Simple Faith with Rusty George

Simple Faith: Faith in Five with Rusty George is a daily podcast designed to refocus your heart on Jesus—one moment at a time. In just five minutes a day, Rusty explores who Jesus is, why He matters, and how simple faith can transform everyday life. Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Jesus for years, these short, meaningful episodes offer clarity, encouragement, and truth you can carry with you all day. Simple. Honest. Centered on Christ.

Simple Faith: Faith in Five with Rusty George is a daily podcast designed to refocus your heart on Jesus—one moment at a time. In just five minutes a day, Rusty explores who Jesus is, why He matters, and how simple faith can transform everyday life. Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Jesus for years, these short, meaningful episodes offer clarity, encouragement, and truth you can carry with you all day. Simple. Honest. Centered on Christ.

Simple Faith: Faith in Five with Rusty George is a daily podcast designed to refocus your heart on Jesus—one moment at a time. In just five minutes a day, Rusty explores who Jesus is, why He matters, and how simple faith can transform everyday life. Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Jesus for years, these short, meaningful episodes offer clarity, encouragement, and truth you can carry with you all day. Simple. Honest. Centered on Christ.

On the final episode of Simple Succession, a Simple Faith Podcast Series, Rusty interviews Sean Morgan, who supports incoming pastors through megachurch transitions via cohort coaching. Morgan says he assesses succession health by whether a church has recently sacrificed for the mission versus pursuing comfort, arguing inward focus fuels conflict during change. He warns churches often over-center succession on honoring the outgoing pastor, even though transition work continues for years, suggesting it can take five years to reach 80% of a succession and another five for the final 20%. Morgan emphasizes boards as “bridge leaders” when there’s no direct baton pass, discusses risks when executive pastors effectively hold power during vacancies, urges clarity on roles, and advises incoming leaders to review several years of financials with a savvy advisor. On outgoing pastors staying, he recommends separating financial needs from employment and says remaining can help only if the predecessor becomes the successor’s active public and private supporter.

In the final episode of the Simple Faith Q&A, Rusty is joined by Michael and Bryan to answer two final listener questions from Instagram. First, they address Matthew 5:32 and whether God intends a divorced woman to never remarry, explaining that Jesus was confronting men who discarded wives for trivial reasons and emphasizing the sanctity of marriage while noting biblical grounds discussed for divorce such as sexual immorality, abandonment by an unbelieving spouse, and wisdom applied to abuse (with mention of adultery, abandonment, abuse, and addiction). They encourage prayer and wise counsel regarding remarriage and remind listeners their identity is in Christ, not a spouse. Second, they discuss the difference between soul and spirit, outlining historic debate, common overlap in Scripture, and the importance of full surrender to Jesus over technical distinctions.

On day four of Simple Faith’s Q&A Rusty joins Michael Hinton and Bryan Mrazek, as they answer two listener questions from Instagram. First, they discuss what happens when a believer dies, emphasizing the promise that to be absent from the body is to be present with Jesus, citing Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross (“Today you will be with me in paradise”) while also affirming a future bodily resurrection and the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation 21:4. They note God’s comfort and the image of God drying every tear. Second, they address the popular concept of “manifesting,” arguing it is not biblical because it puts control in human will rather than God’s, contrasting it with prayer and asking in alignment with God’s will, and warning listeners against teachings that imply humans can speak realities into existence.

On day three of Simple Faith’s Q&A week, Rusty George sits down with Michael Hinton and Bryan Mrazek as they answer two commonly misused Bible verses about expecting “the best.” They explain Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”) in its context of Paul writing from prison, emphasizing that Christ gives strength to endure trials and remain faithful “even if” circumstances don’t turn out as hoped. They then discuss Jeremiah 29:11, distinguishing its original context of Israel’s captivity from the universal truth that God has a plan, while noting that promised prosperity may not be realized in this life. Personal experiences with cancer and loss highlight trusting God’s presence through suffering, echoed in Psalm 23.

On Simple Faith, Rusty, Michael, and Bryan kick off a week of listener Q&A (two questions a day for five days) and tackle two intense topics: knowing when it’s time to leave a church and how to share the gospel without being pushy. They caution against “church shopping,” urge listeners to distinguish between preferences and principles, and emphasize evaluating doctrine, truth-telling, disciple-making, community care, and the marks of the church seen in Acts 2. Michael adds that no church is perfect and challenges consumer-minded church hopping, encouraging people to leave only with clear evidence—such as gospel distortion, abusive or unaccountable leadership, or an inability to worship—when they sense the Lord releasing them. On evangelism, they stress relational, everyday conversations, sharing testimony, asking simple questions, meeting needs, and using words when explaining what Jesus has done.

In episode 2 of the Simple Faith Q&A, Rusty George joins guests Michael Hinton and Brian Mrazek answer two listener questions. First, they discuss how to discern whether you’re truly being led by the Holy Spirit or just your own thoughts, emphasizing alignment with God’s Word, seeking wisdom from trusted people, gathering counsel, and practicing silence and solitude rather than letting emotions drive decisions. They also note that Spirit-led choices may still lead to hardship or outcomes that don’t go as planned, without meaning God wasn’t in it. Second, they address the “book of life” in Revelation, explaining it as a call to assurance and perseverance, not fear, and discussing concerns about names being blotted out, apostasy, and remaining rooted in Jesus, whose blood secures salvation.

In episode 5 of Simple Succession, Rusty interviews search-firm leader and former Presbyterian pastor William Vanderbloemen. William shares how a corporate CEO succession completed in 90 days versus a church search that took years sparked his “holy discontent,” leading him to start Vanderbloemen Search in 2008; the firm has since completed about 4,000 church searches and helped move succession conversations from “the parking lot to the boardroom,” including through his book Next: Pastoral Succession That Works. They discuss asking the right questions rather than using cookie-cutter models, whether a church needs a “software update” or an “overhaul,” generational and birth-rate dynamics creating a coming succession wave, and how getting succession wrong is costly. William highlights lessons from Willow Creek’s complex transition, warns against boards overcorrecting into micromanagement, emphasizes succession as an ecosystem change, and says many train wrecks trace back to forgetting the pastor’s spouse; he cites Mariners Church as a model, calling for humility, prayer, wisdom, and long-term preparation like cultivating younger donors. Check out free succession resources at pastorrustygeorge.com.