In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman sits down with two longtime Concordia Seminary professors, Dr. Andy Bartelt and Dr. James Voelz, for a wide-ranging conversation on time, aging, biblical literacy, seminary history, SMP, distance education, churchmanship, and the future of pastoral formation in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Dr. Bartelt and Dr. Voelz bring decades of experience teaching future pastors, shaping theological education, and wrestling with the big questions facing the church. Together, they explore why the LCMS has historically operated with more than one formation track, how the Springfield/Fort Wayne story shaped today’s debates, why SMP and DELTO emerged, and why honest, humble conversation is needed now more than ever.

If you care about the future of the LCMS, pastoral formation, biblical literacy, theological education, or mission in North America, this is a conversation worth hearing.

Subscribe to Lead Time for conversations on Lutheran theology, church leadership, mission, pastoral formation, and the future of the LCMS.

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Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

What’s really happening inside the LCMS right now?

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman and Jack sit down with Dr. Lyman Stone—demographer and creator of the Lutheran Religious Life Survey—to unpack the most surprising data trends in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

What trends are you seeing in your church?

From church growth myths to preaching styles… from traditional worship to unexpected theological shifts… this conversation challenges assumptions and raises important questions about the future of the church.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

What happens when Christians take each other to court… or when marriages fall apart long before anyone asks for help?

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim and Jack sit down with Christian attorney Colin Hoffman to unpack the reality of Christian family law, divorce, and what the Bible actually says about conflict between believers.

From 1 Corinthians 6 to real-life legal cases, this conversation dives into:

- Why Christians suing Christians is a serious issue
- What actually leads to divorce (and why it’s often “too late”)
- The role of pastors, counseling, and accountability
- Spiritual warfare in families (and how it shows up)
- How churches can better support struggling marriages
- A better path forward: reconciliation, repentance, and truth

This episode is both challenging and hopeful—a call for the Church to take marriage, conflict, and spiritual realities seriously again.

Do you think Christians should ever take each other to court?

Show Notes:

Song Colin referenced at the end: "This I Pray" by Nicky Gracious:
https://youtu.be/F5Q-Gw0PZZk

Connect with Colin:
[email protected]
www.sacredharbor.org

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

A special episode of Lead Time responding to a recent decision from LCMS leadership denying our request to host a booth at the upcoming LCMS Convention.

Want to stay up to date on LCMS Happenings? Sign up here:
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

We share the full context behind the decision, read the official response, and unpack what this moment reveals about conversation, trust, and unity within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

See the letter we received here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JXkyOFIs-1xqqtmSZDF88FBcL-Dos8gO/view?usp=drive_link

This is not about attacking leadership. It’s about asking an honest question:

How do we move forward together as one church body when disagreement exists?

Our hope is simple:
More conversation. More clarity. More unity in Christ.

If you're attending the LCMS Convention this summer, we’d love to connect and talk. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

Today, We sit down with presidential nominee Dr. Joel Biermann to talk about the current state—and future—of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).

What are the real strengths of the LCMS? Where are we struggling?
And what must change if we want to see a thriving, unified church for the next generation?

We dive into:

- The growing divisions within the LCMS
- The debate around “Lutheran identity”
- The future of pastoral formation
- Why unity is harder—and more important—than ever
- How the church can re-engage mission and evangelism

If you care about the future of the LCMS, this is a must-listen.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode of Lead Time, we respond to the “Giving Crescendo” conversation and break down what’s really happening beneath the surface: an aging church body, a historic wealth transfer, and a short window of opportunity that could either fuel mission—or accelerate decline.

Here’s the reality: money won’t save the church. In fact, it may expose just how unprepared we are.

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Stay up to date by Joining the LCMS Current!
(LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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We explore:

- Why a surge in giving is coming—and why it won’t last
- The 3 paths churches will take (and why most lead to decline)
- How endowments can quietly kill mission
- Why reaching young families is no longer optional
- The leadership and pastoral pipeline crisis ahead
- What district and national leaders must do right now

This is not a financial conversation.
It’s a leadership test.

The future of the LCMS will not be decided by how much money comes in…
but by what we do with it.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode, we respond to a recent seminary podcast discussing residential training and pastoral formation.

WATCH THE PODCAST HERE

While we deeply respect our seminaries and their leaders, we ask the hard questions many pastors and church leaders are already thinking:

Why are pulpits still empty?
Why are churches closing?
And are we training pastors in a way that actually meets today’s mission?

Stay up to date by Joining the LCMS Current!
(LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

We'll break down:

The real strengths of residential seminary
Where the current model may be falling short
The rise of hybrid and local training approaches
Why EQ (not just theology) matters more than we admit
The urgent need for church planting and scalable leadership pipelines

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman and Jack Kalleberg sit down with Texas District President Jon Braunersreuther to discuss:

• The growing pastor shortage in the LCMS
• The debate surrounding SMP pastoral formation
• Why the size of the harvest should change how we think about leadership
• How First Article Gifts (reason, leadership, strategy) can be faithfully used in the church
• Leadership lessons from Jim Collins’ Good to Great

Stay up to date by Joining the LCMS Current!
(LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

With 30 million people in Texas and an estimated 22 million far from Jesus, the question becomes unavoidable:

Is the church preparing enough workers for the harvest?

This conversation challenges pastors, church leaders, and lay leaders to think bigger about mission, leadership, and the future of the church.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

The latest LCMS nomination results may reveal far more than just who might become the next president.

Stay up to date by Joining the LCMS Current!
(LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

In this episode of LEAD TIME, Tim Ahlman and Jack Kalleberg break down what the vote totals could mean for the future trajectory of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Looking beyond the surface, they explore the deeper story behind the data: institutional stability, declining participation, leadership pipelines, and the growing pastoral shortage facing the church.

Is the LCMS signaling a desire to preserve the status quo? Or are deeper structural challenges forcing change in the decades ahead?

Tim and Jack discuss five major implications emerging from the nomination data—including why participation matters, why leadership networks may shape the future more than elections, and what this means for pastors, congregations, and mission in the years ahead.

This conversation is candid, thoughtful, and ultimately hopeful about how God continues to work through faithful congregations and leaders across the LCMS.

If you care about the future of the church, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. And if you got something out of this, share It with a friend.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

What is the “American Interim” — and is the Church compromising its identity?

In this episode of LEAD TIME, Pastor Tim Ahlman sits down with Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Kloha (Dean for the Center for Missional & Pastoral Leadership) to thoughtfully respond to Rev. Karl Hess's presentation, “Pastoring Under the American Interim.”

See the video here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0IizshrQn9E

Together they explore:
- What is a Lutheran hermeneutic?
- Is Enlightenment liberalism replacing Christianity?
- Is equality a false god?
- Did the Church surrender during COVID?
- How should Christians think about slavery in Scripture?
- Are we soaking in secular assumptions without realizing it?

Rather than reacting emotionally, this conversation returns again and again to the central question:

How do we interpret Scripture faithfully in our cultural moment?

Dr. Kloha reminds us that our context may look less like 16th-century Europe and more like the world of the New Testament — pluralistic, politically complex, and spiritually contested.

And in that world, what did the apostles do?

They preached Christ.

This episode is not about winning political arguments.
It’s about guarding the gospel.
It’s about understanding narrative vs. prescription in Scripture.
It’s about loving neighbor while remaining faithful to Christ.

If you’ve wrestled with these tensions in your congregation, this conversation will equip you with clarity, charity, and courage.

Stay up to date by Joining the LCMS Current!
(LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

What is God’s mission? Sounds like a simple question.

In this episode of LEAD TIME, Tim and Jack sit down with veteran missiologist, Rev. Dr. Bob Scudieri to unpack the theology, history, and controversy surrounding mission in the LCMS.

From the early church to Walther and Grabau, from Constantine to today’s debates about the priesthood of all believers, this conversation goes deep.

Is the mission of God (Missio Dei) central to the church—or does emphasizing mission threaten doctrinal clarity? Why has fear sometimes replaced boldness? And what would it look like for the LCMS to truly reflect Matthew 28 in 2050?

Bob shares decades of experience in parish ministry, national leadership, church planting, and ethnic outreach—along with practical wisdom for congregations ready to step into courageous mission.

If you care about doctrine, discipleship, and reaching the nations next door, this episode is for you.

Stay up to date by Joining the LCMS Current!
(LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

Support the show

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org