To give the world the greatest and fullest expression of Jesus as we possibly can.

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jack kalleberg

119: Pastoral Formation, Opportunity Cost, and the Future of LCMS Pastors — with Jack Kalleberg

January 19, 2026

Jack Kalleberg on Pastoral Formation, the Opportunity Cost, and the Future of LCMS Pastors

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Featured Episodes

tim wood podcast

112: Tim Wood on Why the LCMS Is in Crisis, What the Data Really Says, and How We Recover Spiritually

December 1, 2025

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joel biermann

109: Joel Biermann on the Good and Bad of Lutheran Identity and Online Seminary, and Why Christianity Is More than a Personal Relationship with Jesus

November 10, 2025

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Carey Nieuwhof

001: Carey Nieuwhof on Leadership vs. Discipleship

May 17, 2022

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If you have a vision to grow God’s kingdom but have been limited by finances, don’t stay stuck any longer. Phil Ling, President of The Giving Church, joins with Zach Zehnder on a FREE one-hour webinar to help you fund your kingdom vision. Join them live Thursday, August 11th at 1pm CST.

Past Episodes

newman episode 107

107: Michael Newman on the Silent Crisis in the LCMS, How to Force Change to Institutions, and His Hope for the Synod

ahlman episode 106

106: Tim Ahlman on Being Silenced, Misunderstood, and Spiritually Formed — What He Told President Harrison and What Sabbatical Taught Him

ben haupt

105: Ben Haupt on the “Gold Standard” vs. New Paths in LCMS Pastoral Formation—Residential, SMP, Colloquy, and the Future of Training Pastors

Bryan Stecker

104: Bryan Stecker on Media, Sacraments, and Strategy to Help the LCMS Grow Again—While Staying Both Confessional and Missional

three lcms pastors

103: Three Large-Church LCMS Pastors on Growing in a Declining Synod, Being Confessional and Missional, and How to Raise Up Leaders for the Future

jerry kieschnick

102: Jerry Kieschnick on Leading the LCMS Through the 9/11 Terrorist Attack, Making Tough Decisions, Dealing with Criticism, and Clinging to Hope

Matt Engel

101: Does the LCMS Have a Future? Data Expert Matt Engel on What 1,054 Lutheran Leaders Revealed—and What the Church Can Learn from Uber

john ortberg

100: John Ortberg on What the Gospel is According to Jesus, Dallas Willard’s Theology in a Lutheran Frame, and Why Churches Should Be More Like AA Meetings

zach zehnder podcast 99

099: Zach Zehnder on How Important Happiness Actually Is, What We’ve Gotten Wrong with Giving, and What Jesus Says About Saving and Storing

What is The Red Letter
Disciple Podcast?

Welcome to The Red Letter Disciple, a podcast to challenge you and your church to be greater disciples of Jesus so that together we can unleash the greatest and fullest expression of Jesus possible. When we do, when we truly live as disciples of Jesus, the world will never be the same! Your host, pastor and author Zach Zehnder, will lead you through incredible interviews with first-class disciples. Let’s do this. Subscribe today so you don’t miss a single episode!