Under the Fig Tree: Farewell to Ben and Micah

Under the Fig Tree

In this episode of “Under the Fig Tree,” hosts Rev. Micah Glenn and Kati Gaschler welcome back Dr. Benjamin Haupt, the former podcast host and founder who has been on sabbatical during the spring semester. The two men share big announcements that they both are moving on to other calls: Ben as global executive director of PLI and Micah as head of school at Sierra Lutheran High School in Carson City, Nev. Kati surprises Micah with some pineapple pizza, a recurring topic on the podcast, which he agrees to eat and continues to loathe. The two men also share some words of advice and parting words. “Concordia Seminary not only shaped and formed me to be a pastor my first time around as a student but deeply molded, shaped, formed my life to be a witness for Jesus in profound ways, ways that I will never understand,” Ben says. “This is a fantastic place to come and learn the Word of Christ and to study who God is and to learn what it means to serve Christ’s church among people who absolutely love His church. Listeners, hear loud and clear that Micah and I absolutely love this place. And you would do very well to check out Concordia Seminary.” Micah thanks everyone for listening and told them not to lament. “This isn’t the end of the podcast,” he says. “There’s something that happens when you come to study here,” Micah says. “You are blown away. You’re completely overwhelmed. You probably have a little bit of imposter’s syndrome. In the midst of all that, you are growing closer and closer to your classmates. You’re growing closer and closer to the faculty members. You’re growing closer to God’s church. And before you know it, somebody’s calling you to be their pastor. God has blessed me with this experience. … There is no other place in the world like Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.” In the recurring segment, “Ripe for the picking or leave it on the tree,” hear how the trio feel about cold pizza, grilled pizza, McDonald’s McCrispy chicken sandwich, stargazing and more!

“Under the Fig Tree” is a video and audio podcast of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. New video and audio episodes are added weekly each Monday during the academic year. “Under the Fig Tree” can be found on YouTube, the Seminary’s Scholar site (scholar.csl.edu) and most podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.