Social Media and a Sense of Play

An interview with Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller

In this special episode of the Next Step Podcast, Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, Senior Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas talks to Rev. Justin Rossow, founder of Next Step Press, about COVID, social media, and running ministry experiments with a sense of play.


I recently saw Pastor Wolfmueller at the Texas District Convention and asked him what he had learned during COVID. His response prompted a further conversation about thinking both creatively and theologically when we face with unique challenges or questions in ministry. A sense of experimentation and play allows you to try something new curiosity and delight without the burden of having to be successful.

We’ll look specifically at the way St. Paul, Austin answered social media questions about resourcing home worship and putting Bible class online for the whole world to see. You can see one example of a home worship resource video or check out their Worldwide Bible Class if you’d like to see those decisions in action.

Your congregation may have come to different conclusions to similar questions, but the attitude and insight Pastor Wolfmueller brings to the table will help you think creatively and theologically about your next ministry challenge.


This interview builds on the thinking behind the eBook Preaching Post-COVID: What We’ve Learned about Sermons, Sermon Series, and Your Preaching Ministry. Find out more or, to get your own Thank You copy of the eBook, sign up for the Next Step Discipling Leaders group.

This recording (and the Thank You gifts) are made possible in part by the generous support of Next Step Patrons. If now is the right time for you to make a commitment to the mission of resourcing next step discipleship, please consider becoming a Next Step Patron today. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep.

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