The God Journey

How can I trust God's love for me when he does nothing about the tragic circumstances that confront me? Why does God seem to treat me worse than I would treat our own children or friend? Pain and suffering are a constant challenge for those schooled in the idea that if you follow God's ways he will always heal your diseases, keep you from tragedy, or ensure your life is painless and comfortable. It's a common misunderstanding and keeps many from the joy and comfort of resting in Father's love precisely in those times we need it most, when life throws it's greatest challenge at us. If we can't figure out how to separate God's love for us from the brokenness of a fallen world, we will miss the greatest resource we have to deal with our pain. Podcast Links: Wayne's Upcoming Travel to Indianapolis, the Bay area of California, and Colorado Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

When everyone else seems to embrace a reality that pegs your yuck meter, what are you supposed to do? And when you follow your heart against the flow of the world or the religious culture around you, how do you know you're right and not just rebellious? Wayne considers these questions in light of a contemplative summer and stumbling across a recent Charisma Magazine that Wayne used to write for years ago. As it celebrated "Forty People that Changed the World", it confronted him with a lot of decisions from his past and thoughts of, "what might have been?" Wayne invites you into some of his personal journey this summer and why he finds himself more content than ever with the path he's taken. He also reads from the concluding column of the magazine that deals with how human ambition and greed destroyed the Charismatic renewal and subverted the work the Spirit had begun forty years ago. He found himself in enthusiastic agreement, even though it seemed to undermine everything else the magazine had spent a hundred pages celebrating. Podcast Links: Artwork by Travis D. Peterson Wayne's Upcoming Travel to Indianapolis, the Bay area of California, and Colorado Lee Grady's article, Don't Quench the Spirit in the Next Move of God Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

From Shaver Lake, California in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Wayne reflects on some meaningful conversations he's had in recent weeks as well as engages listener feedback from email, blog comments and calls on the comment line. In doing so he shares from his visit last week to the set where The Shack was being filmed and stumbles into topics such as to whether we need to fear the second coming of Jesus, how does the fear of the Lord fit now that we know his love, and continues the dialog on accountability and how it affects the reality of community. Podcast Links: Wayne's Upcoming Travel to Indianapolis, the Bay area of California, and Colorado Past podcast: Fear Falls Short Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

"Science says that lasting relationships come down kindness and generosity." Imagine that! The conclusion may be obvious, but human relationships are fraught with pain and disappointment. Wayne refers to an article that appeared some months ago in The Atlantic that unpacked how married couples connect or do not connect in the course of their relationship and reveals the difference between a growing relationship and a dying one. The lessons uncovered here are not only true of marriage but also how when generosity and kindness become the rhythm of our relationships we put ourselves in the place where real community can take hold. Podcast Links: Wayne's Upcoming Travel to Vancouver, BC, Indianapolis, the Bay area of California, and Colorado Science Says Lasting Relationships Come Down To Two Basic Traits Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Jesus offered his followers a place among the community that the Father, Son and Spirit have shared for all eternity, and then a home among brothers and sisters that offers friendship, compassion and care. Why do our religious leaders continue to assert that this promise can be fulfilled through accountability, conformity and membership programs? A recent article on the Christianity Today website proclaims how essential "church membership" is, never distinguishing between the difference of becoming a member of an institution and living as a part of the body of Christ taking shape in the world. Our attempts to build community through obligation only results in co-dependency, which is why when people begin to be disillusioned by it encounter pain and rejection designed to scare them back in. Finding our way out of that pain into gratefully disillusionment is a process, that though often difficult, yields incredible fruit. Podcast Links: Wayne's Upcoming Travel to Vancouver, BC, Indianapolis, the Bay area of California, and Colorado Membership Matters: 3 Reasons for Church Membership by Ed Stetzer Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Wayne is back from his nearly month-long travel throughout Europe, the first part celebrating his family and the second part meeting with people in Barcelona and the south of France. Here he shares the experiences and observations of his odyssey from some of the most magnificent religious buildings in Europe (that's the interior of the Basilica Sagrada Familia in Barcelona at left) to the places where those who resisted the power of the papacy were conquered or imprisoned. Gathering with people who have learned to live in the Father's love and some of those freshly starting on this journey, it served as a perfect parable why community is the fruit of discipleship. Until people begin to come to rest in the Father's affection, they will not be able to see the joy and wisdom that fellow disciples of Jesus discover in their life together. So the task of seeing community take shape in the world is to help people learn how to live in the new creation. Podcast Links: Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

When you've discover that you've been misled by the abuse of theology and leadership, it is easy to discard anything that reminds you of your former bondage. In fact, it may be part of the journey to discard it all and let Jesus re-introduce it to your life when you can appreciate it as a gift, rather that frustrate with it as an obligation. One of our listeners adds some puzzle pieces to our conversation about theology and after teaching for a week in Lake Tahoe to a mission school, Wayne wanted to share a bit of his experience there and Chapter 18 from the audiobook of Finding Church to refocus on what Jesus meant by putting older brothers and sisters alongside us to be a blessing on this journey, not to burden us down. Podcast Links: Get the Audiobook of Finding Church Wayne's Review of Church Refugees Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Many who argue that attending a local congregation is essential to faith talk of the necessity of accountability, especially to religious leaders. Is the life Jesus calls his church based on accountability? Wayne takes up some listener email on this point to talk about how destructive the focus on sin and accountability is to the development of authentic relationships. Accountability leads to pretense not freedom as people posture for the acceptance of others. The life of the church is based on love, service and encouragement where people are free to be authentic, to ask the questions that are on their heart and to discover the transforming power of Jesus that actually frees us from sin by the work he does. Our concern for each other's brokenness and our honesty with people caught in sin is best expressed in love, not by trying to hold others accountable. Podcast Links: Wayne's Travel Schedule if you want to join me in Europe Podcast from 6/24/10 With Brad and Wayne on Does Accountability Work? Enjoy the Engage Videos Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

How can you share a task with other Christians, even for decades, and come out without any meaningful friendships that endure when the task is done? There's actually a name for the phenomenon: parallel play, when you are doing the same thing in the same location but not really doing it together. The fruit of healthy adult activity is growing friendships of affection that are the true treasure of life. But before we get to that Wayne combs through the mail bag and blog comments to allow you to reflect back on our podcasts about the relationally challenged, "The Dones", and finding a healthy conversation about theology. Watching people find their way into a transformational journey that negates the effects of religion and draws them into freer space of life and grace is the joy in doing this podcast. Podcast Links: Preachertainers and Pew Fodder Previous podcast: Why Theology Matters Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Fly the margins if you want, but it's only the One who is at the center that will enduringly satisfy. Wayne continues his conversation with Dr. Robert Stamps who holds a PhD in Eucharistic Theology from the University of Nottingham and has been an United Methodist ministry for most of his life. More recently he has served as Dean of the Chapel and as a professor of systematic theology at Asbury Seminary. They continue to discuss Communion, the Incarnation, how we walk through painful circumstances, and how we can hold to the Center to keep our journeys on track. When their conversation ends Wayne processes his thoughts about teaching done well in the body and how our continued dialog about God not only enhance our own journeys but also help us explore the wonder of the body of Christ. Podcast Links: First part of Wayne and Bob's Conversation Previous podcasts with Bob Stamps: Living in God's Mercy and God at Our Table Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Is theology a static list of facts that seek to capture God in a box, or is it a wilder conversation about his wonder and mystery as we are learning to walk with him through our lives? Wayne and Sara are back from a brief time at the beach to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. With that backdrop and his recent visit with pastors in Southern California about the Dones, he continues last week's theme of Why Theology Matters by responding to listener comments and emails. Many see theology as a dead set of concepts, rather than a living conversation that helps shape how we live in him and navigate the rigors of this age. Wayne reframes his appreciation of theology as the conversation with the church through the ages that helps us not just know things about him, but to know him and to follow him more accurately. Podcast Links: Previous podcast: Why Theology Matters Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

One of Wayne's closest friends and a gifted theologian joins us once again on the podcast to discuss the importance of an accurate theology, even for those who are living outside the box of religious obligation. Dr. Bob Stamps holds a PhD in Eucharistic Theology from the University of Nottingham and has been an United Methodist ministry for most of his life. More recently he has served as Dean of the Chapel and as a professor of systematic theology at Asbury Seminary. Even though Wayne and Bob share very different views of the church, they sat down in Richmond, VA a few weeks ago to discuss the theology that undergirds the life of the church however she connects. He views it as a conversation God is having through the Bible and with his people throughout centuries to help us understand who he his and his unfolding purpose in the world. A healthy theology will sustain a growing engagement with Jesus, not supplant it with lifeless creeds or rituals. Podcast Links: Previous podcasts with Bob Stamps: Living in God's Mercy and God at Our Table Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Now that research has identified a group of passionate Christians who are no longer participating in traditional congregations, what does that mean for the future of the church? Will existing congregations find innovative ways to address the concerns of those who consider leaving? Will the church take on new expressions? Or both? Wayne continues his conversation with Dr. Josh Packard, Professor of Sociology at the University of Northern Colorado and the author of a new book, Church Refugees, which will be released on June 1. His book and the conversation it spawns can provide us an opportunity to recognize the church in all the ways she takes shape, or just divide us into separate tribes each thinking ourselves superior to others. Let's pray it's the former. Podcast Links: Part I of Wayne's Conversation with Josh Josh Packard's Website Pre-order Josh's book Church Refugees • Download the first chapter of Church Refugees Holy Soup Blog on The Rise of the Dones • The De-churching Project Webinar About Josh's Book Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

Some are calling it the rise of the dones, the number of people who have given up on the traditional congregation and are finding community and mission beyond it in more relational ways. Meet the man behind the research. In a recent trip to Colorado Wayne sat down with Dr. Josh Packard, a professor of sociology at the University of Northern Colorado and the author of Church Refugees will be released on June 1. In research about church behavior, he stumbled across a broad group of people who didn't leave the traditional congregation to abandon their faith but to live more freely in Jesus through being more proactive about building community and finding mission in the world. This is Part One of their conversation covering how they discovered what they are calling "The Dones" and that they are generally high-capacity Christ-followers who found the congregational model too stifling. Podcast Links: Josh Packard's Website Pre-order Josh's book Church Refugees • Download the first chapter of Church Refugees Holy Soup Blog on The Rise of the Dones • The De-churching Project Webinar About Josh's Book Our previous podcast about Josh's work: Nones, Dones And a Wider Conversation Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"

One of our listeners said it best: "Religion makes you relationally challenged." That it does, making us far more preoccupied with getting people to do what we want so we can feel safe and comfortable. Untangling all of that and learning to live more focused on others than ourselves is an amazing work God does to help us experience the treasure of real relationships that are honest, gentle and loving. Wayne takes a look at the kind of language and activity that actually subverts the relationships we desire so that we can better see how God is shaping us so that we can love others where they are and yet not be victims of their fears or insecurities. Living relationally free is the fruit of God working in us so that we have less need to manipulate others for our own desire, or to be manipulated by them for theirs. Podcast Links: Five Churchy Phrases That Are Scaring Off Millenials (Warning: This is one of those websites I avoid for its intrusive marketing of itself.) Our latest update from Kenya Add your voice to our question/comment line: (805) 539-6980 or Skype us at "TheGodJourney"