Recently, you may have heard something new on The Lutheran Hour. Beginning this spring, a segment called "Action in Ministry" (AIM) airs after Speaker Rev. Gregory Seltz's message and before the Q&A portion, which ends the broadcast. This segment highlights the church at work, showing how it meets the needs of others in deeds of love and in words of witness to God's love in Christ. The goal is to see the church in action, not as detached from the world, but as God's people who show love to the world. Segments highlight LHM's domestic and international outreach and feature guests who appear in either audio or video format.
According to Mark Eischer, senior radio producer for Lutheran Hour Ministries, "We designed Action in Ministry to present a global view of how God is working through Lutheran Hour Ministries in various ways. Martin Luther once said, 'God doesn't need our good works, but our neighbor does.' God accomplishes His work even through flawed, imperfect instruments like you and me. In these weekly AIM features you'll hear these ministry stories, and also you'll hear about various resources that are available to you. The focus is on encouraging the listener to take action and use these resources."
To see what's new, check out the AIM segments for August. To kick things off, Rev. Wayne Palmer, LHM's theological writer and editor, spoke about God's generous call to each of us in "God Is in the Restoration Business." In "Christian Citizenship and Our Core Beliefs," the intersection of church and state was addressed by Tad Armstrong, an attorney with vast experience on matters related to the U.S. Constitution. In "Comebacks," Pastor Dion Garrett of St. John Church in Ellisville, Missouri, encouraged listeners to look to God for strength when life throws some hard punches. Finally, in "Forgiveness Is a Choice," Army Chaplain Steven Hokana topped off the month with a Skype interview from his post in Kuwait. He addressed the critical issue of forgiveness in a person's life: what it is, why it's important, and how each of us can find it at "the foot of the cross."
Two AIM segments in particular resonated deeply with listeners. On June 14, Rev. Seltz, along with Eischer, interviewed Fadi Khairallah, director of LHM—Lebanon (aka Middle East Lutheran Ministry), with its ministry center in Beirut, Lebanon. In a program entitled, "Syrian Refugees Created by ISIS," he described the complex state of affairs in Lebanon and how LHM—Lebanon is responding in Christian love and charity to help these displaced families. Working with staff and volunteers to help alleviate the plight of these war-ravaged refugees, Khairallah opened a window for listeners into the lives of these desperate, uprooted people.
The strongest response LHM has received to date was an AIM interview on July 12 with Dr. Carol Geisler, the author of a Project Connect booklet called A Treasure Revealed: Martin Luther and the Events of the Reformation. Informative and insightful, this little volume introduces Luther and shares some of the key insights God led him to rediscover, namely, that salvation is by grace through faith! It's also an excellent companion primer to the just-released Bible study from LHM, A Man Named Martin—Part 1: The Man. Both programs drew strong listener response in terms of LHM materials requested and financial support offered.
The purpose of AIM is to further enhance an already Christ-centered broadcast with takeaway tools and resources for both the church and unchurched listeners to use. Jim Arand, program director of media for LHM, put it this way: "We want to encourage people to be in action with us. As we look around the world we see the need more than ever for the peace that comes through Christ. The Lutheran Hour program reaches all corners of the world, and we want to use that platform to not only proclaim the Gospel, but also to encourage, build up, and put the Gospel in the hands of those feeling the tug of the Spirit calling them."
In addition to the AIM segment interview, supplemental resources—including raw video of most interviews in their entirety—are available from The Lutheran Hour program's website. You can listen to previous AIM segments, along with the entire program of The Lutheran Hour, by going to www.lutheranhour.org.