Pivot Podcast

What did Paul think God was doing about what’s wrong with us and the world? For Pauline scholar Michael Gorman, the answer centers on life in Christ. Paul uses the language of being in Christ well over a hundred times, and when he writes “you,” he usually means a whole community. Michael joins Terri Elton and Dwight Zscheile to talk about the Christ hymn in Philippians 2, the cross as both the source and the shape of the Christian life, and justification as God creating a people who practice God’s justice.Michael, who holds the Raymond E. Brown Chair in Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University and is the author of Life Transfigured, also talks about why the language of church membership falls short, and about the Friday night Bible study and prayer group he and his wife have hosted in their home for 36 years. For church leaders wondering how disciples are formed today, he points to ongoing community, preaching shaped by scripture, and a deep openness to the work of the Holy Spirit.

When Luther and his colleagues visited rural parishes in Saxony, they were horrified by what they found. One congregation refused to memorize the Lord’s Prayer because it was too long, and nobody knew the Ten Commandments. Luther’s Small Catechism grew out of those visits, written for the home and printed on broadsheets so parents, children, and servants could learn the basics of the faith together. Mark Tranvik, who teaches Reformation history and theology at Luther Seminary and spent ten years as a parish pastor, joins Terri Elton and Dwight Zscheile to talk about what Luther was trying to accomplish and why that gap between calling yourself a Christian and living the faith feels familiar today.Mark reflects on how Luther’s Small Catechism faded from many homes and congregations, and why he believes it can come alive again through worship, prayer, and the sacraments. He also explores Luther’s understanding of vocation, where God works through ordinary callings like parenting, teaching, and picking up the garbage, and shares how he watched the mutual consolation of the saints take place at funeral lunches. It’s a conversation about recovering a 500-year-old gift for discipleship in a changing world.Lutheranism: Bound and FreePositions: Thinking Theologically About PoliticsTheology and Church History FoundationsGordon Jensen, The Call to Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of DiscipleshipMartin Luther, Large Catechism Martin Luther, Small Catechism

What does discipleship look like when the pastor is still growing too? Pastor Edrin Williams leads Sanctuary Covenant Church in North Minneapolis, a congregation that is black-led and black-centered by design and multi-ethnic by conviction. He joins Terri Elton and Alicia Granholm to talk about the Sanctuary Five, the church’s discipleship rhythms of connect, grow, serve, give, and invite, and why he believes formation happens as people share life together more than in any classroom.Edrin also talks about his own formation: the pastor friends he meets with each month, the therapist who helps him stay whole, and the sabbatical he spent with friends who knew him before he was a pastor. Along the way, he reflects on following two well-loved pastors, leading through 2020, forming faith across generations, and why pastors of small and rural churches can trust that their faithful work matters.

How does discipleship take root when a church walks through crisis together? In Pivot’s first bilingual episode, Dwight Zscheile is joined by Pastor Henry Burbano, executive pastor of Juntos Ministries at Emmanuel Covenant Church in Shoreview, Minnesota, and Anna Schaberg, one of the core leaders of the ministry. Henry speaks in Spanish and Anna interprets as they describe a community where people from about twelve countries share meals, meet in homes, and worship in two languages, with new Christians learning to follow Jesus alongside people who have walked with him their whole lives.Last winter, during the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, nine members of the Juntos community were detained on their way to work, and three were deported. Henry and Anna tell how the church drove people to their jobs, went with families to immigration appointments, and sent a team to visit those who had been sent back, and how that season deepened faith across the whole congregation. They also talk about why helpers burn out, the wave of baptisms that followed, and what it takes for a church to begin a bilingual ministry.

What is discipleship? Everyone is a disciple of something, and whatever we follow shapes what we believe about ourselves, other people, and the meaning of life. In the Season 8 opener, Dwight Zscheile, Alicia Granholm, and Terri Elton begin a season-long conversation on discipleship, convinced that the primary challenge facing the church in North America is a crisis of discipleship.They reflect on their own formation, draw on Lesslie Newbigin's observation that every culture is religious, even when it presents itself as secular, and discuss why so many churches invest their energy in being church and lose sight of what it means to follow Jesus. They also discuss why discipleship can't be a one-size-fits-all program and preview a season that will explore discipleship through history, hardship, preaching, tradition, and even AI.