The God Journey - 2010

A Better Way to Love

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:32:51 GMT

The new year begins. Some take this as a time to reflect on their lives to take stock of the past and make resolutions for the future. Brad and Wayne discuss their approach to the new year, before turning to the mailbag and ending up in a discussion of how best do we love people whose life choices don’t conform to God’s will. Being the lead dog on someone else’s journey, even if its your own children, can be destructive to them and you. Those who love learn to walk alongside those they might disagree with instead of trying to lord over them to change their behavior.
Here is the Time article Wayne referred to: Smart Parents, Happy Children. If you still want to help with our Orphanage Relocation in Kenya, you can get more information at the link.

In The Moment

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:26:45 GMT

Merry Christmas to The God Journey audience, where a discussion about the Incarnation of Jesus turns into a celebration of the reality that God does not live in sacred places he invites us into, but that he has come to make all of our moments sacred by inhabiting our lives. A recent study shows that only half the people are truly living in the moment at any given time, and the more time people spend day dreaming or worrying only makes them increasingly dissatisfied with life. Only by embracing each unfolding moment, and God in it, will we find the freedom to live in this age. Here is the article Wayne referred to on A A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind. If you want to help with our Orphanage Relocation in Kenya, you can get more information at the link.

God At Work In All Things

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:05:50 GMT

Quoting Romans 8:28 to a friend in college, almost got Wayne punched in the mouth. What does it mean that God will work great good out of the painful garbage of this world? Brad and Wayne discuss our friendship with God through painful times, especially when he isn’t arranging our circumstances to make life fair or to relieve our suffering. It is a painful discovery for many to realize God is not our fairy-godmother, waving his wand to make our lives easy. But he has promised to be in the most brutal moments this life can dish out to love us in it and transform us through it. If you want to help with our Orphanage Relocation in Kenya, you can get more information at the link.

The Righteousness that Comes from Trust

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:33:26 GMT

<img src="http://www.thegodjourney.com/blogimages/email.jpg" align="left">The mailbag is filled to overflowing with wonderful stories of God’s work in people and with questions and comments from past podcasts. As Brad and Wayne sort through the email they land on a discussion about the damage self-righteousness does to people around us. In fact, they believe that self-righteousness is more damaging in our world than unrighteousness itself. At least that’s how Paul got to be the chiefest of sinners. The only righteousness that has any value in our world is not that which grows out of self-effort, but that which grows out of a growing trust in God. So where does that trust come from? That gets to the heart of this podcast. Enjoy.

Dealing With Betrayal

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:01:32 GMT

If God is all about relationships, then why do his followers have so much trouble with them? Some honest questions from a listener give Wayne and Brad a chance to discuss their own painful experiences with brothers who talked about their passion for love and relationships, only to abandon them when it no longer serves their selfish interests. As wonderful as relationships can be when people work together for a common good, they become excruciatingly painful when one person decides that their own gain is more important than finding a way to honor their relationships and seek a solution inside of it. Betrayal is a common theme in Scripture and are often a part of our journey. Successful relationships don’t require anyone to be perfect, but they do require us to put the relationship above ourselves.

It’s Not Chocolate

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:05:50 GMT

It’s tragic how religion demands that we settle for the status quo, even if it is distasteful and irrelevant, rather than encourage us to pursue the promise that first drew us to God. Following up on an earlier podcast, Brad and Wayne explore how you can learn to recognize God’s voice among all the competing voices that fill our head and the noise that fills our world. Through practice our senses can learn to zero in on God’s voice, but for many of us that means coming to the end of ourselves, which is something we try to avoid and something our friends will almost always help us to avoid as well. Losing our taste for the false offerings of religion and dismissing the voices of guilt and shame are an important part of reducing the noise and recognizing God’s impulses in our heart.

Ceasing From Our Own Efforts

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:15:14 GMT

Wayne is back from Germany with some interesting observations about the “scatteredness” of the body of Christ in the world both in the common passions we share as well as the suspicions we have of others who celebrate body life differently than we do. He and Brad talk about the unique challenges that confront us in this time of transition from the collapse of our religious approaches to God to seeing how Jesus gathers his family in the earth. Only by laying down what we think we must do by our own efforts will we be free to live as he desires us to today and able to connect with the larger work Jesus is doing in the world around us. Special Note: If you’d like to help us build an orphanage in Kenya for over 70 children being raised in a slum near Eldoret, please click here for more information.

Finding the Trailhead

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:57:59 GMT

What do you do when you can’t seem to find God? Many people who are captivated by the message of living in the Father’s affection have a difficult time connecting with him relationally. Instead of experiencing the reality of his love, they feel isolated and abandoned. Admittedly it isn’t always easy to see how God wants to connect with our heart, especially if we’ve been blinded by the performance demands of religion or carry deep disappointments about things in our life we think God responsible for. Following up on an earlier podcast, Wayne and Brad talk about that heart connection that God that is the critical trailhead to going on this journey and also tackle some listener email about how we help others, children or new believers, become disciples on this journey.

In or Out Really Doesn’t Matter

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:21:17 GMT

As long as our focus is on attending (or not attending) religious services, whether we’re reacting to them or thinking they are our only hope, we will easily miss the incredible ways Jesus is knitting together his family in the world. Brad and Wayne talk about a recent LA Times article about “Walking Away From Church” as well sort through a host of listener emails to talk about why people are no longer finding religious institutions relevant to their lives. They also discuss the current conflict in our culture over sexual orientation, the recent number of suicides and bullying of children sorting through sexual issues and why evangelical Christians are the most reticent to come to a table and fight for the protection of young people, even if they do not condone their lifestyles.

Fear Falls Short

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:17:28 GMT

<img src="http://www.thegodjourney.com/blogimages/pumpkin.jpg" align="left">Holidays like Halloween can present an interesting dilemma about how others may or may not observe the festivities associated with it. Brad and Wayne talk about the problems inherent in any group of people trying to reach agreement on matters of conscience. Their conversation then leads to a wider discussion about all the ways religion provokes fear to keep people in line. We are taught to fear being left out of the rapture, being rejected, going to hell, being judged by God or having to be accountable to so-called leadership. And all of that fear leads us away from the work God wants to do in our heart. Jesus didn’t come to exacerbate our fears, but to free us from them so we can live loved in the world.

We’ve Got to Do Something

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 11:20:00 GMT

As we begin to learn to live in the Father’s love, it is easy to feel like we’re not doing enough. Religion kept us busy and gave us validation for the meetings we attended and the activities we were involved in. What happens when that slows down and we don’t have as many commitments to fill our lives? At that point our flesh can begin to scream, “But we have to do something.” Probably more fruitless activities have begun from that timeless cry than from any other motivation and invites us to put confidence in our flesh rather than live in what God is doing around us. Brad and Wayne also end sorting through the email and blog postings about their podcast, “Will the Real God Please Stand Up” and the passionate responses that flowed from it.

Will the Real God Please Stand Up!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:29:15 GMT

A recent article in USA Today about a new book entitled America’s Four Gods, identified four distinct views of God in America: Authoritative, Benevolent, Critical, and Distant. Surprisingly America is almost equally divided among these four views. Wayne and Brad discuss how neither of these views does justice to the nature and reality of God. This article confirms how important it is that we connect with God as a reality, not formulate opinions about him as a concept. This spills into a wider discussion about how we help those who can’t seem to connect with God beyond their intellectual conclusions about him gathered from their misunderstnding of Scripture or their lives.

White Powder Religion

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:59:00 GMT

Wayne is back from gathering with believers in Minnesota in wonderful conversations about knowing Jesus and watching connections take place between strangers that was a joy. That and a full email bag send he and Brad on a discussion about the kinds of transitions that happens in our burgeoning freedom. We are so easily distracted from the incredible joy of living relationally with God and others by the substitutes our flesh demands. It trades illusion for substance and leaves us wondering why God is not as real as our hearts hope. If we want to experience the fullness of God’s life we will have to risk the hurt and vulnerability that draws us into seemingly safe but empty facsimiles of the depth of life that only come in him.

Fruitile: The Land Between Futile and Fruitful

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:49:55 GMT

Wayne and Brad take some time to comb through recent email and blog comments to add the insights, questions and comments of our listeners to this expanding conversation of people who are seeking a vibrant relationship with God outside the box of religious obligation. This brings them back to recent podcast topics about the Old Testament writers and their perspective, the call by some for persistent plodders, and the opportunity for us to live wild and free in the work of God. The conversation ends up challenging the presupposition that spiritual success comes in gathering a larger following, rather than freeing an increasing number to live at God’s pleasure. Why wouldn’t we simply want to help people learn to live loved and free them to do it, rather than obligate them to be a life-long part of whatever may have touched their lives in a moment?

It’s the Living Loved That’s Important

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:23:09 GMT

The journey of learning to live in the love of the Father progresses at the confluence of two streams: our unfolding circumstances and the ongoing revelation of God’s wonder. In response to a powerful email of transformation, Brad and Wayne discuss how our conversations with God at those points is what moves the journey forward and keeps us growing in his life and love. There are many advocates for what some call the grace message or the love message that make it merely another theological counterpoint. But learning to live loved is not primarily a theology it is a way of living. Those who actually live loved, instead of just trumpeting it from a soapbox, demonstrate that in they way they live their lives and treat others.

Grasping God’s Heart In the World

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:57:11 GMT

An incredible story and some emails has Wayne a bit overwhelmed by the need and pain in the world as he and Brad discuss how God is able to contain all of that and still be the most joyful presence in the universe. Then they dip into the mail bag for some fascinating emails and some reaction to their earlier podcast about love and justice. Does got choose between mercy or justice, depending on the circumstance or is he able to live in them simultaneously? Are we called to love not only the oppressed, but the oppressor too? Finally they end up in Psalm 109 where David prays for the destruction of his enemy and their children and question how we interpret his prayer in light of Jesus words to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who persecute and despitefully use you.

Wild and Free!

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:19:02 GMT

Wayne is back from the National House Church Convention he spoke at in Dallas, TX and shares with Brad some of his joys and frustrations he experiences at a conference like that. While enjoying the people and the journeys they are on, it is also frustrating to be alongside a movement that thinks the next step is to focus on infrastructure and leadership. That leads to a broader discussion about those who see managing people as a way to serve hungry hearts, and the danger of crossing the line where we lead people to the irrelevance of plying a program, rather than the heart engagement of walking out a real relationship with Jesus.

Wrestling with Love and Justice

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:30:48 GMT

Fair warning: The God Journey goes political again as Brad struggles with the proposed mosque in New York City, a few blocks from the Ground Zero in lower Manhattan and invites Wayne into a discussion about whether or not we are to be a force for cultural change in this world. How do we affect life in the world we live in, especially if some are using the conventions of society to force their will on others? Is that what Jesus asks of us? What does it mean to be salt and light in the world? Can any of us enjoy our rights without also sharing responsibilities? How do we blend the call for justice with Jesus’ invitation to love deeply even those who consider you their enemy? Only in God himself does righteousness and peace come together in one incredible whole. He alone knows how to connect judgment and mercy in a world that is so broken by human need.

Plodders, Sexy Revolutionaries, or Family?

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:04:36 GMT

Following up on last week’s podcast about the church as a family, Brad and Wayne discuss an article written by Kevin DeYoung, who is the co-author of Why We Love the Church. The article is entitled The Glory of Plodding and seeks to encourage people not to give up on institutionalized churches in hopes of finding a more resilient faith or a more authentic community. The article begs the question whether or not there are or can be churchless Christians, and whether our obedience to tradition and our learning of doctrine is more important than learning to live loved by Jesus. Of course the important issue is not whether we gather with others in an institutional way or not, but whether we’ve ended up caught in the religious treadmill, or are learning to live inside a vibrant relationship.

The Church as Family

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:08:19 GMT

Is the church just an institution with shared doctrine and weekly services, or is it primarily a family that shares life together under the practical headship of Jesus? Helping Brad and Wayne probe that question this week are two brothers from Ireland who were on The God Journey back in April of 2006 in a podcast entitled, Laying it All Down in Ireland. Collin Langran (left) and David Rice (right) have been part of a thriving community of brothers and sisters in Dublin and regions south who have for more than 30 years simply learned to live as God’s people together, sharing life and caring for one another without the traditional congregational structures to manage that life. Their conversation shows how the church can experience life as a family as each believer learns to listen and follow the Head, and grow in loving and caring for each other through the twists and turns of life in this world.

Principles Alone Will Fail You

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:35:21 GMT

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out—God appears! And in doing so he rarely fits into the roles or expectations we assign to him. In this podcast Wayne and Brad talk about how principles alone will always fail us at the critical moments in life. We have been offered a relationship with the Father through his Son which can bring wisdom and resource into our lives. Through that discussion, they refer to popular author Anne Rice’s decision to leave Christianity, feedback from a previous podcast on doctrine, a Christianity Today column about suffering as an extension of God’s purpose in our lives, and a poem by poem by Jenny Rowbury, a young woman in England, that provoke us to move toward God in suffering and not away from him. God’s amazing ability to work triumph out of tragedy is the only thing that makes sense in a broken world.

Loved Into Freedom

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:53:21 GMT

Wayne and Brad dive into the email bag and come out with three amazing stories of people who are learning to live in a greater freedom, even in the face of painful circumstances, because of their growing discovery about how loved they are by the Father. You’ll hear about a father facing a pregnancy with his unmarried daughter, of an adult child engaging parents who raised her in a shame-based home with lots of rejection, and a man who gets to share Jesus with a hungry heart who has been turned off by religious approaches. Engaging even difficult relationships more focused on the other person than our own needs or desires opens the door for some pretty amazing things to happen.

Only What God Can Do

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:11:58 GMT

Brad takes Wayne with him through his Jerusalem trip and the experiences, insights, and questions that were part of his time in Israel with a group of Hasidic Jews. Through the additional insights of listeners, they also revisit the learning-to-ride the bike analogy from a few podcast ago as others share their thoughts about growing in trust and going for a ride with God. The theme throughout is something Brad read on base of the Kenesset Menorah. “Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6) We think so much rests in our hands, that really rests in his. Learning to live inside of his working, rather than our own manipulations is at the heart of living as a free child in the earth.

Discovering How Loved We Are

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:21:21 GMT

Look who came by. Darin Hufford was in the Los Angeles area and stopped by for a visit while Brad is in Jerusalem. Darin is a good friend and the author of The Misunderstood God: The Lies Religion Teaches About God. Wayne recorded some of their conversation to share it with God Journey listeners. This wide-ranging dialog encompasses helping others discover their freedom in Father’s love, the difficulty of communicating that message to people who find it threatening, and the place Scripture holds in growing to know him. You can find out more about Darin at his website, The Free Believer’s Network.

Relaxing Into a Life of Grace

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:57:12 GMT

Sara joins Wayne and Brad this week to share her experiences in England with Wayne. They share about the marvelous journey various people are on to break free of religious obligation and find the freedom to walk in the life and grace of Jesus’ unfolding work in their hearts. Brad and Wayne also read a recent blog posting that is riddled with misunderstandings about what The God Journey is all about, as well as what it means for people to live in the grace of God.

Living Loved & Riding Bikes

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:11:09 GMT

Letters from podcast listeners lead Brad and Wayne to a discussion about the process of learning to live loved, comparing it to learning to ride a bicycle. Unless we’re willing to risk the uncomfortable moments of feeling out of control, we won’t find the depth of the life God wants to show us. Living loved begins when the Father begins to convince us that even with all he knows about us, this Father is deeply endeared to us and invites us on a journey of growing in that awareness. This also leads to a conversation about how to walk alongside others as God is drawing them into living loved as well.

Community Happens

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:18:18 GMT

A letter from a listener and a conversation Wayne had recently gives he and Brad the opportunity to talk about how God gives expression to the Body of Christ around us. Both have become convinced that community is not something we get to build, but it is the fruit of lives coming together who are learning how to follow Jesus. Pretense and obligation are two factors that many use to build community, when in fact they produce the opposite results, driving people into greater isolation. It is our task to equip others for discipleship; it is Jesus’ task to build his church in the world.

Does Accountability Work?

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:25:22 GMT

Brad and Wayne begin by discussing the web sensation, Sunday’s Coming, a video from Northpoint in Atlanta parodying a contemporary Sunday morning service. From there they read a devotional on accountability that a listener sent in. It was designed to get people to serve more by saying that at the end of the age God will sit everyone down and compare how much time they spent serving themselves and how much time they spent serving others. Why is it so many religious people find threats and fear much more powerful motivations than helping people discover the joy of living loved?

The Knowable God

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:57:19 GMT

In the face of Wayne’s upcoming trip to England, Brad questions him as to why he travels, what happens when he’s with people, and what is the overriding vision for the things he does. That leads to a discussion about following God, living in his nudgings and finding a relationship with him that works. They talk about how their own relationships with God work, how they cultivate that reality in their own lives so that their journey in God doesn’t degenerate into following a set of principles, but in following him. Paul’s encouragement in Colossians 2 reminds us of the dangers of learning about this journey, without actually going on it.

Doctrine, Truth and Love

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:38:47 GMT

<img align="left" src="http://www.thegodjourney.com/blogimages/waterdrops.jpg">Why was it true in Jesus’ day that those most familiar with the Scriptures were least able to recognize God himself when he stood right in front of them? Is the same still true today? A recent conversation Wayne had gives he and Brad the opportunity to discuss doctrinal conflicts, how to help people open to truth instead of declaring a doctrinal war that destroys any hope of growth. And why is it that people most committed to their doctrine, seem to be least transformed by the power of Christ’s love?

Does God Experience Emotion?

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 06:13:15 GMT

Wayne and Brad start by talking about the progress of their own relationship, and the poor track record Christians have of maintaining friendships over the long haul. Why does division define us more than peacemaking and unity? Responding to some listener questions and input, Brad and Wayne also discuss reconciliation in broken relationships and following up an earlier podcast about God’s affection and his approval, they talk about whether or not God has emotion or need in a way similar to our human experience, and what do we learn in that in our own relationship with him?

The Folly of Judging Motives

Sat, 29 May 2010 01:37:58 GMT

Wayne has been reading Senator Ted Kennedy’s autobiography and it has taken him to some places he didn’t expect. He shares with Brad his concern about the growing polarization of American life and how easily we dehumanize those we disagree with by casting aspersions on their motives and feeling justified in treating them however we want to. Paul warned us in I Corinthians 4 that we don’t even fully understand our own motives, so why would we even think we can understand the motives of others. This leads to a discussion about how we dehumanize others, even in God’s family, and then how we de-deify God by questioning his motives toward us, just as Eve did in the garden. We are called to be peacemakers, not to add to the division and judgment of a broken world.

Silvio’s Journey

Sat, 22 May 2010 00:59:33 GMT

One of our favorite things to do is to share the stories of other believers on this incredible journey of learning to live loved by the Father. Silvio Viotti, whom Wayne met two years ago in Switzerland recently visited California on a trip with his wife Dominque. Wayne introduces Silvio to Brad as the three discuss the journey of seeing through the illusions of religion and coming to embrace the power and the life of Jesus. Silvio shares his journey of discovery coming from a very conservative denomination and the rejection he faced from his own family. He also shares how God has led him to view the church and the world so differently that he lives freely without regret.

Settled In Him

Sat, 15 May 2010 01:42:28 GMT

Wayne has a guest this week as he introduces Brad to Vivian Haddad, a recent college graduate who helped translate for Wayne during his December trip to Brazil. She was visiting in the States and came by to spend some time with Wayne and Sara. While Wayne was in Brazil God did a special work in her heart and she shares from her own journey about learning to live loved. Brad and Wayne also dive into some email and a conversation about finding our settledness in him. By settling into the reality of our relationship with him we can find peace and rest even in the most severe challenges of life. They also give an update on the situation in Kenya and the generous outpouring that has come from God Journey listeners. We also have a new archive page with RSS feeds to past podcasts by the calendar year. you’re, and if you want to find the RSS feeds for the yearly archives of past podcasts you can click here.

Connecting to People Around Us

Sat, 08 May 2010 01:34:53 GMT

Brad and Wayne continue with Part 2 of the podcast they recorded at the recent retreat in White Bluff, TN. They continue the theme of connecting to other brothers and sisters and then it expands to talk about engaging people around us whether they are believers or not. What is the value of small talk? What can people who feel relationally challenged do to become more comfortable engaging people in the real world? They finish of with a discussion about insiders and outsides, and how that overlay destroys relationship. The blog Wayne refers to can be found here.

High Risk, High Reward of Relational Community

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:16:25 GMT

Some of those who gathered in White Bluff, TN

For the first time Brad and Wayne recorded an episode of the The God Journey before a live audience at their recent retreat in White Bluff, TN. The conversation turned to the high risk, high reward reality of relational community. People showed up to the retreat from all over that part of the U.S. and some England in the mere hopes that our conversations together would be helpful and meaningful. The result was a surprise to most people. Relational community is like that. We can regiment a safer meeting, but the corresponding depth seem to be very low. If you want to find meaningful fellowship with fellow-travelers on this journey you’ll have to take some risks to discover them? (If you want to see pictures from their time there, you can view a host of them at the here.)

Whoever Has An Ear…

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:26:26 GMT

Brad and Wayne catch up on some hilarious and insightful email and then find themselves in a discussion about our misconception of ministry as trying to get other people to see what they are not seeing, rather than to walk alongside them in their journey as God opens their eyes to see his reality. Do we really “minister to” someone, or do we walk alongside them as servants? The ministry of Jesus invited people into his life; he did not drag them kicking and screaming into something that didn’t chose for themselves.

I Love You All The Time

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:59:21 GMT

What is God thinking when he allows tragedy into our lives? That’s at the heart of the discussion Brad and Wayne have in the aftermath of the passing of a close friend of Wayne’s. Our expectations about what we think God should do in the midst of our pain and suffering is one of the top three things that undermine our relationship with him. Jesus came to show us that we can live in the security of his love in the midst of our most tragic and painful moments and then instead of losing sight of him, we can follow him through it as God’s purpose continues to unfold in our hearts.

His Still, Small Voice

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:20:51 GMT

A question from a listener about her own growth in a relationship with God and her frustration at what seems like his silence cause Brad and Wayne to contemplate many of the questions people have about growing in their communion with God. Is having a relationship with God easy or will it take years to develop? Does he really speak in a still, small voice for many people? If so, why? Does God withhold his voice from us, or are we just not tuned to his frequency? Is recognizing his voice something we can achieve or are we better off letting him take the lead here? Through the discussion they talk about how an ongoing conversation with God unfolds in the simple realities of life.

Preachertainers and Pew Fodder

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:35:58 GMT

Recent articles in the secular media about holographic preachers, intentionally emptying pews, and super-sizing the Lord’s Supper open up a discussion about what people really are looking for in a Sunday gathering of believers, and how the priorities of the kingdom can easily take a backseat in that arrangement. Wayne and Brad both talk about their experiences as “preachertainers” and why they grew disillusioned with that as the building block for real body life. If seeing the kingdom grow in our life and world was our real priority, how might that change the way we think about our gatherings and what we do to help equip people to live the life Jesus offered us?

The Undriven God

Fri, 27 Mar 2010 11:16:58 GMT

Starting out with some insights from fellow listeners of The God Journey with their own stories of learning to living loved, Brad and Wayne find themselves debunking some myths about God’s engagement with our lives. Even in the face of humanity’s brokenness God’s purpose unfolds with an amazing lack of panic or pressure. Gently God moves into human history to make himself known and invite us into his redemption. That may explain why all our need-driven demands of ours seem to not get beyond the ceiling. Even his passion for us and our redemption doesn’t make him a driven presence in the world. For information about show times and locations for THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE in the Fort Worth, Denver, and Phoenix areas you can get details by clicking here. Also groups in different sections of the country are hosting screenings in private venues as well. Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can give specifically toward the car, or to relief for widows and orphans.

Openly, Honestly, Freely

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:02:19 GMT

This latest podcast touches a lot of bases, but mostly focusing on the freedom God brings to our lives to live openly, honestly and freely before God and with others. Brad and Wayne begin by talking about how we turn the promises of what Jesus will produce in us into commands we can never keep in our own strength and how trying to stay safe can become a prison all its own. Then they open the mailbag, and hear from some listeners who are being transformed by the podcast and others who find its tone too mocking for their tastes. Finally they end with a listener’s observation that surely God could breathe into all of our hearts.

Is God’s Affection the Same as His Approval?

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:31:25 GMT

Brad and Wayne follow up last week’s podcast by further processing Wayne’s recent trip to Kenya. How has being with brothers and sisters in such desperate need affected him now that he’s returned home. That leads to a larger discussion about God’s disposition toward the needy and how we marginalize our involvement with their need by trying to believe that they are getting what they deserve. Then email from a listener gets them to extend that discussion by asking if having God’s affection is the same thing as having his approval? Can God be disappointed with someone he loves? If would like to help financially with the needs in Kenya, please see the Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can give specifically toward the car, or to relief for widows and orphans.

In the Land of Kenya

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:27:13 GMT

Wayne is back home from Kenya after his two and a half week trip there with Kent Burgess. Wayne fills Brad in on the trip and also plays a couple of interviews he recorded at the end of their time in Kenya, one with two of their hosts looking back on our time there, and one with Kent as they got ready to leave and come back. They talk about the distortion of Christianity in Kenya, the desperate need in the wake of the 2008 tribal violence, and the power of God’s love and forgiveness to heal broken lives and a broken country. If you would like to see pictures from Kenya and read additional commentary, please check out Wayne’s blogs from Kenya at the Lifestream site: Day 4 in Kenya, Day 6 in Kenya, Day 8: A Great Outpouring of Love, Final Days in the Land of Kenya.

Living Beyond The System

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:11:59 GMT

Look who stopped by. On a recent trip to Los Angeles Jim Palmer, author of Divine Nobodies and Wide Open Spaces, came by to meet Brad and Wayne so we taped part of the conversation. Jim talks about his transition from staff member at Willow Creek to someone living outside the box, and wonders why so many people only see the church functioning at a given place and time and not everywhere, at every time, with everyone.

Miracles and Obligations

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:47:22 GMT

Wayne and Brad finally have a chance to catch up on some of the wonderful email they’ve been sent in recent weeks. It’s always fun to see the insights people are having on their own God journeys and to interact with some of their questions. Wayne and Brad find themselves in a discussion about miracles and healings, Redding and IHOP, and whether or not getting people to adopt the “right” technique is helpful to them growing in these areas. They also re-visit their discussion on the soft legalism of practical Christianity.

Letting Life Unfold

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:50:04 GMT

Brad is all excited about a new documentary he saw last week, The Human Experience, which spawns a discussion about how we embrace the life that truly is life. By looking at the most needy in our world, it brought home the incredible point that our life does not consist of our possessions or our strategic planning. Jesus modeled a different way of living, even from his youngest days in Nazareth. Life is best lived by responding to God’s purpose unfolding in the spontaneous moments with the people right before us, than trying to orchestrate life on our own terms. Maybe living loved and loving others is the strategy.

First Love

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:02:47 GMT

Don’t you love meeting new people on this journey of living loved? Brad introduces Wayne to a good friend of his from Nashville who was visiting in Los Angeles. Chris DuPré is a musician, former pastor and wrote the music for the My Beautiful One CD available at Windblown Media. Chris has an inspiring story of being swallowed up in the love of God before he got sidetracked by the seducing power of religious performance, only to find his way once again back to his first love and a passionate, growing relationship with God. He will soon have a new website up about his journey at chrisdupre.org.

Grace In Suffering

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:52:41 GMT

The earthquake in Haiti and Pat Robertson’s comments about it open up a discussion about the difference between enduring suffering from a religious platform and embracing a Loving God in the midst suffering. Steve McVey, author of Grace Walk and Walking in the Will of God, who was in the area and came by to meet Brad and Wayne, joins in the discussion. Unpacking the grace of a loving Father in the midst of suffering, is difficult to do when we are focused on the why-did-he-allow-this question instead the where-is-he-in-the-midst of this question.

The Obnoxious Self

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:41:44 GMT

Observations from the Gospel of John, mingled with love/hate letters from listeners, and an article in the New York Times send Brad and Wayne into a discussion about the obnoxious self, especially when it lures us into a religious performance treadmill we think we can control, and when it drives us to push others to do what we think is best for them. Only by knowing the incredible love of the Father can the deception and power of the obnoxious self be exposed and undermined so that we can truly live free and generously in the world.

The Certainty of Ignorance

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:21:58 GMT

“Ignorance does not result from what we don’t know! Ignorance results from what we think we do know—but don’t! Most ignorant people are, in fact, quite certain.” Sent in by a listener, that quote from Richard Rohr provokes Brad and Wayne into a discussion about truth, certainty, humility and how our ability to treat others changes when we view truth not as a set of propositions to embrace, but a Person to know and to follow.

Painful But Worth It

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:40:24 GMT

Back from their end-of-the-year break, Brad and Wayne catch up with each other and some emails from listeners who share their own journey out of religious performance, to living loved. They describe well the process of moving from being painfully disillusioned about God and the church, to becoming gratefully disillusioned in their new-found freedom, joy and relationships. These stories underline the reality that this is a process, it takes some time and though the early days might be painful, the fruit that it yields is far and away worth taking the journey.