The Lutheran Layman Podcast

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but it seems there's a resurgence of Lutheran dialogue, doctrine, and thought in the world today, especially online on the Internet (is that redundant?) and throughout the Christian Blogosphere.

Praise the Lord! My old "Non-Denominational" self from just a few months ago would never dream I'd be writing this today, but here I am. Personally, I think that's a GREAT thing too, but not for the reasons you might think.

As you know, within the last year, I have "escaped" the clutches of American Evangelicalism and fully embraced becoming a Confessional Lutheran simply because I have found that so much of what is classified as "Mainstream Christianity" today preaches a Law-Gospel-Law type of message while we Lutherans preach what the Bible already teaches us -- a proper distinction between Law and Gospel, which is so genuine, so freeing, and so precious indeed!

In that sense, it's not that I think this so-called "Lutheran resurgence" (as I put it) is a great thing because it has a distinctly "Lutheran" flavor to it, but merely because it's much more Biblical, historically accurate, and orthodox than anything else contemporary Christianity has to offer.

Why? Because it's all about Jesus Christ (what He did and does for you and for me), all about the Word of God, and all about the Sacraments. Why? Because it's all been rooted in God's Word for almost 500 years now.

My dear friends, that means something at a time when we see the truth of 2 Timothy 4:1-5 and 2 Peter 2 (cf. Ephesians 4:14) on full display all around us.

Yet, again, it has less to do with being "Lutheran" and more to do with being "Christian" instead. Perhaps I can explain what I mean by that.

"We are faithful to this church, not because it is the church of our Fathers, but because it is the church of the Gospel; not because it is the church of Luther, but because it is the church of Jesus Christ. If it became something else, if its teaching were something other than a correct exposition of the plain Word of God, it would no longer be our church. It is not the Lutheran liturgy that matters. The church can get along without it if it must. It is not the Symbolic Books that count. If it should ever be demonstrated that they contain essential errors, we would be the first ones to cast them into the fire, for our norma normans, the standard by which we judge doctrines, is the Bible alone. Nor is it the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as a separate church in Christendom, that matters. The moment it becomes anything else than the stand on which is put the lamp which alone is a light upon our path, it becomes a sect and must disappear. We would not be Lutherans if we did not believe this!"

*- Hermann Sasse, Here We Stand. The Nature and Character of the Lutheran Faith, trans. T G Tappert. 1979 Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide edition, p. 180.

See what I mean?

How many churches, denominations, and Pastors are saying anything like that?

Thanks to popular mainstays like Issues, Etc., Fighting For The Faith, Steadfast Lutherans, Worldview Everlasting, and Table Talk Radio, layman like me have been blessed mightily.

There are really no words to express my gratitude for their commitment, fidelity, and time spent making sure His sheep are fed with the truth. The words "Thank You!" just don't seem to cut it.

Besides providing the laity with spiritual meat, they've also inspired others to create their own blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels in an effort to capitalize on Social Media's global impact and reach. For me, they've inspired me to create this humble blog and now...a weekly podcast too!

Beginning next Friday, January 10th, 2014, you can find The Lutheran Layman podcast on BlogTalkRadio where you can listen LIVE or download to your computer or mobile device.

I know, I know. Some of you may be thinking that the world doesn't need another podcast. I would agree with you completely. I mentioned some of the podcasts that I regularly listen to, and yet, I know that there are many others that I didn't list (like the new Boars In The Vineyard or Concord Matters programs) as well as many others that I don't even know about that you probably listen to quite often. "Jeff, there's only so much time in a day/week!" right? Right. That's why The Lutheran Layman podcast won't be for everyone and that's ok.

This isn't my full-time job. This isn't a popularity contest. Again, this isn't about me, or about "doing it better," or about creating more "noise" either. It's about Jesus Christ. I'm just a Lutheran layman who wants to confess Christ crucified and to discuss doctrine from a Lutheran perspective with others -- particularly those who may be in the position I was in just a few months ago. If nothing else, then perhaps it will help me focus my studies and learn things faster.

Of course, going down this road requires that I do it very responsibly. I want to make sure that I have a proper understanding of what the Bible teaches and of what we confess when it comes to the topic of one's calling and vocations first. I like how a couple of fellow believers put it their responses to another blog post I saw the other day...

The first error is believing that salvation depends on what we do - on our being "on fire" in works and worship, missions and evangelism. The second error is believing we can discern the faith of others by just looking around at them in the pews. True, faith becomes visible in works (James), but the works others do aren't always obvious to us. Heck, some of one's own works aren't obvious to oneself!

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Faithful parents, doing their vocations, and raising their children are good works that are so often overlooked. Meanwhile, people plan missionary vacations (the cost of which could support true missions) so they can "show their works."

I may be wrong, but one of my "vocations" seems to be as a blogger given my lifelong interest and affinity for this sort of thing. Podcasting seemed liked a natural evolution (oh my! did I just use the words "natural evolution" together on a Christian blog!?! you'll have to forgive me for that one).

So, please know that as we proceed with the production of a weekly podcast (God willing, of course) we intend to do so very, very carefully. We're going to take baby steps and then we're going to walk before we run.

I want to make sure that anything and everything I share on that program is accurate, which is why I will probably tend to share articles, blog posts, and sermons from other called and ordained Lutheran Pastors. Better yet, maybe I'll reads portions of the Bible and the Book of Concord too.

In short, I'm not sure how it's all going to go down just yet, so please pray for me in that regard, and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. However, you can rest assured that I intend to give citations and references for anything and everything that I share so you can be a Berean (Acts 17:11).

By the way, I'm also not sure how a weekly schedule will work for me although I'd like to do a LIVE podcast (allowing you to interact with me and other listeners LIVE) every Friday night.

For now, I'll trust Proverbs 16:9 and Proverbs 20:24 to be my guide.

Most importantly, I'm counting on the 4 or 5 of you who actually tune in to listen each week to hold me accountable and to let me know right away if I am wrong about any of the material that I share on the podcast.

In a Lutheran Layman's terms, please tune in to The Lutheran Layman podcast and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

[NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with Lutheran doctrine -- in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word -- so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

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