Listen Here

*No, that’s no misprint above, but you’ll have to listen to the podcast to understand the title. When we are convinced that we have to earn God’s favor through our own self-efforts, we will not only distance ourselves from God at our place of greatest need, but we’ll also turn on others when they don’t work as hard as we do. People’s responses to the political and economic landscape of the United States provide a backdrop for Brad and Wayne’s discussion about the choice between trying to fix ourselves or others through religious efforts, or learning to simply follow Jesus as his glory unfolds in the very situations in which we find ourselves.

Listen Here

The election results are in and Brad and Wayne aren’t seeing eye to eye about, which comes out in their early conversation. Passionate followers of Jesus saw this election very differently and as Brad and Wayne process all of that they come to the common ground of knowing that the reality of God always wins over the speculations and schemes of humankind. In his Incarnation Jesus demonstrated to us that by embracing God’s reality, not the changing winds of each political contest, we can live differently in the world. Rather than playing on fears, or being manipulated by them, we can live without fear at all and then we are able to embrace God’s grace freely and share it with others.

Listen Here

More listener email and current events send Brad and Wayne on a protracted discussion about performance-based spirituality. Those who think they can earn their relationship with God through their own efforts end up on an exhausting and fruitless course that distorts our view of him and of Scripture. Living free in the love of the Father is what opens the door to a journey of growth and transformation that is at the heart of the Gospel.

Listen Here

Brad and Wayne take a look through the ol’ mail bag and find themselves in a discussion about the relationship between truth and love in this kingdom. The religious mind-set that values truth over love is not only destructive to spiritual life, but also misses the heart of truth where it discounts love. Learning to walk the God journey means that we discover truth inside of love and doing so we will never find a conflict between the two.

Listen Here

Brad and Wayne start with some wonderful email they’ve received at the God Journey describing the journey from other people’s perspective and then they dissect a conversation Wayne had on the phone with one of those dear brothers out to change the world for God. Desperate for a platform and anxious to change the Body of Christ at a national, even international level, is only leading him to greater frustration. We don’t get to have the grand strategy or take the conductor’s podium. We get to follow him each day and watch what extraordinary ways that Jesus will make his Father known in the earth.

Listen Here

Wayne gets recruited by an atheist and Brad and he end up in a discussion about how religion exploits us all by rewarding the achievers and manipulating the powerless. Self always wants to validate itself by what we can do and offers validation based on false realities. That performance trap either leads us to self-boasting and a sense of entitlement, or the condemnation of never thinking we are doing enough. Jesus offers us a connection with the Father that is more than enough in times of plenty and in times of great need.

Listen Here

Economic disaster looms in every newscast and government officials fall all over themselves to hide the corruption behind it and their complicity in it all in an attempt to restore the image of an economic system based more on people’s perception than reality. Sound familiar? Amateur economists Brad and Wayne begin there but end up in a broader discussion of where our security actually lies in these crisis-filled days. The writer of Hebrews warned of a day when everything that can be shaken, would be shaken, so that which is real, enduring, and true might seen for what they are. Those in Christ are part of that unshakable kingdom and living in that reality can set our hearts at rest even when all else is in crisis.

Listen Here

Mick Silva, a friend of The God Journey and editor with Waterbrook-Multnomah publishing group was in town to visit Wayne and Brad so they dragged him into the podcast booth for a wide-ranging discussion about the current state of Christian publishing in the U.S. and the effect that The Shack has had on the industry. On the way the find themselves talking about the changing of the guard for those who would be gate-keepers of truth for others.

Listen Here

From time to time people ask Brad and Wayne about certain Scriptures that seem on face value to contradict the message of grace and God’s invitation to live loved. They tackle a number of these Scriptures and show how when people apply them them in the context of religious performance their meaning is lost and their application distorted. The New Testament invites us into a very different process where we are transformed out of our relationship with him, not by human effort. In that context these same verses thrive with meaning and power.

Listen Here

The conversation expands as listener email takes center-stage again. Looking through the eyes of others sends Brad and Wayne on a free-ranging conversation about the joys of freedom and living loved. When our relationship with God provides all that we need, we no longer have to use others or exploit their needs to validate ourselves. That allows us to live genuinely and not respond to the manipulation of others as well. Then we can see how our simple concern for others can provide an environment in which real relationships can flourish.

Listen Here

Wayne’s back from the upper Midwest and shares some of his experiences with Brad and the joy of helping people who are just emerging from guilt and pressure of performance-based religion to contemplate the reality of grace and relationship. They tackle some listener email as well, discussing how Paul’s teaching of sowing and reaping fits into their understanding of God’s unfolding grace as he transforms our lives in the ups and downs of this present age.

Listen Here

Sounds like Brad has been watching the Olympics which opens up a discussion about the difference between achievement in the world and spiritual growth. We also get some of the most incredible email from people who are on the God journey and seeing God do some amazing things in their life. A dip into the mail bag offer Brad and Wayne the opportunity to go revisit some of their recent discussions about keeping rules or being transformed by love, holiness, and encouraging those who are in the midst of very dark and painful days on the journey.

Listen Here

The increasing sales figures of THE SHACK has continues to frustrate those who regard the book as a dangerous heresy. Recent attacks from a variety of sources allows Brad and Wayne to talk about the generosity of truth. You don’t need to protect it, or defend it, just let it come freely from your life to touch others as God might desire. Wayne reads a letter by German theologian Karl Barth, written in the early 1960s, gives some excellent insight into handling critics with grace and wisdom. You can read the full text of Barth’s letter here.

Listen Here

Responding to a series of listener emails and comments, Wayne and Brad discuss knowing God for who he is and living in the moment with him as a loved child in the earth, rather than trying to define our purpose or destiny and fulfilling it by our own strength or ingenuity. Maybe it’s only when we give up the illusion of controlling our own lives and fulfilling our own desires that we can live in the danger of trusting him.

Listen Here

Did Jesus give people a license to sin? Wayne returns from his BridgeBuilding work in Utah and that sends he and Brad into a discussion about freedom and liberty and how God relates to us in the face of our sin. Many people think that the Gospel is summed up in trying to get others to follow God’s rules. But to do so out of performance will only produce the opposite of what he wants most. As Paul describes in Galatians 5, living in freedom is the only way for us to relate to God that will transform us from the inside out.

Listen Here

Email from listeners set the course on this podcast. First up is a discussion about God’s nature and whether Scripture seeking God has a lion side and a lamb side. Then they tackle a question about worship and whether or not it is self-seeking from God’s side. Finally, they discuss problems with extended family members understanding those who no longer find themselves in traditional congregations. One of those uncovers a particularly dark side of religious manipulation and how it can tear a family apart. What do we do then?

Listen Here

Back from the Christian retailing show in Florida, Brad and Wayne ruminate on their experiences and end up in a discussion about how we perceive God’s generosity. Religion teaches us that we serve a miserly God who must be impressed and cajoled into giving up his goodies. But Jesus and Paul talked about a God of immense generosity. Why the difference? Wayne also shows Brad a picture a listener sent from Australia sent to Wayne. (Click on the photo at left to see a full-size rendering.)

Listen Here

Brad and Wayne catch up on a lot of listener emails and gives them a chance to hear from people at various stages of this journey, from the pain of being disillusioned to the joy of recognizing God’s love and life flowing through them in a fresh way. At each point Brad and Wayne offer their encouragement as to how to stay focused on God and let him take them through to greater freedom and joy.

Listen Here

A letter in response to Brad and Wayne’s recent podcast entitled Unsanctified Mercy, they get into a discussion about God’s judgment and discipline and whether those are unmerciful acts, or further extensions of his mercy. Many people mistake mercy for simply being nice or enabling people’s willfulness, but does God see it that way?

Listen Here

Our last podcast about Revival Fever brought a firestorm of emails. Some liked it, others hated it. Brad and Wayne read the letters, and launch into a discussion about how to love others who may not see the things the way you do. They also talk about having conversations through those kind of conflicts that help us all grow, rather than cutting off communication as we simply defend our own positions.