to recover economic teaching not as political ideology, but as faithful Christian formation ordered toward generosity, neighbor-love, and trust in God’s provision.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. Vincent Shemwell is a pastor whose journey out of Roman Catholicism was catalyzed in part by Rome’s historical reversal on usury. In this conversation, he traces how Scripture, the Church Fathers, Luther, and the Lutheran Confessions shaped his conviction that lending at interest for profit is a first-commandment issue tied to idolatry and the love of money. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailhttps://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Jan 26, 2026 • 1h 45min
Dr. Gordon Wilson: The Creation vs. Evolution Debate Isn’t What You Think
Dr. Gordon Wilson, a biologist and Senior Fellow of Natural History who creates science-theology resources, discusses how modern evolutionary narratives reshape culture and morality. He traces historical shifts from flood geology to uniformitarianism and Darwin. He examines fossils, molecular complexity, the flood as a rapid-deposition explanation, and the Riot and the Dance project celebrating creation as God’s art museum.

Jan 19, 2026 • 1h 54min
Blake Skolnick: Orthodox Jew Converts to Christianity, Speaks Out
Join us at the long table as we hear a journey from modern Judaism to Christianity. From questions of law, covenant, and messianic expectation to the person and work of Jesus Christ, we explore how Scripture, history, and lived experience converge in a conversion shaped not by sentiment, but by truth.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 Blake Skolnick is a recent convert to Christianity who was raised within Judaism. In this conversation, he reflects on his movement away from Jewish law, identity, and modern political Judaism toward the claims of Christ as the fulfillment of Israel’s Scriptures. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us Fan Mailhttps://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/


