Ronnie McBrayer artwork

Ronnie McBrayer

262 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 21 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 21 ratings

Podcast of author, speaker, pastor, and spiritual teacher Ronnie McBrayer. This is his collection of talks, interviews, insights from the Enneagram, and conversations with friends on the ever-changing, ever-evolving nature of faith. It is especially for those who are “burned out on religion” - to quote Eugene Peterson’s marvelous paraphrase; for spiritual exiles; and those whose faith is in transition.

Christianity Religion & Spirituality
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Episodes

Little Donkey

March 27, 2024 19:58 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MB

Power. Politics. Prophecy. Peace. And a little donkey carrying Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem. In this talk Ronnie focuses on the overlooked details and persisting challenge of the first Palm Sunday.

Music featuring the Backsliders

March 26, 2024 14:16 - 9 minutes - 8.51 MB

St. Patrick's Day fell on a Sunday this year, and I couldn't resist playing a few  Irish songs. This quintet collection of The Backsliders band features myself on guitar and vocals, Matt Miller on fiddle, Tim Ryals on percussion, Andy Stucky on bass, and Ricky Stanfield on mandolin. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

What's So Amazing About Grace?

March 13, 2024 17:44 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MB

What's So Amazing About Grace? That's a question Philip Yancey asked with the title of his book that has become a Christian classic more than 25 years ago. It's a question that remains worth asking and answering - as Ronnie attempts to do with his latest talk (Based on Ephesians 2).

Making Meaning: "Stick It To The Man," Part 6

March 06, 2024 19:27 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MB

This is Ronnie's final talk in a series on the book of Ecclesiastes, using commentary from Viktor Frankl. "Today, I want you to be infused with holy, scrappy, heavenly resistance. I want you  spilling over with God-given chutzpah. Not arrogance; not violence; not ego or attitude: But humble, hopeful, resilient, defiance: For 'what can be overcome, must be overcome…God grant me the courage to change the things I can.' There is a time for sacred defiance. Stick it to the man - and in that res...

Making Meaning: "Let It Go," Part 5

February 21, 2024 18:10 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MB

This is Ronnie's fifth in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. “If possible, we change our fate. If necessary, we willingly accept it…what can be overcome, must be overcome. What cannot be overcome, must be accepted. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” That sounds very much like words written about the same time, not from a Jewish Holocaust survivor, but a Christian theologian, Reinhol...

Making Meaning: Through Love and In Love, Part 4

February 18, 2024 00:05 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MB

This is Ronnie's fourth in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. "Love is the means. Love is the end. Love is the power. Love is the motivation. Love is the inspiration and the aspiration. Love is the ultimate goal and the eventual outcome. Any religion - any spiritual practice - any way of living that does not lead us to love, that does not make us more loving people, that does not increase out capacity to give and receive love (as Thomas...

Making Meaning: Turn, Turn Turn, Part 3

February 09, 2024 18:11 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MB

This is Ronnie's third in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. "Consider this: Any two human beings share 99.5 percent of the same DNA and genetic material. No one is all that different from his or her neighbor. What makes us unique are our experiences. Your life can never be duplicated, and what you have experienced, no power on earth can take away from you! All you have done; all you have taken in through your senses and into your soul;...

Making Meaning: Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em, Part 2

February 03, 2024 03:07 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MB

This is Ronnie's second in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. "Work - what you do - is essential to finding meaning in life. I did not say that work IS the meaning of life. No. But when our attitude is attuned, work can be a source of great satisfaction. As the proverb is told: 'Find something you love to do, and you will never work a day in your life.' That doesn’t mean every day will be easy. We are not so naive. It won’t always be 'f...

Making Meaning: Like A Bird on a Wire, Part 1

January 24, 2024 22:51 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MB

Viktor Frankl said: “If you have a WHY to live, you can endure almost any WHAT, that life gives you.” How does that statement stand up against inexplicable suffering; in an unjust world; in a society that seems to be growing more insane by the day? How does it compare with the words from the writer of Ecclesiastes? In this adventurous new sermon series Ronnie takes on the subject of "making meaning" in life. He is quick to point out that "meaning does not necessarily mean sense, as some thin...

Renovations

January 17, 2024 22:49 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MB

"Here is a hard and fast rule if you start a renovation project at your home: It will take you longer than you planned; it will cost you more money than you budgeted; it will lead to other renovations and necessary updates that you did not anticipate; and it will be more difficult than you first thought. Because once dive deep with the idea of seeing what is 'down there,' once you start pulling away the veneer, start crawling about above and poking at what is hiding behind the sheetrock, all...

The Searchers

January 12, 2024 02:40 - 21 minutes - 20 MB

In a creative twist, Ronnie imagines the Magi searching for Jesus, not as "three kings from orient are," but as cowboys riding west into the unknown. Ronnie concludes this Epiphany talk: "Christ is  both the way and the destination, the road and the arrival. He is the voice that calls us - and the voice that answers. He is the thirst within - and the water that satisfies that thirst. He is the source of our hunger and the satisfaction for that hunger. He is the light in the distance, and the...

Wait and See

January 03, 2024 17:54 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MB

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance,” borrowing a line from the Apostle Paul: Whatever you think will happen in the future will likely NOT happen as you think it will. Or put another way: “If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him about your plans.” God doesn’t go about ruining the plans we have or raining on our hopes and dreams. I don’t think that at all. I think God allows life to take its course, having equipped us with the internal strength and holy wisdom we ...

A Christmas Special, Part 4

December 29, 2023 18:31 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MB

Charlie Brown cries out in desperation: “Everything I do turns into a disaster…Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” And then it happens, what Lee Mendelson called, "The most magical two minutes in all of TV animation." Linus answers his best friend. “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He takes center stage. “Lights, please,” he says. And with seven-year old Christopher Shea providing the voice of Linus Van Pelt, under the spotlight, Linus ...

A Christmas Special, Part 3

December 21, 2023 01:32 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MB

"The Grinch franchise  (the 1966, 2000, and 2018 films) is the most popular, the most watched, and most lucrative holiday production in history. This 'heel…this vile one with termites in his smile…this seasick crocodile…A skunk with a heart full of unwashed socks…the king of sinful sots.' How can he be the most popular Christmas character since the nativity of Jesus and the coronation of Saint Nickolas? His enduring legacy is what he teaches us: No one has slipped so far into resentment and ...

A Christmas Special, Part 2

December 13, 2023 00:24 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MB

"All these misfits - pushed away and ostracized - they aren’t bad. They aren’t wrong. They just are. And all they want is what we all want - a chance. A chance to be loved, a chance to belong; a chance to be themselves; a chance to thrive in spite of their misfitting and misgivings; a chance to be a part of the great reversal, where the down and out are no longer consigned to a far away, fog-encased island - but they are seen, valued, brought into the community, and made whole...They wanted ...

A Christmas Special, Part 1

December 06, 2023 16:17 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MB

"For me, there was a clear sign that Christmas was indeed near. If you were a child of the 1960s, 70s, or 80s - or a parent during those decades - you will share this memory with me. It was the return of the animated Christmas special!  I cannot tell you, a wide-eyed, bespectacled child of the 1970s, the undiluted and perfect satisfaction of sitting on the floor in front of a 19 inch black and white television, taking in the wonders of the annual Christmas cartoons. So, to celebrate Advent t...

Light and Life

November 29, 2023 20:41 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MB

As Advent draws near, Ronnie provides a history of the celebration, albeit by early and accidental means. Give this talk a listen to prepare for the season of light and love.

For the Long Haul

November 17, 2023 01:26 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MB

"What if Jesus came back today!?! Would you be ready?!?" Those are the typical revivalistic questions. In this talk Ronnie asks a different question: "What if Jesus DOESN't come back today...or tomorrow...or next year...or next decade...or next century?" This is a challenge for believers to accept and adapt to "the long haul," as the wait will be far longer than people of good intention could hav imagined.    NOTE: Based on the Parable of the Bridesmaids in Matthew 25, Ronnie addresses th...

Saving Daylight

November 09, 2023 14:13 - 17 minutes - 16 MB

"I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial..." Words from the Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 38) to King Hezekiah inspire this talk from Ronnie as he connects it to "Daylight Savings Time" and the "extra time" we have all been given to live our lives.

Happiness Is An Inside Job

October 26, 2023 19:10 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MB

"The search for happiness can lead people to do strange things...radical things...even criminal things. Blaise Pascal said, “The aim of every person is to be happy - even those persons who take their own lives.” It’s such a universal desire - to have a little joy; a little contentment; a light heart and mind. But it can be so universally elusive. This is because happiness is an inside job. There is no secret to unlock; no skill to develop; no elusive mystery to chase. Happiness is already th...

”I Contain Multitudes”

October 17, 2023 00:09 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MB

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes). - Walt Whitman Ronnie chose Whitman's line because it captures the fragmentation, history, complexity, and contradiction - not of humanity in general - but specifically as the best one line explanation for that tiny slice of land containing the state of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. As Ronnie says in this talk, "If ever a section of earth’s geography contained contradicting multitude...

G.O.W.I: Getting On With It

October 13, 2023 00:18 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MB

In a deeply personal recapping of challenges experienced by individuals and families in his own congregation, Ronnie pivots to the theme of "Getting On With It" from Paul's words in Philippians 3. Ronnie says, "I tread lightly and carefully here, because the pain and loss for many of late is still so present and raw; not for a minute will I minimize any of that. Take your time. Heal as best as you can. Pull away into your thoughts and precious memories. Grieve. Process. Cry. Rage. Question. ...

Don’t Forget to Remember

October 04, 2023 18:45 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MB

Speaking from Philippians 2, the text where Paul write how Jesus "emptied himself," Ronnie uses this episode to talk about "having the attitude of Christ," with is the true essence of being a follower of Jesus. Ronnie says: "Was Jesus a culture warrior? No. Was he a violent revolutionary? No. Was he a retreatist? No. Was he motivated by fear? No. Was he greedy, driven by money? No. Was he obsessed with power - making or forcing others to do as he wanted them to do? No. That’s not who he was...

Pastures of Plenty

September 28, 2023 19:39 - 26 minutes - 24 MB

In this re-telling of Jesus' Parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 20), Ronnie connects Woody Guthrie with C.S. Lewis, apple picking with communism, and gives a shout out to both Disney World and Ann Rand. He concludes: "The kingdom of God is not about fairness. It’s not about justice or earning what is rightfully yours. It’s not about what’s in it for you. The kingdom of God is only for the asking. It is about grace - all about grace - and nothing else."

Inside Out, Part 4

September 21, 2023 15:55 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MB

The great Bonnie Raitt sang, "I can't make you love me if you don't." Truer words have hardly ever been spoken. Likewise, it is impossible to love others by our own power. In the conclusion to his series "Inside Out," Ronnie talks about how only the spirit and love of Christ can transform and empower us to do what religion cannot: Love those we find unlovable.

Inside Out, Part 3

September 07, 2023 18:35 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MB

With an introduction from children's writer Peter Reynolds (and his book, "Be You"), Ronnie continues his series entitled, "Inside Out." Focusing on Paul's great prayer at the end of Ephesians 3, Ronnie says, "Those who have a profound sense of being loved; who have this internal, soul-washed awareness that they are the recipients of the deepest compassion; those with a divine - and it is divine - acceptance of grace: These are the people who find the courage to be themselves, to live truly ...

Inside Out, Part 2

August 31, 2023 13:49 - 26 minutes - 24 MB

Building on Psalm 138 and the work of Dr. James Hollis, Ronnie continues his conversation entitled, "Inside Out." In this talk he says, "To look inside ourselves and to interrogate our own lives might cause a storm. It might cause upheaval. It might turn over tables and hidden secrets and our never-before questioned assumptions and motivations. We might have to suffer; we might have to do business with our false selves, with the lives we have been leading - the lives others picked out for us...

Inside Out

August 24, 2023 13:30 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MB

What does "ceremonial hand washing," a colonoscopy, and an interruption by Siri have in common? You'll have to listen to Ronnie's latest talk to find out! He invites listeners to exchange religious belief for radical inner transformation, saying, "If your religion makes you meaner, more judgmental, more afraid, more suspicious, more closed, or more angry - that religion has run ground. It should make you more open, more merciful, more understanding. The fruit of the Spirit, as I recall, is n...

”A Profession of Hope,” Part 3

August 03, 2023 12:40 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MB

Ronnie concludes this series from Matthew 13 saying, "I am finished and done with Christian profession that is all about how bad things are; that can only condemn; only threaten; that can only retreat in fear or lash out in anger. I have no use for any expression of religion - especially a religion invoking the name of Jesus - that has given up on people or the world or the generations to come...The reign of Christ and the love of God does not always prevail in every generation - but it is a...

”A Profession of Hope,” Part 2

July 27, 2023 14:40 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MB

Returning to Matthew 13, Ronnie picks up the parable of "The Wheat and the Weeds," in this second of a three-part series entitled, "A Profession of Hope." Speaking to how this parable is often missed and misapplied, Ronnie says, "This parable is a phenomenal revivalistic tool for some, giving full-throated endorsement to the 'accept-Jesus-to-escape-hell' gospel. In some circles, that’s all Jesus is good for - but this is a fear-dominated and fear-dominating narrative. The constant single-fac...

”A Profession of Hope,” Part 1

July 20, 2023 21:47 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MB

Ronnie launches a three-part series of talks based on the agricultural parables of Jesus from Matthew 13. Using the words of Jesus, the vocation of farming, and quoting Canadian poet Brian Brett - Ronnie speaks about "farming as a profession of hope." He says: "I want you to become a farmer. There is a life and life-giving life that you can take on as a craft, a profession, a hopeful vocation to grow a thriving, bountiful future. It’s not easy. There might be some long days. There is sweat i...

Into the Mystic

July 11, 2023 16:56 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MB

Taking a reading from the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Galatians, Ronnie addresses mytical experience and the Apostle's "stigmata." Ronnie says, "To be a stigmatic in Medieval time was to be a mystic. To be stigmatized today would be an act of shame and disgrace. But as understood by Paul, his stigma was a mark of legitimacy...Few of us are persecuted. Our pluralistic world may make us uncomfortable; it might offend us - but few of us - if any - carry physical scars because of Jesus - ...

No Stranger to the Rain

July 04, 2023 22:35 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MB

In a talk that weaves the words of Jesus from Matthew 7:24-29 with the life of the late Keith Whitley and personal experience, Ronnie speaks to addiction, on behalf of those who love someone in addiction, and finding "rock bottom." 

A Tale of Two Tales, Part 4

June 28, 2023 20:10 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MB

Returning to the Book of Ecclesiastes, Ronnie concludes his mini-series entitled, "A Tale of Two Tales," this episode focusing on the brevity and urgency of life. He says, " Taken all together - the serendipities and the disappointments - the victories and the tragedies - the joy and the grieving - the successes and the setbacks - all that we gain and all that we lose - we acquire an awareness, as urgency for the present moment. Life’s misty, vapor-like brevity forces us to give all we have...

A Tale of Two Tales, Part 3

June 21, 2023 16:58 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MB

With readings from Ecclesiastes 1 and 5, Ronnie continues his impromptu series, "A Tale of Two Tales." Beyond the science of "what" and when" - as it relates to life and creation - Ronnie turns to the spiritual questions of "why" and "what?" Why are we here? What is the meaning of this life? He says, "Science can tell us with more and more detail HOW life happens, but it cannot tell us WHY. It does not have the capacity or language to express in words or theory, how the holy switch that was ...

Bonus Episode: Daniel, Darby, and Dispensationalism

June 17, 2023 01:03 - 1 hour - 64.3 MB

This is a recording from several months ago when Ronnie and Garet McHugh hosted a Q and A on the book Daniel; how it is almost exclusively treated as predictive material by evangelical readers; and how systems of interpretation determine one's faith and practice. This episode is a bit longer than most on this podcast, but helpful for those restructuring their view of the Old Testament prophets. And...there is a bit of discussion on the books of Revelation for the careful listener.

A Tale of Two Tales, Part 2

June 13, 2023 19:30 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MB

In this second part of "A Tale of Two Tales," Ronnie continues his discussion of Genesis 1 and 2, fusing with it the Creation Psalms (8, 19, and 33), and summary of the Church's ongoing - but necessary - suspicion of science. Ronnie says, "We live in a universe so vast - so massive - that we cannot comprehend it. It is useless, almost, to even share the data. Yet, the cosmos has been this enormous, this incredible, the whole time - we just didn’t know it. And when I say the whole time, I mea...

A Tale of Two Tales, Part 1

June 07, 2023 17:25 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MB

"The story of Genesis 1 and 2 is a story of two stories, a tale of two tales, about creation," so Ronnie proposes in this first of two talks on the subject. Ronnie invites 21st Century believers and skeptics to consider anew the questions being asked and answered at the outset of the Hebrew Scriptures. Straight to the point, he says: "We cannot read these two chapters literally; the people who wrote them didn’t. We cannot read these as historical; the Jewish community didn’t. We cannot read ...

We Got Spirit

June 01, 2023 03:11 - 22 minutes - 21 MB

From Ronnie's talk on Acts 2 for Pentecost Sunday: "A major challenge - a genuine problem when it comes to our religious institutions - is predictability. Everything can be so rote, mechanical. Expected. Boring, if you like. Dead. No joy, no laughter, no life. I’m not saying churches or denominations should intentionally 'mix it up,' or that they should throw out their liturgy or their well-established typical order of service. Because order and routine can be comforting. I am saying that th...

King of Kings

May 25, 2023 16:38 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MB

"Acts 1, traditionally read on Ascension Sunday, is not about Jesus floating away into the ether. This is a story about power; a story about a different kind of power, a power opposite of today’s brand of pseudo-Christianity driven by ambition (which is the same violence that fueled the Crusades). The moment one uses force, coercion, strong-arm tactics, or manipulation in the name of Jesus, that is the precise moment one denies Jesus...Jesus rises to heaven so his people will be empowered - ...

Teach Your Children Well

May 18, 2023 15:05 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MB

Fusing the cautionary tale of Jesus from Matthew 18 with the prophetic words of the late Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Ronnie speaks of "teaching our children well." This talk sounds an alarm on the dangers of hate, how it is passed along to younger generations, and how we all have a role - a duty - to resist it.

Get Together

May 03, 2023 18:26 - 24 minutes - 22 MB

In a talk spanning from Thomas Cahill's summary of ancient Ireland to what William Miller playfully calls, "Refrigerator Rights," Ronnie speaks from Acts 2:42-47 on the importance of genuine community: "Even if you have just one, two or three others - a precious few, whose hearts are bound together with yours on the journey - it becomes enough to get you through the hardest of times. It will be enough social glue for the center to hold. It will  attach skin and bones to the abstract. It will...

Walking Blues

April 26, 2023 14:02 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MB

Two of Jesus' disciples took to walking the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) with the blues. Their journey ended with the unexpected. Ronnie says, "This is one of the more remarkable post-resurrection accounts in the New Testament. There are so many opinions, interpretations, applications, observations, and themes here. It is like the proverbial blind men reaching out to describe an elephant. we can only take in parts of it." But the part Ronnie centers on in this dark is how Jesus met these travele...

Ring of Fire

April 19, 2023 00:35 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MB

Speaking from 1 Peter 1:3-9, Ronnie talks about the role of struggle and suffering in our lives: "There is no gold without the fire. There is no remaking or remolding without the hammer and the anvil...There are no short cuts; no quick fixes; no easy exits. The only challenge is making it today - not tomorrow or next week; the only task is what is - not what could be, might be, or should of been; and the only way out is through - not getting around it, not getting over it - but going into it...

The Dream of the Rood, Easter 2023

April 12, 2023 14:33 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MB

“The Dream of the Rood” is an ancient Christian poem, written in Old Anglo-Saxon English. It is a story-telling, meaning-making, Jesus-explaining tale that was shared by word of mouth in a time when Anglo-Saxons, largely could not read - and they certainly didn’t have a runic translation of the Bible. We don’t know who wrote this poem. It’s likely we will never know. But if you are an English-speaker, this poem is one of the earliest known tellings of the gospel in our language. Reflect upon...

Sympathy for the Devil? Or at Least for Judas.

April 07, 2023 00:17 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MB

From the Palm Sunday Reading of Matthew 26, and based on a song by the legendary Woody Guthrie, Ronnie takes an off-center look at Judas Iscariot. He says, "All the disciples believed that Jesus going to Jerusalem at Passover was for the purpose of pulling some messianic rabbit out of his hat. Now, the kingdom would come, as Jesus, like Clark Kent, would explode from a phone booth, revealing his super-human powers. But it didn’t happen. Jesus failed. Jesus lost. Jesus was overcome. And stran...

Dust and Bones

March 29, 2023 19:59 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MB

"Can these bones live again?" That is the question put to the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37 as he looked over a valley of skeletal remains. Ezekiel cannot answer, because there is nothing he can do. He can only entrust God with all future possibilities. If there will be life in the afterword of disaster, it will be because of what God knows and what God does. Ronnie says of this encounter, "When we accept what is otherwise unacceptable, because we have no power over it, that becomes the spac...

Simplify. Simplify. Part 8

March 22, 2023 23:10 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MB

Speaking from Psalm 19 and the Hebrew Proverbs, Ronnie brings his "Simplify" series to a conclusion, inviting us all to simplify our speech: "It’s perennial wisdom. When it comes to talking, less is more. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all previous doubt. Nowhere is simplification more applicable, no where can it be more readily applied than when it comes to our speech, our words. Spoken, ...

Simplify. Simplify. Part 7

March 17, 2023 13:37 - 19 minutes - 18 MB

In this seventh of eight talks entitled, "Simplify, Simplify," Ronnie says, "Let’s talk about boundaries today. Let’s talk about disentangling our entanglements. Let’s talk about defending ourselves against being pulled into things we have no business being pulled into. Let’s talk about setting healthy limits that will reduce the probability of us being hurt, harmed, poisoned or generally stressed out - by toxic people, participation, programs, powers, and passions. Let’s talk about guarding...

The Life and Writings of Paul, Part 8 of 8

March 08, 2023 16:30 - 1 hour - 68 MB

Part 8: Paul's Theology and Legacy No single individual outside of Jesus of Nazareth has been more influential within Christianity than Paul the Apostle. After his radical conversion he became the church’s most zealous missionary. Without his travels and letters, Christianity would be much different than the version we have inherited today. Join Ronnie as he leads this eight-part study on “The Life and Writings of Paul the Apostle.”