Podcast
It's A Pod Deal: Ministry Conversations With Lifelong Pastor Ronnie Worsham
Hosted by Ronnie Worsham · EN
"It's a God Deal." Anyone who knows Ronnie Worsham has heard him say this countless times. After being in ministry and leading in churches for decades, how does someone like Ronnie continue to see God at work in our world, and give him credit every chance he gets? Join hosts William Royal and John Von Runnen as they ask Ronnie questions about following Jesus in ministry, work, family, and the ups and downs of life.
18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Discovering Jesus: The Body of Christ, The Church (pt. 2)
2w ago01:37:12Tap to summarizeWhat if we’ve misunderstood the church? Is it something you attend… or something you become part of? Why does “doing church” feel so normal, and yet so disconnected from what Jesus actually intended? And what would change if we really believed the church is a living, breathing body… not a building, not a service, not a weekly habit? In this episode, we wrap up our conversation on the body of Christ and push into some uncomfortable territory. Why isn’t church about preference? Why can’t you just “do Jesus on your own”? And what does it actually look like to live like you belong to one another?Timestamps00:00 – Intro + returning to the “body of Christ” conversation02:00 – What this study is really trying to do (and not do)06:30 – Why so many people misunderstand “church”10:00 – Knowing Jesus vs. just knowing Bible language14:30 – The Holy Spirit and what makes the church different18:00 – Big “C” Church vs. little “c” church20:00 – Why you don’t “shop” for a church24:30 – One body, one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12)34:50 – “You can’t do Jesus alone” (strong challenge)41:00 – A chosen people, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2)45:00 – The church’s mission: not a club, but a calling50:30 – What it really means to take God’s name seriously53:10 – Gifts, roles, and participation in the body (Romans 12)59:00 – What healthy church actually looks like in real life01:08:00 – Building up the body vs. just attending01:11:00 – “Encourage one another daily” (practical vision)01:14:30 – Why dedicate your life to building the church?01:19:00 – The power of real community (not programs)01:27:30 – How do people live without this kind of community?01:34:40 – Final challenge + prayerDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: The Body of Christ, The Church (pt. 1)
3w ago01:39:57Tap to summarizeWhat is the church, really? Is it something we attend… or something we belong to? Why do so many people feel disconnected from it, or even justified in walking away? And what if we’ve misunderstood it from the start? In this episode, we wrestle with some big questions about the body of Christ—what Jesus actually intended, why it matters more than we think, and what might be off in the way we approach it today. Timestamps00:00 – Intro + 52 episodes reflection02:30 – All-church gathering: what stood out04:30 – The surprising scale and impact of the church family06:30 – Emotional reflection on years of ministry10:30 – What makes a church actually work13:00 – Why connection matters more than performance18:00 – Transition: introducing “The Body of Christ”20:00 – What the church actually is (not just attendance)24:00 – Is church optional? A direct challenge27:00 – “Who do you say Jesus is?” and why it matters32:00 – Misunderstanding the church (then and now)38:00 – A strong word on individualistic Christianity45:00 – Authority, leadership, and “binding & loosing”01:05:30 – Acts 2: what the early church looked like01:13:00 – Fellowship as partnership (not just hanging out)01:19:30 – 1 Corinthians 12: the body metaphor01:27:00 – Unity vs. uniformity in the church01:34:00 – Real-life examples of leadership decisions01:37:00 – Grace, imperfection, and the purpose of the church01:39:00 – Closing prayer + wrap-upDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Stories of Encounters with Jesus (pt. 2)
Apr 1401:27:14Tap to summarizeWe’re continuing Part 2 of Encounters with Jesus, these stories get personal fast. What happens when Jesus shows up in ordinary moments… and we miss Him? Why do some people recognize Him immediately, while others walk right past? And what do these encounters reveal about us? From Mary and Martha to the Samaritan woman to Peter’s lowest moment, this episode invites us to slow down, look again, and ask: have we been missing something right in front of us? Timestamps00:00 – Welcome back + Part 2 setup01:00 – What “Encounters with Jesus” is all about03:05 – Mary & Martha: distracted vs. present12:30 – The deeper question: what actually matters most?18:30 – “Have I done enough?” and the trap of performance26:00 – Tension: being with God vs. doing for God31:30 – The Samaritan woman: an unexpected encounter44:20 – Cultural context that changes everything56:00 – Missing “God moments” right in front of us01:03:00 – Peter denies Jesus: fear, failure, and reality01:10:00 – God using deeply flawed people01:17:45 – Rapid-fire reflections: Thomas, Paul, and doubt01:23:20 – Final takeaway: recognizing Jesus in real life01:25:40 – Wrap-up + closing songDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Stories of Encounters with Jesus (pt. 1)
Apr 701:39:49Tap to summarizeWilliam and Ronnie continue their series through Ronnie’s book Discovering Jesus, covering Lesson 10, “Stories of Encounters with Jesus,” focused on using Gospel encounters to help listeners experience God personally and “put themselves in the story” by considering individual, cultural, and religious context. Ronnie emphasizes that God relates uniquely to each person and that the Bible’s human storytelling helps us recognize God’s work and join it. They discuss the bleeding woman (Mark 5), the leper healed by Jesus’ touch (Matthew 8), the centurion’s faith as an outsider (Matthew 8), the rich young ruler’s hidden idol of wealth and goodness (Matthew 19), and Zacchaeus’s seeking and repentance (Luke 19), highlighting desperation, boldness, grace, and seeing people through God’s eyes rather than judgment.Timestamps00:00 Welcome Back Setup01:21 Why Encounters Matter02:48 God Relates Personally07:25 Reading Scripture In Layers13:43 Ronnie Calling Story20:26 Touching God Mark 527:43 Desperation And The Crowd39:42 Leper Healed Matthew 844:10 Bold Faith And Reaching People51:28 Grace in Weakness52:32 Leper Lessons54:20 Centurion Faith55:36 God Beyond Our Box01:04:54 Rich Young Ruler01:06:17 Good Kid Facade01:10:55 Hidden Idols Exposed01:21:04 Zacchaeus the Seeker01:22:33 Jericho Context01:31:26 Seeing Through Jesus01:37:27 Encounter That Changes01:38:54 Closing and Next WeekDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Life in the Holy Spirit (pt. 2)
Mar 1601:30:05Tap to summarizeWe’re back with Part 2 of our conversation on life in the Holy Spirit, and this one goes deeper. What does it actually mean to live by the Spirit, not just talk about Him? How do you know He’s at work in you? And what changes when you begin to see the Christian life less as rule-following and more as something happening inside you? Along the way, we’re joined by a guest who’s experienced years of one-on-one discipleship, giving us a real-life picture of how the Spirit works through people over time—not just in theory, but in lived experience.Timestamps00:00 – Introducing our guest Kole Von Runnen (and some immediate chaos)01:10 – What it was like studying “Discovering Jesus” one-on-one 04:40 – The long-term impact of discipleship and mentorship 08:00 – Funny (and slightly questionable) Ronnie stories 09:10 – Comparing “Discovering Jesus” and “Focus on Jesus” 12:50 – Accidental double booking and podcast origins15:30 – Generational discipleship and the “torch” vision 18:00 – Carrying the mission forward personally 23:40 – Advice for starting one-on-one discipleship anywhere 26:00 – Transition into Discovering Jesus (Holy Spirit section)31:45 – Acts 2: The promise of the Holy Spirit 44:00 – Asking for the Spirit vs. living by the Spirit50:00 – What the Holy Spirit actually does in us 01:09:30 – 1 Corinthians 13: the “most excellent way”01:23:15 – Final reflections: what we’re most thankful for about the Spirit01:27:00 – Wrap-up, jokes, and closing scripture/songDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Life in the Holy Spirit (pt. 1)
Mar 301:28:06Tap to summarizeJoin us this week for our conversation on Lesson 9 of the Discovering Jesus study: Living by the Holy Spirit. What does it actually mean for Christians to live by the Spirit? Why has the Holy Spirit often been minimized in modern churches? Is the Spirit best understood as a force, or as a person who actively guides and works in believers? We also explore why many Christians feel hesitant to attribute experiences or guidance to the Spirit, how different traditions have approached spiritual gifts like tongues, and how passages such as Pentecost and the conversion of Cornelius help shape our understanding of the Spirit’s role in the life of the church today. Along the way, we discuss the tension between purely intellectual Christianity and a faith that expects God to be actively at work in and through His people. 00:00 – Intro and a joke that falls flat03:45 – Lesson 9: Why living by the Holy Spirit may be the most critical lesson for Christians05:30 – The Enlightenment, intellectual faith, and why the Spirit is often overlooked07:40 – Knowing Scripture vs. truly knowing God12:00 – The origins of the charismatic movement16:00 – The Holy Spirit in Genesis and the complexity of God21:00 – Why Christians often refer to the Spirit as “it”25:30 – Why we hesitate to say God is moving or speaking32:00 – Why encounters with God can feel unsettling33:30 – Jesus’ baptism and the Spirit descending like a dove41:30 – Was this the moment Jesus was empowered for ministry?46:00 – Pentecost: wind, fire, and the Spirit poured out52:00 – What “speaking in tongues” means in Acts 259:00 – Cornelius and the Spirit coming to the Gentiles1:03:30 – Why some churches teach that tongues prove salvation1:14:00 – Do spiritual gifts like tongues and prophecy continue today?1:22:00 – Do Christians need signs—or simply trust the promise of the Spirit?1:24:00 – Why the Holy Spirit may be the most misunderstood part of the Christian lifeDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Accepting Jesus as Your Savior (pt. 2)
Feb 1701:32:03Tap to summarizeWe kick off by wrestling with a hot-button question: how should Christians in 2026 think about the modern nation of Israel, are they still God’s chosen covenant people, and what changes (if anything) after Jesus? How do we separate political opinions from biblical categories like “physical Israel” and “spiritual Israel”? What do passages like Hebrews 8, Galatians 3, John 5, and Romans 9 actually mean in context, and how do end-times frameworks like premillennialism shape the conversation?Then we jump back into Discovering Jesus and finish the second half of chapter 8 on accepting Christ as Savior. What is faith, really—does Scripture teach “blind faith,” or something evidential and substantive (Hebrews 11)? What does it mean to believe God’s character, not just His existence? How does faith move from head to heart—and what does that look like in real life?We also walk straight through Acts 2 and Romans 6: What did Peter tell people to do when they asked, “What shall we do?” Why repentance and baptism, and what’s the connection to forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, death/burial/resurrection, and living a new life? How do we hold urgency together with “counting the cost” in a culture where Christianity can feel cheapened? And how did later church history (sacraments, sprinkling vs immersion, reactions against sacramentalism) shape modern confusion?We wrap with Titus 3’s language of “washing of rebirth and renewal,” plus some reflection questions we use when studying with people: Have we accepted Jesus as Savior and as Lord, and what’s the difference? What are we still waiting on? And what does it look like to bring God a heart that’s simply willing to do whatever He says?00:00 Welcome Back + What We’re Covering (Discovering Jesus, Ch. 8 Part 2)01:42 Holiday Question: How Should Christians View Modern Israel?06:09 Old vs New Covenant: Israel, Jesus, and the People of God14:10 Romans 9, End-Times Views, and Avoiding Political Extremes23:01 Transition: Accepting Christ as Savior (Back to Chapter 8)24:01 Hebrews 11: What Faith Really Is (Not ‘Blind Faith’)35:09 Saving Faith as Faithfulness: Receiving, Standing, and Living the Gospel38:06 Acts 2 Pentecost Setup + Reading Peter’s First Gospel Sermon41:22 Pentecost Explained: Spirit for All, Tongues, Babel Reversed, and Peter’s Boldness46:42 Pentecost Response: Repent, Be Baptized, Receive the Spirit48:20 What Repentance Really Means (Faith That Changes You)50:06 “Cut to the Heart”: Head Faith vs Heart Conviction55:51 Why Baptism Became Controversial: Early Church, West, and Sacraments01:02:03 Baptism as Death & Resurrection: Romans 6 Explained01:09:40 Trusting God’s Promise (and Not Playing God About ‘When’ You’re Saved)01:13:27 Acts Conversion Pattern: Immediate Immersion & the Spirit’s Work01:16:21 Quick Baptism vs Counting the Cost: Discipleship Before the Water01:21:44 Washing of Rebirth: Titus 3 and the Mercy of God01:26:46 Reflection & Wrap-Up: Savior and Lord, ‘What Are You Waiting For?’Do you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Accepting Jesus as Your Savior (pt. 1)
Feb 301:23:11Tap to summarizeJoin hosts William, Ronnie, and John as they delve into Lesson 8 of Ronnie's workbook, 'Discovering Jesus.' They explore the intricacies and common misunderstandings surrounding accepting Christ as Savior, touching on key elements such as faith, repentance, and baptism. Through thoughtful discussion and scriptural analysis, they aim to clarify what it truly means to become a Christian. Why is accepting Christ often confusing? How do church traditions influence our understanding of salvation? And what does it mean to have faith and be born again? Tune in for an engaging and insightful conversation.00:00 Introduction and Series Overview01:25 Opening Prayer and Reflections02:54 The Complexity of Becoming a Christian06:33 Understanding Biblical Inspiration and Faith11:20 The Concept of Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior16:13 Exploring the Kingdom of God23:36 Born Again: The Conversation with Nicodemus38:38 Faith and Salvation: Misconceptions and Clarifications43:33 The Power of the Gospel44:16 Living by Faith46:46 Faith and Works49:04 The Process of Salvation58:31 Baptism and Salvation01:10:47 The Role of the Holy Spirit01:20:43 Concluding Thoughts and PrayerDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Accepting Jesus as Your Lord
Jan 2201:27:50Tap to summarizeIn this episode John, William, and Ronnie delve into the essence of discipleship, the historic and biblical context of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, the importance of commitment, and the transformation that comes with true faith. Through listener questions and scriptural analysis, they explore the challenges and responsibilities of following Jesus. Tune in to discover what it truly means to deny oneself, take up the cross, and wholeheartedly follow Christ.00:00 Introduction and Welcome01:11 Listener Questions and Personal Reflections01:47 Spotify Wrapped and Listener Engagement03:15 Idioms and Christian Phrases05:01 Prayer and Lesson Introduction05:51 Lesson Seven: Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior06:18 Historical Context and Reformation07:53 Personal Savior and Church Doctrines12:11 Discipleship and Following Jesus22:47 Key Scriptures and Teachings43:36 The Paradox of Sacrifice and True Life45:02 Adolescence and Spiritual Growth47:13 The Cost of Discipleship57:03 Understanding Jesus' Teachings01:12:16 The Mission of the Church01:25:12 Concluding Thoughts and ReflectionsDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →Discovering Jesus: Discovering Jesus
Jan 501:44:06Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Ronnie, John, and William, offer a deep dive into lesson 6 of Ronnie's 'Discovering Jesus' workbook. The group talks about Jesus' humility, love, and the personal impact of knowing Him. They also touch on how these principles should shape one's life, the importance of context in understanding scriptures, and personal experiences of seeing God's work. Ronnie emphasizes the significance of genuine relationships within the church and reflects on the loss of his wife Tana. The episode includes prayers, scripture readings, and even light-hearted moments with Ronnie's grandchildren, wrapping up with a heartfelt song.00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview01:35 Welcome to the Podcast02:10 Microphone Mishap and Sponsorship Talk03:06 Listener Engagement and Podcast Dynamics05:31 Discovering Jesus: Lesson Six06:59 Scripture Reading and Reflections10:02 The Importance of Seeking Jesus18:27 The Apostles' Journey and Faith22:47 Miracles and Belief42:25 Children's Cameo and Closing Remarks44:05 Reflecting on Jesus' Identity and Relationship with God44:42 The Significance of Jesus' Miracles and Teachings46:19 Understanding Jesus' Humility and Humanity50:05 Paul's Journey to Knowing Christ56:18 The Intimacy of Knowing God01:06:45 Experiencing God Through Creation and Community01:20:16 The Gospel and Its Transformative Power01:25:19 The Core Commands of Jesus01:40:06 Concluding Thoughts and ReflectionsDo you have questions or topic ideas for future episodes? Email any or all one the following:william@ctfwylie.orgjvr@goddeal.comrw@goddeal.com
Transcribe →