The God Journey - 2021

GJ Classic: Love, Rest, Play

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Kyle and I are taking a break during this holiday season, and we hope you get too as well. We're taking a hiatus over the next two weeks, so there will be no new podcasts. But the last year has been a powerful one for Wayne. He says he's learned more in the last year about how to walk with God than the previous fifteen, through some amazing moments and through challenging circumstances as well. Over the next two weeks, we'll replay a couple of the key podcasts that express how that work has happened in his heart. This was from last April 16, 2021, Love, Rest, Play.

GJ Classic: Gaze with Me

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Recovering Mystery (#830)

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Has Christianity unwittingly tamed the Lion of Judah and lost the mystery and wonder that draws us into a life-changing relationship with God himself? That's what one email proposes and in the last podcast of 2021, Wayne and Kyle interact with that email and contemplate how easy it is for us to retreat to the illusion of the safe ground we pretend to control. However, removing the mystery and wonder of a relationship with the transcendent steers us into stagnant waters. Engaging him, we touch a reality far beyond our understanding that can shape us in ways that can't be codified in doctrines and principles alone. Are we willing to risk that journey? Jesus warned us that what humans value highest, God finds destable. So, how do we embrace the transcendent and find those who can help us walk that journey without taking the mystery out of it.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Holding Space In Father’s Work (#830)

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Last weekend, Wayne and Kyle met with a group of twenty and thirty-year-olds from all around the U.S. regarding God's freshening work among that age group. No, it is not exclusive to them but it gave them a chance to see what God is doing there and how others can come alongside them to encourage God's work. Holding space in our hearts and in prayer are ways we can participate in God's work, without trying to control him for the results we want. They talk a bit about that process and what it means to guard the gift of God's work in others rather than trying to tell them what to do as we discover the power of prayer and what it means to be their cheerleaders.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Family Holiday Drama (#829)

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 15:00:00 GMT

For some, the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year; for others, it can be filled with pain, loneliness, and disappointment especially with all the nostalgic hopes we place on it. However, not all families celebrate with love and graciousness. Some families are riddled with expectations, gossip, and manipulative power games that make them a minefield of pain and judgment. Back from Thanksgiving, Kyle asks Wayne about negotiating the holidays when your family dynamics are destructive and hurtful. Do you owe it to your family to gather with them when they are destructive, or do you have other options? They talk about getting out of the game that requires performance as a condition for love and how to let God lead you by endearment instead of obligation in whatever situation you find yourself.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Religiously Transmitted Fears (#828)

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Is learning to live loved by God a selfish pursuit? One man thought it was at a recent gathering Wayne held in Florida. He thought it was more important that people try to help the lost be born again. Religion trades on fear—fear of God's punishment, fear of what others think, fear of not doing enough to keep God on our side, or the fear that I'll lose control. As the recent episodes of the Mars Hill podcast demonstrate, it not only affects the average Christian but also dominates leaders as well. Love is not peripheral to the kingdom; it is the antidote to religious fear and the very thing Jesus wanted us to know personally and to spread in the world. Love is just a word until someone comes along and shows us its meaning.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Will Institutions Always Fail? (#827)

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Asking an institution to reflect God's glory is asking more of it than it has to give. While many start out with the vision to express God's reality, few maintain that over time as other priorities take over. Is that why Jesus invested his glory in people, not systems, and the power of the church not in its institutional might but in the love and unity of his people who share together in his work in the world. Responding to a seminarian's struggle with his own call, Wayne and Kyle talk about how to navigate institutional systems without putting our hope in them. Structures can be helpful as long as the people in them reflect his glory in the earth, and become harmful when they seek to protect their own agenda. They also talk about the direction God might lead us is not always to the destination we think he has in mind.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado or you can register here.
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Falling Into Place (#826)

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 15:00:00 GMT

We look at the times and wonder if our whole world is falling apart, what if Jesus looks at the same circumstances and sees that things are falling into place? That would sound more like God's view. Since there is nothing he can't work good out of, and he is going to sum up all things in himself, maybe that's a view we can embrace as well. Wayne and Kyle reflect on what they have learned from the podcasts on Mars Hill and Liberty University and why so many "successful" Christian institutions fall for the same old traps of excess and hypocrisy. They also talk more about the our how evangelicals came to see masculinity as so confrontative and rough, while the fruits of the Spirit are more seen as feminine virtues.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado or you can register here.
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Humility Will Take You Far (#825)

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:00:00 GMT

What you believe doesn't matter if it isn't true. Cultural competence is education jargon for familiarizing ourselves with other cultures but Kyle learned a new term last week that he likes better—"cultural humility". Instead of thinking we can master another person's culture wouldn't it be far better to enter the conversation with humility and openness seeking to understand another's story and perspective? That alone would invite us out of our siloed information camps as it offers us a framework to navigate relationships with others who think differently than we do. Isn't that what God offers us as he seeks to engage us in a transformative journey. It's also helpful as they revisit their conversation last week with Anna about the government seeking to discount parents.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado or you can register here.
Order Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Healing from Childhood Trauma (#824)

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Every person needs someone whose eyes light up when they enter a room, especially kids in trauma. Anna LeBaron, personal growth activist and the author of The Polygamist's Daughter, joins Wayne and Kyle for a conversation about the trauma of her childhood, the process of being healed from such an abusive past, and what she thinks of the growing conflict between government leaders and public school students, especially those from religiously authoritarian homes. Anna was born into a polygamist cult with a violent father who used his kids for slave labor and neglected their needs. She talks honestly about the trauma that upbringing caused and her tenacious quest for healing in her adulthood. Looking back, would she have wanted to be rescued by an outside agency? She confronts the difficulty of crafting a one-size-fits-all policy for such situations and shares the most important thing anyone can do to reach out to traumatized children.

Podcast Notes:
Anna's Web Page
Order The Polygamist's Daughter
U.S. Should Ban 'Authoritarian' Homeschooling by Christian Parents By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Excruciatingly Beautiful (#823)

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Those are two words you rarely see together, but they come from one of our listeners writing about the harsh betrayal of a friend and how it was going to help him discover the forgiveness that Jesus knew. He wrote, "It is excruciating beautiful to learn of it." What an accurate description of the transformative journey. When we can celebrate the painful stretches of our journeys as an opportunity for us to go deeper into the reality of Jesus, we're on to something. Embracing his work in the difficulties of our lives can only happen when we don't see God as the agency of our pain, but the Presence in our story inviting us to greater love and healing. And yet, our circumstanes, especially our successes, push us down a diferent path, where power, money, and fear can draw us away from genuineness and authenticity in the desire to grab the greatest can we can for ourselves.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

When Relationships Get Tricky (#822)

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Life is too short to waste time on faked-up relationships that diminish you as a person. Kyle and Wayne first explore this idea considering whether there are any bad choices one can make that puts them beyond love's reach. Then they consider a new podcast looking into the recent Jerry Falwell, Jr and the scandals at Liberty University, before wrestling with the frustration of God not making himself known in the way someone might expect him to do so. Finally, In a recent training on Clifton's Strength Finders, Kyle came across the description of a Relator, which he thought applied to Wayne. That draws them into a conversation about how learning to live loved transforms our hearts to make more room for people and to value sincerity in our relationships.

Podcast Notes:
Gangster Capitalism Podcast - Season 3
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Strong Man or Wild Goose? (#821)

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 15:00:00 GMT

The quest for certainty makes you a sitting duck for those who want to deceive you. The Spirit of God offers us an outrageous adventure of learning to follow him even in the uncertainties of life, and yet we often find ourselves craving the false security of being more certain than our grasp of truth warrants and more drawn to people who offer pat answers than learning how to ride the wings of the Spirit and watch him transform us. That expresses itself in so many ways as Wayne and Kyle talk about theological reasoning, the quest for a king, the recent Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcasts, and dealing with demonic influences. In each, we are confronted with the constant choice to be led by the Spirit or fall victim to someone trying to take his place in our hearts.

Podcast Notes:
The Elliptical Playground in The Jesus Lens
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Where Aspirations Lead Us (#820)

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Kyle and Wayne are just completing three days together in Michigan as they sit down to reminisce about the people they met and the lessons that touched their hearts. They talk about the futility of human effort to accomplish the work of God in the human heart and how God reaches out with touches of his love to invite us closer into his life. They also talk about what we pursue in life, using the story of two iconic women who happened to die in the same year—Princess Diana and Mother Theresa. The world today beckons us to seek the fame and fortune of achieving some kind of celebrity status, which is available to so few when Jesus encouraged us to be servants of all, something any of us can do. If you want your life to influence others, can it best be accomplished by serving in obscurity or seeking the limelight?

Podcast Notes:
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

At the Cliff’s Edge (#819)

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 15:00:00 GMT

When our journey brings us to the place of giving up our illusions about our own ability to control the outcome of our circumstances, the impulse to provide for ourselves, and resisting the fear of feeling vulnerable, we can feel like we've been left on a cliff's edge. But it is precisely at that moment that we are most receptive to what God is doing in us and around us. When he becomes the source of our comfort, instead of the circumstances we want, there's where we will see his leading and have the courage to follow him. When we make it about ourselves and our needs, we will easily miss out. This is a process and Kyle and Wayne take a look at it through the emails of some of our listeners and share how important it is to have God-sensitive voices helping us process some of the more difficult choices we may have to make.

Podcast Notes:
Subscribe to A Breath of Fresh Air
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's book Live Loved Free Full

Seeing What God Sees

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne was a guest this week on The Daron Earlewine Podcast, and the conversation was so rich in summing up the last few months of his journey that they both agreed to simulcast it on The God Journey as well. In this wide-ranging conversation they talk about healing and death, the gentle nudges by which God leads us, life moving at the speed of relationships, love is not something you can earn, looking at our circumstances through God's eyes, days of reckoning, and how we can develop a language of healing in a divided world.

Podcast Notes:
Daron's Website
Daron's version of this podcast
See the video version of this podcast
Wayne's email exchange about faith, healing, and death
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Believing Illusions (#817)

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Kyle and Wayne begin with contemplating the question, "Does love let people suffer consequences for bad choices, or will it always intervene to mitigate them?" But they quickly turn to a conversation about what peple believe versus what is actually true. Truth is the gravity of his kingdom, not belief. What we believe only matters when it aligns with what's actually true. That's the journey for all of us, letting God untwist our speculations, misunderstandings, and illusions, so that we become more and more oriented to what's true about God, ourselves and the world he's placed us in. And, since none of us knows all truth, how do we hold our beliefs with the humility that allows us to keep growing and keep discovering?

Podcast Notes:
Wayne's blog on Seven Characteristics of the Deluded
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
Wayne's Travel Schedule
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Sweeter Outcomes (#816)

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne's back from his first God Journey trip since COVID began and Kyle wants the details. If there was a theme to this trip it was to flow with God through the unplanned, spontaneous opportunities that arise in the moment, rather than sticking to the plan Wayne had in mind. One of the recurring themes that kept cropping up is how often we are guided in prayer by our desire to keep our comfort zones intact, and yet God's truth often invites us out of our circumstantial comfort and convenience into the sweeter outcomes God has in mind. To follow him there, we need to have enough relationship with him to trust his love and be at rest in his work and purpose.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

When Our Safe Boxes Aren’t Safe (#815)

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 15:00:00 GMT

What do you do when the religion you were raised with is in conflict with the drawing of Jesus in your heart? It's happening to more and more people, and those who go on to fruitful journeys are able to separate between the brokenness in religion from the reality and presence of God. Kyle and Wayne begin by reading emails from recent podcasts that extend their conversation about vaccines, hiddenness, and trespassing, before talking about those who are finding a genuine faith beyond the failures or fruitlessness of their religious engagement.

Podcast Notes:
Wayne's podcast with Tom Mohn: The Keeper and the Kept
Facebook Group for 2030s Gathering in Colorado
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Days of Reckoning (#814)

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 15:00:00 GMT

How are these days not the birth pangs for the end of the age? With the fall of Kabul in Afghanistan, the wildfires in the U.S. And Europe. a devastating plague, political animosity, wars and rumors of wars, and irresponsible spending by government leaders, what makes us think society can just go on without a reckoning for its excesses and deceptions? Scripture seems to show us that God has days of patience, where he forebears with human weaknesses as he beckons us back to himself, and when those fail, we also know God orders times of reckoning where we reap the painful consequences of our waywardness, in hopes that painful times will turn our heart back to the Father. Wayne and Kyle discuss whether or not we are entering just such a season, whether it is the final time or not, and why this is a great time to let God invite you deeper into his love.

Podcast Notes:
USA Today article: The Cover Culture War
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

The Beauty of Selflessness (#813)

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Luis, from My Friend Luis, returns to the God Journey to talk about the impact the podcast has had on his life and his continued healing from the trauma of the night his father died. He and Wayne talk about why it is so hard to see Jesus in the painful stretches of our journey and how he wants us to view life from a different perspective. Jesus is the one who can keep us through pain, and yet pain is one thing that often keeps us from Jesus. Our expectations about what God should do, often keep us from seeing the very things he is doing to be triumph in the midst of our tragedies. They also discuss Rapha, his place in Luis' story, and how our tendency to idolize the supernatural often prevents us from experiencing it.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Page for planning a gathering of twenty and thirty-somethings
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Forgive Us Our Trespasses (#812)

Fri, 6 Aug 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Have you ever been the victim of religious trespassing, where someone is trying to force something on you for your own good? Have you ever done it to someone else? Most of us have. It is the nature of religion to trespass on people's lives thinking it will create an opportunity for God to make himself known. More times than not it backfires. The life of Jesus is always an invitation, never an imposition. In this episode, Wayne and Kyle respond to a listener's email about what protocols they use to navigate varying expressions of the body of Christ to avoid being manipulated. They talk about trusting their yuck meters and learning to live inside the freedom God has brought to them. Forcing ourselves on people is the opposite spirit of the life of his kingdom.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Page for planning a gathering of twenty and thirty-somethings
What Does Kindness Look Like? by Rebekah Taussig
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Masculinity and Femininity (#811)

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 15:00:00 GMT

How much of our gender confusion today results from warped stereotypes of masculinity and femininity? Tessa Van Wade, the author of Out of The Shadows, joins Wayne and Kyle for a discussion about what young men and women need to hear to help them claim their own God journey. How different is that for young men and young women? They soon find themselves in a conversation about expectations for both genders, especially in a religious construct, and how confining they can be on an individual level. Stereotypes are often used to foment fear and to conform people to the expectations of others, making them less authentic in their own relationship with God. They talk about moving away from the culture of fear so that we can truly see someone for who they are and discover what it is to love them.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Page for planning a gathering of twenty and thirty-somethings
Book Trailer for Out of the Shadows • Order Out of the Shadows at Amazon.com or Blue Sheep Media
Tessa Van Wade's website
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Prostituting Your Passion (#810)

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Burn-out may be the result of turning something lovely God gives us to bless others and turning it into a vocation so that it primarily serves me. After a brief conversation about Hebrews 10 and Christianity's focus on sin, Kyle's provocative question invites Wayne into a conversation about exploiting our passion in a way that causes us to lose the freedom and joy of that which we love. It happens in all kinds of professions and creative endeavors. What are the pitfalls of losing our passion or compromising our hearts, especially when we think we're doing something God put on our hearts? They contemplate the dangers of monetizing God's gifts or using vulnerability as a tool to exploit the concern and compassion of others.

Podcast Notes:
Facebook Page for planning a gathering of twenty and thirty-somethings
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

The Church Jesus Modeled (#809)

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne and Kyle begin where they left off last week, if our models of "planting churches" continue to have a build-up a body count of passionate men and women shipwrecked on their own insecurities and disappointed expectations, how can the church Jesus is building find expression in the world? They begin with the fact that Jesus never encouraged anything with his disciples that looks like the "churches" we've ended up with today. What does it look like to facilitate environments in which the kingdom of God finds expression and lives are transformed to actually get to know God and then have the trust and freedom to follow him as he invites them into his reality.

Podcast Notes:
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

When Charisma Outruns Character (#808)

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 15:00:00 GMT

"Their ability rose them to prominence before their character was ready for it." A new podcast by Christianity today called The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill is a forensic study on how a church in Seattle founded by Mark Driscoll could rise to such prominence, even as people were being battered and bullied by leadership, and how did it cease to exist. Their podcast asks some critical questions in how we view the "church" of our day and why we exalt leaders with such little character and why the body count of failed leaders continues to grow. After a brief conversation about the difference between how married couples fight and how they can explore a journey to "us". Wayne and Kyle offer their takes on this new podcast. Why are the qualities necessary to run a religious machine diametrically opposed to the priorities of Jesus' kingdom? And, in a surprising article about business leadership, they explore four important characteristics of good leaders.

Podcast Notes:
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast
How Can You Be Sure Someone Has What it Takes to Lead People?
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Vows, Sex and Marriage (#807)

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Can the commitment of marriage actually destroy the spontaneity and thrill of romance? That's a question Kyle gets from some of his younger clients and he poses the question to Wayne. That leads them to a wide-ranging discussion about marriage and why knowing someone well enough to commit yourself to them for life is a key ingredient to a life-long fulfilling relationship with another person. In a world, that treats sex so casually, however, how do we help people recapture the wonder of the most precious relationship God offers us in this world. They also discuss extracting yourself from an abusive relationship, making sure you marry well by finding someone with the emotional integrity to grow with you, and finding a way to live together that never makes your spouse a victim of your desires or never asks him or her to be untrue to themselves.

Podcast Notes:
Wayne's article: Divorce Can Be a Triumph
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Riding the Wind of the Spirit (#806)

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 15:00:00 GMT

How do people learn to live inside of God's reality, sensitive to what the Spirit is doing around them instead of being left to their own wisdom or a set of ineffective religious platitudes? A letter from a struggling listener opens up a wide-ranging conversation about how we grow in our sensitivity to the nudges of the Spirit in the real circumstances we confront every day. Kyle and Wayne explore themes of discipleship, sensitivity to the Spirit, and of those who use, "God told me to...", as an excuse for their own selfishness and to end any further conversation.

Podcast Notes:
How Could All the Prophets Be Wrong about Trump?
Recent podcasts with Stephan Vosloo: Being One with Love and Free from the Prison of Self
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

When Our Structures Crumble (#805)

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 15:00:00 GMT

As the wind of the Spirit shifts in these days, it should not be a surprise to see some of the beloved castles we have built out of our own insecurity, crumble as he invites us deeper into a life of trust in his love and direction. Kyle and Wayne talk about how this is happening in their own lives and our immediate responses to put the crumbling pieces back together instead of discovering what Father has for us beyond them. They talk about being invited into the wild with God instead of sticking to the trails that may have served us well in the past and how to negotiate the dilemma of toxic people in our lives that seek to distract us from the path God has called us to follow.

Podcast Notes:
Order Tessa Van Wade's book: Out of the Shadows
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Normalizing Evil (#804)

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 15:00:00 GMT

How do ordinary people—going about their everyday lives—become complicit actors in systems that perpetuate evil? Wayne's been reflecting on the news coverage about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 and how so many so-called normal people got caught up in the violence and the cover-up so that no one was charged and no restitution was offered for those who suffered. We see it often in human history, even in churches and families where people perpetuate lies without regard for the people or relationships they are destroying. They discuss two fruits of God's transformation in us that battle against the normalizing of evil in our journey—empathy and humility.

Podcast Notes:
The Banality of Evil by Jack Maden
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Out of the Shadows (#803)

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 16:01:12 GMT

What happens when you discover the world is bigger than you thought it was and you are not the person you've been told you are? Everyone on a transformational journey has those moments when they come face-to-face with a reality bigger than themselves and must decide whether to embrace that revelation or retreat into the false comfort of their illusions. Tessa Van Wade, the author of a new book called Out of the Shadows, joins Wayne on a special podcast about her new book and her spiritual journey. Raised inside the guilt of religion, she is discovering increased freedom in the reality of God's love and embracing the wider world of his wisdom and her identity in him. Her book is a reflection of that journey, as well as a compelling mystery/thriller that makes a great summer read.

Podcast Notes:
Book Trailer for Out of the Shadows
Pre-order Out of the Shadows at Amazon.com or Blue Sheep Media
Tessa Van Wade's website
Wayne's Blog about Arek
View the video version of this podcast
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

At Rest in the Father’s Delight (#802)

Fri, 21 May 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Life changes completely the day we come to rest in the reality God is for us not against us no matter what we've done. And then we know that the ugliest and most painful circumstances we face can become tools in Father's to shape his glory in us. Finding our way into that freedom is key to our spiritual growth. On this podcast, Wayne invites his good friend John Lynch (co-author of Bo's Cafe, Truefaced, The Cure, and author of On My Worst Day,) to talk about his journey from atheism, to religious obligation, and then to a growing certainty of a Father's love that holds him through the harsh realities of life in a broken world. They also talk about John's book as an incredible tool to help people tune their hearts and minds to God's voice.

Podcast Notes:
Previous Podcast about On My Worst Day
John's website: John Lynch Speaks
Previous podcasts by John to The God Journey
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Untainted Wonder (#801)

Fri, 14 May 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Kyle sat through a baby dedication on Mother's Day and what the parents were told in that setting pegged his yuck meter. How are we going to keep kids untainted by religious performance if some pastors keep shoveling it on with abandon? That leads to a spirited conversation about how we shed the weight of obligation and recapture the wonder of God's beauty and power at work in the world and a letter from a pastor that reminds us people who are fleeing religion "aren't rejecting Jesus but churches that represent him badly." They end with Psalm 96, an amazing anthem to the beauty of God's glory as it overruns the earth to set things right that sin has twisted.

Podcast Notes:
People Are Leaving church—Because of Churches
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

His Glory Revealed (#800)

Fri, 07 May 2021 15:15:53 GMT

In celebration of The God Journey's 800th podcast, Wayne spends a few moments reflecting on the journey of the past sixteen years. Then he dips deeply into the email bag to engage a host of emails from last week's podcast about God revealing his glory through a new generation. He talks about what it means to be untainted by religious obligation, the way God is interacting with people that is inviting them on a different journey than their parents have followed, and what happens when personal revelation is in conflict with God's truth and nature.

Podcast Notes:
National Poll Shows 'Concerning' Impact of COVID on Americans' Mental Health
Embracing His Glory
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

God’s Call to a New Generation (#799)

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 15:00:00 GMT

What if God wants to raise up a new generation of men and women who've not been tainted by religious obligation to reveal his glory in the world? After Wayne shares a bit about his weekend in Amarillo, Wayne and Kyle dive into a seeming nudge from God about him revealing himself in the night to people who don't even know it is him or can talk about what they are experiencing in terms that evangelicals will recognize. Would we be able to serve that work, or would we feel the need to control it and prod it down the same tired road that has disfigured God's presence in the world? It just may be that some of us are here to encourage a new generation as they embrace God's reality surging within them.

Podcast Notes:
Read Wayne's collaborative book: A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Ful

Are We Headed for a Race War? (#798)

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Unfortunately, we don't often recognize unfairness when we benefit from it. Generosity, however, will allow us to see it when affects others we care about. As Kyle and Wayne recorded this podcast, the jury was just handed the case of the police officer charged in the death of George Floyd. The world is on edge not only to hear the verdict but what aftermath it might bring to our communities. Racial tensions are at an all-time high and there are people on the extremes of both the left and the right hoping to provoke a race war. As that's going on Wayne is headed for Texas to help a college with an anti-racist initiative. What will it take from the dominant culture to help bring racial equality and healing to a world at conflict?

Podcast Notes:
Read Wayne's collaborative book: A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation
Watch The Black Church on PBS
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Ful

Love. Rest. Play. (#797)

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 15:00:00 GMT

What if the best demeanor to be sensitive to God and his work in the world is by living in the reality of his love, at rest in his work, and in childlike playfulness with our Father? That's exactly what religious performance has destroyed in those who seek to walk with God. By teaching them to live in fear of God's punishment, to try harder to earn God's favor, and by excelling in human effort, we have disarmed would-be Christ-followers of the most important freedoms to be his vessels in the world. Kyle and Wayne discuss this current reawakening in their hearts and how it would change our interactions with the world in a way that would more reflect the nature of Jesus. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give up his life as a ransom.

Podcast Notes:
My Friend Luis, the podcast
View here: The God Journey After-Show on Sunday, April 11
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Settled in His Spirit (#796)

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne's back from a visit to the Sierras to spend Easter with his Father with a fresh stirring in his heart, so he drags Kyle into it with him. It seems the wind of the Spirit has shifted a bit, and if what Wayne heard is accurate, it may be time for the children of God to be revealed in a new way. No, this is not a movement or a new project, but simply a recognition of what God has set himself to do. We will best be free to flow along with him when we are at rest and at play in his love than giving in to all the angst and anguish that comes from trying to bring down a revival. In the coming days, God will draw a clear distinction between the religious heart that disfigures God and the loved heart that can reveal who he is.

Podcast Notes:
My Friend Luis, the podcast
Wayne's Blog and video on "It's Time"
To request a Zoom link for The God Journey After-Show on Sunday, April 11
After-Show Streaming at 10:00 am PDT on Sunday, April 11
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Courage in the Face of Uncertainty (#795)

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne is undergoing a renaissance in his prayer life while Kyle is excited about launching a new coaching service in adulting for younger people. All of it leads to a delightful conversation discussion about growth, taking on risk aversion, and how even the smallest glimpses from God can mean the difference between fruitfulness and stagnation. And a statistic that could liberate all perfectionists, Wayne shares the most amazing statistics he has ever heard In the fog of war, successful generals will misperceive what's going on 95% of the time. Defeated generals misperceive 99% of the time. Everything hinges on that 4%. If you want to find more courage to walk through uncertainty, this is the podcast for you.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

How Did We Make God So Boring? (#794)

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:33:59 GMT

Have Americans channeled their inner hunger for the transcendent God into their political ideology? The Atlantic Monthly thinks so. In their April Issue, America Without God suggests that the decline of religious faith in American over the past 25 years coincides with a rise in political passions that reflect the same priorities and use the same tactics as religion used to provide. It's an interesting premise and one Wayne and Kyle thought merited more attention. At the heart of their discussion is how did our religious institutions make following God so boring that political ideology seemed like a better substitute for the cry of the heart to be connected to God? And if we find ourselves more committed to our political passions than we are connected to God and his kingdom, what can we do about it?

Podcast Notes:
Atlantic Monthly Article America Without God
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
The Jesus Lens
See the trailer for Wayne's new book: Live Loved Free Full
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

When Why No Longer Matters (#793)

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne's been having trouble praying through some of the Psalms recently seeing how ego-centric many of their requests were, and he invites Kyle into this part of his journey. From their limited vantage point, the Psalmists couldn't see a larger purpose to God at work in the world other than their own comfort and ease. It was all part of a larger story that they couldn't see, but a great reminder for all of us that the way God works is on a much grander scale than we can comprehend, which is why it is critically important for us to walk each day in the light he gives us, not the natural conclusions of our own reasoning. When you do that needing to know why something happens is no longer important.

Podcast Notes:
The Jesus Lens
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Gaze With Me (#792)

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 15:00:00 GMT

"Don't gaze at me, gaze with me." That seemed to be God's invitation to a group Wayne was praying with a few weeks ago. The ramifications of that have gone deep into his prayer life, not just with that group, but in so many other places in his journey with God. He shares that experience with Kyle and how it is reshaping his heart. Also included in this episode is the momentum that corporate prayer can have and how the supernatural intervention of God often seems so understated when it happens and only by hindsight do you realize just how awesome it was.

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
The Jesus Lens
See the trailer for Wayne's new book: Live Loved Free Full
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

Finding Confidence in the True (#791)

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Kyle wants to probe a bit more into Wayne's podcast from last week about how we know what's true. How can a younger generation affirm the truth of the Scriptures when they are often so distorted and when those who say they believe it do not live it out well. They talk about the recent Ravi Zacharias' revelations of moral brokenness and how they stayed hidden for so long. Do you have to believe the Scripture to know God, or can it work the other way around? Is there a conflict between loving someone and telling them the truth, and how do we find confidence in the truth we know when we also realize how incomplete our knowledge is?

Podcast Notes:
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle
Podcast on The Social Dilemma
The Jesus Lens
See the trailer for Wayne's new book: Live Loved Free Full
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

What Is True and How Do You Know? (#790)

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 15:00:00 GMT

"What helps you most to know God is real and that this journey you are on is not just what you tell yourself to feel better?" That question was posed to Wayne this week in an email and he answers it on this podcast? Is it by the Scriptures, history, the Holy Spirit, experiences, or feelings? Since no one knows all that is true, how can we walk in confidence about his light we do see. He shares the five-strand rope he uses to test what is true and the humility that leaves you open to new input God will bring your way to help you come closer to who he is and what he is doing around you.

Podcast Notes:
MyFriendLuis.com
The Jesus Lens
See the trailer for Wayne's new book: Live Loved Free Full
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

When Fear Steers Our Course (#789)

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 15:00:00 GMT

When you live out of fear you miss so much of what God is doing around you. Fear motivates us to find a narrative that provides comfort, even if it's a false comfort. That's a danger for all of us in a world where the media and political voices manipulate our responses by keeping us in a constant state of fear. Wayne and Kyle begin with a recap of last Sunday's God Journey After-show on racial equity before turning to a conversation about finding our way out of the fear that is in the world and into the hope that Father's affection provides. When we live there, we are better able to see what God is doing on the center stage of human history rather than be distracted by the bluster and deception of our human systems.

Podcast Notes:
MyFriendLuis.com
See the trailer for Wayne's new book: Live Loved Free Full
God Journey After-show on Racial Conversations.
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

The Stinky Has Gone Mad (#788)

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Wayne premiere's the first episode of his new, limited-series podcast, My Friend Luis. After living four years in the United States on an expired visa, Luis returns to Mexico to deliver a much-needed car to his mother. Now he must find his way back across the border in Tijuana on December 19, 1994. This is the story of that night and an encounter at the border that answered the deepest cry of his heart. The rest of the story will air in eleven more episodes, released one each week on Tuesday mornings at the My Friend Luis website. You can see the trailer there as well as a list of upcoming episodes and you can subscribe through your favorite podcast provider.

Podcast Notes:
MyFriendLuis.com
God Journey After-show - Sunday, Feb 14 at 10:30 am PDT
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

A Celebration of Friendship (#787)

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 15:00:00 GMT

It's as unlikely a friendship as one might imagine—a man from Mexico who crossed the border illegally as a twenty-one-year-old and the son of a white, Republican farmer from Central California. Their story is laced with incredible miracles and desperate challenges, which Wayne will be sharing in his new limited-series podcast, My Friend Luis. It will launch on February 16, 2021. In this episode of the God Journey, Wayne introduces Luis as they talk about their friendship, how it began and grew, and how the other has shaped the trajectory of their spiritual journeys. It's a conversation between two friends as they talk through some of the important issues of our day, and a celebration of how God's love triumphing over all obstacles.

Podcast Notes:
My Friend Luis Podcast
Order Wayne's new book Live Loved Free Full

All You Need Is Within You (#786)

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:00:00 GMT

How does Wayne handle the anger and accusations that a few people have launched at him following his recent thoughts about delusion? That's what Kyle wants to know and it launches their conversation about dealing with criticism—how to look for what's true, how to recognize the toxic and not take it in, and how to find a better place in your thinking than to accept the polarized matrix so prevalent in our world. Then they talk about a video Kyle saw about human consciousness from a scientific perspective. Fear and anger come from the perception that what I need is out there somewhere and someone is keeping me from it, rather than recognizing that true joy and fulfillment come from within, where the Spirit of God invites us into Father's reality.

Podcast Notes:
Video on A Revelation of Consciousness by Peter Russell
Order Live Loved Free Full
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle

The Journey into Love (#785)

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 15:00:00 GMT

As promised, Kyle and Wayne revisit the two podcasts they aired at the end of last year with Stephan Vosloo of South Africa about what God has taught him about living in the depths of Father's love. Through listener email and their own discoveries, they discuss the process of breaking free from the pain of self-centered living and becoming others-focused, learning how loving ourselves in the midst of our brokeness will not only bring transformation but help us love others in theirs, and how easily our quest for recognition or validation can mask itself as a fake passion for his kingdom. Finally, they talk about the brightness and color of the gateway into the things we desire versus the small path that will take us down the path of exploring what it is to be one with love.

Podcast Notes:
Previous podcasts referred to in this one: Becoming One with Love and Free from the Prison of Self
Order Live Loved Free Full
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle

Symptoms of Delusion (#784)

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 15:00:00 GMT

A word of warning: this podcast is not for those of you who celebrated what happened in our nation's capital last week. At the request of a listener, Kyle and Wayne take a look at the delusion that is motivating many brothers and sisters and why it is so difficult to talk to people who see these events a certain way. Wayne unpacks a series of earmarks that he has recognized are very common for people caught in a series of lies that they really are convinced are true whether that be from a religious cult, political manipulation, or a toxic relationship. These are not offered as a way to judge others caught in them, but to take a look at ourselves to see if we are people who are after the truth or victims of a polarized culture. And, understanding them will help us know if, when, and how to best engage others who show signs of delusion.

Podcast Notes:
Order Live Loved Free Full
Wayne's Blog - Seven Characteristics of the Deluded
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle

Live Loved Free Full (#783)

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Live Loved Free Full is Wayne's latest book, and it has just dropped into the world. It contains a year's worth of daily reflections to invite people into more relational space that will help them be more sensitive to God's nudges in their heart and his fingerprints in their circumstances. Kyle Rice talks to Wayne about his new book, how it came to be when writing a devotional was not on his radar screen, and what he hopes it will do for others. They talk about the twenty-five-year trajectory in Wayne's journey of learning to live in a relationship with a loving Father and the words he's written that will most encourage the Spirit's work in others.

Podcast Notes:
Order Live Loved Free Full
Email Kyle
Past Podcasts with Kyle