Breaking Bread Podcast

Today we are constantly confronted with different views, positions, and opinions. It is important that we learn how to disagree well with our family, neighbors, friends, and fellow church goers. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Joe Gerber and Brian Sutter join Matt Kaufmann in a conversation about the nature of disagreement, how it can be leveraged for good and on what agreement should be based....

Show notes:  How should we understand our sexuality?  God created us relational. To know and love another and being known and loved by another is a core human need. Wonderfully, this is ultimately met in Christ apart from sex. Yet, our sexuality serves as a physical reminder of this need. Sexuality in marriage can be a reflection of this holy intimacy with God.   What is a critical element of sexu...

Psychedelics are on the rise. Touted for their potential in serving mental illness, psychedelic use deserves thoughtful consideration. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Matt Kaufmann interviews Psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Plattner on psychedelic use. What is it? How is it similar or different from traditional medicine? What effect does it have on the brain? How might Christian's think about it? Show...

There are so many matters to be opinionated about. "Don't you care?" says everyone .  How can we live well in a world where we have a lot that concerns us and a small capacity to influence any of it ? In this episode of Breaking Bread, Amber Miller and Kathy Knochel speak to this constant pressure of feeling judged for not caring enough. They go on to outline a healthy life that lives on the spect...

When the astronauts of Artemis II passed behind the far side of the moon, all communication with mission control was lost.  For those long silent 40 minutes, the spaceship and her occupants were entrusted to fate beyond direct control. This helpless, silent season is all too familiar to parents for whom children are becoming increasingly distant and unresponsive. In this episode of Breaking Bread,...

Maps can be helpful in seeing a larger landscape. They help answer relevant questions such as "Where are we?", "Where am I going?", "What might I expect along the journey?". In this episode of Breaking Bread, Isaac Funk and Arlan Miller have a conversation about six movements along the path of spiritual growth. They give us a map to help us understand what growth in Christ looks like. Show notes:...

Maps can be helpful in seeing a larger landscape. They help answer relevant questions such as "Where are we?", "Where am I going?", "What might I expect along the journey?". In this episode of Breaking Bread, Isaac Funk and Arlan Miller have a conversation about six movements along the path of spiritual growth. They give us a map to help us understand what growth in Christ looks like. Show notes :...

We live in an offensive world. Jesus warned us that we would. It is important that we acquire a skillset that is resilient against offense. In this episode of  Breaking Bread , Craig Stickling outlines what this looks like for the believer. Show Notes: "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" ~ Jesus (Matthew...

There are so many external demands on our time and attention - anxiety inducing demands. Demands that answer questions like: What should I care about? What should I strive for? What is success? In this podcast of Breaking Bread, Katie Miller and Kathy Knochel help us see that the demands after all might not be from an external voice but rather our own internal one. Fortunately, there are practical...

Loss is common to all of us and yet unique .   Pain  accompanies  our losses, and grief  accompanies  our pain .  In this episode of Breaking Bread, Bill Schmidgall and Kathy Knochel speak to this common yet unique experience of gri eving and the hope for  healing .       Show notes :   Grief marks the pain of loss, which by God's grace, is holy ground for God's s haping in our lives.   Grieving :...

Drift  is slow,  passive,  and creates unwanted distance over time .   Without intentionality, relationships can experience  drift . On this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer addresses marital drift. When husbands and wives drift apart. In this episode we will discuss what drift is, what it looks  like,  and how to close the distance. Show notes :   Marital drift is the slow process of spouse...

Brain development can be understood as a process of four maturing stages: survival, emotional, attachment and cognitive. These stages hold a key to understanding both poor and healthy thought processes. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Dr. Kirby Reutter steps us through brain development, how trauma impacts it and how by God's grace we can think healthier.    Show Notes :    The first dimension...

When a spouse is on the autistic spectrum, marriages can experience unique challenges. Communication and understanding will likely be impacted. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer speaks to these unique challenges and provides a roadmap to flourishing. Show notes: When communication is significantly strained in marriage, neuro-diversity may be present. Often, in these marriages, the amo...

What if I choose the wrong  option ? What if a better  option  comes  a  long ? These are a few of the questions that plague decision makers. In this episode of Breaking Bread,  Kathy Knochel and Ted Witzig Jr.  discuss the angst that can  accompany  decision making. While we  desire  to have  certainty  about   future  outcome s ,  it  remains  elusive . Yet, there is a certainty that the believe...

Change, when it is for the better, always  accompanies  healthy human growth. When i t  comes to emotional,  relational  and spiritual change, repentance is an apt feature to discuss. After all, repentance means  changing  your mind. On this episode of Breaking Bread, Chad Leman and Brian Sutter  shed light on both the "why" and "how" of repentance.     Show Notes :    Repentance in  three  moveme...

Show notes: Growing into  Christlikeness  is not a linear process.  Yet   the historic Christian church has  identified  three movements that we revisit with increasing depth.    Purification: This refers to  growing  in increasing moral excellence.  Illumination: This refers to growing in increasing understanding of truth.   Communion: This refers to growing in increasing fellowship with God.   T...

Christ knew what he was doing when he gave his disciples what we have come to call "The Lord's Prayer." It is beautiful to the ear. Rhythmic to the tongue. Simple to remember and loaded with power. In this episode, Joe Leman highlights this beauty and power and helps us see the hope of human transformation that is instore for any who would take up the prayer and  pray  it.   

Stress is a very real part of our lives. How we  manage  stress  can  have  health y or unhealthy consequences.  Fortunately, one tool we should be using  to soothe stress in one another is stress - reducing conversations. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer, Craig Stickling, and Brian Sutter explain how to have these purposeful conversations.       Show notes :   What is  stress-relate...

Healthy  relationships  require that  we  are  open to being influenced.  After all, what is  a relationship  if it  doesn't  include  give and  take.   In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer  explains what both research and experience has taught him about the importance of accepting influence  in relationships.   Show notes :   What does accepting relational influence mean?    Allowing th...

Parenting has  its  eye towards producing future adults. One powerful adult forming tool is instilling good habits in our kids. A well p arented  habit can pay dividends  in the long run  by building  the muscle  memory to do what otherwise would not be natural.  In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter examples this by suggesting three habits that will produce very welcome attributes  in o...

We all have room  for  growth. Yet sometimes our progress gets  stalled,  and we get discouraged. This discouragement might be because we are measuring the wrong thing. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Ted Witzig Jr. helps correct this mistake and teaches us to measur e  from the bottom -up .     Show notes :   Measuring human growth can be tricky. We often evaluate our progress by  measuring fr...

To be human  is to  age. To age well is to transition. To transition well is to adapt. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Ron Messner and Lori Wiegand encourage us to be intentional in the aging process. In  so doing , we  find   abundance  of life where scarcity may have been assumed.      Show notes:   Finding abundance instead of scarcity in the last third of life is a function of intentionalit...

Advent is a season of longing and hope  for Christmas  -  a time when anticipation fills the air. But what does this waiting reveal about the kind of people Christ is shaping us to be? In this episode  of Breaking Bread, Joe Leman and Matt Kaufmann  explore how the  Lord's prayer  stirs a deep desire for Christ's kingdom and transforms our hearts  to long for him in  and outside of the  Christmas...

The Thank sgiving holiday affords us the opportunity to engage in one of the healthiest human behaviors – the giving of thanks. Research suggests that thankful people are in some ways mentally, emotionally, and relationally healthier than their unthankful counterparts. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Arlan Miller and Matt Kaufmann look beneath the hood of t hanksgiving to discover the deeper ma...

It has always been hard to stay on top of technology. It seems artificial intelligence (AI) has just raised the ante. In this Breaking Bread podcast episode, David Virkler helps demystify AI. In so doing , some down-to-earth advice is given on how to parent our kids in this world of AI . Show Notes :   A few things to understand about AI.   Artificial Intelligence is an expansive field with many a...