Church Membership

230.Where does the WELS go from here?

We read the 2022 statistical report given at the convention, discuss its analysis, and talk about its proposed strategy to address the statistical cliff churches (WELS included) in America are facing.
Join us for this conversation and if you have questions don't hesitate to ask us. 
Email: castingnetspod@gmail.com
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Self-Care: Selfish or Sacred?

Today we welcome Susan L. Fink, the author of "Selfcare: Selfish or Sacred." Susan joins us to discuss 10 myths Christians hold about self-care and how we as Christians are called to take care of ourselves and others. 
For more information: 
www.susanlfink.com
www.amazon.com
 
Casting Nets
https://castingnetspod.podbean.com/
Email: castingnetspod@gmail.com
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Listen also on Youtube: 

Does church membership still matter? Part 2

Pastor Enderle and Pastor Ruddat attended the same summer quarter course (in fall) from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary on discipleship. A book from Thom Rainer posits that one way to address the church membership losses that christian churches are experiencing is to revisit what does it mean to be a church member, so we review the book from a Lutheran perspective.
Pastor Will Harley also joined us this week, and helped keep the conversation moving. Passages read from the Evangelical Heritage Version.
CHAPTER FOUR – I WILL PRAY FOR MY CHURCH LEADERS Ephesians 6:18-19
CHAPTER FIVE – I WILL LEAD MY FAMILY TO BE HEALTHY CHURCH MEMBERS Matthew 5:43-48 Deuteronomy 4:1-10
Resources we mentioned:
WELS FAMILY DEVOTIONS (https://wels.net/serving-you/devotions/family-devotions/) "WELS family devotions" are devotions delivered to your email that has age appropriate discussion questions for the family. Also on an audio format.
Lutheran (not WELS) resources:
Family Style Theology, a podcast by a mom for moms and their kids. (https://www.1517.org/podcasts/family-style-theology)
Hidden Streams, is a devotion and study of the Psalms. (https://www.1517.org/podcasts/hidden-streams)
CHAPTER SIX – I WILL TREASURE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AS A GIFT Ephesians 2:8-10 T
his podcast is also featured on https://www.raisedwithjesus.com/podcast/ (https://www.raisedwithjesus.com/podcast/) "Raised with Jesus" is a daily WELS podcast where the life of Jesus meets yours. Special Guest: James Enderle.

Does church membership still matter? Part 1

Pastor Enderle and Pastor Ruddat attended the same summer quarter course (in fall) from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary on discipleship. A book from Thom Rainer posits that one way to address the church membership losses that christian churches are experiencing is to revisit what does it mean to be a church member, so we review the book from a Lutheran perspective.
Passages read from the Evangelical Heritage Version.
CHAPTER ONE – I WILL BE A FUNCTIONING CHURCH MEMBER 1 Corinthians 12-13
CHAPTER TWO – I WILL BE A UNIFYING CHURCH MEMBER Colossians 3:12-17
Pastor Ruddat's podcast referenced is found here: https://castingnetspod.podbean.com/e/episode-142-fishing-solo-three-things-you-may-not-know-about-discipleship/
CHAPTER THREE – I WILL NOT LET MY CHURCH BE ABOUT MY PREFERENCES AND DESIRES Philippians 2:1-16
This podcast is also featured on https://www.raisedwithjesus.com/podcast/ (https://www.raisedwithjesus.com/podcast/) "Raised with Jesus" is a daily WELS podcast where the life of Jesus meets yours. Equipment provided by: "Moving to a Ten" podcast www.movingtoaten.com Special Guest: James Enderle.

Fishing Solo: Three Things You May Not Know about Discipleship

Pastor Dave Ruddat fishes solo talking about three Things you may not have known about discipleship:
1. Discipleship has always been around but may not have always been utilized.
2. Discipleship has always been a stuggle to carry out in the organized church.
3. God's Word stands ready to disciple us and the next generation.
Our podcast on 5 reasons why your pastor should engage in professional growth is found here: (https://castingnets.fireside.fm/119)

Rural Ministry

Dave and Will talk about the gift of ministry in a rural church setting. Sometimes we forget that ministry is not just about the numbers of people but the message and growth of the God's word among them as Christ is shared.

Digitized Church Part II

We welcome Jonathan Ruddat, a website designer, used book store entrepreneur, and a part-time employee of 922 church as their online integrator. Listen as we continue the discussion about the digitalized church, especially the nitty gritty, such as.
* Explain the people that make online church work.
* What types of posts have they done during the week? Which ones gets the most trackable online activity?
* Greatest challenge in setting up a digital church
* Greatest challenge in maintaining a digitalized church
* Is digitized church just a fad that will go away now that in-person worship has resumed?
www.Canva.com is the online graphics platform that was mentioned.. Special Guest: Jon Ruddat.

Digitized Church Part I

We welcome Jonathan Ruddat, a website designer, used book store entrepreneur, and a part-time employee of 922 church as their online integrator. Listen to the discussion as we talk about:
* What is church?
* What makes a digitized church different than a church that streams content online (such as sermons, Bible class, podcast)?
* How does a digitized church not fall into the trap of just providing content for people to consume?
* With a digitized church providing daily material, are we creating a false sense of piety?
* Why have a private facebook group for your digitized church?
* How much of the physical church is incorportated into a digitized church?
* What about communion in the digitized church?
Part II will focus on the nitty gritty of what makes a digital church work Special Guest: Jon Ruddat.

Lutheran Preaching

Words matter and God's word changes the world just as it did in the beginning. Discover how Lutheran Preaching is unique and essential for today's church and today's world.

Let’s Study Bible Study

We talk today about Bible Study. We look at the formal Pastor lead Bible Study on Sunday and Small Group Bible Studies. What are the goods and the bads, the ins and outs, and have we messed it up. Join us for this conversation as two Parish Pastor discuss their craft on equipping others to talk about Christ.

Statistical Nightmare

Dave Ruddat and Will Harley talk about Congregational Statistics and the good that come from all the work in putting them together. Can the business work of church numbers be interesting and helpful to a church? Listen to a great conversation as these two talk about Gospel ministry and the nightmare of numbers and figures.

Past Thoughts: Why Am I A Lutheran 3

Summer is a great time for vacations with the family. It is also a great time to get our thoughts together so that we can bring you better content. So, as we do our part to spend the summer with family and prep. we have another past thought to share with you as we finish the Bible Study on being Lutheran.

Past Thoughts: Why Am I A Lutheran 2

We hope you find this episode interesting as we continue to past thoughts on being Lutheran. This a Bible Study that was recorded by Pastor Harley at Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church in Winner, SD. Hope you find it beneficial.

Past Thoughts - Why Am I A Lutheran 1

We are reaching back into the archives and bringing out some Recorded Bible Studies from the past. Since it is summer, and the crew is on vacation. Enjoy. More new content will be coming. We have a couple of weeks of vacations and rearanged schedules.
This episode from a past Bible Study will hopefully give you some insight into why being a Lutheran is based on Scripture.

Covid19 and Ministry

Reaching the lost with Christ Jesus and the hope of the unchanging.