The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Lutheran Federal Credit Union is celebrating 10 years! The Rev. Tom Schlund (Synod Relations & Marketing Coordinator, Lutheran Federal Credit Union) and Amanda Walker (CEO, Lutheran Federal Credit Union) join Andy and Sarah to talk about why a credit union was created for the LCMS, Rev. Schlund's new role and the need to build up relationships across the Synod, what has been accomplished in 10 years of Lutheran Federal Credit Union, and the many services available today. Find a special offer for KFUO Radio listeners to celebrate Lutheran Federal Credit Union's 10th Anniversary at LutheranFCU.org/kfuo.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

It's time for the annual Carillon Concert Series at Concordia Seminary! John Klinger, Chief Information Officer and Carillonneur at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what a carillon is, what's unique about Concordia’s carillon, the history and tradition of carillon concerts at Concordia Seminary, and the lineup of concerts and carillonneurs this year. Learn more about these concerts happening each Tuesday in June (that KFUO Radio will be broadcasting, weather-permitting!) at csl.edu/2025/05/summer-2025-carillon-concert-series-announced-for-tuesdays-in-june.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

How do KFUO Radio Interns help us share the Gospel AND learn valuable skills for future vocations? John Fiene (current KFUO Radio Intern), Aubrey Blank (current Digital Media Associate and former KFUO intern), and Jordan Harms (Media Operations Manager for KFUO) join Andy and Sarah to talk about why John applied to be an intern with KFUO, what he's learning this semester and how he expects to use these skills, where Aubrey's interest in becoming a KFUO intern began and how her internship prepared her for a full-time position with KFUO, and how Jordan uses these internship experiences to build up future radio talent. Learn about KFUO internship opportunities at lcms.org/careers.This episode originally aired on October 17, 2024.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you’d like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

How does Crean Lutheran High School raise up young Lutherans for future vocations? Conni Schramm, Learning Success Teacher at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, California, joins Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve series to talk about what she gets to do every day at Crean Lutheran, how she became a teacher and her many years of service in Lutheran education, why providing Lutheran education is important to her, what is unique about Crean Lutheran High School, and how Crean Lutheran is raising up the next generation of church workers. Learn more about Crean Lutheran at creanlutheran.org.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

Bring Back the Bulldogs! The Rev. Dr. Gerard Bolling (Lead Pastor, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, St Louis, MO) and the Rev. Chris Kneppe (Pastor of Community Engagement, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO) join Andy and Sarah to talk about the revitalization of Bethlehem Lutheran School in St. Louis, including Bethlehem's long history, the community where Bethlehem Lutheran is and serves today, how a Lutheran school is in a unique position to serve this community, what individualized learning looks like in Bethlehem's setting, how they have seen children grow and thrive through their micro school, and the outlook for the 2025-2026 school year. Learn more about Bethlehem and how you can support the school at bethlehemstlouis.org.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

How is leisure part of being human? The Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann, Waldemar A. and June Schuette Professor of Systematic Theology and author of Day 7: For Work, Rest, or Play from Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah for a series on what Sabbath means for us. In this episode on chapter 4, they discuss how we normally consider "leisure" and how Josef Pieper gives us a deeper explanation. They also consider several questions: Does it matter if we have time to think deep thoughts about the world? How does our Western culture make true leisure difficult? How are leisure and worship connected? What is acedia, and what about it is dangerous? Shouldn't leisure be equated with laziness? Find Day 7: For Work, Rest, or Play at cph.org/day-7-for-work-rest-or-play.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

What is it like to serve overseas as a Regional Business Manager with the LCMS Office of International Mission? Regional Business Managers Joyce Erber (Africa Region), Stan Stigdon (Latin America and the Caribbean Region), and Sam Borgwardt (Asia Region), along with Rev. Dr. Mark Rabe, Director of Missionary Recruitment for the LCMS Office of International Mission, join Andy to talk about their roles as Regional Business Managers in the field, including how they serve on the field and some of the duties they have, who they get to work with, how their work supports those they serve alongside in their regions, what they've come to appreciate about the cultures in which they serve, and what makes a great candidate for service as a Regional Business Manager in the LCMS Office of International Mission. Find opportunities to serve at servenow.lcms.org.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

How do we equip youth with the tools to weather life’s ups and downs? Dr. Belinda Karge (professor in the School of Education at Concordia University Irvine), Dr. Kara Bratton (assistant professor in the School of Education at Concordia University Irvine), and Dr. Jeremiah Stokes (licensed psychotherapist, owner and clinical director of Stokes Counseling and Consulting in Maitland, Florida, and adjunct professor at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL) join Andy and Sarah to talk about the Resilient Minds Curriculum for Middle School and High School from Concordia Publishing House. They discuss the state of mental health among youth in the U.S. today; where the idea for this curriculum came from; and how each of them became connected to the project. They also explain how the curriculum equips students to face life’s challenges, how teachers are supported in helping students manage mental health in healthy ways, and what makes the Christ-centered approach of Resilient Minds unique.Learn more and find the curriculum at teachthefaith.cph.org/resilient-minds.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

How does an entire family become involved in church work vocations? David Beikmann (principal and teacher at Linn Lutheran School, Linn KS, moving to Zion Lutheran School in Pierce, Nebraska), his wife Diane Beikmann (Lutheran teacher) and daughter Camryn Beikmann, join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about who encouraged each of them to pursue church work, David's time serving at Linn Lutheran School, the chapel service at Linn Lutheran that focused on Set Apart to Serve, how David and Diane have created a culture of church work formation and recruitment at Linn Lutheran, Camryn's journey into church worker formation at Concordia University, Nebraska, and the letter of intent she signed to attend CUNE for Lutheran Teacher Education.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

How does Jesus use parables to teach the Truth of God? The Rev. Dr. James Fickenscher, assistant professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St Louis, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the upcoming Lay Bible Institute "And He Spoke Many Things to Them in Parables" happening August 2 at Concordia Seminary, including what a parable is, what is unique about the parables of Jesus, faithful approaches to interpreting parables, how Jesus uses parables to teach the Truth of God, and what attendees will learn at the Lay Bible Institute. Learn more and register at csl.edu/resources/continuing-education/lay-bible-institute.As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let’s be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.