Suffering Servants: Conversations of the Unspoken

Blessed Easter to all of you! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. On today's show, I have a flashback to "follies of the week", talking about some ridiculousness that I've come across during the week. This folly comes courtesy of Christianity Today and the heretical take that Jesus was not (necessarily) nailed to the cross. This had me thinking about the bigger issue of consuming all kinds of "Ch...

The Pod is back! On today's episode, I sit down with Pastor Donavon Riley, aka The Warrior Priest, to talk about his new book, "The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction." We talk about the nature of addiction, why he wanted to write this book, and how does the concept of "free will" and Luther's theology of the bondage of the will influence those who are in bondage to addiction. You're not go...

Pastor Tyler is joined this week by Pastor Mark Renner to talk about Pastor Mark's new book, "Curious Cases: A Series of Short Pastor Case Studies." In this book, Pastor Mark explores different situations that have arisen in the church, or that might arise in the church, and how might we as THE Church work with God's people. It is a book that can be used in studies, staff matters, or just to inform the Christian...

Joining me on this week's episode is my dear brother in Christ, Josh Kittleman, the Director of Christian Family Formation at Christ Our Savior in Livonia. Together we talk through his journey from small parish ministry, to the University level, and then to big parish ministry and what he has seen, learned, and experienced. We also are sure to hit one of the things that Josh struggles with on a regular basis: his diagnosis of ...

Today, as Pastor Hill finishes his vacation, Tyler is joined by a dear friend of the Family of God. Ron Hughes has been serving with us for over ten years and has become an intricate part of the ministry. Our people love him and gravitate towards him because of his experiences. On the show today, we talk about those experiences. As a veteran in recovery, Ron has much to say with regard to faith, community, and the power of the Holy...

"This episode is incredibly special to me. To sit and chat with one of my favorite people in the whole world truly is such a gift. I pray that you hear my sister's story of her multiple trips to the NICU with her son, Beckham, and with her, truly see the goodness of God even in our suffering." - Tyler




We do not own the rights to the song "Goodness of God" by Jenn Johnson and Bethel M...

"He who stands alone falls." Pastor Hill drops a great thought about men and women in the ministry who try to be "hero" servants and serve a great mission, but do it alone. This person has made themselves a prime target for the enemy to pick them off and suffocate them. What can we do? How can seminary training prepare pastors better so that they don't end up trying to serve Christ by their lonesome? Pastor...

The Rev. Dr. Jim Marriott joins Tyler on this week's episode! Jim taught at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, where Tyler attended, and now serves as the Associate Pastor at small Texas church outside of Austin. He also teaches theology and music at Concordia University Texas where he is also the chairman of the theology department. On this episode, we talked about the use of liturgy in suffering, difficult transitions, and yes...

On this week's episode, Tyler interviews a great friend of the podcast and the Family of God. Penny Armbruster is the Executive Director of The Luke Clinic in Detroit and Flint.  The Luke Clinic is a free pro-life 501c3 non-profit charity dedicated to taking care of mothers, providing prenatal care, and infant care. On this episode we talk about compassion, relationships, suffering, women's health, and the importance of f...

On this exciting episode, Pastor Hill and Pastor Cronkright sit down with a long time friend and professor, Rev. Dr. Charles Schulz of Concordia University Ann Arbor. Recently, Pastor Schulz has returned from a two week stint in South Sudan where he taught church history at the seminary. We talk with him about his experience there, the need for the Gospel, and what we can learn here in the United States from our brothers and sister...

Pastor Bill Wrede of Denison, Iowa joins me (Tyler) on this week's episode. In our conversation, we talked about the hard transition from the Seminary to being a parish pastor, to the struggles he experienced as a Seminary employee, and lastly, his time serving at Ground Zero in New York on September 11th and in the days following. This man has quite the story, and we can't wait for you to hear it!

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Perhaps the most polarizing episode to date. Tyler sits down with Donavon Riley to talk about addiction. What is the nature of the addict? What don't "outsiders" understand? What is truly at the core of addiction and is there really a cure?
This particular episode of Suffering Servants will shock your system. It’s raw and it’s real. But it’s also necessary for us to understand our addicted brothers and sisters an...

Pastor Tyler interviews Deaconess Intern Terry Priestley of St. John Lutheran Church in Rochester Michigan & Family of God Detroit. In this episode, they discuss the importance of women's ministry, physical presence for those in need, and the importance of listening. They also discuss the vicious cycle that many women involved in toxic relationships go through. Terry also shares of her own experiences, suffering, trauma, a...