List of Off The Shelf podcast episodes
Off The Shelf is a podcast where we discuss what it means to be a true follower of Jesus in the context of scripture and the message of William Branham.
When a follower of William Branham's message has a difficult question, particularly where the William Branham and the Bible appear to be in disagreement, it is common to hear message ministers advise them to put it "on the shelf". In the podcast, our hosts regularly pull some of these issues "off the shelf".
Here is a complete list of the episodes (click on the specific episode to go to the episode page where you can listen to it):
Season 2
The September 2020 Debate
On September 12, 2020 the first-ever English language debate was held between a message pastor (Jesse Smith of Akron, OH) and an ex-message Christian (Rod Bergen from the Off The Shelf podcast and the BelieveTheSign website). The discussion was moderated by C. Jay Cox and Tim Kraus.
The agreed question for discussion:
- William Branham is considered by his followers to be a prophet and, specifically, the messenger to the church of Laodicea (the fulfillment of Rev 3:14), the Elijah prophet (fulfilling Malachi4:5-6) and the angel of Revelation 10:7.
- Was William Branham who his followers say he is?
The discussion was split into 7 episodes as follows:
- Episode 67 - The Debate - Part 1
- Episode 68 - The Debate - Part 2
- Episode 69 - The Debate - Part 3
- Episode 70 - The Debate - Part 4
- Episode 71 - The Debate - Part 5
- Episode 72 - The Debate - Part 6
- Episode 73 - The Debate - Part 7
Talks with Tim
Episode 74 – Talks with Tim – Donny Reagan Gets Excited
Pastor Jeff Jenkins
Episode 75 – Pastor Jeff Jenkins – Seven Years Later (Part 1) Episode 76 – Pastor Jeff Jenkins – 7 Years Later (Part 2) Episode 77 – Pastor Jeff Jenkins – 7 Years Later (Part 3) Episode 78 – Pastor Jeff Jenkins – 7 Years Later (Part 4)
Pastor James Manuel
Episode 79 – Pastor James Manuel of South Africa (Part 1) Episode 80 – Pastor James Manuel of South Africa (Part 2) Episode 81 – Pastor James Manuel of South Africa (Part 3)
Season 1
Introducing your hosts
- Episode 1 – An interview with Rod Bergen (Part 1) - How he came into the message and what led him to leave after spending almost 40 years following William Branham.
- Episode 2 – An interview with Rod Bergen (Part 2) - Rod talks about the relationship of faith and doubt, the municipal bridge vision, conversations he had with Pearry Green and George Smith, Deuteronomy 18:20-22, fear in the message and his view of the message and those still in the message.
- Episode 3 – An interview with Bryan Lynch - Rod Bergen interviews co-host Bryan Lynch about his background, how he came into the message and what led him to leave the message after spending almost 20 years following William Branham.
Pastor Jeff Jenkins
- Episode 4 – An interview with Pastor Jeff Jenkins (part 1) - Jeff Jenkins was the pastor of Believers Christian Fellowship (BCF) in Lima, Ohio for almost 34 years. Pastor Jeff was a committed and fervent follower of William Branham but left the message and his church several years ago. Rod Bergen interviews Pastor Jeff to discuss his background and how he came to his monumental decision to leave the message and the church he had pastored for almost three and a half decades.
- Episode 5 – An interview with Pastor Jeff Jenkins (part 2) - This is part 2 of Rod Bergen’s interview with Pastor Jeff as they discuss how he came to his monumental decision to leave the message and the church he had pastored for almost three and a half decades, as well as his current thoughts on William Branham and the message.
Interview with the authors of Searching For Vindication
- Episode 6 – An interview with the authors of Searching For Vindication (Part 1) - Join Rod and Bryan as they interview Joe and Anna Barone, the authors of the Searching For Vindication website. It all started with their reaction to the article that BelieveTheSign published on the municipal bridge vision.
- Episode 7 – An interview with the authors of Searching For Vindication (Part 2) - Overcoming the rejection and fear of the criticism of the research they undertook; the reasons for their initial anonymity and their eventually making their authorship public; The reasons behind their leaving the message
James Rozak
- Episode 8 – An interview with James Rozak, the author of Morning Mercy (Part 1) - James Rozak was the Associate Pastor of Edmonton Word Assembly for 10 years, serving alongside Eugene Braun. James believed and preached the message as best he knew. But in February of 2013, the unthinkable happened and James made a decision with his wife to leave the message of William Branham. Why?
- Episode 9 – An interview with James Rozak (Part 2) - Concerns with the emphasis by ministers on William Branham, rather than Jesus Christ; Reaction of other ministers to James’ focus on helping people that were subject to abuse; The problem with abuse in the message and how ministers deal with it; The testimony of Alfred Pohl, a man who questioned whether people were actually being healed in William Branham’s meetings.
- Episode 10 – An interview with James Rozak (Part 3) - Fear and phobia in the message; James answers a question that was sent to us by one of our listeners; The creeds and dogmas of the message; and, why people have problems leaving the message.
Message Weirdness with Careyann (Muller) Zivich
- Episode 11 – An interview with Careyann (Muller) Zivich - Careyann discusses her time in the message and some of the strange things she experienced.
- Episode 12 – An interview with Careyann (Muller) Zivich (part 2) - Careyann continues to discuss some of the strange things she experienced in the Returned Ministry sub-cult within the message
Examining the Cloud with Jeff Jenkins
- Episode 13 – The 1963 Arizona Cloud with Pastor Jeff Jenkins (Part 1) - The Prophecy of the Cloud; The Timing of the Cloud; The Location of the Cloud; and, Chad Lamb’s sermon on the cloud
- Episode 14 – The 1963 Arizona Cloud with Pastor Jeff Jenkins (Part 2) - The Cause of the Cloud; Why did no one see the cloud until sunset?; and, Does the Bible tell us to simply have blind faith?