The LCMS presidential election has moved into historic territory.

After two rounds of voting, President Harrison’s lead has narrowed from 228 votes to just 14 votes, while hundreds of eligible voters still have not cast a ballot. In this special timely edition of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman is joined by Tania Hilton and Pastor Jeremy Jacoby to talk about why Round 3 matters, what the numbers reveal, and why disengaged pastors and lay voters may now play a decisive role in the future direction of the LCMS.

This conversation is not about attacking a person. It is about honest engagement, faithful leadership, pastoral formation, mission, unity, and the future of our church body.

If you are a registered voter, please check your inbox — and your spam folder — when voting opens. Your vote matters.

Round 3 voting: June 20–23
And if you want to stay up to date on all things Lutheran Church Missouri Synod from the perspective of our team and network of trusted leaders - Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
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https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman welcomes back Jim Sanft, former President and CEO of Concordia Plans, for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, trust, Lutheran education, lay leadership, LCMS bureaucracy, and what it means to steward faithfully in a changing church.

This conversation is honest, hopeful, and deeply practical for pastors, school leaders, commissioned ministers, lay leaders, and anyone who loves the church enough to want her to flourish.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

The LCMS presidential election is heading to a runoff — and the numbers are impossible to ignore.

President Matthew Harrison received 43.8% on the first ballot. Dr. Joel Biermann received 39.0%. For the first time in this election cycle, the Synod is now moving into a second round of voting, and the future direction of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is very much in the balance.

In this special joint episode of Lead Time and Red Letter Living, Tim Ahlman and Zach Zehnder unpack what this moment reveals about the LCMS: pastoral formation, vacant pulpits, trust, leadership, the Eighth Commandment, church growth, unity, and the urgent need for honest conversation.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman and Jack Kalleberg sit down with Philip Meinzen, a longtime LCMS educator and creator of The Grace Formula, for a powerful conversation about stewardship, generosity, tithing, debt, vocation, and the mission of the local church.

Philip argues that the church has often allowed the culture to disciple Christians in money, resources, debt, and scarcity — while Scripture gives us a much richer vision of life under grace. The question is not, “How much does the church need?” The better question is, “What does God’s grace mean to us, and how does it shape the way we live?”

Learn more about Philip’s work at https://graceflows.org

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman talks with Jim Simpson, a retired higher education leader with decades of experience in curriculum development, administration, accreditation, and student success. Together, they explore what higher education has learned about adult learners, hybrid models, mentorship, internships, and competency-based formation — and what those lessons might mean for Concordia seminaries and pastoral training in the LCMS.

This conversation touches on residential seminary, SMP, hybrid learning, accreditation, prior approval, faculty development, and the need for local churches to identify, develop, and deploy leaders for mission.

This is not about cutting corners. It is about asking whether the LCMS can adapt faithfully so more people are formed, equipped, and sent to proclaim the Gospel.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman sits down with Coach Patrick Daberkow, head football coach at Concordia University, Nebraska. Together, they talk about what makes a healthy team culture, why football still matters in an age of individualism, how young men are formed through accountability and hardship, and why faith cannot simply be one priority among many — it has to shape the whole life.

This conversation is about more than football. It is about discipleship, culture, character, and the kind of leaders the church and world desperately need.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod loves its history. But what if we have forgotten one of the most important parts of it?

In this episode of Lead Time, Tim Ahlman talks with Pastor Mark Brandt about the story of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church in Frankenmuth, Michigan, the missionary vision of Wilhelm Loehe, the early tensions between mission and doctrine, and what today’s LCMS can learn from its own complicated beginnings. Are we willing to learn from history before we repeat it?

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org

Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller returns to Lead Time for a conversation that begins with the Prodigal Son… and ends up exposing something much closer to home.

Most Christians know the story of the younger son who runs away, wastes everything, and comes home in shame. But what if Jesus’ sharpest warning is actually aimed at the older brother — the faithful, obedient, religious one who cannot rejoice when mercy is given to someone else?

Check out Bryan's New Book Here:
https://www.amazon.com/Finally-Free-Bryan-Wolfmueller/dp/0758681569

In this episode, Tim Ahlman, Jack Kalleberg, and Bryan Wolfmueller dig into pride, despair, passive faith, Lutheran worship, church systems, contemporary vs. liturgical tensions, and what the LCMS can learn from the Father’s joy.

This is a conversation for every Lutheran who cares about doctrine, mission, worship, and the future of the church — especially if you’ve ever wondered whether we are better at defending the feast than actually rejoicing in it.

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Care about the future of the LCMS?
Join the LCMS Current! (LCMS Current Events Newsletter)
https://www.uniteleadership.org/thelcmscurrent
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To learn more, visit uniteleadership.org