Learning to Live with the Holy Spirit | The Branch

"I just had this overwhelming sense that God was real and that he loved me and that I wanted to know and be involved in with him." — Pastor Chris Reed

Pastor Matthew Johnson and Pastor Chris Reed returned to The Branch Podcast after a summer break to talk about something personal. Both men lead at The Tree Church, and both have spent years growing in their walk with the Holy Spirit. But they did not start in the same place.

Their conversation is part of the church's Proof series, a study built on the idea that when the Holy Spirit is involved, there is evidence. Pastor Matthew opened the series by explaining that a relationship with God should be experiential. A relationship with no interaction is really just information. This episode picks up that thread by asking a simple question. What does it actually look like to grow close to the Holy Spirit over time.

Pastor Chris grew up in the Lutheran church. His family attended every Sunday, and faith was part of daily life from an early age. He learned the stories of scripture and understood who God was. But the Holy Spirit was talked about mostly as an idea, not as someone to interact with personally.

That changed in college, when Pastor Chris was introduced to more charismatic expressions of faith. People spoke in tongues around him for the first time, and he had no framework for it. On some mission trips he saw behavior that felt chaotic and out of order. Without a background to make sense of it, he found himself pulling back rather than leaning toward it.

Looking back now, Pastor Chris can see moments earlier in his life that he did not have words for at the time. He remembers being ten years old, singing hymns in his Lutheran church, and feeling overwhelmed by a sense that God was real and that God loved him. He did not call that the Holy Spirit back then. He does now.

Pastor Matthew had the opposite experience. His father was a pastor at an Assemblies of God church, a charismatic tradition where the gifts of the Spirit were part of every Sunday service. His father would pause the service and invite the Holy Spirit to move through prophecy, tongues, and interpretation. It was always structured and orderly, never chaotic.

Growing up inside that environment gave Pastor Matthew a language most people never receive. He said it plainly. So I had language and I had understanding of it. And to me honestly it shaped me in a positive way. The people who operated in those gifts were people he trusted and respected, and their sincerity left an impression on him.

College complicated things a little. At an Assemblies of God college, Pastor Matthew saw more extreme behavior tied to the gifts, things his father described as unusual practices some charismatic groups pick up rather than anything the Bible actually teaches. It did not sour him on the Holy Spirit, but it did make him more cautious about separating genuine movement of the Spirit from learned behavior.

Both pastors agreed on one thing. Out of all the gifts of the Spirit, speaking in tongues is the one that feels the most unusual. Prophecy, wisdom, healing, and discernment all have a clear, practical purpose people can immediately recognize. Tongues stand apart because nothing else in ordinary life resembles it.

For Pastor Chris, tongues remained confusing for a long time. He understood it in theory. He could point to Paul's teaching about it in scripture. But understanding something and experiencing it are not the same thing. He described trying to force the experience for years without success, until one evening while praying and worshiping with the staff, something felt different. It was not something he manufactured. It became a genuine part of his prayer life, especially in moments when he simply did not know what to say to God.

Pastor Chris described it this way. God, I want to connect to you, but I don't have the words to speak right now.

Pastor Matthew pointed out that tongues connects to a passage often overlooked in the armor of God, where praying in the spirit is listed as part of a believer's defense. Paul describes it as the spirit interceding with perfect prayers on a person's behalf. For Pastor Chris, it was not until he experienced the purpose behind the gift, rather than just the strangeness of it, that it started to make sense.

Both pastors were honest about the tension that comes with wanting more of these gifts active in church life while also wanting to guard against anything that becomes chaotic or performative. Pastor Matthew admitted he is still working through how to create space for the gifts of the Spirit in services without losing order. It is something he continues to wrestle with rather than something he claims to have fully solved.

Prophecy came up as the gift that shaped both of their lives the most. Pastor Chris shared that prophetic words spoken over him during difficult seasons sustained his faith and helped him find his place in ministry. He also described a moment years ago when he prayed for something simple, needing to know God still heard him, and then had someone unexpectedly pay for his order at a Starbucks drive through window that same day.

Pastor Chris described the moment this way. That was a pivotal moment for me. It was a moment where God was like, I hear you. I see you.

Pastor Matthew shared a story from his first year as a youth pastor at age twenty. He sensed God telling him a message he was preparing for teenagers was actually meant for the adults, including his own father, who he described as intimidating in his theological depth. During the service, someone gave a prophetic word that named the exact person Pastor Matthew had been thinking about while preparing the message. That confirmation convinced him, beyond doubt, that he could hear from God.

He has carried that conviction into how he leads staff and the church, encouraging everyone to pursue moments where they hear from God clearly enough to share it with someone else.

Pastor Matthew shared one of the more serious stories from the conversation. He described a day when a friend came to mind so strongly that he could not shake it. After a vague, distant text exchange, he felt compelled to go to his friend's house in person. His friend tried to avoid the conversation, but Pastor Matthew stayed and gently pressed in with honesty. That conversation opened the door for his friend to share what he was really going through. Months later, Pastor Matthew learned his friend had been planning to take his own life on a specific day, and that conversation changed the course of things.

He described the weight of that moment as a reminder that ignoring the voice of the Holy Spirit is never worth the risk, even when responding feels inconvenient or uncertain.

Both pastors encouraged listeners to take small steps of faith when they sense a prompting, whether that is reaching out to someone, praying for someone, or simply following a nudge without knowing the outcome in advance. They both agreed that obedience does not always come with an immediate or visible result, and that is still faithfulness.

Pastor Chris admitted he once believed following the Holy Spirit meant God would lead him into embarrassing or overwhelming situations, since some Old Testament prophets acted out strange, uncomfortable signs. He had to learn that the same spirit who speaks to him is also the spirit who loves him, and that anything God calls someone into comes from goodness, even when it stretches personal comfort or pride.

Pastor Matthew shared that he had to unlearn the teaching from his upbringing that speaking in tongues is required proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Studying scripture more closely in college showed him that belief does not hold up. He also had to unlearn the instinct to put the Holy Spirit in a box, recognizing that God works differently in different people's lives and does not fit a single formula.

Both pastors talked about parenting through the lens of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Matthew emphasized modeling a consistent pursuit of God in front of his kids and staying open to their questions about faith without shame or pressure. He also talked about including his children in family decisions shaped by prayer, using language like we feel God is leading us to do this, so his kids grow up seeing that process firsthand.

Pastor Chris shared a similar approach, encouraging his kids to bring their problems to God directly and to expect that God will speak into their situations. Both agreed that walking alongside their children as they learn to trust God's voice, rather than leaving them to figure it out alone, has been one of the most important parts of parenting through this season of life.

The conversation closes with a simple invitation. Every person, not just pastors or staff members, has access to a relationship with the Holy Spirit that includes hearing from God and being shaped by him. Pastor Matthew emphasized that discipleship cannot be reduced to a single program, since every person carries different backgrounds and needs. Learning to recognize and follow the Holy Spirit is what allows each person to find their own path forward with God.

Their conversation was honest about doubt, confusion, and the process of learning to trust something that cannot always be explained. It was also full of confidence that God still speaks today, and that anyone willing to listen can learn to recognize his voice.

If you are looking for a church community in central Ohio, we would love to meet you at The Tree Church.

We have two campuses in the area:
Our Lancaster campus is located at 721 N. Memorial Drive, Lancaster, OH 43130. Our Logan campus is located at 36 Hocking Mall, Logan, OH 43138. Both campuses hold services on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.