On The Trail

He Is Risen! Happy Easter Monday!

So much of our sense of identity is formed faster than conscious thought. Do we have to just deal with what we're given, or do we have agency in our identity and maturity formation?

This week we're bringing together brain science and biblical identity formation, talking about finding our heart values, building a tower of truth, and more. 

Join us on the trail!

👉 Helpful Links:

• Identity Co...

Happy Easter Week!

Your sense of identity is deeper than what you can express in words. Last week we talked about the Fast Track of the brain that processes some of this nonverbal understanding. This week, we're looking at the brain's "mirror neurons" to deepen this understanding.

Mirror neurons learn about "me" by looking at "you." This is one of the reasons why community and relationships wit...

How Do I Know Who I Am? - The Fast Track to Identity

On the Trail Podcast: Season 3, Episode 22

How did God design our brain to form our sense of identity?

In a new microseries, we're talking about our neurotheological identity. Our primary goal this episode is to understand that our brains operate not only at the speed of conscious thought but also faster than conscious thought. How does this "fast track" of the brain ...

Breakthrough in Discipleship

On the Trail Podcast: Season 3, Episode 21

Are you looking for breakthrough in your discipleship journey?

This week we are contextualizing the BUILD Model of Breakthrough within the FISH Model of Discipleship.

What does it look like to walk in your freedom and identity in Christ, in the Spirit, in Scripture, and in heart-focused community while addressing the physical and spiritual engines driving your emot...

Build Your Plan for Breakthrough 

On the Trail Podcast: Season 3, Episode 20

Are you looking for breakthrough in an area of your life? Are you helping someone on their journey to breakthrough? 

In this episode, we're beginning to pull the Breakthrough series together. How can we use the B.U.I.L.D. Maturity Model as a checklist or rubric for working through our breakthrough journey? 

How can we apply this strategy and bulid a plan ...

What is our authority in Christ and what does it look like on a practical ministry level?

In this week's episode, we're covering a theology of our authority in Christ, and we're going over the biblical ideas of binding and loosing with steps for removing demonic permission: Confess, Cancel, Command, Commit.

Join us on the trail.

P.S. At Deeper Walk, we have many resources about spiritual warfare. If you want to go deepe...

A lot of people want to know, can Christians be possessed? We would say no. But can Christians give demons access? We would say yes. 

In this week's episode, we're going over five main areas where people—including Christians!—give the demonic permission to claim a foothold in our lives. We remember these five areas with the acrostic SOUL-L: Sin, Occult, Unforgiveness, Lies we believe, and Lineage. Next week we'll be l...

What can demons do?

On the Trail Podcast: Season 3, Episode 17

The devil isn't a bumble bee. Leaving him alone doesn't mean he leaves us alone. In this episode we're starting the "Defeat Demons" topic within the Breakthrough series. We'll give a basic legal understanding for spiritual warfare, looking at the roles of permission and authority. We're also asking how demons can affect our bodies, our m...

Not every thought that enters your head is yours. When we’re listening in prayer, how can we know the thought we’re hearing is from the Holy Spirit and not a demon or the pizza we ate last night? In this episode, we're looking at a practical discernment checklist, addressing some concerns regarding the occult or our imaginations, and more.

Join us on the trail.

P.S. If you're reading along with us in Breakthrough!, check ou...

Maturity & Walking in the Spirit 

On the Trail Podcast: Season 3, Episode 15

So often our discipleship solutions are designed for adults and do not take into consideration the actual maturity of the people being discipled. Would you expect a child to have the same prayer skills as a grandparent? Whether we're talking physical or emotional maturity, or for how long we've known Christ, walking with God is not a one-size-f...

This week we’re beginning the next segment of our Breakthrough! series: Listening to the Spirit. 

From the opening verses of Scripture, the Holy Spirit is there bringing life, power, and wisdom. He is the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2) and the Helper Christ said the Father would send us (John 14:26). 

Throughout Scripture, two common actions associated with the Holy Spirit are anointing and filling. He anoints with power, and He fills w...

How do joy and fear bonds affect our relationship with God?

God designed us for joyful attachments—and that includes with HIM!

This week we're focusing on how understanding joy and fear bonds can help us both with our biblical interpretations and our personal walks with God. 

• What are common metaphors for attachment in the Bible?
• Why is idolatry such a big deal in the Bible?
• What are some strategies for building a joy bond with...

Is your brain running on fear?

If your brain isn't running on its preferred fuel—joy, it will default to fear. Last episode we started looking at the relational infrastructure of our brains. This week we're looking at Fear vs. Joy Bonds through the lens of fear-based attachment styles.

What's Your Attachment Style (fear edition)?

Our friends at Life Model have identified three core types of fear bonds: 

• Dismissive At...

God designed the infrastructure of our brains to run on relational joy. What does this mean for our daily life?

In our first series of 2025, we're diving back into the B.U.I.L.D. Maturity Model from Breakthrough! and covering the important emotional engine of Increase Your Joy Bonds.

If our brains run on relational joy, it's probably a good idea to know more about our relational attachments, our joy bonds. How can we increa...

Your true self is the person God designed to live on the fuel of relational joy. 

In our final episode of 2024, we are here to have a jolly R.A.R.E. time as we consider what it looks like to be our true selves during the holidays. We've got strategies to keep in mind for remaining relational and living with joy, we're going to pray for you, and there may be a surprise Santa Hat appearance. 

📣 📣 📣 On the Trail will be tak...

What does it look like to be me when the holidays are difficult?  

This two-part holiday series strategizes how to "act like myself" during the press and potential triggers of the holiday season. 

In part one, we're specifically addressing two common reasons for why this can be difficult and making some plans for how to remain ourselves despite relational pain or pecking order issues.  

Join us on the trail!  

P.S. We al...

Does it ever feel like you have a powder keg inside you?  

Hit the wrong button, and negative emotions erupt inside. Or perhaps you've seen this in a loved one and find yourself in a "button dance" to avoid pressing each other's buttons. 

In this episode, we're looking at the relationship between beliefs and wounds. When our hearts are wounded, it's easy to believe lies that take root and shape our value...

My true identity is who I am in relationship to God. 

God is the definer of my identity. Because of this, any hole in my sense of identity is also a hole in my view of God, and any hole in my view of God is going to affect how I see myself. 

When we need a breakthrough in the area of beliefs, it's probably related to a lie we're believing. So, this week, we're also looking at two kinds of deception: bold lies and hidin...

Our emotions can't tell the difference between a truth and a lie. 

Many breakthrough strategies have to deal with beliefs at one level or another. For the next three episodes, we'll be looking at this engine of the Breakthrough Model. 

This week is all about the power of beliefs to drive our emotions and behavior. Sometimes we can't even picture what doing something looks like, and that keeps us stuck from moving forwa...