Essentially Translatable

In this throwback episode of Essentially Translatable, host Rich Rudowske interviews Jim Laesch, a longtime member of the Lutheran Bible Translators community. This episode originally aired back in 2020 and focuses on Jim’s more than 45 years of missionary service. Throughout the years, Jim has served in a variety of roles, both in missionary service and administration, from 1973 until his retirement at the end of 2021. 

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For this episode of Essentially Translatable, the celebration of 60 years of Lutheran Bible Translators ministry continues with this insightful throwback from 2020. Rewind to the first episode of the podcast and listen as current CEO Rich Rudowske interviews Dr. Mike Rodewald, the former Executive Director of Lutheran Bible Translators.  

Spanning over 33 years of service, Dr. Rodewald details his journey from a high schoo...

In this episode of Essentially Translatable, dive into the concept of setting a financial finish line to start a journey of mission-minded generosity. Brothers Kealan and Cody Hobelmann, one a surgeon and the other a financial advisor, are founders of the Finish Line ministry and hosts of the Finish Line Podcast. During this episode they share their experience of life defined by generosity.  

Kealan shares a story of extre...

In the past 60 years, missionaries with Lutheran Bible Translators have seen war and destruction effect the growth of ministry—but the faithfulness of God has never been disrupted. On this episode of Essentially Translatable, host Rich Rudowske celebrates the organization's 60th anniversary and explores a significant pivot in the history of Lutheran Bible Translators during the 1980s and early 1990s.  

This episode brings ...

In this episode of Essentially Translatable, Rev. Rich Rudowske shares a sermon given at Concordia Seminary, St Louis on overcoming jealousy and the significance of maintaining a good reputation.  

This sermon draws from Daniel chapter 6 and the Eighth Commandment with explanation from Luther’s Small Catechism. Rich reflects on personal anecdotes to illustrate the detrimental effects of jealousy and emphasizes the importan...

In this episode of the Essentially Translatable Podcast, Rich Rudowske engages in discussion with Rev. Dr. Douglas Rutt on the importance of cultural and contextual nuances when communicating the Gospel. Dr. Rutt has an impressive 40-year career serving in ministry. Most notably he has served as missionary to Guatemala, Director for International Ministries at Lutheran Hour Ministries, and Provost for Concordia Seminary in St. Loui...

How can a church congregation best provide care for a missionary abroad? On this episode of Essentially Translatable Rich Rudowske discusses the congregational care model with Shonna Ingram of Pioneer Bible Translators. Shonna serves as a Trauma Care Specialist, as well as a Career Transition Specialist with Pioneer Bible Translators. She has dedicated over 15 years to missionary care both on and off the field.  

Shonna sh...

For this episode of the Essentially Translatable podcast, Rich sits down with Matt Kistler, the newest staff member to join the team at Lutheran Bible Translators. Matt serves as the Senior Measurement & Evaluation Analyst. He comes to Lutheran Bible Translators with education from Eastern University and experience working with Mission Mutual, the backbone organization for the illumiNations Collective Alliance. Listen in for a ...

Out of the 9 million visually impaired people in the United States, it is estimated that 95% of that population is unchurched. Daniel Jenkins, President for Lutheran Braille Workers is working to decrease that number by increasing access to Scripture through braille and large print bibles. For this episode of the Essentially Translatable podcast, Dr. Rich Rudowske and Daniel discuss the enduring hope found by making the Word of God...

On this episode, Rich and Emily bring you to Papua New Guinea to hear a first-hand account of the energy behind the Bible translation movement. Join us for an insightful conversation with Ministry Entrepreneur Duncan Kasokason.

 Duncan is a Bible translation consultant through the Bible Translation Association of Papua New Guinea. Starting in 1986, Duncan started to translate the Bible into his own language with pen and paper....

This week, we celebrate 100 episodes of Essentially Translatable! For this episode, co-hosts Dr. Rich Rudowske and Emily Wilson reminisce about some of their favorite moments from the past four years on the podcast.  

The Essentially Translatable podcast has brought countless stories from the field, interviews with Ministry Entrepreneurs, and conversations with international partners. Join us as we reflect on the many prof...

On this episode of the Essentially Translatable podcast, Rich and Emily are joined by John Ndemba and Rev. Mike Kuhn, who serve in the Bible translation movement in Cameroon and have recently become involved with the SURAM project. Rev. Kuhn fills the role of Data Analyst for SURAM, he also has served as a Missionary with Lutheran Bible Translators Canada in Cameroon since 2013. John Ndemba serves as the Project Coordinator for SUR...

Does God have one specific purpose in mind for you? Have you ever paused to examine the various roles God has assigned for you in life? In this episode of the Essentially Translatable podcast, Dr. Jeff Leininger and Dr. Rich Rudowske discuss our callings (plural) and how we can recognize them.  

Dr. Leininger is the author of Callings for Life: God’s Plan, Your Purpose. He currently serves as pastor at First St. Paul’s Lut...

For this special holiday episode, join us for a reflective study on the power and promise given to us through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Cozy up and dive into an in-depth conversation of how the complexities of Jesus’s incarnation are represented throughout different languages and translations.

Grab your favorite Bible translation and follow along as co-hosts Dr. Rich Rudowske and Emily Wilson lead you through different verse...

In this episode, Rich and Emily are joined by Dr. James Maxey, Director of Strategic Partnerships for The Seed Company, and Dr. Nathan Esala, formerly Translations Coordinator for Lutheran Bible Translators—who has joined Seed Company as part of the strategic alliance between the two organizations. They discuss the power of partnerships across the Bible translation community.   

We are in a season of collaboration at ...

In this episode of Essentially Translatable, co-host Emily Wilson is interviewed by Rev. Rich Rudowske to discuss prayer as the strategy for the Bible translation movement. Emily works in the prayer working group for Lutheran Bible Translators and acts as the prayer point person for the illumiNations collective impact alliance. She shares valuable insight into why prayer is transformative to our lives and is exceedingly pleasing to...

Join us for a “fireside chat” approach in this episode, where Rich Rudowske, Executive Director + CEO, is joined by Paul Federwitz, Director for Fields Programs, for a vital conversation about the intersection of cutting-edge technology and the enduring practice of Bible translation. 

The heart of our discussion lies in the relationship between human wisdom and AI's capabilities. While acknowledging AI's potential to enrich the...

In this episode, we are joined by two staff members of Lutheran Bible Translators - David Federwitz, Regional Director for West Africa, and Calvin Inman, IT coordinator, who recently returned from Liberia. They discuss the importance of being physically present in their work and how technology is a tool for spreading God's truth. 

The focus of the trip was to work with our partner, the Liberia Translation and Literacy Organizat...

In this episode, we sit down with Rev. Chuck and Karen Tessaro, missionaries who have been serving in Nigeria since 1985. The Tessaros share their experiences working on translation projects and their transition to a role of consulting and equipping the church. They discuss the importance of putting God's word in people's hands (having served with Lutheran Bible Translators since 2003) and how it has led to new insights and a deepe...