Ronnie McBrayer

”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."

Into the Mystic

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 - we haven’t suffered because of faith. But we know what it’s like to suffer; to be treated unfairly; to have to go in spite of the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, to oppose “a sea of troubles.” In the midst of this, to carry the mark of the Christ - to carry his stigma - is not to be ashamed on the one hand or to be Uber-spiritual on the other. It’s simply the hard knocks received while living a faithful life. These are the scars, the bumps, the bruises, and sometimes breaks received while doing what is right and surviving the wrong done unto you. Never be ashamed of such wounds." 

No Stranger to the Rain

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

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 to our few days and wring out all we can from them! Small as you are in the world, a passenger on this tiniest of planets in the greatest of universes; yet, God has given you this life to live. For God’s sake, don't waste it. Seize more opportunities. See more sunrises and sunsets. Explore more places. Stay curious and less judgmental. Love more deeply. Share your blessings more often. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Laugh longer and complain less. Be here, now. For sooner, not later, “The silver cord will snap, the golden bowl will break; the water pitcher will be smashed, and the pulley at the well will be shattered. And our bodies will return to the earth, and the life-giving breath will return to God."
 
Reading from Ecclesiastes 12 by Doug Balfour.
"Pale Blue Dot" photo is viable here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot 

A Tale of Two Tales, Part 3

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 turned, or why the divine spark ignited to put the cosmos into motion. It is here that the language of faith; those in the spiritual disciplines; those who are practitioners of the soul can best speak." 
 

Bonus Episode: Daniel, Darby, and Dispensationalism

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

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 mean for all of human history and for at least the last 13 billion years. Yet, if the universe is this incredible, what does that say about God? That God doesn’t exist? You could credibly come to that conclusion. We could have spirited, unceasing debate about it - believers, skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. But for those who believe in God as Creator: This God is more spectacular than you ever dreamed possible."
 

A Tale of Two Tales, Part 1

"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 them as scientific; that was impossible for people living during the Iron Age. Rather, let’s do what our spiritual ancestors did. Let’s tell two stories. Let's open our hearts to all of God’s revelation: For I am proposing that spirituality and science are two different languages speaking to one, single reality" (Reading by Anna Balfour; artwork by Elena Mozhvilo).
 

We Got Spirit

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 they - we - denominations - churches - individuals - we must be open to the Spirit of God. We must let God work - even when - especially when - it surprises us or catches us off guard."
 
*Artwork is “Pentecost” by Jen Norton