Ronnie McBrayer

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

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. Wrestle. Go deep within. Go way back. But don’t you stay back there. Get depressed. Get angry. But get well and get going. No, not everyone can hear this today - and that is as it should be. But some of us need to hear this. We need to do business with the past, our past... We cannot change a single thing about the past. We can’t go back, and all the 'I should haves' and 'I could haves' and 'What ifs' are grave markers in the cemetery of a reality that will never be. To use your precious energy trying to reconstruct a better past, to return to some golden era of your life, to try and rewrite your personal history book is a fool’s errand. You have today. You might have tomorrow. But you certainly don’t have yesterday. You have to get on with it."

Don’t Forget to Remember

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; not how he thought of himself. These were not his attitudes...In Jesus there was an unselfishness, a drive to serve, a sacrificial motivation at his core. And we who bear his name, would do well not to forget that, for we must bear that same quality. The essence of “being like Jesus,” is consistently an emptying, a surrendering. It is loving service.

Pastures of Plenty

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

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

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 brave lives. They are empowered, set free, for love undergirds and strengthens and acts as a launching pad for them..."
 
For more on Peter Reynolds visit: https://www.peterhreynolds.com. 

Inside Out, Part 2

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, or that we simply collapsed into because it was the path of least resistance. Yes, I think we all desperately want to live our best lives; I think we all want meaning and purpose. I think we desperately want inner strength, strength of soul. But just as assuredly, I think that most people won’t risk it, because it means digging through too many layers,  and maybe decades of charade and self-betrayal to get to it."

Inside Out

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 not the fiery passion of waging cultural crusade or making one more stubborn and unmovable in their biases and predispositions: 'Love, joy, peace, tolerance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.' This inner transformation is the goal of faith."

”A Profession of Hope,” Part 3

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 always present, doing it’s quiet and transformative work."

”A Profession of Hope,” Part 2

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-faceted admonition to 'escape the fires of hell prepared for the devil and his angels, where the fire is not quenched, the worm dieth not, and the smoke of that pit rises up forever and ever' does not make for a mature Christian or for a spiritually healthy person. It creates paranoid people who can never learn to trust God, a God so angry and emotionally retrograded that he has to torture the majority of Creation to resolve his own internal moral fragmentation." 

”A Profession of Hope,” Part 1

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 involved. It’s not for those with soft hands or those short of patience. You’ll have to get some grit under your nails and in your boots. But it will be worth it. Hope - the future - is always worth it."