Dr. Joel Biermann of Concordia Seminary unpacks the good and bad of Lutheran identity, debates the effectiveness of online seminary, and explains why theology matters not just for pastors but for every disciple of Jesus. To learn more about the podcast or access the show notes, visit www.redletterpodcast.com.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Red Letter Living. We create resources to help the church produce greater disciples. This season we are launching a series of videos on our YouTube channel called “The Voices of the LCMS,” where we are unpacking data from our survey of 1054 Lutheran leaders. These videos are opening up questions, conversations, and opportunities to help us walk together in the future.

Resources mentioned in the episode

“Doctrine is nothing more than God’s truth. And if we’re going to live fruitful, meaningful lives, we should probably pay attention to God’s truth.” – Joel Biermann

“Systematic theology is always relevant because it’s God’s unchanging truth applied to an ever-changing world.” – Joel Biermann

“If you pit pastor and people against each other, you’ve already missed the whole point. The same is true if you pit confession and mission against each other.” – Joel Biermann

“The church doesn’t need a defensive posture. God will preserve His truth. Our job is simply to be faithful.” – Joel Biermann

“Joy should be a hallmark of our confession. If confessional theologians don’t have joy, something’s fundamentally wrong.” – Joel Biermann

“Discipleship is not a dirty word. If Lutherans feel threatened by it, they don’t have their theology straight.” – Joel Biermann

“Christianity isn’t just me and Jesus — it’s me and all His brothers and sisters too.” – Joel Biermann

“The church doesn’t need gimmicks to be relevant. She just needs to be faithful to who she is.” – Joel Biermann

“If you’re burned out, it’s probably because you’re trusting yourself too much. Jesus is Lord — let Him be in control.” – Joel Biermann

Joel Biermann’s Challenge of the Week

Slow down this week and delight in God’s creation. Notice a tree, a person, a cloud—something ordinary—and thank God for the beauty He’s placed around you.

Are you following Jesus? 

Many want to be greater followers of Jesus but don’t know how. We extensively studied everything Jesus commanded of us and located five key targets to which Jesus invited His followers. The five targets are Being, Forgiving, Serving, Giving, and Going.

In partnership with LifeWay Research, we created a Red Letter Challenge Assessment that will measure you according to these five targets. And the best news of all: it’s free! You will get results back immediately and be presented with the next steps to help you become an even greater follower of Jesus.

You can take the FREE Red Letter Challenge Assessment here.

We’ll be uploading every episode of The Red Letter Disciple on our YouTube Channel. If you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so here.

The post 109: Joel Biermann on the Good and Bad of Lutheran Identity and Online Seminary, and Why Christianity Is More than a Personal Relationship with Jesus appeared first on Red Letter Living.