Certain Pentecostal worship expressions have caused a cringe in my own heart over the years, so I knew they were a must for the podcast this month! But who could I ask? I found out the answer to that question the day Leah Hartman showed up to church with her shofar. On this week’s podcast, Leah shares with an endearing openness about some of the less understood things of worship and faith, including flags, shofars and dancing before the Lord. Leah speaks with a great understanding, sense of humor and passion for God that is infectious to all who listen.

Episode 18: Divine healing, indoor rain, feathers, gold dust, Superman costumes – Bill Vanderbush has seen it all! In this episode, Bill shares stories of how stepping into The More has invited the inexplicable and how he has learned to find joy and wonder in the mysterious ways of God.

Bill Vanderbush has been a Pastor for 25 years. Bill grew up on the mission field, traveling all over the world and seeing thousands impacted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bill and his wife, Traci, currently travel, speaking in conferences and churches around the world, as well as serving at Community Presbyterian Church in Celebration, Florida, where Bill is a Pastor. Their ministry invites people into a spontaneous, Holy Spirit-led, team ministry training experience that will forever transform the way you see and do life. Bill also worked with New York Times Bestselling Author, Ted Dekker. They co-authored a book and study course called “The Forgotten Way of Yeshua. The Path to Power and Peace in This Life”. Bill’s consuming passion is to introduce people to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, Who saves, heals, and sets us free. He enjoys empowering others to invade the impossible. Bill and Traci currently live in Celebration, Florida. They have two grown children, Britain and Sara. For more information on Bill’s ministry, please visit his website at billvanderbush.com .

Over their years of life with God, Dave Ford and Alice Remedios have cultivated hearing  God’s voice. In this podcast, we discuss our passion for helping others to learn to hear His voice for themselves and others. It is incredibly exciting and humbling being used by God to speak  a word of encouragement to someone else. We share stories of things we have learned about the goodness of God while having front row seats to the way He loves others.

Pastor Michael Wenzel was raised in church and discipled in ministry from a very young age. While this was a great blessing, he later realized it had unknowingly become a crutch. Michael shares about a time when human teachers disappeared and he became fully aware of his inability to hear God’s voice for himself. As Michael pressed in during this painful time, God was faithful to teach him personally. Michael encourages us that God wants to speak to all of his kids and gives some tips to hearing the voice of God.

Susan Duchesneau was raised in church but it wasn’t until she was 35 when she really learned that God still speaks today. While this was exciting to Susan, she still believed it all was tied to her perfect performance. It wasn’t until 14 years later that she realized God loved her completely based solely on Jesus’ perfect performance, not her own. Soon after, she heard the story of a couple halfway across the world whom God was using miraculously to rescue women and children just because they continued to say “Yes” to God’s voice. Susan dreamed God would use her like that. God immediately accepted her invitation and gave her a role in this very story (and it all started with something as simple as a purse!) Susan shares how saying “Yes” to God is an exciting adventure and encourages us that God has tailor-made assignments for each and every person.

Episode 13: Many artists give credit to “divine inspiration”, but author Amanda Crouch truly attributes the direction for her latest book to the leading of the Holy Spirit. She tells of the day she heard His voice and followed the clues which led her to a story much bigger than herself. Amanda shares memories from when she first began hearing the voice of God, the excitement of His encouraging confirmations and the tension that can come when we must continue to hope in His promises, even in the face of contrary circumstances.

Scott Johnson grew up in a great Christian home with loving parents and seemed to have it all. But inside, he was struggling. Over time, these issues led to many years of severe addiction. Scott had heard all his life that if he would clean himself up, he could come to God, but he never could manage to get himself clean. One day at church, he heard something different – that if he came to God, God would clean him up. Scott was shocked to find that like the Prodigal Son, when he approached the Father, he was shown not just mercy, but lavish grace. It was the grace of God which accomplished what years of religious activity could not – freedom!

It’s often said we view our Heavenly Father similarly to how we view our earthly father. While no earthly father is perfect, some fathers are more broken than others. Nick Wright shares his story of childhood with a father that required flawless works to offer any sort of approval, and tells of how God has slowly rewritten his understanding of a Father’s perfect and unconditional love.

At his lowest point in life, Bill Alsop said, “God, if you are real, show me”. God accepted that invitation with an explosive salvation experience. Almost immediately, Bill’s life and ministry became known for the power of the Holy Spirit. But after many years in ministry “working for God” and being used by God, Bill realized something was missing. For the next 14 years, God pruned out legalism and religion and taught him about the heart of the Father and what real love looks like.  Bill encourages us that knowing your true identity as sons and daughters and cultivating a best friend relationship with the Holy Spirit are two things that will allow you to rest in the more of God.

In John 14, Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus responds, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In this week’s podcast, Al Jackson shares the story of how the eyes of Jesus came to him smack dab in the middle of his mess and allowed him to peer directly into the heart of Father God. What he found in that gaze was being seen fully, yet loved anyway. It was that great love which made him walk away from worldly pleasures and into a relationship with God. Al also discusses how God taught him about intimacy and how it has changed the way he lives and ministers the Father’s love to others.

For as long as she can remember, Jenn’s mom prayed in the spirit over her and her brother every night at bedtime. It always made her feel good so the memories were sweet. Since they never discussed the theology behind it, Jenn just chalked it up to “that thing Mom does”. However, many years later, with no understanding or desire for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, Jenn found herself at a conference where the speaker was praying over the crowd for that very thing. While the prayer was calling her spirit to attention, Jenn’s body remained stuck in the seat…until divine intervention helped her to respond.

April was saved in her 20’s at an awesome non-denominational church. They didn’t teach Pentecost as something for today, but the Holy Spirit began to personally woo her into “The More” behind the scenes. After a thorough study of Scripture convinced her that Holy Spirit baptism was a real thing, she began to seek it out. But preconceived notions of what this event would be like hindered her. The enemy took further advantage of the situation, whispering lies that God Himself was rejecting her attempts because she was not worthy enough to receive it. After 6 years of gentle and patient revelation, she finally encountered the truth: He had ALWAYS wanted this for her. (And He wants it for you, too!)

God is so effective at wooing us into the more, but what happens when spouses respond unequally to His call? Michael and Jessica Pope share their story of how an initial disparity in their beliefs caused tension in their marriage and how the Holy Spirit reunited them with a revelation of His love and power.

Intro: April shares the story behind The More of God Podcast.