The God Journey

"To have faith is to trust love," which is where the bulk of Wayne and Kyle's conversation goes this week as they come through the mailbag. There are comments about relational community, how prayer changes as trust grows, and the McDonald's Toy Syndrome. They finish with one email that talks about the importance of trusting God's love and not knowledge alone. While human love can be weak and conditional, God's love is the strongest force in the universe and opens people to truth and reality. Those who desire love will recognize him when he comes; those who desire knowledge will see him as a threat. Podcast Notes: The video version of this podcastBeyond SundaysJust Love The post Trusting Love (#1020) first appeared on The God Journey.

How do you view friendships around you, especially those that may be short-lived? Do you shy away, not wanting to get hurt, exploit them for what you can get, or engage them as an opportunity to share life, even if it won't last long? Wayne and Kyle discuss what a healthy mindset looks like as we engage others, whether it be short-term or long-term. Be true to your "yuck meter" so you won't be manipulated. Learn the power of active listening as a gift to give others by giving them your full attention, a curious mind, and a calm presence, while resisting the desire to make judgments or give advice. Of course, all of that begins in our growing trust in Father's love and realizing that anything that argues against our belovedness to him is a lie we need to walk away from. Podcast Notes: The video version of this podcastMy Friend LuisMy Grandmother's HandsJust Love The post Toward Relational Wholeness (#1019) first appeared on The God Journey.

"The enemy's chief strategy is to make dead things look alive." And wow, does it ever work! In the backdrop of yet another revelation of moral failure on the part of a Christian celebrity, Kyle and Wayne discuss how the theology of love can fail us in our desperate moments. The question remains, however: Why doesn't love and faith transform even its most ardent advocates? How can people give lip service to love and grace for decades and yet remain so utterly untransformed by it? Unless we discover God's kind of love inside his presence with us, we will remain unchanged and still act in our own expedience rather than treating others around us justly. And in the aftermath of failure, how does love restore the victims who suffer because of it and the one who fell to temptation? Podcast Notes: The video version of this podcastMy Grandmother's HandsJust LoveThe post God’s Love and Moral Failure (#1018) first appeared on The God Journey.

"All healing involves discomfort—but so does refusing to heal." So writes Resmaa Menakem in his book, My Grandmother's Hands, which Wayne and Sara have just finished reading. The book is about healing from traumatic pain, especially around trauma related to race. Quotes from the book draw Wayne and Klye into a discussion about clean pain and dirty pain as they apply to emotional hurt and wounds. Our responses or reactions to our own pain can either put more hurt in the world, both for ourselves and others, or our responses to pain can promote healing. The difference is whether we come at healing from an agitated state or from a calm, settled body, which we can find in the peace and presence of Jesus. This also points out why our society cannot have a reasoned, healing conversation about race today—both sides come at it from agitation and frustration. Podcast Notes: The video version of this podcastMy Grandmother's HandsJust LoveThe post Clean Pain or Dirty Pain (#1017) first appeared on The God Journey.

"Fear makes us selfish," and no fear more so than the fear of death. A book Wayne recently read provoked his thinking about death and how the fear of it can make people act in destructive ways. So, he and Kyle discuss the fear of death, and how Jesus came to free those who are enslaed to it. Instead of helping people find that freedom, Christianity has often added to people's anxiety about death by threatening them with the consequences that could lie behind it. How would people be in the world if they no longer feared dying, but saw it as a transformation, much like the caterpillar yielding to the chrysalis? Both expressed their hope for a future where relationships are restored and wounds are healed. Podcast Notes: Just LoveThe post The Fear of Death (#1016) first appeared on The God Journey.

"Love fulfills the law because it fills us." After a brief conversation about a perspective shift in challenging times and sharing inexhaustible love, Kyle and Wayne discuss finding our fullness in him. They plough through an article about desire. It turns out humans enjoy getting the thing they desire than having it. The dopamine hit that comes from procuring what's desired doesn't last long, which is why so many are almost immediately out seeking the next new thing. What if the root of our desires is for God himself? Trying to fill that desire with anything else would always fail. Finding our fullness it him would let us live with gratitude and appreciation, no matter what we possess, rather than the constant yearning and dissatisfaction. Podcast Notes: The video recording of this podcast.A $100,000 New Car Won't Make You Happy - Article Wayne read from Just LoveLifestream StoreThe post The Root of Desire (#1015) first appeared on The God Journey.

How will the bride of Christ be revealed in the world, especially since she is so fractured into thousands of denominations? Perhaps there is already a parable of that in the Creation, in the murmuration of starlings and the schools of fish. Scientists call it behavioral synchronization, but maybe it is something more. It now seems that for a brief time, starlings and fish become part of an interconnected organism. Kyle and Wayne discuss the idea of "unmanaged community" and how it reflects the organic, spiritual connections among believers. These connections, often spontaneous and unstructured, can be more authentic than human-managed communities. While we get glimpses of it now and then, perhaps the time is coming for a global "murmuration" of believers that comprise the Bride of Christ. Wouldn't that be awesome? Podcast Notes: The video recording of this podcast.Murmuration Videohere's another one with musicThe Secret of SecretsFinding ChurchLifestream StoreThe post The Murmuration of the Bride (#1014) first appeared on The God Journey.

In a world that seeks to crush us into its mold, having the space to contemplate, explore, question, and grow is a rare and delicious treat. That's where Wayne and Kyle landed today after reading an email from a listener. That thread ran through their other conversation about seeing beyond the home team/away team binary that religion throws at us and how listening to God has changed over the course of their lives. They also discuss how we can better facilitate that space for others instead of trying to cram the breath of the Spirit into a curriculum, presentation, or system. Podcast Notes: The video recording of this podcast.When the Maps Run OutLifestream StoreThe post Finding the Space to Explore (#1013) first appeared on The God Journey.

Kyle's away this week, so an old friend joins in. Brad Cummings was co-host of The God Journey for 700+ episodes, and joined us most recently on #1000. Many of you asked to have him back again, so he joins Wayne for a conversation about equipping people to engage a real presence when they give their hearts to Jesus. Instead of training them to be good Christians, might it be more valuable to help them learn to live from their hearts in growing communion with God? This is the essence of the New Covenant, not to be led by programs and rituals, but to connect to God's presence in them so that they can be drawn into the adventure of following him and find increasing freedom in his transformation. Podcast Notes: A Man Like No OtherThe post Communing with God (#1012) first appeared on The God Journey.

It was a tale of two cities over consecutive weekends that got this conversation going. Wayne shares about his experience... The post Performative or Transformational? (#1011) first appeared on The God Journey.

Kyle surprises Wayne with a new term that is being utilized in trauma work—moral injury. This happens when someone, either... The post The Pain of Moral Injury (#1010) first appeared on The God Journey.

Following up on last week's podcast, Kyle and Wayne begin by discussing the power of presence to shape our lives... The post When Fear Trumps Endearment (#1009) first appeared on The God Journey.

Kyle asks AI to define the message of The God Journey, leading to a brief discussion about AI and the... The post Living from Fullness (#1009) first appeared on The God Journey.

Why are some followers of Jesus deeply concerned over the tactics and demeanor of the Trump Administration, while others wholeheartedly... The post How We View Morality (#1008) first appeared on The God Journey.

During Wayne and Sara's recent trip around the Rocky Mountains, they met many people in the cities they traveled through... The post A Path out of Legalism (#1007) first appeared on The God Journey.

What would change if you trusted God's presence abiding in you instead of seeking to feel his love? Wayne and... The post What it Means to Abide (#1006) first appeared on The God Journey.

Wayne and Kyle received a letter from a pastor concerned that this podcast, which he loves, gives little credence to... The post The Traditional Congregation (#1005) first appeared on The God Journey.

After Wayne and Sara shared their trauma story with Kyle's Advanced Counseling course, Kyle wanted to talk more about forgiveness... The post The Fruit of Forgiveness (#1004) first appeared on The God Journey.

Wayne and Kyle were together in Sheridan, Wyoming, this week and had the rare chance to sit down face-to-face after... The post Finding Calm Amid Chaos (#1003) first appeared on The God Journey.

Many people are substituting AI for their interactions with other human beings. From romantic relationships to therapy, even spiritual direction.... The post Authentic Relationship in an AI World? (#1002) first appeared on The God Journey.