Stephanie sits down with Dr. Richard Blackaby, who co-authored Experiencing God with his father Henry Blackaby. Richard and Stephanie talk about their common passion for Scripture, for The Lord of the Rings, and much more! They connect on the power of the spice of the gospel, and a common passion for delight in the glory of God as the ultimately most satisfying definition of a successful spiritual life in the Messiah. If you have experienced staleness in your relationship with God... this is the episode for you!

The key topic of this conversation is the power of a godly legacy through several generations. Richard and Stephanie start off by discussing some key elements of parenting through Richard’s own growing-up years in the Blackaby family. Richard shares precious family memories, and experiences of faith from his parents. He highlights the essential presence of joy and laughter in their household. These are precious insights for today’s parents of young and teen children! Richard says, “I can’t think of a better compliment than when your grown children say they want to carry your own family traditions into their own new families.”

Richard and Stephanie talk about Experiencing God, and the power of legacy through several generations being moved by this ground-breaking Bible Study, published in the early 1990’s. Through this conversation, you are invited to experience the power of God’s faithfulness, and the challenges of being in full-time ministry. Richard tells us the story of his father, and the process of writing Experiencing God.

Finally, they also talk about the brand new CSB Experiencing God Bible, its unique features, and what Richard hopes it will provide for a new generation of Christ-followers. Might the CSB Experiencing God Bible be the perfect Christmas gift for yourself and/or your loved ones?

 

MORE ABOUT BLACKABY MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

Blackaby Ministries International (BMI) was founded in 2004 to encourage Christians worldwide to know and experience God through spiritual leadership, coaching, renewal and revitalization of churches, online classes, church-wide weekend retreats, and cultural engagement. Born in British Columbia, Henry Blackaby studied English and History at the University of British Columbia and earned his Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) and Th.M from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now called Gateway Seminary) in Phoenix, Arizona. Henry and Marilynn Blackaby served in several churches in California before relocating to Saskatchewan, Canada, to lead a struggling congregation that had dwindled to only 10 members in 1970. During their 18 years in Canada, they saw God work in miraculous ways, helped plant numerous churches, and reared their five children. Through those experiences, God taught the Blackabys truths about Himself that became the basis for the best-selling book, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, publishing in 1990 and selling more than seven million copies.

Over the last 30+ years, more than eight million people participated in the Experiencing God Study. Both the book and workbook have been publishing in over 75 languages and used by almost every denomination. Blackaby also won the Gold Medallion Award for the devotionals, Experiencing God Together and Experiencing God Day by Day. Blackaby went on to serve in a variety of leadership positions at ministries such as the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the International Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources. He also served as President of Canadian Baptist Theological College for seven years.

After growing up in a spiritually rich environment, all five of Henry and Marilynn’s children sensed God calling them into full-time ministry. Their oldest son, Dr. Richard Blackaby, is the president of the Atlanta-based Blackaby Ministries International and is the General Editor of the CSB Experiencing God Bible. Dr. Thomas Blackaby is the lead pastor of Brookswood Baptist Church in Langley, BC, Canada. Dr. Melvin Blackaby is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Jonesboro, GA. Dr. Norman Blackaby is a professor at Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, TX. Carrie Blackaby Webb served as a career missionary to Germany and lives in Jonesboro, GA.

Now a third generation of Blackabys are called to ministry including grandchildren Dr. Daniel Blackaby and Carrie Blackaby Camp.

Find them at https://blackaby.org/

Socials: Facebook @blackabyministries, Twitter @ExperiencingGod

 

MORE ABOUT THE CSB EXPERIENCING GOD BIBLE

This completely revised study Bible combines content from Henry Blackaby’s multi-million selling Experiencing God book and Bible study with a full Bible text, specifically the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) translation. Originally published in the late 90s in both the New International Version and the New King James Version as the Experiencing God Study Bible, the CSB Experiencing God Bible features updated and revised Experiencing God study and devotional tools with the accurate and readable CSB translation for a new generation wanting to hear from God. www.csbexperiencinggodbible.com The original Experiencing God book and Bible study was authored by Dr. Henry Blackaby almost 30 years ago and quickly became an international phenomenon. The study promotes a God-centered way of life that helps people know God intimately, recognize God’s voice and understand God’s will. The family of Experiencing God resources now number more than 50, with eight million units sold across all formats and over 75 languages. Richard Blackaby, president of Blackaby Ministries International, presents the best of Experiencing God content alongside the full Biblical text in the CSB Experiencing God Bible. This fall, the Experiencing God study is being re-released with new video content that includes Richard and Mike Blackaby, the son and grandson of Henry Blackaby. “An entire generation has been spiritually formed by Dr. Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God,” says Andy McLean, Publisher, Holman Bible and Reference. “Now Henry’s son, Richard Blackaby, has masterfully updated this life-changing classic for the CSB Experiencing God Bible. A new generation is invited to discover how hearing from God is both simple and deeply formative.” The CSB Experiencing God features unique design elements, study helps and devotional tools including:

• 66 Book introductions including key theme and setting

• In each of the book of the Bible, the reader is encouraged to consider many aspects of “Encountering God,” “Decisions Awaiting You,” and “Crisis of Belief”

• “God Focus” themes highlight important recurring ideas throughout the Bible

• “Prepare to Meet God” questions highlight important Experiencing God elements

• “Did You Notice?” questions at the end of each chapter review actions, plans, and purposes God has carried as well as potential life adjustments for today’s Christians

• Designed icons throughout identify the seven realities of Experiencing God and two steps of Fresh Encounter found throughout God’s Word

• Brief articles throughout the text explore concepts related to Experiencing God

• Biographies depict how a Bible character experiences God, discovering his purposes and plans for his people

• Book conclusions provide space for recording strategic Spiritual markers in life

The CSB Experiencing God Bible is released in the Christian Standard Bible® (CSB) translation, a translation heralded for its clarity and accuracy. It will also be released in multiple formats including hardcover, LeatherTouch, and genuine leather.

Find this wonderful new resource at www.csbexperiencinggodbible.com

DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES

The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.

In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.

In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.

PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family.

PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!

PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people!

Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our minimal operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking.

Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog

(*ListenNotes ranking, 2023)

THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!

First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.

Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. 

And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!

NEW!

Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example,

- a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours.

- a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.

MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:

Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.

Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.

We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.

Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.

We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!

Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog

GOD'S GLORY, OUR DELIGHT | THE GOSPEL SPICE SERIES

Delighting in the glory of God. Does this concept strike you as reserved for spiritual contemplatives? What if, instead, it proved the highly practical, deeply foundational perspective you need right now?

Why does God’s glory even matter in our day and age? How can we learn from Jesus to make His glory our true North and lifelong quest? What keeps us from fully stepping into this God-ordained purpose for our life? How do we kindle delight for God on a daily basis? And, once we have embraced God’s glory as our heart’s true delight, how can we then come alongside others?

Join us to cultivate a sincere delight for God’s glory, rooted in an honest, hard look at the depth of our need, and in the much deeper Reality of His grace. Trace the glory of God through Scripture and in your own life. Behold the exact radiance of God’s glory, revealed in Jesus. Learn to see yourself as Christ does—through the lens of the Father’s love at the cross. Jesus offers to overwhelm our deadly self-centeredness with His resurrection power. He carries us every step of the way, even as He calls us to true humility on the path to glory.

Who has time to cultivate the delight that comes from pondering the glory of God? And yet, nothing could be more urgent today. Marthas and Marys, Peters and Johns—we are all invited to dare to dream of a lifestyle of God-centered delight. Nothing could be more practical.

Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog

You are invited to join us on the Gospel Spice Prayer Bible Study, titled "The heart behind prayer" starting September 20, 2025! Details and registration here: https://www.gospelspice.com/prayer 

There are a few things in our Christian life that we know we should do more, or at least better – and prayer just might top the list. Prayer is a mystery. Why would a conversation with a human have any influence on God’s eternal, sovereign plan? It defies logic, and beckons love. How can God, the Almighty Lord of Hosts, be this close, this personal? It defies understanding, and beckons involvement.

But, lack of time, inspiration, and discipline, combined with the ruthless tyranny of our busy lives, push prayer to the periphery, to the “one day I’ll get to it” pile. And yet, we can excel at what we endeavor to undertake. So, why isn’t prayer more of a spiritual priority? Could we develop a mindset around prayer that made it attractive, inspiring, even maybe delightful? What if we attuned our spiritual ears to listen to God, and our spiritual eyes to see His provision?

As an unassuming student, I’m going to humbly offer to share the little I have learned from others about the joy of prayer. I will give us theology, practical tips, and useful resources, sharing what works for me as we, together, learn to pray.

If you find prayer intimidating, or if your lack of prayer makes you feel guilty or “less than,” then this is the place for you! If you have been a student of prayer for many years, this is the place for you too! If you have breath in your lungs, then prayer can become one of the deepest joys of your day. Don’t miss out!

A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT PRAYER

To pray is to believe that God not only hears, but that He responds. It is to stand in the gap for a broken world, wielding the authority of Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and trusting in the goodness of the Father. The question is not whether prayer works, but whether we are willing to pray the kinds of prayers that invite God’s Kingdom into the darkest places of the earth—and of our own hearts.

We may never fully understand the mechanics of prayer, or how it intersects with God's sovereignty, but we are not called to understand everything. We are called to be faithful. And faithfulness means showing up—in prayer, in persistence, in expectation.

So today, let us pray not only for the comfort of our hearts, but for the transformation of the world. Let us take our place as image-bearers, co-laborers, and co-heirs. Let us believe that God is still listening—and still acting. Because He is.

There’s only one way to find out what might happen when we truly pray like this.

Let’s begin.

THE MINDSET BEHIND THIS COURSE

Before we begin, let me tell you the obvious: I don’t really know how to pray. I’m a humble student and absolute beginner at the holy endeavor that is prayer. So, this course isn’t really about what I’ve learned, or any wisdom I might have gathered. But, I’ve sat at the feet of many prayer warriors over the decades, through books and teachings.

So, I’ll share what I learned from them. Humility is going to be our primary heart posture! With each lesson, I will offer a few thoughts, practices, and ideas – with much humility, and not taking myself too seriously. I will also share her favorite books and resources about prayer. FInally, I will introduce you to some of the most influential prayer warriors of our history as the Body of Christ.

Most importantly, I will invite YOU to pray! Learning to pray comes from praying. Our humble ambition is to inspire you to pray, and to give you a few tips on how to do that. Then, it’s up to you! Prayer is a lifelong endeavor. Let’s make it delightful together!

So, let’s get started.

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