On The Line

Join us at the long table as we explore why Christ alone is the form, logic, and life of the Church. From liturgy to ontology, from beauty to sacrament, we examine how losing Christ as the center leads to confusion—and how recovering Him as the Church’s living reality restores clarity, joy, and identity. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] About Today’s Guest Dr. John Bombaro is a Lutheran pastor, theologian, and writer whose work focuses on Christology, liturgy, and the recovery of a sacramental imagination. Known for his clarity and depth, he teaches that Christ is not an abstraction but the living One who gives Himself bodily to His Church. Dr. Bombaro has served in parish ministry, the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps, and various theological initiatives aimed at restoring beauty, reverence, and doctrinal solidity to the Church’s life today. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at St. John's Lutheran Church in Racine, Wisconsin, as we confront the challenging demographic realities facing the Church today. From collapsing birthrates to declining confirmation classes, from cultural drift to weakened discipleship, we explore why so many congregations are struggling, and how reclaiming vibrant Lutheran identity, intentional formation, and strong community can renew Christ’s Church for the generations to come. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] About Today’s Guest Rev. Heath Curtis is the District President of the Southern Illinois District of the LCMS and a leading voice on stewardship, demographics, and discipleship in the Lutheran Church. Drawing on pastoral experience, national research, and years of work in the Office of National Mission, he has helped congregations across the Synod understand the demographic forces shaping church life today. Rev. Curtis brings clarity, realism, and deep confessional conviction to the challenges facing Lutheran congregations—calling pastors and people alike to strengthen catechesis, reclaim Lutheran identity, and build disciples for life. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us in Moscow, Idaho, as we confront the rise of untethered empathy—the cultural force that rewards victimhood, shuts down truth, and manipulates compassion. Drawing on theology, psychology, and the failures of modern institutions, we examine how emotional reasoning influences everything from politics to parenting, and how Christians can cultivate sober-mindedness in an era dominated by feelings over facts. Visit Memento: https://memento70.com/ Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] About Today’s Guest Dr. Joe Rigney is a theologian, cultural critic, and author of The Sin of Empathy, a work examining how sympathy becomes destructive when severed from truth. A longtime professor and college president, he writes and teaches on emotional maturity, Christian leadership, and cultural discernment, offering clear-eyed analysis of the forces shaping modern life. Dr. Rigney brings a steady, sober-minded voice to some of the most charged issues of our time—calling Christians to anchor compassion in conviction rather than capitulation. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

https://memento70.com/ Learn More or Join Memento: https://memento70.com Give the Gift of Memento Memberships: Share discipline, devotion, and brotherhood with someone you love. Memento is a year-round devotional movement calling men to reclaim Christian masculinity, rebuild strong families, restore spiritual discipline, and reawaken the Church’s historic rhythm of fasting, prayer, Scripture, and fraternity. Through daily devotions, seasonal disciplines, and brotherhood, Memento equips men to resist passivity, strengthen their households, and live boldly under Christ. About Today’s Guest Rev. Ian Kinney serves as a program lead and teacher on fasting and discipline for Memento, a movement and devotional platform dedicated to restoring the historic spiritual disciplines of the Church—fasting, prayer, Scripture, and fraternity—among Christian men. Drawing on Scripture, the Church Fathers, and Lutheran tradition, Ian helps men remember their mortality, resist passivity, and reclaim the virtues that shape faithful husbands, fathers, and leaders. Contact For questions about Memento: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we rediscover the roots of Lutheran identity—not as a revolution that tore down the past, but as a recovery of the Church’s ancient beauty, order, and faith. From the Augsburg Confession to the Lutheran Missal Project, we examine how worship, doctrine, and continuity have shaped the living garden of Christ’s Church across the centuries. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] About Today’s Guest Rev. Stefan Gramatzki is a Lutheran pastor and liturgical scholar working to recover the historic treasures of the Church for the English-speaking world. He serves with the Lutheran Missal Project, a collaborative effort to make the Lutheran liturgical heritage accessible to pastors and congregations today. A graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Rev. Gramatzki brings theological depth, historical insight, and a love for the beauty of the Church’s worship to his writing and teaching. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we explore how C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien fused reason and imagination, Athens and Jerusalem—showing how truth, goodness, and beauty still shape the Christian mind. In an age ruled by cynicism, reductionism, and disenchanted science, we rediscover how myth, wonder, and virtue can restore a truly Christian vision of the cosmos. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] About Today’s Guest Dr. Louis Markos is a professor of English and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University, where he has taught for over three decades. A prolific author of more than thirty books, he writes and lectures on classical education, the great books, and the Christian imagination. Drawing deeply from Lewis, Tolkien, and the Western tradition, Dr. Markos calls Christians to recover a holistic vision of faith—where reason and imagination, truth and beauty, walk hand in hand once again. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we hear the story of persecution and faith in Nigeria, where thousands of Christians have been killed for confessing Christ. Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi bears witness to the cost of discipleship, the power of forgiveness, and the hope that endures even amid genocide. About Today’s Guest Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi is a global Anglican leader and former Archbishop of Jos, Nigeria, known for his courageous witness during periods of persecution. For decade,s he has led churches, built schools, and cared for orphans across northern Nigeria while speaking internationally on the plight of Christians in Africa. A survivor of multiple assassination attempts, Archbishop Kwashi continues to proclaim the gospel with unshakable faith—believing, as he says, that “the gospel is worth living for, and the gospel is worth dying for.” 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we retrace the forgotten corners of American religion, from frontier revivalism and folk magic to the birth of Mormonism, and ask what these movements reveal about faith, authority, and the hunger for revelation in every age. About Today’s Guest Rev. Willie Grills is a pastor in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and co-host of A Brief History of Power with Dr. Adam Koontz. Known for his vivid storytelling and historical insight, he explores how theology, history, and culture intertwine in shaping the Church’s witness. With a background in both pastoral ministry and American religious history, Pastor Grills brings clarity, humor, and perspective to the strange and fascinating landscape of faith in America. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at St. John's Lutheran Church in Racine, Wisconsin, as we rediscover the treasures of confessional Lutheranism, explore why beauty, truth, and order still matter, and confront what’s lost when the Church trades her birthright for the fashions of the age. About Today’s Guest Rev. Evan Scamman is the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Greenwich, Conn, and a leading voice for the recovery of historic Lutheran worship and catechesis. A convert from a Pentecostal background, he speaks with clarity and conviction about the beauty and depth of Lutheran doctrine and liturgy. Pastor Scamman’s teaching calls Christians to rejoice in what they have received: to cherish the Church’s ancient faith, and to hand it on faithfully to the next generation. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us in Moscow, Idaho, as we recover a biblical vision of politics, family, and freedom—exploring how God orders nations and households, why secular neutrality is a myth, and how Christians can live publicly and courageously in the world without compromising their faith. About Today’s Guest Dr. Jared Longshore is a pastor and theologian whose teaching focuses on political theology, covenant, and the Christian household. A former Southern Baptist who entered the Reformed tradition, he now serves in Moscow, Idaho, where he writes and speaks widely on law, liberty, and Christian culture. Known for his clarity and conviction, Dr. Longshore calls the Church to reject secular illusions and to confess Christ’s lordship over every sphere of life. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at Concordia University Wisconsin as we wrestle with the philosophy of mind, the challenge of materialism, and the promise and peril of new technologies—from AI to transhumanism—and ask what it means to be truly human in light of God’s design. About Today’s Guest Dr. Angus Menuge is a professor of philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has taught for over three decades. Born in England and educated in both the UK and the US, he earned his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a focus on philosophy of mind and action theory. He is the author of Agents Under Fire and a leading Lutheran voice critiquing reductionist views of human beings, defending human dignity, free will, and the Christian vision of personhood in the age of machines. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at St. John's Lutheran Church in Racine, Wisconsin, as we talk about resilience in the pastoral life, the discipline of daily habits, and the courage to face adversity—not as exceptions to the Christian life, but as God’s very means of shaping His people for faithfulness and strength. About Today’s Guest: Rev. Jason Braaten is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tuscola, Illinois, and podcast host. A confessional Lutheran voice with a heart for liturgy and pastoral care, he brings insight into sanctification, vocation, and the daily practices that sustain faith. Through parish ministry, podcasting, and teaching, Pastor Braaten encourages Christians to embrace both the gifts and the demands of life under the cross. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at Concordia University Wisconsin as we enter a conversation that refuses to leave Christ as a vague center-point, but insists on Him as the very logic of theology, worship, and the Church itself. From liturgy to sacrament, from ontology to imagination, Dr. John Bombaro calls us to see Christ not as an idea, but as the living One who gives Himself wholly to His bride. About Today’s Guest Dr. John Bombaro is a Lutheran pastor, naval officer, and theologian whose teaching and writing explore the intersection of Christology, liturgy, and culture. He has contributed widely to Lutheran thought, including with 1517, and currently serves as pastor of Saint James Lutheran Church in Lafayette. Known for his clarity and depth, Dr. Bombaro presses the Church to recover the sacramental imagination of her confessions—where all theology is Christology and all worship is grounded in Christ’s self-giving presence. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us in Moscow, Idaho, as we confront the shifting ground of culture and politics, consider what it means for Christ to be Lord over nations, and ask how households, churches, and schools can stand firm against the forces unraveling our common life. About Today’s Guest Pastor Doug Wilson has served Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, for over four decades and is a leading voice in classical Christian education, cultural commentary, and Reformed theology. A prolific author of more than one hundred books, including Future Men and A Serrated Edge, he is also a founder of New Saint Andrews College and Canon Press. Known for his unapologetic wit and sharp cultural critique, Pastor Wilson speaks with conviction about the lordship of Christ over every sphere of life. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we trace the story of education from the Reformation to today, uncover how classical models form character and cultivate virtue, and ask what it means to recover wisdom, truth, and beauty in a modern age of confusion. About Today’s Guest Dr. Susan Mobley is a professor of history at Concordia University Wisconsin, where she has taught since 1998. A historian of education and the Reformation, her research explores how Lutheran and Catholic schools shaped faith and culture in sixteenth-century Germany. She is a frequent speaker on classical education and its relevance today, helping students and teachers recover an approach that unites faith, learning, and character formation. 🔗 Stay Connected with Us 📷 Instagram: @otl_podcast_ 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/onthelinepod 𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_ Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we open our debate series with a pressing question for the Church: What does it mean to speak of “Christian nationalism,” and how should Lutherans think about Christendom, the state, and our public witness in a fractured world? About Today’s Guests Dr. Joel Biermann has served for over two decades as professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where his teaching and writing focus on Christian ethics, vocation, and the two realms. A prolific author and respected voice in Lutheran theology, he brings deep pastoral and academic experience to questions of church and state. Rev. David Ramirez is a parish pastor, founder of the Bugenhagen Conference, and scholar of Martin Luther’s teaching on religious liberty. With years of experience teaching, preaching, and leading in the LCMS, he has been an active voice in current discussions on political theology and the Christian’s vocation in public life. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing confessional Lutheranism today, from sustaining faithful congregations in rural America to building institutions that serve future generations of the Church. About Today’s Guest Rev. John Hill is president of the Wyoming District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and a longtime parish pastor. With decades of pastoral experience and a heart for strengthening Lutheran identity, he has served congregations across the Mountain West while providing leadership to the wider church. Rev. Hill brings a steady pastoral voice and confessional clarity to the pressing questions of Lutheran life and witness in our time. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we explore the Lutheran confessional revival of the nineteenth century, uncover the lives and thought of its key theologians, and consider what their witness offers the Church today in an age of doctrinal confusion and historical amnesia About Today’s Guest: Dr. James Ambrose Lee II is a church historian and theologian specializing in the nineteenth-century confessional revival, Lutheran worship, and German theology. He teaches courses on church history, religion in America, and Martin Luther, and is the author of Confessional Lutheranism and German Theological Wissenschaft (De Gruyter, 2022), along with numerous articles in leading theological journals. Holding degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary, Yale Divinity School, and Saint Louis University, Dr. Lee brings scholarly depth and pastoral insight to his work in teaching, writing, and the study of Lutheran identity. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we take an unflinching look at the numbers shaping the future of Lutheranism—and consider how honesty, clarity, and confessional faithfulness can guide the Church through challenge and change. About Today’s Guest Rev. Tim Wood is a pastor and data analyst serving the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod with a rare blend of theological conviction and statistical insight. With a sharp eye for demographic trends and a heart for the Church’s future, he helps Lutheran institutions read the signs of the times—faithfully and fearlessly. Whether interpreting numbers or proclaiming the Word, Rev. Wood brings clarity, candor, and care to the work of Christ’s Church. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we question the official story, explore the rise of conspiracy thinking, and ask how Christians can remain anchored in truth and humility while navigating a world of collapsing narratives and contested realities. About Today’s Guest Rev. Willie Grills is an LCMS pastor and co-host of A Brief History of Power, where he brings historical insight and pastoral clarity to bear on the crises of modern life. Known for his deep knowledge of church history, American folklore, and the strange undercurrents of our cultural moment, he helps listeners connect the dots between the past and the present. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we recover the moral imagination, rediscover the wisdom of the ancients, and explore how story—rooted in truth, beauty, and goodness—forms the heart and mind for Christian living in an age of fragmentation. About Today’s Guest Dr. Louis Markos is a professor of English and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University, where he teaches classical literature, Christian thought, and C.S. Lewis. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and is a prolific author and speaker, known for making ancient wisdom and Christian truth come alive for modern audiences. His books include From Achilles to Christ, The Myth Made Fact, and On the Shoulders of Hobbits. A passionate advocate for classical education and cultural renewal, Dr. Markos brings the voice of the ancients into dialogue with the Church today. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ 📧 Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we explore how stories shape the Christian imagination, from the parables of Christ to the poetry of Tolkien, where beauty, suffering, virtue, and vocation meet in the narrative of redemption. About Today’s Guest Rev. Jacob Benson is director of admissions and assistant professor of humanities at Luther Classical College in Casper, Wyoming. Ordained in 2019, he previously served parishes in Connecticut and Wyoming, and holds degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and the University of Wyoming. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English at Trinity College Dublin, where his research explores how fiction and hagiography shape virtue. Known for his love of classical education and his deep pastoral care, Rev. Benson brings theological clarity and a joyful sense of vocation to both church and academy. He and his wife, Mary, have one son. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ 📧 Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we dig into what it means to be wholly citizens of both heaven and earth, recover a robust Lutheran ethic, and consider how virtue, identity, and vocation shape Christian witness in a fragmented age. About Today’s Guest Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann is professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and one of the LCMS’s leading voices on vocation, virtue ethics, and Christian identity in the public square. He holds a Ph.D. from Concordia Seminary and is the author of A Case for Character and Wholly Citizens. Dr. Biermann’s work challenges Christians to live faithfully in both the Church and culture, rooted in doctrine, yet active in the world. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ 📧 Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we trace the roots of Christian tradition, wrestle with the legacy of the Church Fathers, and recover a vision of doctrine, discipline, and ministry shaped by the clarity and strangeness of the early Church. Dr. James Lee is a scholar of historical theology and teaches Church History and Religious Studies at Concordia University Chicago, where his courses range from Christianity and the Modern World to Lutheran Worship and Liturgy . He holds a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, an S.T.M. from Yale Divinity School, and degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Concordia University Chicago. Dr. Lee’s research focuses on nineteenth-century German theology, the Confessional Revival, and the development of doctrine in modern Lutheran thought. A respected author and frequent speaker, he bridges deep historical scholarship with contemporary questions facing the Lutheran Church. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ 📧 Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Join us at the long table as we confront the seven deadly sins not just as abstract categories, but as real spiritual threats—and explore how humility, gratitude, and daily repentance lead us toward the virtues that shape faithful Christian life. Rev. Dr. David H. Petersen has served as Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, since 2000. A graduate of Central Michigan University and Concordia Theological Seminary (M.Div., S.T.M., D.Min.), he is known for his deep commitment to the Church’s liturgical and theological heritage. Dr. Petersen is a contributing editor for Gottesdienst: The Journal of Lutheran Liturgy, teaches D.Min. and continuing education courses at CTSFW, and serves on the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations. In addition to his pastoral and academic work, he has helped found both Redeemer Classical School and Agnus Dei Lutheran Church, and frequently contributes to Lutheran Witness, Issues, Etc., and conferences across the country. Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/ Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/ 📧 Contact Bryan: [email protected] Send us a text https://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/