Episode20_Pastors Matt Brandstadt and Jake Klingen-Smith (Faith and the Holy Spirit, Part 1)

For this Episode about faith and the Holy Spirit, I sat down with two pastors at the Grey Cliff Mill, Matt Brandstadt and Jake Klingen-Smith.  I have felt for a very long time that Billings is a spiritual battle field.  As a follower of Christ, I am called to spread the story of salvation.  My faith has been an unfolding journey. In so many ways, this conversation is a continuation of my testimony of faith.  I believe Jesus was who he said he was, and when I found out that was true, it changed everything for me.  What I understood as the living water of Christ was only starting to form when I shared my story.  My encounter with the Holy Spirit at Grey Cliff Mill has indelibly shaped my understanding of faith and God’s plan here on earth.  I will be forever grateful for the presence of both Matt and Jake in my life.  They are spiritual mentors who have deeply walked out Christ’s vision for the gospel as living word on earth.  We recorded this a month after a fire that very nearly consumed Grey Cliff Mill.  This conversation is, at its heart about miracles and the living phenomenon of the Holy Spirit.  This fire raged up to the gates of Grey Cliff Mill.  It was an inferno.  Fireteams worked day and night.  As the conflagration reached the fences of Grey Cliff, it suddenly turned, and Grey Cliff Mill was spared.  We intended to talk about this as one of the miracles, but our conversation took us in so many other directions and coveredso many other topics and miracles that we never did.  The news story and video speak for itself.  I am an academic, a writer, anda scientific thinker.  The stories they told me exceed the rational.  They require faith to believe.  For the record, I believe them.  I have never met more genuine, deeply good people.  Theyoverflow in generosity and hospitality.  They have built a sanctuary and invited others inside.  There is a healing force flowing like a fountain from Grey Cliff Mill.  They representexactly what Christ meant when he said we will be known by our fruits.