Let the Bird Fly!

* 00:00 - Introduction * 02:09 - Free-for-All (Milwaukee's Best) 18:32 - Main Topic (Journalism, Culture, and Milwaukee) On episode FORTY-ONE of Let the Bird Fly! Wade and Mike have the great privilege of welcoming Sharon Patterson into the “studio” for a wide-ranging conversation that wanders through questions ranging from journalism and culture to faith and generational changes. One common theme throughout the discussion seems to be a story rooted in Milwaukee, WI. Mrs. Patterson was the only of her siblings born in Wisconsin, the rest having transplanted from Louisiana. This provides her with a unique insider-outsider perspective of a community that she’s has always called home. It is this perspective, coupled with a talent for telling stories, that results in a fascinating from conversation that covers her time on the radio, through her success with the PBS series Black Nouveau, to her current role in development at Wisconsin Lutheran College. We are extremely grateful to Sharon for her willingness to join us on this episode. We hope you will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

On Episode 33, Mike and Wade sat down to discuss worship, or the Divine Service, and Mike promised a series of Wingin' It episodettes on various parts of the Western Rite. Well, this is the first installment of that promised series. In this Wingin' It Mike and Wade discuss the processional (a fitting place to start). If you haven't listened to our episode on worship, you can do that right here. And if you enjoy this Wingin' It, be sure to stay tuned, as there are more to come. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

* 00:00 - Introduction * 02:15 - Scripture Narrative (Matthew 2) * 13:43 - Free-for-All (Church Days Between Christmas Day and Epiphany) 31:26 - Main Topic (The Season of Epiphany) On episode FORTY of Let the Bird Fly! Wade and Mike get together to discuss the season of Epiphany. Before getting to Epiphany, however, they take a look at the days that the Church recognizes between Christmas Day and the season of Epiphany. That discussion serves at the Free-for-All, so this is a church year heavy episode, so we hope you don't get too church-yeared-out. Happy New Year from Let the Bird Fly!; thanks for a listening and sharing! As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

* 00:00 - Introduction * 03:40 - Scripture Narrative (Hymn: From Heaven Above To Earth I Come) * 09:48 - Free-for-All (Favorite Part of Christmas...at Church) 24:19 - Main Topic (A Merry Christmas Episode) On episode THIRTY-NINE of Let the Bird Fly! Wade, Mike, and Peter are without Ben, but they are joined by EIGHT of their lovely daughters. Many of these voices are not strangers to the podcast, but this is the first time we’ve had them all on the same episode, as well as first appearances by Beatrice and another Sophia (that’s two Sophia’s for those keeping count at home). The girls help the guys through the Scripture Narrative, which turns out to be more of a hymn study, as Wade walks through From Heaven Above to Earth I Come. They also stick around for the free-for-all, but decide to leave their dads to manage the main topic alone. Speaking of the main topic, the guys share some of their thoughts on Christmas and the Christmas season. The guys mention a couple of books the you might be interested in, so here they are with links to their Amazon page: Luther at the Manger: Christmas Sermons on Isaiah 9:6 trans. Nathan Biebert and Martin Luther's Christmas Book ed. Roland Bainton. From all of us here at Let the Bird Fly!, we wish you and yours a very happy and blessed Christmas! Thank you for listening, we hope that you enjoy the conversation. As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.

* 00:00 - Introduction * 03:40 - Scripture Narrative (John 1:24-34) * 09:48 - Free-for-All (Favorite and Least-Favorite Christmas Gift Ever) 24:19 - Main Topic (Luther's Baptismal Rite - Part 2) On episode THIRTY-EIGHT of Let the Bird Fly! the guys hold Wade off for one more episode, so that Mike and Peter can continue the discussion on Luther’s Baptismal Rite that they began with Ben on Episode 37. The guys are joined once again by Peter’s two oldest girls, as well as Mike's middle daughter. After Peter discusses how the Gospel according to St. John handles the baptism of Jesus, the girls help the guys our in the Free-for-All. Mike proves to be so-twentieth-century and Peter once again discusses his “classy” upbringing. But eventually they make it back around to Luther’s Baptismal Rite, picking up with Luther’s wonderful Flood Prayer. Mike again references volume 3 of Francis Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics. And Oliva demonstrates the Augustinian influence that has caused her to reconsider her Donatist position on baptism. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 of our discussion yet, you may want to do that first. You can find that in Episode 37. We hope the two-part discussion isn’t too much, but trust us, we reigned ourselves in (we probably could’ve made this a twenty-part discussion). As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner

In this quick promo, Mike and Peter discuss the devotions on the O Antiphons that Mike has prepared. The O Antiphons are an ancient tradition of the church, one which we are excited to carry on here at Let the Bird Fly! If you're not sure what they are, give it a listen (don't worry, it's short), and if you're interested the devotions, be sure to sign-up for our Devotions email list and we'll deliver links to the devotion for the day right to your inbox. As always, thanks for listening. We hope you and yours have a blessed preparation for Christmas! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

* 00:00 - Introduction * 02:52 - Scripture Narrative (Mark 10:13-16) * 06:29 - Free-for-All (Favorite Part of Christmas--excluding Jesus and presents) 25:15 - Main Topic (Luther's Baptismal Rite - Part 1) On episode THIRTY-SEVEN of Let the Bird Fly! the guys shake Wade once again and are able to talk about what they want to for a change. Ben, Mike, and Peter welcome a couple of their daughters (between the three of them they have 9 daughters and no sons) into the studio while they discuss Luther’s Baptismal Rite. The talk goes long, so they decide to pick it up again on a future episode, so we’re calling this Part 1. Before getting to the main topic (and two Peter’s daughters revealing that he’s evidently raising them as Donatists), Mike walks us through the little children coming to Jesus in Mark 10. We also get into the Christmas spirit asking, What’s your favorite part of Christmas? in the Free-for-All (and we prohibited the obvious answers of Jesus’s birth and presents). Although we don’t make it all the way through the Baptismal Rite, we hope that you still find this first part of our discussion worth your while. Mike refers to Francis Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics a number of times during the episode. If you’re looking for that text, it can be found in Volume 3. One last thing, we're doing another BOOK GIVEAWAY (just in time for Christmas, no less). If you'd like to sign-up for your chance to win a signed copy of Wade's most recent book, A Path Strewn with Sinners: A Devotional Study of Mark’s Gospel & His Race to the Cross, head over to our BOOK GIVEAWAY PAGE and register. And if you're wondering what Wade's book is all about, head over to Episode 30, where Wade talked with Peter about his book. As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode:

In this Wingin' It session, Wade discusses the great devotional work by Johann Gerhard, Sacred Meditations, which he translated and that was originally published in 2008. As we continue on in that Advent season, perhaps these meditations can provide some refreshment, grace, and perspective during what is often a busy, frustrating, and maybe anxious or melancholic time of year. If you'd like to get the Meditations for yourself, they are available on Amazon right here. Wade mentions the devotions produced by Mike's previous parish, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wood Lake, MN. If you're interested in checking them out, or if you'd like to listen to Episode 35, where they were originally mentioned, you can find of all that on our show notes page for Episode 35. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.  

* 00:00 - Introduction * 03:39 - Scripture Narrative (Philippians 4) * 14:35 - Free-for-All (Favorite Hymns) 34:51 - Main Topic (The Guys Get Music) On episode THIRTY-SIX of Let the Bird Fly! the guys welcome Dr. Jeremy Zima to discuss what he discusses best: Music. Mike discusses the love of beautiful things (hey, one might find beauty in music!) and the freedom we have to venture all things while seeking that which is beautiful. Dr. Zima shows off his Bible History chops, but Wade cuts him off (perhaps because he was feeling threatened). In the Free-for-All the guys discuss their favorite hymns, as well as what has happened to Peter. In fact, they wonder so much, that it may have been a bit awkward for Dr. Zima (but he said he’s a “fanboy” of the podcast, so he should’ve known to be prepared for anything). Mike shares Mr. Bean’s difficulty with singing A Hymn of Glory Let Us, but he likes it all the same. Dr. Zima sings the praises of Abide with Me, a hymn that Wade has mentioned in the past is a favorite of his as well. Ben, as only he could do, decides not to select a hymn, or a hymn writer, or even a composer of music that’s used in hymns; no, Ben selects a hymn translator as his favorite hymn. Well, at least he picks a good one in Catherine Winkworth. (In Kindergarten Ben’s report card simply read, “Refuses not follow rules!”) Wade finally coughs up his favorite hymn, after making everyone else go first, but you’ll have to listen to find out what it is. Despite some technical difficulties that lead to some rough audio for Ben in the Main Topic, the guys have a great conversation with Dr. Zima about what he does at the college, in the community, at his church, and all having to do with music. On a few occasions the guys mention that they need to get Dr. Zima back to discuss a growing list of topics that he just touched on in this episode. So if you enjoy this episode (and we think you will), we hope that we’ll have opportunities to talk with Dr. Zima in the future. On a side note, when the guys discovered the poor audio in the Main Topic they brainstormed a few ideas of how to handle it. Wade's idea was to insert the Mr. Men theme song every time Ben was talking. While this proved impractical, we thought you might want to imagine how that might have gone. Here's the Mr. Men theme song that Wade seems fond of (although Peter would probably prefer the original Mr. Men theme song, as it seems to fit better with his Brit Lit phase as a grade schooler). As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two!

In this brief Wingin' It (is Wade ever brief?), Wade discusses the difference between some key terms. What's the difference between a religion and a denomination, a false teacher and a heretic? How do they relate, and how do we relate to them? Are these terms sometimes used irresponsibly, too lightly or quickly? Are they sometimes not used often enough? How should Christians deal with differences on teaching and with authors, whether from the past or the present, who have perhaps erred on certain points while making valuable contributions on others? Wade delves, briefly, into such questions in this session. We hope you enjoy this Wingin' It. If you're digging the podcast, we'd be thrilled if you'd share it with your friends, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.  

In this Bird's Eye View episode, we bring you the third and final part of a three-part series from a talk that Wade gave at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mukwonago, WI. Wade was asked to talk on Luther and the reformation, and he did so following the rough outline suggested by Martin Brecht's three-volume series on Luther. In this, the part of his talk, Wade covers latter years of Luther's life, from roughly 1532-1546. This is the time period the Brecht covers in the third volume of his series, entitled: Martin Luther - The Preservation of the Church 1532-1546. If you missed the first two parts of Wade's talk, you can find the first part here and the second part here. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the podcast, you can do that right here. Wade is grateful to St. John's for having him come and speak, and we are grateful to them for allowing Wade to record it so that we could share it with our listeners. Stay tuned for the next two installments of this series. If you're digging the podcast, we'd be thrilled if you'd share it with your friends, as well as subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. Thanks for listening!

* 00:00 - Introduction * 02:56 - Scripture Narrative (Matthew 21) * 20:21 - Free-for-All (Would you rather live without the internet or AC and heating?) 42:29 - Main Topic (The Season of Advent) On episode THIRTY-FIVE of Let the Bird Fly! the guys discuss the first season in the church year: Advent. Without Ben and without a guest Mike, Wade, and Peter somehow find a way to talk for well over an hour about the season of Advent (well, they do take some time out for the Free-for-All, I suppose). The discussion touches on the history and practices of the church year in general, but always with a focus on the first season of the church year. Mike mentions the O Antiphons, which he plans to write short devotions on during this Advent season. (Check back on LetTheBirdFly.com mid-December, if you’re interested. Or better yet, sign-up for one of our email lists and we’ll email you when they are posted.) Mike also mentioned the devotions produced by St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wood Lake, MN. If you are interested, you can find the Daily Devotions here and the Family Devotions here. We hope that you enjoy the discussion. If it sparks any thoughts or questions, please let us know. We always love to hear from our listeners. As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.

In this Wingin' It, Wade reviews Andrew Pettegree's, Brand Luther. (Or, if you're looking for the full title: Brand Luther: How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe--and Started the Protestant Reformation.) Wade recorded this a few weeks ago (which you'll notice, especially if you're a regular listener to the podcast), but you'll still appreciate his discussion of Brand Luther. This is the book that Wade would recommend for the reader looking to find a fresh take on Luther and the Reformation. In fact, if you find yourself taking a class from him at the college, he may require you pick up a copy. We hope you enjoy this Wingin' It. If you're digging the podcast, we'd be thrilled if you'd share it with your friends, subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.

In this Bird's Eye View episode, we bring you the second of a three-part series from a talk that Wade gave at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mukwonago, WI. Wade was asked to talk on Luther and the reformation, and he did so following the rough outline suggested by Martin Brecht's three-volume series on Luther. In this, the second part of his talk, Wade covers the heart of the Reformation, roughly the years 1521-1532. This is the time period the Brecht covers in his second volume: Martin Luther - Shaping and Defining the Reformation 1521-1532. If you missed the first part of this series, where Wade discusses Luther's early years, you can find that right here. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the podcast, you can do that right here. Wade is grateful to St. John's for having him come and speak, and we are grateful to them for allowing Wade to record it so that we could share it with our listeners. Stay tuned for the next two installments of this series. If you're digging the podcast, we'd be thrilled if you'd share it with your friends, as well as subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. Thanks for listening!  

* 00:00 - Introduction * 03:54 - Scripture Narrative (Colossians 2) * 12:11 - Free-for-All (Favorite Holidays) 31:35 - Main Topic (The Guys Talk Holidays) On episode THIRTY-FOUR of Let the Bird Fly! the guys are all back together for the first time in a long while. Since we’re heading into the “holiday season” the guys decide to discuss the holidays: what are they, what do they mean, how do they change, etc. Before arriving at the main topic, however, Wade discusses Colossians 2 in the Scripture Narrative and Mike chimes in with some talk about the Gospel according to St. Matthew. On an episode about holidays, what else could the guys discuss other than their favorite holidays (and holiday foods, of course). But eventually, as always seems to be the case, they finally get around to the Main Topic. This one may be a bit less structured than it normally is (I know, scary, right?), and Wade offers 10,000 disclaimers, but we hope you’ll enjoy it all the same. If it sparks any thoughts, be sure to share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, or at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com. As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.