On The Line

Dr. John Bombaro, a Lutheran pastor and theologian focused on Christology and liturgy, reveals compelling insights about the Shroud of Turin. He discusses its historical significance, controversial dating, and the anatomical details that correspond to crucifixion. Delving into the image's uniqueness, Bombaro proposes intriguing theories about its origin, including a resurrection imprint. He argues for the Shroud's role as an apologetic tool, fostering dialogue around Gospel validity while emphasizing the importance of liturgical beauty in modern faith practice.

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: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestRev. 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/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us a texthttps://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: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestDr. 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/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us a texthttps://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

https://memento70.com/Learn More or Join Memento: https://memento70.comGive 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 GuestRev. 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.ContactFor questions about Memento: contact@memento70.comSend us a texthttps://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: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout 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 texthttps://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: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netAbout Today’s GuestDr. 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/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Send us a texthttps://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 GuestArchbishop 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/onthelinepod𝕏 Twitter/X: @otl_podcast_Check Out Our New Website: https://ontheline.net/Support the Launch of LIT: https://institute.ontheline.net/donation/Contact Bryan: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netSend us a texthttps://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 GuestRev. 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: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netSend us a texthttps://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 GuestRev. 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: bryan.stecker@ontheline.netSend us a texthttps://memento70.com/ https://memento70.com/

Dr. Jared Longshore, a pastor and political theologian, dives into America's historical roots as a Christian nation. He challenges the myth of secular neutrality and argues that the founders envisioned a civic framework rooted in Christianity. Longshore traces the shift away from ordered liberty to modern autonomy and discusses the importance of the family unit in shaping civil society. He advocates for a strong Christian presence in public life, calling for renewed commitment to covenantal marriage and family duties.