Ronnie McBrayer

Part 5: The Third Time Is The Charm (Paul's Third Missionary Journey) 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 lead...

This is Part 3 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." This episode is about simplifying our "stuff." From the podcast: "If you would serve God well, follow Jesus sincerely, and live a true life of freedom, you will do so without the enslavement of this ugly, false god known as Mammon. This isn’t a shame-inducing strategy by Jesus to make us feel bad about our decisions....

Part 4: A European Entryway 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 W...

This is Part 2 of Ronnie's latest series of talks entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." Ronnie takes on faith, church, and all the accoutrements that keep us from simplifying our spirituality. Turning to the Great Commandment in Mark 12, Ronnie says, "Love is the solution for calcified, legalistic, short-sighted, institutionally-obsessed religion. Love is the cure for the compartmentalization of our fai...

Part 3: The Barnabas Connection 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 a...

This in an introduction (from Psalm 46) to a series Ronnie is introducing for this late winter and spring (2023), entitled: "Simplify. Simplify." Ronnie says, "This series isn’t about cleaning out your garage, your closet, or that junk drawer of yours. A little, maybe, but not exclusively. It’s about untangling your life. Decluttering your spirituality and your faith. It’s about traveling light an...

Part 2: From Damascus to the Desert 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 Li...

Part 1: Meeting Saul of Tarsus 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 an...

Using Matthew 3, the baptism of Jesus, and a wonderful tale from Frederick Buechner, Ronnie takes on the subject of Christian baptism - as sacrament, symbol - and most importantly a sign of things to come.

Ronnie begins this Advent/New Year talk with a personal story and ends with the universal one; about kissing, kindness, and the love of God.

For the Advent Season: Some thoughts on parenthood...angelic messages...unanswered questions...deconstruction...and being quiet.

A timely message from Ronnie: "Most of the control you think you have is an illusion...Most of what you think will strengthen that control is an empty scarecrow...Most of what is left to do, is the best you can...and leave the rest in the hands of God."

"Faith is not having all the answers. Faith is not being protected from trouble or suffering or cancer or poverty or loss. It’s not this gullible “smile though your heart is breaking” sentimental rubbish that is nothing more than wishful thinking. And faith is certainly not a big payoff - where 'If I just believe then all my wishes will come true.' Rather, faith sees the world for what it is; know...

A continuation of his talk from Genesis 32, "Boxing God," Ronnie uses the example of Jacob to plot a path of personal transformation. Ronnie says, "Surrender means accepting things as they are: Yourself - others - the world - realty; and admitting your limitations in how you can change any of those things. Surrender meaning taking the days as they come, rather than imposing your predesigned, prefa...

From Genesis 32:22 and following, Ronnie speaks about his self-admitted favorite story from the Old Testament: Jacob's Wrestling Match with God. Ronnie says, "Jacob ended up crawling in the mud begging for mercy - but it was not for the purpose of humiliating or harming him. It was for the purpose of remaking him - and setting his life in an entirely new direction...As Dr. James Finley rightly say...

"There are seasons in life when you are exactly where you feel you need to be. The stars are aligned. It’s a groove. Then there are times when all is wrong. In such times you can make changes - if you have a little courage. But  sometimes changes can’t be made - not in relation to where you are or what you are doing. You can’t jettison the relationships you have...can’t escape your work...can’t ru...

Bobby Rains captured another fun recording from those old boys Ronnie plays music with: The Backsliders. This is a great blues tune - "Don't Worry About Tomorrow."

"Your life is a stone thrown into a body of water. The ripples roll causing actions and reactions long after your energy is expended, the moving waters finding shores upon which we will never stand...What ripples are you making? When your existence has been interrupted, and the force of your life has been expended - and it is left to germinate - to expand - to grow or to deplete here - can you lea...

Bobby Rains, who provides recording and technical assistance for Ronnie's podcast, occasionally snags audio from "The Backsliders," the band Ronnie has fronted for the last decade. Here is one of those audio grabs: "See Me Through." It is a song based on an obscure Van Morrison tune, adjusted and rearranged by The Backsliders.

A brush with fame...and a revolutionary, simple way of living. These come together in Ronnie's latest talk on practicing kindness.

Ronnie uses this talk to announce a new project that he and Cindy are undertaking: "The Rusty Goat - A Coastal Farm and Retreat." Listen to hear more about this worthy project.

"Floating...Obedient to the Stream," is line from an early play of William Shakespeare - and it is a prescriptive way to live - as instructed by Jesus in the Gospel of John. He teaches us to "go with the flow" of the living water already within us.

Ronnie shares words from the late Frederick Buechner who passed way in August of 2022, at the age of 96 years young. 

"Dylan. Ward Howe. Steinbeck. They all find their message and metaphor in the ancient Jewish prophets. It is a consistent message, retold a thousand times and in a thousand different ways and places, with each telling ringing as true as the last: Perpetual, systematic injustice and unfairness always ends with destruction. We can be certain that when we champion greed over fairness and equality; wh...

What do Charles Darwin, Jeff Miller, Guy Smith, and Roy Acuff have in common? You will have to listen to Ronnie's latest talk to find out!  This talk was delivered on the 15th Anniversary of the first meeting of A Simple Faith.