{"id":6344,"date":"2020-11-23T00:05:43","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T00:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/?p=6344"},"modified":"2024-05-08T13:23:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T13:23:35","slug":"podcasts-deepen-worship-and-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2020\/11\/23\/podcasts-deepen-worship-and-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Luther Seminary podcasts deepen worship, preaching, and ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luther Seminary embraces innovation, and its established practice of using technology to educate leaders for Christian communities has proven effective during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

One way the institution has fostered community and learning during this time is through the digital technology of podcasts, increasingly popular on-demand audio programs that users can stream or download on a smartphone or computer.<\/p>\n

Working Preacher<\/a>, a ministry of the seminary designed to help pastors become better preachers, has been producing podcasts for years. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Luther has added new podcasts to enhance worship and help church leaders better minister during a time of turmoil.<\/p>\n

Sermon Brainwave<\/h2>\n

\"WPWorking Preacher offers two podcasts<\/a>: one on the Revised Common Lectionary and one on the Narrative Lectionary. These podcasts are designed to help preachers enrich their preaching\u00a0by deeply engaging with the assigned texts. \u201cSermon Brainwave\u201d covers the Revised Common Lectionary; Luther Seminary professors Rolf Jacobson \u201991 M.Div.<\/strong>, Karoline Lewis \u201994 M.Div.<\/strong>, and\u00a0Matthew Skinner<\/strong> join Academic Dean Joy J. Moore<\/strong> in discussing the assigned texts, including alternate texts, for the coming Sunday.<\/p>\n

What listeners say: One reviewer on Apple\u2019s \u201cSermon Brainwave\u201d page wrote, \u201cThis podcast is a great way to begin to wrestle with the text for the upcoming week\u2019s sermon. I would recommend this podcast to any preacher who takes his or her craft seriously.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I Love to Tell the Story: Narrative Lectionary<\/h2>\n

\"WPCreated by Working Preacher, \u201cI Love to Tell the Story\u201d is a podcast on the Narrative Lectionary, a four-year cycle of readings that follows the sweep of the biblical story. This lectionary, initiated 10 years ago by professors Jacobson and Craig Koester \u201880 M.Div.<\/strong>, offers a narrative sequence and shows the variety of voices within Scripture, similar to Koester\u2019s Genesis to Revelation course, which he taught at the seminary for decades. (See \u201cBecoming part of the biblical story\u201d<\/a> in the Summer 2020 issue of Story magazine.) Each weekly episode features a conversation between Luther Seminary professors exploring the text for the coming Sunday. The podcast frequently features professors Jacobson, Koester, and Kathryn Schifferdecker<\/strong>, and others, including Cameron Howard<\/strong>, Lewis, and Skinner, have appeared.<\/p>\n

What listeners say: Pastor Alan, a reviewer on Apple\u2019s page for the podcast, said, \u201cThe conversation held by these three professors around each selected text is a wonderful model for preaching in and of itself. As they talk about these passages, they are careful to let the gospel inform our life today rather than allowing us to determine what the gospel should have said. They also do a wonderful job of bridging the 2,000 to 5,000 years between us and the Gospels, letters, and Hebrew scriptures. They really help me find those connections and share them with the congregation. It is a must-listen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wilderness Time<\/h2>\n

\"WildernessThis limited series from Faith+Lead<\/a>, hosted by Dwight Zscheile \u201908 Ph.D.<\/strong>, vice president of innovation and associate professor of congregational mission and leadership, and Stephanie Spellers, canon for evangelism and reconciliation for the Episcopal Church, explores the unfamiliar territory, adaptations, and possibilities facing churches now. Episodes include \u201cWelcome to the Wilderness,\u201d which uses biblical wilderness narratives as a framework for the present situation, and \u201cThe Gospel in the Neighborhood,\u201d which discusses how church members can engage in evangelism during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.<\/p>\n

What listeners say: One reviewer said, \u201cAlthough we all seem to be wandering in the wilderness at this pandemic time, it was affirming and informative to listen to the discussions each week. I found hope … for my church to forge forward in new and exciting ways.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n