Gary Wilkerson Podcast

When church or a Bible study or a friendship implodes, it’s easy to become cynical in our pain. Pastor and guest speaker Rusty George joins us today to discuss how people can heal and live successfully in community. God promises to do some of his most important work in our lives through other people. In a time when church attendances are sinking, we must pay close attention to God’s heart for the body of Christ. We must ask ourselves, “How do my abilities and gifts fit into community and help others?” View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp57c) Support this podcast

Baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, Gen Z, iGen—there are a lot of issues separating America right now and one of the most divisive is age. People are leaving the church feeling they aren’t understood by younger or older believers. How can we reverse this destructive trend? One way is through understanding. Today, on the Gary Wilkerson podcast, Gary talks with the younger members of the World Challenge team to get their views on the generational divide that’s tearing apart our churches. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp56c) Support this podcast

When we talk about loving God with all of our heart, soul and strength, we usually think of strength as the depth of our emotions for God. But what if that verse was talking about our physical bodies too? What if our bodies are much more important to our spiritual health than we ever realized? Today, Gary Wilkerson is joined by guest speaker and ministry founder David Bush to talk about how we can balance spiritual disciplines with physical fitness. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp55c) Support this podcast

Few people discuss the deep pain, anxiety and anger that can accompany loving a prodigal. When the biblical prodigal returned home, God acknowledges the father’s anguish in his overwhelming relief to see his wandering son return. Caring for a wayward person is a wilderness journey for the soul. In the middle of it, how do we make sure to also care for our own hearts? Today, we rejoin Gary Wilkerson and Judy Douglass as they continue their discussion from last week and explore how the parents of a prodigal can find strength and hope. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp54c) Support this podcast

Perhaps nothing is harder than watching someone you love choose a life that will hurt them. Today, we’re joined by Judy Douglass who shares about her life with a prodigal son. More than anything, she emphasizes how the journey alongside a beloved prodigal is never easy but always worth it. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp53c (https://wcm.link/gwp53c) Support this podcast

Recent studies have found that nearly 19 million children in the US are growing up with only one parent, and that over one fourth of these single parents are wrestling with poverty. Today, we’re joined by guests from Father’s Love, a ministry who work primarily with children from low-income, single-parent homes. They are following a great calling to help families connect with each other and God. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp52c (https://wcm.link/gwp52c) Support this podcast

Seeing major church leaders walk away from the faith has almost become a common feature in the news. Many believers are left asking, “Why? What happened?” In today’s episode, Doug Welbourn joins us to share his insights after years of counseling pastors and church leaders. God offers us freedom from the pressures and hollow promises of culture, but finding our way out of that mindset can feel challenging. Community and good friends will remind us that God’s word satisfies and will never fail. Our Father calls us to be free from earthly standards, to be foolish in the eyes of the world and find heavenly wisdom. View full show notes: wcm.link/gwp51c (https://wcm.link/gwp51c) Support this podcast

Often our worst shame comes from what grows out of the wounds in our past. We try to cut down every bad habit or embarrassing addiction that sprouts, but until we dig up the root, the damage will never completely heal. Today’s guest, Brittany Rust, talks about how God helped her uproot and heal from a history of abuse, sexual sin and depression. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp50c (https://wcm.link/gwp50c) Support this podcast

Today, guest speaker and director of Global Teen Challenge Jerry Nance joins us to talk about a hope we can take hold of that frees us from our worst addictions. Our God can overcome the strongest addiction and redeem the darkest past. For those in the grip of addiction, he offers them a way to heal and live fully again. He can fill the emptiness inside each one of our hearts, and his mercy is new every day. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp49c (https://wcm.link/gwp49c) Support this podcast

Parents in the church can feel ashamed of having a prodigal child. They may have actually been condemned for their child’s suffering or wandering path. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson is joined by his wife, Kelly, and son, Evan, as they discuss how their family was ultimately able to draw closer to God as a result of Evan’s prodigal journey. While this time can be immensely painful for parents and families, God is always faithful. Gary, Kelly, and Evan talk about how God redeemed and healed their own relationships and lives through what seemed like a very dark period. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp48c (https://wcm.link/gwp48c) Support this podcast

Many of us have struggles that we aren’t comfortable sharing with others. These secret sins seem so taboo that if we told anyone, they might stop speaking to us. Often these deep soul wounds manifest as anxiety or anger or other sins that affect our relationships with friends, family and community. So how do we get to the root of these issues? How do we find healing from these sins that constantly seem to trip us up? View show notes: wcm.link/gwp47c (https://wcm.link/gwp47c) Support this podcast

We’re told in Matthew 19:26 that with God all things are possible. How many of us actually trust in that promise, though? We serve a God who can do incredible things, and the most spectacular is when he saves one of his children. This week, we’re joined by Holly Dziedzickie and "Nora" from Cambodia who share a striking testimony about how God’s power and goodness saved one girl from certain death and brought her into new life. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp46c (https://wcm.link/gwp46c) Support this podcast

Many believers discuss their sins and problems in very specific terms like anger, worry, doubt. They think these sins are at the core of their struggles, but that usually isn’t true. Our sins are more often symptoms of deeper heart issues. When we wrestle with a sin over and over without victory, it’s almost always because we aren’t getting to the root of the problem. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp45c (https://wcm.link/gwp45c) Support this podcast

None of us can live without failure. What defines us is how we recover from our low points. At our rock bottom, do we turn toward God and delve deeper into community, or do we isolate ourselves? Today, Nate Larkin joins Gary Wilkerson to talk about how we can choose a better path in the middle of our failure. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp44c (https://wcm.link/gwp44c) Support this podcast

In this 'best of' episode, we revisit the inaugural episode of the Gary Wilkerson Podcast as Gary talks about how hope in Jesus Christ can transform the most destitute and everyone who feels as if they have lost meaning in life. If you’re going through a season of hopelessness remember God is there. He cares about you and he loves you intensely.View show notes: wcm.link/gwpod43c Support this podcast

God’s commands can sometimes seem so impossible to fulfill, so distant from what we want. In these moments, it can be so easy to become angry at God. Our visitor this week, Holly Dziedzickie, shares how her frustration with God’s commands led her down a rebellious path until he called her back in the most extraordinary way.View show notes: wcm.link/gwpod42c Support this podcast

Unhealthy habits in life usually begin in small steps. They start when we say, “Oh, I can stay up late for this event and still wake up early for work tomorrow. I can splurge with my diet this week and work it off later.” Sooner or later we may find that these small choices have begun to build into serious health problems. This week, Gary Wilkerson talks with a Christian nutritional counselor, Laura Harris Smith, who shares her descent into a deadly medical condition, the way God healed her body and her journey into good health.View show notes: wcm.link/gwpod41c Support this podcast

Shame and feeling incomplete or insignificant often leads us to seek out worldly solutions. As we spiral into isolation and harmful patterns of living, we can quickly find ourselves with addictions that we’d never imagined having. No one sets out to become a pornography addict, but many have found themselves caught. Unable to pull away from explicit material, they feel forced to watch as it consumes their thoughts and lives. This week, Gary Wilkerson and Bob Ditmer discuss the deeper injuries to our hearts and souls that can lead to addictions like pornography. They want believers to know that we can find healing that leads to freedom.View show notes: worldchallenge.in/gwpod40c Support this podcast

Shame is a feeling everyone knows. It is born out of something deep in our hearts, and we need God if we want to find freedom from it. As we are on this journey of healing and freedom from shame, we need people who point us toward God and pray for us. God calls us to live as a body in active connection with one another and constantly aware of one another’s needs.View show notes: worldchallenge.in/gwpod39c Support this podcast

When we go through heartache and crisis, God has many different ways to reach us. He may use loving relationships, the beauty of nature or even our work. Whatever that unique space is, he can use it to show us his goodness and glory in the darkest places of our lives. Music is how he reached our guest this week, long-time Christian musician Matthew Ward, after he tragically lost two of the closest people in his life. Life can be incredibly painful at times, but God is always near to his children, and he wants to show us how he will heal and transform our grief into something glorious. As we grapple with pain, we must always know that we can go to God and he will never turn us away.View show notes: worldchallenge.in/gwpod38c Support this podcast