How Can Churches Help Immigrants and Refugees Today? A Conversation with Rev. Eric Shafer

How Can Churches Help Immigrants and Refugees Today? A Conversation with Rev. Eric Shafer

Pastor Nate talks with Pastor Eric Shafer, Pastor in Residence at Global Refuge, about refugees, immigration, faith, and what it means to love our neighbors in real life. This Together 4 Good conversation explores why refugee support is deeply connected to Christian faith, Lutheran history, and the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Eric shares how Global Refuge supports immigrants and refugees through welcome centers, legal support, community partnerships, and long-term care. Together, Nate and Eric talk about how churches can respond with compassion, clarity, prayer, learning, advocacy, and action. What You’ll Learn: * What refugees are and why safety is central to the conversation * Why Scripture calls Christians to welcome immigrants and refugees * How Global Refuge helps people rebuild their lives * How Lutheran churches have supported refugee resettlement for decades * How individuals and congregations can help refugees through prayer, giving, learning, and advocacy Chapters:00:00 Coming up on Together 4 Good00:36 Meet Pastor Eric Shafer of Global Refuge03:34 Why refugee ministry is part of a pastor’s call05:00 What Scripture says about welcoming strangers05:45 A bold claim about faith, immigrants, and refugees07:44 Responding to pushback with faith and compassion09:23 The Lutheran history of refugee support11:00 Refugees, asylum, and common misunderstandings11:35 What does refugee mean?14:00 What Global Refuge welcome centers do16:20 How Jesus responds to people in need17:30 Why immigration needs order and compassion20:30 How people and churches can help refugees21:20 Faith Alliance training for congregations22:00 Advocacy, local support, and prayer25:00 World Refugee Day and Lutheran history26:00 Gratitude for churches supporting refugee work If this conversation helped you think more clearly about faith, refugees, immigration, and loving your neighbor, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may want to learn more about Global Refuge and how churches can support refugee neighbors. Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org [http://www.bethany-denver.org]

Sunday School Remix: Is Faith About Getting What You Want?

What if the story of the fiery furnace is not about having enough faith to get what you want? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Daniel 3 and the deeper story beneath the Sunday school version: exile, identity, control, fragile power, and a faith that trusts God beyond the outcome. What You’ll Learn: * Why the fiery furnace story is about more than survival * How exile shaped the identity of God’s people * Why King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue was about power and control * What “even if God does not” teaches us about faith * How God meets us in the hardest places Chapters:00:00 What if the fiery furnace is about bigger faith?00:38 Why this Sunday school story is more complicated than we remember01:30 Israel, exile, and being cut off from home03:10 Names, identity, and belonging04:00 Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue and fragile power05:30 Why everyone was commanded to bow down06:30 Why the repetition in Daniel 3 matters07:15 Rage, ego, and the furnace turned up hotter08:10 “What god will save you from me?”09:00 “Even if he does not”10:15 Faith is not a transaction11:30 Why they refused to bow down12:20 God shows up in the furnace13:30 Where God meets us in suffering14:20 Nebuchadnezzar still does not fully get it15:05 How we act like Nebuchadnezzar today16:30 God is with us in the fires17:20 The story did not end at Sunday school If this episode helped you see Daniel 3 in a new way, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who loves digging deeper into Bible stories. Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org [http://www.bethany-denver.org]

What Can Church History Teach Us About Faith Today? A Conversation with Rev. David W. Preisinger

Pastor Nate sits down with his dad, Rev. David Warren Preisinger, for a conversation about church history, family, faith, and why people keep showing up even when church gets messy. Dave shares what it was like to be part of Seminex, the Seminary in Exile, and how that experience shaped his understanding of leadership, community, and trusting God in uncertain moments. At the heart of this episode is a simple but honest question: why does church still matter? Together, Nate and Dave talk about relationships, service, worship, justice, and the grace that keeps calling us back into community. What You’ll Learn: * Why the Seminex walkout mattered in Lutheran history * How church conflict can still reveal God’s presence * Why relationships are central to healthy church community * How churches can serve their neighborhoods with care and dignity * Why worship, ritual, and belonging still matter today Chapters: 00:00 Coming up on Together 4 Good 01:00 Meet Rev. David Warren Preisinger 02:35 What was Seminex? 07:20 Trusting God during the seminary walkout 12:20 How Seminex shaped church leadership 20:00 A heart for urban ministry 27:00 How do we proclaim Jesus today? 31:00 Serving the neighborhood with dignity 34:00 What is the church’s role now? 38:00 Why are people leaving church? 41:30 Why Dave still goes to church 45:00 Trusting the gift of the church 47:00 Forgiveness, justice, and Amos 51:20 God is in the middle of it all If this conversation helped you think differently about faith, church, or why community still matters, like this video, subscribe to Bethany, and share it with someone who is asking big questions about faith. Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org [http://www.bethany-denver.org]

Sunday School Remix: Is Noah’s Ark About God Starting Over?

What if Noah’s Ark is not really about a floating zoo? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Genesis 6–9 and explores how this familiar childhood story is actually about God’s grief over human violence, the undoing and restarting of creation, and the promise God makes through the rainbow. This is not a simple kids’ story. It is a story about violence, mercy, covenant, memory, and the hope that God does not abandon creation, even when humanity loses its way. What You'll Learn * See why Noah’s Ark is more than a cute Sunday school story * Understand how the flood story connects to the creation story in Genesis * Explore why violence grieves the heart of God * Learn what it means that “God remembered Noah” * Reflect on the rainbow as a sign of covenant, peace, and promise Chapters: 00:00 — What if Noah’s Ark is not about a floating zoo? 00:45 — Why this story is harder than we remember 02:00 — God’s grief over human violence 03:20 — Ancient flood stories and the biblical meaning of Noah 05:15 — How the flood undoes creation 07:00 — Noah, Moses, water, and salvation 08:30 — “God remembered Noah” 10:30 — The dove, the olive branch, and signs of peace 11:20 — The rainbow as covenant 12:00 — God hangs up the bow 13:00 — What Noah’s Ark asks of us today 14:00 — The story does not end at Sunday school If this conversation helped you hear an old Bible story in a new way, like this video, subscribe to Bethany Lutheran Church, and share it with someone who might be wrestling with faith, scripture, or the stories they learned growing up. Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org [http://www.bethany-denver.org]

What Are Invisible Disabilities and How Can Faith Communities Help? A Conversation with Wayne Connell

What does it mean to believe someone when their pain, illness, or disability is not visible? In this episode of Together 4 Good, Pastor Nate talks with Wayne Connell, founder of the Invisible Disabilities Association, about chronic illness, compassion, suffering, isolation, and the kind of community people need when life becomes hard in ways others cannot see. This conversation is about more than disability awareness. It is about learning how to listen, believe, support, and show up for one another with the love of Christ. What You’ll Learn: * What invisible disabilities are and why they are often misunderstood * Why phrases like “but you look good” can unintentionally dismiss someone’s pain * How churches and faith communities can better support people with chronic illness * Why compassion means suffering with people, not fixing them * How presence, listening, and belief can become meaningful care Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and introduction to Wayne Connell 00:50 Wayne’s background in technology, broadcasting, and RadioShack 02:30 How Wayne met his wife, Sherri 05:00 Sherri’s diagnosis with MS and Lyme disease 09:45 The phrase “invisible disabilities” is born 12:00 Launching the Invisible Disabilities Advocate website 15:00 The book But You Look Good 17:00 Encourage, educate, and connect 20:00 Disability, chronic illness, and language 22:00 Faith, value, and being made in the image of God 24:00 Churches, suffering, and accessibility 28:30 Romans 5 and why we cannot skip suffering 34:00 Sitting with people in the ashes 36:00 Compassion means suffering with 39:00 Isolation, presence, and showing up 41:00 Why “How are you doing?” matters more than “How are you feeling?” 45:00 Listening, believing, and supporting people 47:00 Invisible disability as a mission field 49:00 Wayne’s calling and the work ahead Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who needs a more compassionate way to talk about disability, chronic illness, faith, and community. Connect with Bethany: 📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO 🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org [http://www.bethany-denver.org] Connect with Wayne: https://invisibledisabilities.org/