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This is a “Faith Conversations” audio interview with Doug Schoen, Associate Pastor for Congregational Care at Elmbrook Church. It originally aired on WISN radio network in Milwaukee.
In this interview, Doug discusses best practices for walking alongside families dealing with the loss of a loved one, as well as perspectives on end-of-life issues. Spending every day visiting nursing home residents and those that are in the hospital, and also walking alongside families after they have lost a loved one, Doug has a unique perspective on discussing end-of-life wishes. He quotes Billy Graham’s Father-in-Law, Dr. Nelson Bell, “Only those who are prepared to die are really prepared to live. The uncertainty isn’t the dying…it’s the preparation.” We have to live our lives in light of eternity! Continue Reading…
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This is a “Faith Conversations” audio interview with Doug Schoen, Associate Pastor for Congregational Care at Elmbrook Church. It was originally aired via radio broadcast on WISN in Milwaukee.
Doug discusses pastoral care and the years he has spent doing hospital and nursing home visitation, normally visiting 8-15 facilities a day all across Southeastern Wisconsin. He discusses best practices for pastoral care and how best to handle such visits from a pastoral level. He also gives practical tips for those doing personal visits with loved ones that are hospitalized or suffering from an illness or injury. He also touches on end-of-life discussions.
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Part 5 of an interview with Elmbrook Church’s former Senior Pastor and current Minister-at-Large, Stuart Briscoe, in which he shares thoughts on his memoir, “Flowing Streams.” From his current status and ministry of supporting under-resourced churches and missionaries from around the world, Stuart shares what he’s learned from his journey and his viewpoint on the current state of the global Church.
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Part 4 of an interview with Elmbrook Church’s former Senior Pastor and current Minister-at-Large, Stuart Briscoe, in which he shares thoughts on his memoir, “Flowing Streams.” From his current status and ministry of supporting under-resourced churches and missionaries from around the world, Stuart shares what he’s learned from his journey and his viewpoint on the current state of the global Church.
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Part 3 of an interview with Elmbrook Church’s former Senior Pastor and current Minister-at-Large, Stuart Briscoe, in which he shares thoughts on his memoir, “Flowing Streams.” From his current status and ministry of supporting under-resourced churches and missionaries from around the world, Stuart shares what he’s learned from his journey and his viewpoint on the current state of the global Church.
[To listen to this audio interview, click the Play button in the photo above. If you are using an older browser, the audio controls may not appear. In that case, you may download the audio (instructions below).]
Part 2 of an interview with Elmbrook Church’s former Senior Pastor and current Minister-at-Large, Stuart Briscoe, in which he shares thoughts on his memoir, “Flowing Streams.” From his current status and ministry of supporting under-resourced churches and missionaries from around the world, Stuart shares what he’s learned from his journey and his viewpoint on the current state of the global Church.
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Part 1 of an interview with Elmbrook Church’s former Senior Pastor and current Minister-at-Large, Stuart Briscoe, in which he shares thoughts on his memoir, “Flowing Streams.” From his current status and ministry of supporting under-resourced churches and missionaries from around the world, Stuart shares what he’s learned from his journey and his viewpoint on the current state of the global Church.
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In the second segment of this interview, Mel speaks with Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile Vs. The Third Reich. They discuss the way in which Bonhoeffer, writing what he did and acting out in the ways that he did, was really putting himself in danger. When the Valkyrie plot failed, and the plot to kill Hitler was exposed, Bonhoeffer’s name was brought to the surface and his “days were numbered.” Metaxas said that while there was certainly danger, Bonhoeffer understood deeply that the only thing he needed to do was follow God and God would ultimately care for him and decide how long he was to live.
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In the first part of this interview, Mel speaks with Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile Vs. The Third Reich. Metaxas talks briefly about the name of the book, explaining that Bonhoeffer was a very complex figure. A pastor, Bonhoeffer’s first love was caring for and ministering to people. He was a very serious Christian and obedient follower of Jesus. A prophet for the church, he was constantly encouraging the church to “be the people of God.” Many have said he wasn’t a martyr, just killed for his involvement in plotting to kill Hitler. But Metaxas takes that a step farther and says that he was absolutely standing for righteousness and obedience to Christ, which ultimately led to his death. Continue Reading…
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This is a continuation of Mel’s recent interview with Rachel Barach, General Manager of BibleGateway.com, which today launches a new version of its popular Bible study website.
She discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages to an online tool like Bible Gateway. One strength of having an online hub for Scripture study, she says, is the ability to do parallel studies of different translations of the Bible, which is often key to studying Scripture. In the recently-launched redesign of the website, an “add parallel” feature will allow readers to do side-by-side studies with different translations. Bible Gateway currently offers 111 translations, with more being catalogued and added all the time.
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In the first portion of this interview, Mel speaks with Rachel Barach, General Manager of Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway is an online resource that offers 111 translations of the Bible in 54 languages, in operation for 18 years and attracting 8 million website visits a month, 25% of which are international.
Though the website has an impressive track record and years of consistent traffic, Bible Gateway will launch a revamped version of the site this month, with added features to allow for deeper study of Scripture and a simpler user interface. Congratulations to Bible Gateway on entering a new phase in online ministry! Continue Reading…
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In the second half of this interview, Mel continues his discussion with Brodie Swanson, Pastor of Children’s and Family Ministry at Elmbrook Church. Brodie discusses the profound impact of media on kids, and the way in which parents need to intentionally turn off the television and engage with their children. Continue Reading…
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In the first part of this interview, Mel talks with Brodie Swanson, Associate Pastor of Children’s and Family Ministry at Elmbrook Church. They discuss some of the issues that shape children’s and family ministry today.
When asked if children’s ministry has changed in the 13 years he has worked in children’s ministry, Brodie says, “what we’re dealing with in different age groupings is different today than it was a few years ago…the issues of middle school and high school of ten years ago are in fifth grade now…issues of sexuality, of different situations in the home, of different things they’re dealing with in their classrooms and in their neighborhoods…”
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This is the second half of an interview with Dr. Gloria Halverson about her experiences as an Ob/Gyn traveling to Nicaragua to work with ex-trafficking victims at House of Hope.
“Our hearts need to be broken for the things that break God’s heart,” she says. “And this is one of the things that breaks God’s heart.” She discusses the trafficking issues prevalent even in the United States…trafficking of adolescents, prostitution rings, etc., that happen every day under the surface, right here in our neighborhoods. Continue Reading…
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In this interview Mel talks with Dr. Gloria Halverson, a professor and doctor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in OB-GYN. They discuss her travels and the issue of human trafficking. Most recently, Halverson and her husband have been helping start a medical school in Africa and bringing medical training and spiritual support to doctors in Asia and Africa. In Nicaragua recently, Halverson has begun working among victims of human trafficking at House of Hope. Human trafficking is difined as “when someone is taken and forced to work, and has no choice about being able to leave…they’re slaves,” she explains. Continue Reading…
Matt Jacoby is the leader of Sons of Korah, a band that puts the Psalms to music. In this interview, originally recorded in 2007, he discusses the power of the Psalms and the deep and diverse emotions expressed by the psalmist. Continue Reading…
Did you miss “Pursuit” last Thursday? Listen to the audio from Mel’s presentation “What Difference do the Death and Resurrection of Christ Make?” with live video guest Scot McKnight.
This is the second in the “Pursuit” series of one-night presentations by Mel Lawrenz on relevant issues and questions about faith today. Continue Reading…
In the second half of this interview, Kem Meyer discusses her book, Less Clutter. Less Noise. and why effective communication is so essential to effective churches and successful leaders.
“Treat people as if they’re smart,” says Kem. Sometimes even communication with the best intentions becomes noise…and gets ignored. “As a professional communicator, at the end of the day I have done my job well if I have learned something new.” To be an effective communicator, or an effective leader, you have to be a constant student of people.
Did you miss out on last week’s “Pursuit”? Don’t live near Milwaukee? Here’s the audio so you can listen in!
This presentation featured Mel Lawrenz speaking on “How Many Ways are There to God?” with special live video guest Mark Mittelberg, author of Becoming a Contagious Christian and The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask. Continue Reading…
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In this interview, Dino Rizzo continues his discussion of his recent book, Servolution. He says that we should each “start where we’re at” and figure out what resources we have and what issues “scratch at our heart” and begin to respond to God in those places. In his church, he realized there were a lot of men that could cook! So, they started simply and began cooking for a handful of widows.
This grassroots type of serving starts by downplaying what you have to contribute….everyone has something that they can share and something through which they can show the love of God.
In this interview, Kem Meyer discusses her book, Less Clutter. Less Noise. and why effective communication is so essential to effective churches and successful leaders.
Whether corporate or interpersonal, we’re bombarded by communication. How we manage that overload, and how we go about communicating in our own lives and organizations, begins with taking a good look at the “why” behind communication. Continue Reading…
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In this interview, Dino Rizzo discusses his recent book, Servolution. Serving, he says, is a way his church has begun to reach out. In Southern Louisiana, where Rizzo is pastor at Healing Place Church, there’s a lot of poverty and illiteracy and a lot of people that have been impacted by incarceration, etc. Hurricane Katrina also hit the area, leaving a path of destruction. It’s in these places that the Church, he says, can step in and help people. ”Let’s check our egos and our logos at the door and help people,” has been their motto when churches and organizations have come together to help meet needs and touch lives.
In the second half of this interview, Margaret Feinberg continues her discussion of The Sacred Echo: Hearing God’s Voice in Every Area of Your Life.
She discusses the story of Elijah, and how God used repetitive urgings to bring his heart back to His own. She then addresses the church today, and how the spiritual landscape is shifting a bit. Particularly in the United States, she says, the Church is very tired. People are getting past programs and truly wanting to know: “Who is God?”, “What role does prayer play in my life?”, and “How do I encounter God in a fresh way.”
In this interview, Chris Seay continues his discussion of his recent book, The Gospel According to Jesus – The Faith That Restores All Things and the difference between rule-based and heart-based faith. “Justification”, he says, is often misunderstood by Protestants. We hear “justification” and we think about how God has made us right. But God is not just moving on an individual level, he says, but moving on a cosmic level, restoring all relationships. It’s not about holiness or rule-keeping…but God’s restorative justice.
In part 1 of this interview, Margaret Feinberg discusses one of her recent books, The Sacred Echo: Hearing God’s Voice in Every Area of Your Life.
There seems to be a repetitive nature to God’s voice in our life, she says….often a word or idea or feeling will occur over and over, finally causing us to take notice and act. Paying attention to those echos, and noticing the repetition, often gives us assurance that something really is of God.
Many people have rejected Christianity, says Seay, for things that Christianity isn’t even about. “Righteousness” is a word used all the time in Christian circles, and many think it means some kind of piety or Christian rules. On the contrary, Christ talks about “righteousness” as the restoration of all things. The church gets to be a part of restorative work, and people get excited about that. That’s why people get so moved by shows like Extreme Home Makeover, etc. Continue Reading…
In the second half of this interview, Eugene Peterson continues his discussion of his newest book The Pastor: A Memoir, released February 22. In the book, he talks about the biggest challenge that spiritual leaders face…as pastors, he says, it’s easy to substitute talking about God for paying attention to God. There’s a dangerous split between “what you’re doing for God and who you are before God.”
In part 1 of this interview, Eugene Peterson discusses his newest book, The Pastor: A Memoir. He talks about the impact a pastor had on his life at a young age and how that experience shaped his desire to go into vocational ministry. You don’t get to choose your congregation, he says of his first years as a pastor, but you take what’s given to you. As a pastor, you must go beyond providing a place to worship and form a community. “Suburbia is a very non-community place,” he says, where people double-lock their doors and fence their yards. It’s in this landscape of consumerism and independence that Peterson has gained his experience in ministry and was inspired to finish a complete translation of the Bible into contemporary English, The Message.
In part 2 of this interview, Philip Yancey continues a discussion on his recent book What Good is God?: In Search of a Faith that Matters. He mentions speaking at a gathering of professional sex workers. He was brought face to face with stories of people at the bottom, who are disowned from their families and attempting to rebuild their lives on the grace of God.
In part 2 of this interview, Tim Keller continues his discussion of his newest book, King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus. The book shows what the gospel of Mark tells us about the life of Jesus, and how it attracts people to Christ.
Because Mark is the shortest gospel, he says, “you get more Jesus per chapter.” In the book, an overview of the entire book of Mark, Keller makes a case for the attractiveness of Christ and the urgency and profound peace of the gospel. The resurrection tells us that the cross works, he says, and that the future is sure. If the resurrection really happened, we should be assured that everything will be okay.
In part 1 of this interview, Tim Keller discusses his most recent books, including King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus. Keller gives an overview of his experience in ministry within the diverse religious landscape of New York City. While you can’t generalize diverse needs and viewpoints, he talks about some similarities. Older secular people will base their disagreement on reason and say there’s no good way to prove God exists. Younger secular people just won’t see Christianity as relevant to them, or they’ll be angry at the Christian church for promoting injustice.
The Reason for God, one of Keller’s most recent books, outlines several reasons people give for being unable to believe in God and his answers to them.
Scot McKnight and Mel Lawrenz continue their discussion onOne.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow and the need for Christians to move past focusing on Christian living and follow Christ at a foundational level. Continue Reading…
Scot McKnight and Mel Lawrenz discuss One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow and the need for Christians to move past focusing on Christian living and follow Christ at a foundational level. An obsession with the Kingdom of God, he says, is the mark of Christ, and Christ’s vision for morals is what we are to be most concerned with. Mirroring Christ’s interest in peace, justice, love, etc., is the goal and framework in which we are to order our lives.
Scot McKnight, who runs one of the most popular thoughtful Christian blogs, Jesus Creed, is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). A popular and witty speaker, Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly asked to speak in local churches and educational events. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986).
Recently I did a Faith Conversations radio interview with Gabe Lyons, the author of The Next Christians: How a New Generation is Restoring Faith. Lyons discusses his optimism about a new, different generation of believers that is as interested in reconciliation and restoration as religious institutions.
This new generation, he believes, will not only radically shape the Church of tomorrow, but impact the way nonbelievers view Christianity and the Christ-centered lifestyle.
I enjoyed doing the interview with Gabe. I think his book makes an important contribution. More later, but for now, you can listen (play button above; download buttons below) and offer a comment…
Matthew Jacoby is the founding member and lead singer of Australian group, Sons of Korah. Also a pastor with a doctorate in philosophy/theology from the University of Melbourne, Jacoby and Sons of Korah help adapt the Biblical Psalms into musical form in order to help people experience the Psalms to the fullest depth for which they were written. Continue Reading…
Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University, Stanley Hauerwas, recounts parts of his life in his most recent book, Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir. Continue Reading…
This post was written by admin on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 and is filed in Audio, Audio Interviews.
Author, speaker, and church-planter Frank Viola introduces his newest book, co-authored with Leonard Sweet, called The Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Continue Reading…
Kary Oberbrunner, MDiv, DMin, is the Pastor of Discipleship and Leadership Development at Grace Church in Ohio and the founder of Redeem the Day Ministries. In his newest book, “The Secret Name: Discovering who God created You to Be,” he looks with vulnerability and honesty at the “names” we call ourselves as we label ourselves with negativity from our past. He encourages his readers to let go of these “names” in order to accept the identity that Christ has given. Continue Reading…
