Show Notes
In this episode, Eric Wood, Pastor of Compassion at Bridgetown Church in Portland, joins Pete Portal in Cape Town after a week with Pete's community in Manenberg. Eric makes the case that proximity to the poor was never meant to be a specialist ministry, but the ordinary shape of following Jesus. They talk about the difference between tokenism and friendship, being led by both Spirit and Scripture, the quiet pressure to perform, and what laying down a life actually costs. Eric argues that mer...
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In this episode, Jay Pathak joins Pete Portal to talk about encountering the Holy Spirit without striving for it, and why that encounter doesn’t excuse anyone from the slow work of being formed. They talk about how leadership and marriage expose the places we were wounded, why so many caregivers are quietly trying to fix themselves by fixing others, and what it might mean to stay connected to the people who push our buttons most. Jay also offers an unexpected answer for anyone whose faith has...
In this episode, Eric Johnson joins Pete Portal to talk about leaving Bethel, the church his parents built, for a city he had barely heard of. Eric is Lead Pastor of Studio Greenville, a community where faith, culture, and creativity meet. Together they explore how the church’s most cherished words can quietly become a cage, what the charismatic tradition gets right and where it falls short, why “Christian art” may be a contradiction, and how to pastor a divided congregation through an age of...
In this episode, Danielle Strickland joins Pete Portal to ask why the charismatic and justice streams of the church so often stand apart. Danielle argues the divide says less about theology than about our reluctance to live the kingdom now rather than later. They talk about wealth, privilege, and power as things we steward rather than own, what the gifts of the Spirit are actually for, and how an encounter with Jesus in a Toronto holding cell changed the direction of her life. They also discu...
In this episode, Christine Westhoff joins Pete to talk about what the prophetic is actually for. Tracing the prophetic from Genesis to Revelation, she argues the church doesn't have a gift problem but a purpose problem, and that much of what passes for prophecy today (stage performances, personal flattery, political predictions) has little to do with what the prophetic does in Scripture. They talk about power, money, and fame, emotional health in leadership, and how our stages of faith mirror...
In this episode Lauren Windle joins Pete Portal to talk about addiction, recovery, and what it took for her to get sober. She describes the years when drinking and cocaine ran her life, the moments that finally forced a change, and how a recovery group and a small community of women at church helped her stay sober. Lauren and Pete discuss whether faith is necessary for sobriety, why quick fixes and dramatic deliverance often fall short, and what churches can learn from the honesty of recovery...