The Follower Podcast

In this episode Matthew has a conversation with Anneke Rabee, a champion of prayer and reconciliation in South Africa and the nations of the world. Anneke shares stories of prayer and reconciliation from her own life and challenges us as The Church to take hands with Jesus in the work of healing the deep wounds of our world. To find out more about the ministry of Follower you can visit www.wearefo...

This is a recording of the first session at the first national gathering for 24/7 Prayer South Africa . We will be releasing one session from the gathering every day for the next ten days as part of the build up to season two on the One Heart prayer series where we will be sharing conversations with leaders in the ministry of reconciliation from all over the world. You can find out more about the...

In this episode Matthew has a discussion with Nicholas Rowe , and Sheila Wise Rowe about leadership, reconciliation, and the current challenges facing faith communities.   They explore the importance of returning to the authenticity of Christ amidst cultural Christianity, the historical context of co-opted faith, and the need for deep listening and discernment in today's world.   They also address...

In this conversation, Matthew speaks with Danielle Strickland about her experiences with failure, the current cultural shifts within the church, and the importance of returning to the teachings of Jesus.   In particular, we hope that the thoughts on the internal journey required to shed pretense, the role of addiction recovery in fostering vulnerability, the church's struggle with confession and a...

In this conversation, Matthew and Brian Heasley discuss the 24-7 Prayer movement , focusing on Brian's experiences and insights from his role as the International Prayer Director.   They delve into Brian's journey, including his impactful work in Ibiza, where he engaged with the local community through prayer and service.   The discussion highlights the transformative power of prayer, the importan...

In this episode, Matthew and Nkosinathi Mbuyazi discuss the upcoming 24/7 Prayer national gathering in South Africa , focusing on themes of prayer, reconciliation, and revival.   They explore how God is working in communities and nations, emphasizing the importance of authentic relationships and the church's role in revival.   The conversation highlights the significance of dependence on God and t...

In this conversation, Matthew and James Aladiran explore the journey of faith, prayer, and the stirring of desire for God.   James shares his background as a child of missionaries and how his early experiences with prayer shaped his relationship with God.   They discuss the current spiritual hunger in the world, particularly among the youth, and the importance of sustaining that hunger through dis...

In this final conversation discussing his new book , Matthew and Nathan Foster explore the profound themes of humanity, longing, and the nature of Jesus. They discuss how our deepest longings for truth, goodness, and beauty find their fulfillment in the humanity of Jesus, who embodies these qualities. The dialogue delves into the unexpected nature of God as revealed through Jesus, emphasizing inti...

As part of a series discussing his first book, Matthew and Jon White explore the profound themes of beauty, creativity, and their integral roles in human experience and spirituality. They discuss how beauty serves as a pathway to understanding God and the gospel, emphasizing that beauty is not merely aesthetic but a powerful force for hope and resistance in a troubled world. The dialogue also touc...

In this conversation, Matthew and Lisa Koons explore the deep longings of the human heart, particularly focusing on the longing for Goodness. They discuss the connection between prayer, mission, and justice, emphasizing the importance of seeing goodness in humanity despite its brokenness. The dialogue delves into theological perspectives on Goodness, the impact of cultural definitions, and the sig...

In this conversation, Matthew and Liam Byrns delve into the profound themes of truth, goodness, and beauty as explored in Matthew's book . They discuss the human longing for these ideals and how they can lead to a deeper understanding of Jesus. The dialogue navigates the complexities of truth in a modern context, emphasizing the importance of personal encounters with truth, the historical lenses t...

In this episode, Matthew and Trevor Hudson explore the themes of longing and the human experience as they discuss Matthew's upcoming book, 'Human'. They delve into the nature of our longings, the tension between our deepest and strongest desires, and how these longings can lead us closer to God. The conversation emphasizes the importance of relationships in navigating our longings and the transfor...

In the final episode of our Advent series, Matthew reflects on how our views of God can be warped by those who claim to represent Him, how Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God and how the God we find in Jesus is a God of Love. If you enjoyed this episode you can go a little deeper by subscribing at www.wearefollower.com  to receive a devotional thought and some reflective exercises that will he...

In the third episode of our Advent series, Matthew speaks about Joy. In particular, He considers how our pleasures call us deeper to Joy and how, in an age of anguish and scepticism, Joy may just be the revolution.  To dive deeper into this topic you can subscribe at www.wearefollower.com  to receive weekly devotional thoughts and reflection exercises that take you deeper into the topic of each po...

This is the second episode in our Advent series. In this episode, Matthew explores the Shalom of Jesus and how it is much deeper than the fragile peace our culture pursues.  To explore this more, you can visit www.wearefollower.com and subscribe to receive weekly devotional reflections complimenting each episode and taking you a little deeper into the journey. 

This is the first episode in a four-part Advent series in which Matthew explores Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love to help us arrive at Christmas with wonder.  In this episode, Matthew discusses the realities of our longings and how, if we allow them to lead us well, they can cultivate a Hope in us that is anchored in Jesus and transformative for our lives.  Weekly reflections and exercises will also be...

In this episode, we team up with 24/7 Prayer South Africa and Christine Westhoff of Reframing The Prophetic for our first live Follower Podcast. People tuned in from all over to listen to an online conversation about the prophetic and how we can walk in this gift in a biblically faithful way. Christine offered some helpful perspectives, people were able to ask important questions and hopefully, we...

In this episode, we sit down with Katia Adams and Terran Williams to discuss the role of women in The Church and explore why a wound of which we seldom speak is, in fact, an issue of reconciliation that needs to be considered in the Christlike Spirit of Love.  Katia is an author, preacher, and the founding pastor of The Table Boston. Her book, Equal , explores what the bible says about Women, Men...

In this episode we sit down with two friends from very different world to discuss what reconciliation across the socio-economic divide that is so present in South Africa and many other parts of the world might look like.  The gift of this conversation is that it's not purely theoretical. Both Dani and Brandon share insights on how we might become bridges in our divided societies that they have lea...

In our desire to present a more balanced perspective on the current conflict happening in Israel and Palestine we wanted to speak to a Jew (As we did in the previous episode with Orna Grinman) and a Palestinian, which is what we have done in this episode. Our guest for this conversation is Dr Salim Munayer. Dr Munayer was born to a Christian Palestinian family in the city of Lydda where he interac...

Few regions in the world are as historically contested and culturally contentious as Israel, Palestine and the surrounding areas. It would be easier to avoid discussing the conflict that currently rages there, it would certainly be less risky, but a podcast on reconciliation at this moment in history would be remiss in avoiding this conversation for the sake of playing it safe.  As a Jewish woman...

In this episode, we sit down with Lambert Bariho and Bruno Iradukunda. As men who have every reason to hate one another having been on opposite sides of the Rwandan genocide, they have found a place in Jesus not only to come together but to work together for the healing of their nation. You can learn more about Ellel ministries in Rwanda here As always, if you found this conversation helpful pleas...

In this episode, we sit down with Edwin Arrison and Cornelis Janse van Rensburg to discuss the inspiring story of The Pilgrimage of Grace . A work of reconciliation between the Dutch Reformed Church and The Moravian Church in Genadendal, South Africa.  We also discuss important concepts about unity and reconciliation that both of these men have learned through many years of working for reconciliat...

In this conversation with Langa Mbonambi from the We Will Worship Movement we hear his story of growing up in South Africa, his thoughts on reconciliation, the ways he is working to facilitate it in his context, and why (in the end) it all comes down to following Jesus.  We also include a clip from the latest We Will Worship album, Izililo. You can find the full album here As always please like, s...

In this episode, we sit down with Chloe Snyder , a missionary with YWAM Durba n, to discuss her insights and perspectives from completing a Masters in Reconciliation with The University of Winchester in England.  If you're interested in some of the deeper invitations around the idea of reconciliation, or if you struggle with an internal conflict of your own, then I trust that this conversation wil...