Author

  1. 452: Anonymous - Ars Moriendi

    book
    09/05/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Are You More Spiritual Than a Medieval Peasant? In this episode, we sit with The Book of the Craft of Dying to discuss how medieval spiritual warfare was explained in the 1415 text Ars Moriendi. What temptations do Christians experience in the midst of death? How do temptations to desperation, impatience, complacency, and concern about worldly matters seduce Christians? How do we distinguish between divine actions and nefarious powers at work? How many times can Gillespie interrupt and contradict Riley before he goes apoplectic? Are there patterns Christians can look for to recognize when temptations are approaching? Is there anything we can do to avoid temptations? Is being tempted the same as sinning? Why is so much of medieval piety and discipline no longer taught by the churches? This and much, much more on today’s episode of the podcast.
    452: Anonymous - Ars Moriendi

  2. 450: Table Talk on Suicide

    book
    08/20/26
    6 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    Suicide Solution. In this episode, we sit with Martin Luther and C.S. Lewis to discuss the topic of self-murder (“suicide”). We talk about focusing on higher truth, how individualism leads to harmful consequences, and how Christians and churches may discuss this with others.
    450: Table Talk on Suicide

  3. 448: Marquart - Luther and Theosis

    book
    08/07/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    As Alive As You Need Me to Be. In this episode, we sit with Rev. Dr. Kurt Marquardt and listen as he teaches us about theosis, deification, justification, Christology, myth and ethics, materialism and rationalism, sacramentality, vocation, relational versus philosophical exegesis, sanctification, glorification, and much, much more.
    448: Marquart - Luther and Theosis

  4. 445: Peterson - Buying Passage to Tarshish

    book
    07/17/26
    14 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Run for the Hills! On this episode, we sit with Eugene Peterson and Jonah, listening to what they have to teach about God’s grace, death and resurrection, threshold experiences, believing Jesus is God versus encountering him, and much, much more! What does pastoral ministry look like in Jonah’s disobedience and obedience to God’s call? What would a “Church of St Jonah” look and sound like? What is it about God’s love for sinners that drives us away from God? When will this episode description end?
    445: Peterson - Buying Passage to Tarshish

  5. 442: Giertz - A Shepherd's Letter

    book
    06/05/26
    11 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    We’re in This Together. In this episode, we sit with Bo Giertz and read his open letter to the churches — A Shepherd’s Letter. As translator, Bror Erickson says of the opening section (we read on the show), “Crises and Sources of Strength”: “Christians had been systematically persecuted by the Nazis, and this systematic persecution continued in soviet countries. However, in Western Europe, church leaders like Bo Giertz saw how increasing industrialization was also assisting an increasing secularism. There were huge population shifts into the city, and people lost track of the church even as the church lost track of the people during these shifts. Some political parties were also actively hostile to the church. The trends toward secularism and atheism in the West have continued, of course, and have also become a point of consternation for believers even to this day. This age has not ceased to be evil since Paul designated it as such in Gal. 1:4. So the church continues and will continue to suffer crises, and so the essay “Crises and Sources of Strength” takes on a sort of timeless dimension that way.
    442: Giertz - A Shepherd's Letter

  6. 431: Kleinig - The Mystery of Christ and Cosmic Restoration

    book
    03/06/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Cosmic Debris. In this episode, we read Dr. John Kleinig on Christ and cosmic restoration. We then discuss how and why Christians confuse mysteries with secrets, what happened to the mystagogues, and why the mystery of the Christian faith has to do with the hidden presence of Christ with us here on earth and our restoration by his restoration of all creation. This episode, as Kleinig himself writes, is about how we can best commend the Christian faith to post-modern people, which is when we ourselves are captivated imaginatively by the wonder of it and live in the mystery of it.
    431: Kleinig - The Mystery of Christ and Cosmic Restoration

  7. Understanding Revivalism with Dan van Voorhis

    book
    03/03/26
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis | Kelsi Klembara
    What does revival really mean for the modern church?
    Understanding Revivalism with Dan van Voorhis

  8. Understanding the American Religious Landscape with Ryan Burge

    book
    01/13/26
    5 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara
    Kelsi is joined by data analyst, Ryan Burge, to discuss the current American Religious Landscape as well as his newest book, The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us.Dr. Ryan Burge is an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University.
    Understanding the American Religious Landscape with Ryan Burge

  9. Has Lutheranism Failed?

    book
    01/11/26
    5 mins
    By Caleb Keith | Adam Francisco | Bruce Hillman | Scott Keith
    Has Lutheranism Failed? In this episode, the Thinking Fellows discuss the purpose and aim of the church to examine if Lutheranism in America has failed.
    Has Lutheranism Failed?

  10. 422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief

    book
    01/03/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? In this episode, we gather for a post-Christmas, post-New Year pastoral debrief. We talk about symbols and meaning, Christmas and holidays, signs and seasons, and how modern churches quietly cleared the path for culture to push Christ out of Christmas without much resistance. We explore the strange and largely arbitrary ways the world measures time, along with the old Adam’s never-ending pyramid project. That is, his need to build meaning upward by effort, progress, and control rather than receive it as a gift. From there, we return to symbol and meaning. We ask why ancient liturgy’s nostalgia or ornamentation, but the distilled shape of reality itself, why the Lord’s Supper isn’t a side practice, but the beating heart of the Church, of worship, and of the Christian life. And why stories’ decorations for faith, but the way truth takes on flesh and finds us where we actually live. This is a conversation about time, worship, memory, and why the Church invents meaning but receives it again and again at the table.
    422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief

  11. Grace and Absolution in Wake Up Dead Man with David Zahl

    book
    12/19/25
    3 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara | David Zahl
    Kelsi chats with David Zahl about themes of faith and grace in Rian Johnson's newest film, Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man.
    Grace and Absolution in Wake Up Dead Man with David Zahl

  12. 415: Luther - The Mass is a dangerous thing, fabricated and invented without God’s Word and will

    book
    11/07/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Mass Effect. In this episode, we continue our reading of The Smalcald Articles, focusing on Luther’s critique of the Roman Mass and all its consequences for the churches and Christian life. We discuss mimetic desire, sacrificial religion, the exclusive work of Jesus.
    415: Luther - The Mass is a dangerous thing, fabricated and invented without God’s Word and will