"There is no terror like the terror of being known," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. That's the conundrum of the quest of intimacy. There is no need more central to the human experience than to be fully known and loved, and "there is no greater pain than the pain of intimacy severed—by betrayal, by distance, by death." Wayne stumbled upon an article this week regarding desire for intimacy and the anxiety it creates in those who seek it. Kyle and Wayne see this issue from very different angles as you'll see in this insightful conversation about intimacy and vulnerability in a world where people can often not be trusted with either. Since the need for intimacy is as foundational as our daily hunger, how do we address that need and negotiate the fall-out when people misuse our vulnerability.

Podcast Notes:

• The video recording of this podcast
• The Wound Is the Gift: David Whyte on the Relationship Between Anxiety and Intimacy - By Maria Popova
• Read Wayne's newest book, It's Time

Today's podcast is a double-feature, at no extra charge. After a medical update, Kyle invites Wayne into a conversation about preserving relationship when you're in survival mode and don't have a lot of energy to give. Then, Wayne invites Kyle back to the justice/righteousness conversation as he and Tobie are considering writing a booklet about what it means to be saved. For many of us the first "gospel" we heard was, "You are a dirty sinner who is going to hell if you don't repent and turn your life over to God." But does that really say it? Looking for a fresh way to describe the Gospel, Wayne suggests, "The purpose of God is to win you into his love so, he can fill you with his Life and set you free from the narcissism of flesh. Then, you'll be able to live in God's justice by treating others the way you want to be treated, and thus become an expression of God's kingdom in a world of chaos." We are looking for simple wording that can unpack the reality of the Gospel, apart from human effort and inside the magnificent love of the Creator.

Podcast Notes:

• The video recording of this podcast.
• The podcast that began our discussion of righteousness and justice.
• Seeing Sin as Trauma
• Read Wayne's newest book, It's Time

Sara Jacobsen is Wayne's guest this week as they process their current situation and how it has impacted Sara's journey. Here's the honest nitty-gritty of their struggle and how they are finding a way through it with Jesus. They wrestle with the tough questions, such as one asked by a friend last week:  "Have you been disappointed with God in all of this?" How do you hold on to hope when things keep going downhill? They also talk about how Wayne's surgery interrupted Sara's journey into wholeness and how she's dealing with that. This is an extremely raw and personal look at how Wayne and Sara and traversing this part of their journey and finding joy and provision from God. Both of them are happy to be in a place where their relationship with God is bigger than what life throws at them.

Podcast Notes:

• No video recording was made of this podcast.
• Read Wayne's newest book, It's Time

As many of you know, Wayne has been battling some medical issues that began with excruciating pain and resulted in back surgery to fuse part of his spine and chemotherapy to deal with the bone cancer that caused it. Wayne felt well enough this week to talk with Kyle about what he's dealing with medically and how this ordeal affects his relationship with God. These are not refined conclusions coming from resolved circumstances but honest reflections from the pit of raw need. How do God and Wayne communicate at times like this? How do you deal with escalating pain that prayer doesn't seem to move? How does faith lead us to endurance and how do losesight of God when he doesn't respond the way we want him to?

Podcast Notes:

• No video recording was made of this podcast.
• Read Wayne's newest book, It's Time

After five weeks exploring This Changes Everything with Tobie, Kyle and Wayne take a look at how the shift from righteousness to justice has impacted their lives. They talk about the necessity of a true conversion, not just jumping through some religious hoops that don't begin to fill us with Life and Love. They also talk about how this impacts the gifts of the Spirit play into their lives, and how decisions become a more clearer when focused on fairness and Life, not just making the best decision we can for ourselves.

Podcast Notes:

• The video recording of this podcast.
• Read Wayne's newest book:  It's Time

Wayne was unexpectedly put in the hospital this week due to severe back pain and did not get out in time to configure this week’s podcast.  We will have to postpone it until a later date. Please accept my apologies.

Kyle and Wayne complete their five-part series with Tobie van der Westhuizen, from Bloemfontein, South Africa. In this episode, they go all the way back to Adam and Eve and how the fall subjected them to a world of injustice and how God provided a way for his fullness of love and life to displace the injustice in our own hearts. Now, through our participation in his sacrifice, we have his life within us and we can be a distributor of life in the world, instead of seeking to find our life in others or in the temptations of darkness. This is the fifth in a series that will be best appreciated by listening to them all in order.

Podcast Notes:

• We're sorry, but there was no video recording of this podcast.
• Part 1 of this conversation
• Tobie's NaturalChurch Blog and Email
• URGENT! Helping the Orphanage in Kenya
• Read Wayne's newest book:  It's Time

Special Bonus Episode!  Tobie van der Westhuizen, joined Wayne and a couple dozen of people for a question and answer session about the podcast series, This Changes Everything. They talk about justice and righteousness and how this misunderstanding of the Gospel came to be. This is the audio version of that recording so people in the podcast feed can give it a listen.

Podcast Notes:

• Video recording of this FB Live Event
• Part 1 of this conversation
• Tobie's NaturalChurch Blog and Email
• Read Wayne's newest book:  It's Time

Kyle and Wayne continue their conversation with Tobie van der Westhuizen, from Bloemfontein, South Africa. This week they focus on the life love teaches us to live. By focusing on personal righteousness at the expense of interpersonal justice, Christianity robbed its followers of their most powerful influence in the world. As Christ's body, we were meant to be the embodiment of his justice in the world, not gatekeepers of doctrine or piety. Learning the joy of loving and watching how that love treats others the way we would want them to treat us, allows the kingdom to be revealed against the darkness. This is the fourth in a series that are best understood by listening in order.

Podcast Notes:

• We're sorry, but there was no video recording of this podcast.
• Part 1 of this conversation
• Tobie's NaturalChurch Blog and Email
• URGENT! Helping the Orphanage in Kenya
• Join the God Journey After-Show on September 28, 2024. It will stream live on The God Journey Facebook page at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time, and be available after for any who want to hear it.  If you'd like to be part of the conversation in the Zoom room, please email Wayne in advance to get the link. (This is a change from our previously announced date of September 21.)
• Read Wayne's newest book:  It's Time

Kyle and Wayne continue to probe through the mind and heart of Tobie van der Westhuizen, from Bloemfontein, South Africa, a self-described reclusive philosopher. What he has discovered in the Scriptures may just be the completion to what Martin Luther began. If true, the Gospel becomes a much fuller expression of God's work in the world than to just save people from guilt or hell. This is the kingdom come!  Wayne and Kyle have been enjoying this conversation and want to invite you to contemplate his observations as well. This is the third in a series that are best understood by listening in order.

Podcast Notes:

• We're sorry, but there was no video recording of this podcast.
• Part 1 of this conversation
• Tobie's NaturalChurch Blog and Email
• URGENT! Helping the Orphanage in Kenya
• Join the God Journey After-Show on September 28, 2024. It will stream live on The God Journey Facebook page at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time, and be available after for any who want to hear it.  If you'd like to be part of the conversation in the Zoom room, please email Wayne in advance to get the link. (This is a change from our previously announced date of September 21.)
• Read Wayne's newest book:  It's Time

Kyle and Wayne continue to probe through the mind and heart of Tobie van der Westhuizen, from Bloemfontein, South Africa, a self-described reclusive philosopher. What he has discovered in the Scriptures may just be the completion to what Martin Luther began. If true, the Gospel becomes a much fuller expression of God's work in the world than to just save people from guilt or hell. This is the kingdom come!  Wayne and Kyle have been enjoying this conversation and want to invite you to contemplate his observations as well.  Part 1 began last week. If you haven't heard it, you will probably want to start there.

Podcast Notes:

• We're sorry, but there was no video recording of this podcast.
• Part 1 of this conversation
• Tobie's NaturalChurch Blog and Email
• URGENT! Helping the Orphanage in Kenya
• Join the God Journey After-Show on September 28, 2024. It will stream live on The God Journey Facebook page at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time, and be available after for any who want to hear it.  If you'd like to be part of the conversation in the Zoom room, please email Wayne in advance to get the link. (This is a change from our previously announced date of September 21.)
• Read Wayne's newest book:  It's Time