Peaceable And Kind

By Reach Right NetworkReligion & Spirituality Christianity Religion

Peaceable And Kind episodes

October 01Episode 122: Living Free of Hypocrisy
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland brings his exploration of hypocrisy and virtue to a practical conclusion. Drawing from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, Derek considers Elder Zosima’s warning to stop lying to ourselves. Hypocrisy is one form of self-deception, but Dostoevsky’s character Fyodor Pavlovich reveals another possibility: playing the buffoon so we never have to become the person we know we need to be. Both paths can cause us to lose ourselves.
Derek reviews the central themes of the series: hypocrisy divides our being and doing, while virtue helps bring them back into harmony. Drawing from Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas, he describes virtue as the formation of our character, the right ordering of our loves, and an ordered disposition of the soul. Recovery requires growing in awareness of who we are and practicing the kind of life we are becoming.
The episode concludes with four practical steps for becoming “hypocrites no more”: admitting our hypocrisy, practicing honest self-reflection, receiving God’s forgiving grace, and adopting new habits. Derek adapts the Ignatian Prayer of Examen as a practice for uncovering hypocrisy and encourages listeners to bring hidden sin into the light, receive God's grace, and develop habits that cultivate integrity.
Key Takeaways
Hypocrisy involves living as a divided person, with our being and doing out of harmony.
Self-deception can keep us from recognizing the truth about ourselves.
We can lose ourselves by managing our image or by using performance and buffoonery to avoid genuine change.
Virtue helps bring our inner and outer lives back into harmony.
Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas each offer important perspectives on virtue and human flourishing.
Recovery begins with honest awareness and a willingness to practice what we are becoming.
Hidden hypocrisy must be brought into the light.
Self-reflection helps us recognize why we pretend and what we are trying to gain or avoid.
God's forgiving grace is essential to the recovery process.
New habits are necessary because habits form our character.
The Four Steps of Recovery from Hypocrisy
Admit to your own hypocrisy
Bring hidden hypocrisy into the light and acknowledge the damage it has caused.
Take time for self-reflection
Review specific moments of hypocrisy and ask what you were trying to gain and what you were afraid of.
Open yourself to God's forgiving grace
Receive God's forgiveness rather than continuing to hide, rationalize, or justify your actions.
Adopt new habits
Put practices in place that help bring your being and doing into greater harmony.
The Hypocrisy Examen
Derek adapts the five movements of the Ignatian Prayer of Examen to help us examine our hypocrisy:
Acknowledge God's presence and love.
Ask the Holy Spirit for courage and insight.
Look honestly at a specific moment of hypocrisy.
Ask why you pretended, what you hoped to gain, and what you feared.
Consider how you can respond differently the next time.
Books Mentioned
The Brothers Karamazov — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
On Christian Doctrine — Augustine
Summa Theologiae — Thomas Aquinas
Scriptures Mentioned
Luke 9:24–25
1 John 1:9
Psalm 51
You can find the complete Ignatian Examen at https://www.jesuits.org/spirituality/the-ignatian-examen/
Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
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Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
40 min
September 24Episode 121: The Empowering Work of the Holy Spirit
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland explores the empowering work of the Holy Spirit and its relationship to spiritual transformation. The Spirit transforms our being and empowers our doing so that our lives can increasingly reflect the integrity of Jesus. These two works belong together. We need the Spirit to form our character, and we need the Spirit to empower us to live out that character in the world.
Derek explores Jesus’ promise of “power from on high” in Luke 24 and the promise of power in Acts 1:8. The Greek word dunamis can refer to power, strength, ability, or capacity. Derek focuses on dunamis as a Spirit-given capacity to act, particularly the ability to bear faithful witness to Jesus. He then considers Aristotle’s use of dunamis as potentiality and explores the interesting connection between potentiality and action in Aristotle and Luke.
The episode concludes by challenging the limitations of self-help and willpower. We have practices for the body and soul, but we cannot recover from hypocrisy through human strength alone. The life of integrity requires our participation with the Holy Spirit. Jesus not only teaches us to love God and our neighbors. He gives us the Spirit who transforms us with God's love and empowers us to live it out.
Key Takeaways
The Holy Spirit transforms our being and empowers our doing.
Spiritual maturity requires both holiness and Spirit-empowered action.
Jesus promised his disciples “power from on high” before sending them into the world.
Dunamis can describe power, ability, capability, or capacity.
The Spirit gives us a capacity to act faithfully as witnesses to Jesus.
Aristotle’s concept of dunamis offers an interesting philosophical comparison with Luke’s use of the word.
The Spirit's power becomes visible through faithful action.
Recovering from hypocrisy requires more than self-help or willpower.
The practices of spiritual formation require the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.
The life of integrity is a willingness to open ourselves to the Spirit’s power.
The Spirit both transforms us into people who love and empowers us to live out that love.
Books Mentioned
Pentecostal Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition — Simon Chan
Scriptures Mentioned
Luke 24:46–49
Acts 1:1–8
Matthew 16:24–26
Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
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Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
44 min
September 17Episode 120: We Are Not All Physicality, We Are Spirituality
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland continues exploring what it means to be a hybrid creature, both body and soul. While the previous episode focused on practices for the body, this episode turns inward to the soul. We are physical creatures, but what we see in the mirror is not all that we are. We are also spiritual beings with the capacity to commune with our Creator.
Drawing from Romans 8 and Eugene Peterson, Derek describes Christian spirituality as an embodied experience of life in the Holy Spirit. Our culture can reduce us to what we produce, accomplish, and project to others, but Christian spirituality reminds us that there is more to us than usefulness and reputation. We have an interior life that requires our attention.
Derek then explores four practices for tending to the soul: silence, stillness, Sabbath, and Scripture reading. These practices help clear away the noise, motion, misplaced identities, and competing stories that can shape our interior lives. Ultimately, each is a form of prayer because prayer is more than the words we speak to God. Prayer includes the practices through which we intentionally attend to the presence of God.
Key Takeaways
Human beings are hybrid creatures, both physical and spiritual.
Christian spirituality is an embodied experience of life in the Holy Spirit.
We are more than our usefulness, productivity, appearance, and reputation.
Our interior life can easily be neglected in a culture focused on performance.
Silence prevents noise from cluttering our souls.
Stillness interrupts the constant motion that allows us to ignore our souls.
Sabbath helps prevent us from confusing who we are with what we accomplish.
Scripture keeps us rooted in God's story rather than allowing competing stories to shape us.
Narrative is a way of knowing ourselves, one another, and God.
Jesus is the central character of the biblical story, a story upon which we can build our lives.
Silence, stillness, Sabbath, and Scripture reading are all forms of prayer that help us attend to God's presence.
Books Mentioned
Eat This Book — Eugene Peterson
The Deeply Formed Life — Rich Villodas
Scriptures Mentioned
Romans 8:5–6
Genesis 2:7
Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
38 min
September 10Episode 119: What You Do With Your Body Matters
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland explores the often-overlooked role of the body in Christian spiritual formation. Because we are embodied people, following Jesus involves more than what happens in our thoughts, emotions, and souls. Rooted in the incarnation, Christian spirituality is an embodied experience. Jesus, the Word made flesh, demonstrates the goodness and importance of the human body.
Derek draws from Eugene Peterson, Athanasius, Thomas Merton, and his own experience to consider the connection between body and soul. He argues that caring for our bodies is part of becoming like Jesus and encourages listeners to develop regular practices of movement. Whether running, walking, hiking, biking, swimming, gardening, playing with children, or simply taking the stairs, the goal is not intensity or athletic achievement. The goal is cultivating a life of movement and recognizing that what we do with our bodies matters.

Key Takeaways
Christian spirituality is an embodied experience.
Our bodies are good, created by God, and essential to our human experience.
Jesus took on a human body and elevated the goodness of embodied life.
Body and soul are integrated rather than competing parts of who we are.
What happens to our bodies affects our souls, and what happens within us can affect our bodies.
Physical training has value, even though it is not the ultimate goal of Christian life.
Spiritual formation includes intentional practices for the body.
Movement can be a simple and sustainable practice for caring for the body.
The goal is not necessarily intensity, but developing regular habits of movement.
Find forms of movement you enjoy and cultivate a life of staying on the move.

Books Mentioned
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places — Eugene Peterson
On the Incarnation — Athanasius
New Seeds of Contemplation — Thomas Merton
Scriptures Mentioned
Psalm 139:13–14
1 Corinthians 6:19
1 Timothy 4:8

Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
39 min
September 03Episode 118: The Transforming Work of the Holy Spirit
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland explores the Holy Spirit’s role in transforming our character. The ancient virtue tradition gives us a valuable framework for understanding how good habits are formed, but Christian faith recognizes a deeper problem: human corruption reaches into the heart. We need more than moral education and greater effort. We need the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Derek explores Paul’s understanding of virtue through the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5 and Paul’s powerful description of transformation in 2 Corinthians 3. The Spirit does not simply improve us by adding something we lack. The Spirit changes us from the inside out, making us more like Jesus. Derek uses the image of a caterpillar becoming a monarch butterfly to illustrate Paul’s language of metamorphosis.
The episode also explores how we participate in this transformation. We can remain idle, work against the Spirit, or work with the Spirit by practicing the habits that Christians have used for centuries to place themselves where the Spirit can shape them. Derek then turns to one of the Spirit’s central works in spiritual formation: reordering our loves. Drawing from Augustine, he explains how the Spirit reshapes our desires so that we learn to love God, ourselves, others, and creation in their proper order.

Key Takeaways
Human effort alone cannot overcome the corruption of the human heart.
Christian virtue requires the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Paul describes what Aristotle calls virtue as the “fruit of the Spirit.”
Spiritual transformation is a fundamental change in who we are, not merely an improvement in behavior.
The Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out while inviting our participation.
Practicing virtue is one way we cooperate with the Spirit’s transforming work.
The Spirit reorders our loves and desires according to God's design.
Courage and humility are both expressions of a heart being shaped by the love of God.
Spiritual formation is ultimately about becoming more like Jesus.
Books Mentioned
Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
On Christian Doctrine — Augustine
Scriptures Mentioned
Jeremiah 17:3, 5, 9
Matthew 15:17–20
John 3:6
Philippians 4:8
Galatians 5:19–23
2 Corinthians 3:6, 17–18
Jeremiah 31:33
Romans 5:5
Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
39 min
August 27Episode 117: Humility That Conquers Hypocrisy
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland explores the virtue of humility and why it is essential for recovering from hypocrisy. Humility has never been particularly popular. We want to be powerful, smart, and great, yet Jesus points us toward a different kind of greatness. While Aristotle celebrated the virtue of magnanimity, or “greatness of soul,” Jesus taught his disciples that true greatness is found in becoming humble.

Drawing from Jesus, Paul, John Chrysostom, Anthony the Great, Thomas Merton, and Dallas Willard, Derek explores humility as a “lowly mind”—an honest acceptance of who we are before God. Humility is not self-loathing, passivity, or groveling. It is living honestly within the reality of who God has made us to be, recognizing both our dignity and our limitations, and allowing God's grace to fill in the gaps.

Derek also explores Thomas Merton's distinction between being and doing. Our actions reveal something about us, but our identity cannot be reduced to what we accomplish. When we become obsessed with our outward performance, we can lose touch with the deeper work God is doing within us.
Humility, according to Willard, has three steps:
1) Never pretend
2) Never presume
3) Never push
In following these steps, we create room for the Spirit to form us into people who are increasingly free from hypocrisy and increasingly like Jesus.

Key Takeaways
Humility is not self-loathing or passivity.
Christian humility begins with an honest view of ourselves before God.
Jesus presents humility as the pathway to true greatness.
Hypocrisy attempts to manage and inflate our image; humility frees us from the need to pretend.
Humility helps expose spiritual pride and self-reliance.
Our identity is deeper than what we accomplish.
Being precedes doing: our actions flow from who we are.
God's grace meets us in both our strengths and our limitations.
Humility creates space for genuine spiritual transformation.

Books Mentioned
Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
New Seeds of Contemplation — Thomas Merton
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection — translated by Benedicta Ward
Streams in the Wasteland — Andrew Arndt

Scriptures Mentioned
John 10:10
Matthew 18:3–4
Philippians 2:3
Matthew 23:11–12
Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com.

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
32 min
August 20Episode 116: The Courage That Conquers Fear
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland explores one of the four classic virtues: courage. While courage is often associated with soldiers, superheroes, and dramatic acts of heroism, Derek argues that the courage we need most is the quiet, everyday courage to do what is right in the face of fear.
Beginning with stories ranging from The Wizard of Oz to the heroic actions of twelve-year-old Ramir Parker, Derek shows that courage is not the absence of fear but the strength to endure it. Drawing from Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and C.S. Lewis, he explores courage as the virtue that strengthens every other virtue. Without courage, honesty, mercy, purity, and compassion collapse whenever they become costly.
The episode then turns inward, examining the fears that often shape our lives beneath the surface. Whether our deepest fear is rejection, failure, inadequacy, abandonment, or loss of identity, courage grows as we honestly acknowledge those fears and bring them before God. Derek also introduces the Enneagram as a helpful tool for identifying the internal fears that often fuel hypocrisy and prevent spiritual growth.
Ask yourself: I am afraid of:
Being defective or fundamentally wrong?
Being unwanted or unloved? 
Being worthless or a failure?
Having no identity or personal significance?
Being incapable or incompetent?
Being without support or emotional security?
Being deprived of something important or experiencing emotional distress?
Being harmed or controlled by others?
Being separated or disconnected from others?
Ultimately, courage is not about becoming fearless—it is about becoming the kind of person who trusts God's love enough to keep doing what is right.
Key Takeaways
Courage is one of the four classic (cardinal) virtues.
Courage is not fearlessness but doing what is right despite fear.
Every virtue requires courage when it is tested.
Aristotle described courage as the virtue between cowardice and recklessness.
Thomas Aquinas emphasized endurance as the heart of courage.
Internal fears often shape our actions more than external dangers.
Identifying our deepest fears is essential for spiritual growth.
Perfect love casts out fear and enables courageous living.

Books Mentioned
The Screwtape Letters — C. S. Lewis
Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
Summa Theologiae — Thomas Aquinas
The Road Back to You — Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation — A. J. Sherrill

Scriptures Mentioned
Joshua 1:9
1 John 4:17–18

Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com.

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
43 min
August 13Episode 115: The Peaceable Way
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland welcomes his brother, Jeff Vreeland, for a conversation about The Peaceable Way, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to helping people cultivate a more prayerful, Scripture-shaped, and peaceable life. Together, they reflect on their shared spiritual journey, the vision behind the ministry, and the practical resources designed to help Christians slow down, pray, engage Scripture, and grow in the way of Jesus.

The conversation explores the heart behind The Peaceable Way and the spiritual needs it seeks to address in an anxious and distracted culture. Derek and Jeff discuss how resources like the Peaceable and Kind podcast, Psalm of the Day, The Prayer Wheel, and the Daily Office Lectionary app all work together to help people establish life-giving rhythms of prayer and Scripture. They conclude by sharing their hope that these resources will encourage believers to experience greater peace, compassion, and faithfulness in their everyday lives.

Key Takeaways
The Peaceable Way exists to help people live more prayerful, Scripture-shaped, and peaceable lives.
Spiritual formation happens through simple, consistent rhythms rather than dramatic moments.
Prayer and Scripture anchor us in the presence of God amid a distracted culture.
Healthy spiritual habits cultivate peace, compassion, and kindness.
The ministry offers practical tools that are accessible for people in every stage of their spiritual journey.
Even small, daily practices can lead to deep, lasting transformation.

Links to Resources Mentions
Psalm of the Day: https://www.psalmoftheday.org/
The Prayer Wheel: https://theprayerwheel.org/
Daily Office Lectionary App for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-daily-office-lectionary/id6792119812
Daily Office Lectionary App for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thepeacableway.dailyofficelectionary&pcampaignid=web_share

Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Support the work we are doing at thepeaceableway.com.

Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
34 min
August 06Episode 114: Whatever Happened to Character?
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland explores one of the greatest needs facing both the church and modern culture: the recovery of character. Reflecting on high-profile failures in business, politics, sports, and even the church, Derek argues that our culture has become increasingly willing to overlook a person's character so long as they achieve the desired results. Yet the Christian tradition has always understood that who we are matters more than what we accomplish.
Drawing on the wisdom of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Alasdair MacIntyre, Derek introduces the historic Christian tradition of virtue ethics. Rather than focusing primarily on rules, consequences, or personal feelings, virtue asks a deeper question: What kind of person am I becoming? Christian discipleship is not simply about making better decisions but about becoming people whose hearts and habits are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.
The episode concludes with an invitation to recover the ancient vision of moral formation through the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. By cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit and practicing habits that cultivate Christlike character, we become the kind of people who instinctively love, forgive, serve, and live as Jesus did.

Key Takeaways
Character matters more than image, influence, or success.
Virtue is the historic Christian framework for moral formation.
Christian ethics asks not only, "What should I do?" but "Who am I becoming?"
Aristotle's vision of human flourishing finds fulfillment in the abundant life Jesus offers.
Habits shape character, and character shapes our instincts.
The Holy Spirit transforms us as we actively participate in practices that cultivate virtue.
Christian discipleship is about formation, not merely information.

Books Mentioned
Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
Summa Theologiae — Thomas Aquinas
After Virtue — Alasdair MacIntyre

Scriptures Mentioned
1 Corinthians 13:13
John 10:10
Galatians 5:22–23

Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
41 min
July 30Episode 113: Pentecostal Reality
In this episode of Peaceable and Kind, Derek Vreeland concludes the Holy Convergence series by exploring the gift of the Pentecostal tradition: reality. More than a theological system or denominational identity, Pentecostal reality is an awareness that the Holy Spirit is actively present and at work in the world today. Rooted in the Azusa Street Revival of 1906, the Pentecostal movement reminds the church that God's kingdom is not merely something we believe in, but something we experience through the living presence of the Holy Spirit.
Beginning with the remarkable story of William Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival, Derek traces the Wesleyan-Holiness roots of Pentecostalism, the emergence of Spirit baptism, and the movement's global impact. Along the way, he reflects on both the strengths and weaknesses of the Pentecostal tradition, from its early witness to racial reconciliation and expectation of God's miraculous work to later distortions associated with the prosperity gospel.
The episode concludes by arguing that the greatest gift of Pentecostalism is not speaking in tongues or miraculous gifts, but an awareness of God's active presence that produces love. The authentic evidence of the Holy Spirit is a life marked by the fruit of the Spirit, empowering believers to love God, love their neighbors, and participate in God's work of renewing the world.

Key Takeaways
Pentecostalism emerged from the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles in 1906.
William Seymour's leadership combined humility, holiness, and a deep dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Early Pentecostalism grew out of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement.
Pentecostal reality is the awareness that God's Spirit is actively present and working in the world today.
The Holy Spirit empowers believers for witness, ministry, and Christlike living.
Expectancy for God's miraculous work should always remain grounded in God's character, not prosperity formulas.
The greatest evidence of the Spirit's work is the fruit of the Spirit, especially love.
Every Christian tradition contributes something valuable to the church, and Pentecostalism reminds us to live with continual awareness of God's presence.

Books Mentioned
Pentecostal Spirituality: A Passion for the Kingdom — Steven J. Land

Scriptures Mentioned
Acts 2:1–4
Acts 2:5–11
Matthew 28:20
John 16:7
Zechariah 4:6
1 Corinthians 13:1–3, 13
Galatians 5:22–23
Has Peaceable and Kind been meaningful to you? Support the show by:
Leaving a review
Giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast app
Sharing this episode with a friend
Order Derek's new Bible Study Series, God in the Neighborhood:
Book 1: Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us || https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Book 2: Crucifixion: 8 Lessons on How God Saves Us || https://amzn.to/459bNUk
Book 3: Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us || https://amzn.to/40T0sp0
Check out the Merch Store: derekvreeland.com/merch
Learn more about Derek’s work as a pastor and author: derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook
37 min

About Peaceable And Kind

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to "Peaceable and Kind," the podcast where we explore the transformative power of living out Jesus' call to peace and kindness in our everyday lives. Each week your host, Derek Vreeland, will delve into the stories, Scriptures, and practical steps that help us embody these essential Christian virtues.