UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth

Wesley Farnsworth
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Real stories. Real faith. Real hope. UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth is about what happens when we stop pretending, take off the masks, and get honest about faith and real life. Through solo episodes and conversations with guests, Wesley explores faith, identity, failure, recovery, mental health, relationships, calling, healing, and the struggles we often keep hidden. Discover how God can use our stories—even the messy parts—to bring redemption, growth, freedom, and hope. Your past doesn't have to define your future.

  1. 1d ago

    EP 95 - God Controls the Outcome, We Control the Effort

    What if part of your exhaustion comes from carrying responsibility for things that were never yours to control? We try to control outcomes, people, timelines, healing, success, our children’s decisions, and how quickly life changes. When the result isn’t what we hoped for, we often assume we failed. But responsibility and control are not the same thing. In Episode 95 of UNMASKED, Wesley Farnsworth explores a simple idea with huge implications: God controls outcomes. We control effort. That isn’t permission to become passive. Farmers still prepare the soil, plant seed, remove weeds, and work long hours. But they cannot guarantee rain or the harvest. In the same way, we can be faithful in recovery, parenting, relationships, ministry, work, and prayer without controlling how everything turns out. Wesley looks at why uncertainty makes control so tempting, why focusing on future outcomes can create paralysis, and how returning to today’s responsibility can create movement. This episode explores: • The difference between responsibility and control • Why we crave guarantees • What recovery teaches about focusing on today • The parenting trap of carrying a child’s decisions as your own • Why surrender is not passivity • How Jesus modeled faithfulness without controlling people’s responses • What to do when your best effort still leads to a painful outcome • A practical exercise for separating what you control from what belongs to God Sometimes faithful effort produces what you hoped for. Sometimes the relationship still ends, the opportunity disappears, the prayer feels unanswered, or the child still struggles. That does not automatically mean you failed. Maybe the better question isn’t, “How will this turn out?” Maybe it’s, “What is my responsibility today?” Connect with UNMASKED: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unmasked-with-wesley-farnsworth/id1851549420 Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf X: https://x.com/Unmasked_WF TikTok: http://tiktok.com/unmasked.with.wf.podcast Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  2. 6d ago

    EP 94 - He Looked Strong Until Everything Fell Apart | Ryan T. Reichert

    Ryan T. Reichert spent 23 years in the U.S. Army, served more than three years in combat, became a lieutenant colonel, and transitioned into a successful corporate career. From the outside, he looked strong. Ryan describes what was happening inside very differently: “Captain America on the outside and a burning village on the inside.” Behind the leadership, discipline, career success, and appearance of control were fear, pride, alcohol, substance misuse, and struggles Ryan had become very good at hiding. After leaving the military, the loss of purpose and increasing isolation helped accelerate a downward spiral that eventually contributed to adultery, divorce, damaged relationships, and the collapse of the life he'd worked to build. In this episode of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, Ryan talks openly about what happened when being “the strong one” stopped working. Months into sobriety and separated from his family, Ryan found himself alone in an Alabama hotel room. After realizing he couldn't control his way back into the life he'd lost, he spent hours crying in the dark. For a man whose life had been built around leadership, action, discipline, and refusing to surrender, Ryan says that night became a moment when he finally admitted: I can't do this anymore. I surrender. But surrender wasn't the end of Ryan's story. It became part of learning how to rebuild. Ryan and Wesley talk about alcoholism and recovery, military transition, divorce, accountability, pride, control, fatherhood, men's emotions, faith, community, and why asking for help can be one of the hardest things a man ever does. Ryan also shares what recovery looks like in ordinary life: AA, sponsorship, returning to church, studying Scripture, prayer, exercise, community, and consistently taking small steps forward. He describes building his days around three daily wins—physical, mental, and spiritual—rather than trying to repair his entire life overnight. The conversation also challenges the idea that strength means never breaking down. Ryan remembers hiding his tears even from his daughters. Today, he sees emotional honesty differently: Strong men cry. And when Wesley asks Ryan what he ultimately had to let go of to move forward, his answer is remarkably simple: He had to learn to ask for help. If everyone around you thinks you're strong but you know something isn't right underneath the surface, this conversation is an invitation to stop carrying it alone. Connect with Ryan T. Reichert Our Protector Development: https://ourprotectordevelopment.comRyan T. Reichert: https://ryantreichert.com Connect with UNMASKED YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-PodcastApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unmasked-with-wesley-farnsworth/id1851549420Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  3. Sep 29

    EP 93 - What If This Season Isn’t Wasted?

    Have you ever prayed for something so long that you started wondering if you were wasting your time? Maybe you're waiting for healing, direction, restoration, freedom, an opportunity, or a breakthrough. You've prayed. You've trusted. You've kept showing up. And still...nothing seems to change. Days become weeks. Weeks become months. Sometimes months become years. Eventually, the questions start: What if this season is wasted?What if these prayers are wasted?What if this pain is wasted? In this solo episode of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, we're challenging one of the assumptions that can make waiting so difficult: What if waiting doesn't equal wasting? We live in a culture that celebrates speed. Fast food, fast internet, same-day shipping, instant communication. Everything around us tells us that faster is better. So when God seems to move slowly, it can feel like something is wrong. And when we can't see progress, it's easy to assume there isn't any. But think about a seed. You can plant it and come back tomorrow to see nothing. Come back a week later and you still may not see anything. Yet beneath the surface, roots are forming. Strength is developing. Foundations are being established. Just because growth isn't visible doesn't mean it isn't occurring. We'll look at Joseph's story and what happened between receiving a dream from God and eventually stepping into leadership. Joseph was betrayed, sold, imprisoned, and forgotten. From the middle of his story, it could have looked like everything had gone wrong. But this episode asks a different question: What if the prison wasn't punishment? What if it was preparation? We'll also talk about what waiting exposes in us—control, fear, impatience, pride, and expectations—and why trusting God becomes much harder when we don't have visible evidence that anything is changing. And we'll bring this conversation into recovery. When you're hurting, you want relief. When you're trapped, you want freedom. But recovery usually isn't an overnight transformation. It's daily surrender. Daily honesty. Daily dependence. Because freedom isn't only about stopping a behavior. It's about becoming a different person. And becoming takes time. Maybe you're looking at your life right now and thinking you're stuck. What if you're not? What if you're being prepared? What if there's work happening beneath the surface that you simply can't see yet? This week's action step is simple: take ten minutes and identify three seasons from your past that felt wasted while you were living them but look different in hindsight. Then ask: What if God is working in my current season in ways I can't see yet? Sometimes faith isn't believing God will move. Sometimes it's trusting that He's moving even when you can't see it yet. Connect With UNMASKED YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-PodcastApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unmasked-with-wesley-farnsworth/id1851549420Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  4. Sep 24

    EP 92 - She Spent 22 Years in New Age Spirituality—Then Walked Away | Dr. Laurette Willis

    For 22 years, Dr. Laurette Willis was immersed in New Age spirituality. She says it began when she was seven after she and her mother were introduced to yoga. Over the years, Laurette became increasingly involved in New Age practices and eventually describes herself as having been an instructor, psychic, and channel. But underneath her spiritual search was another story. Emotional eating began around age six. Alcohol entered her life at 13 and cigarettes at 15. Laurette grew up with a mother who struggled with alcoholism and serious mental-health challenges. At 24, she lost her mother to suicide. Two years later, her father died. She traveled around the world searching for God and eventually moved from New York City into a New Age community in Oklahoma. But changing her surroundings didn't change what was happening inside her. At 29, Laurette says she finally reached the end of herself. In this episode of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, Laurette shares what happened when she began questioning everything she believed about God and ultimately surrendered her life to Jesus. She describes experiencing immediate freedom from alcoholism—but not every struggle disappeared. Emotional eating remained something she continued to wrestle with, changing how she understood weakness and Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 12:10: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” We talk about addiction, grief, surrender, renewing your mind, destructive thought patterns, emotional eating, and what it means to depend on God when simply trying harder isn't working. There's also a powerful connection to what UNMASKED is all about. Laurette spent years performing professionally, including playing Betty Boop Off-Broadway. The stage was one of the places she felt most comfortable, even while struggling internally. Years later, a coach asked her: “Do you have any secrets?” Laurette answered: “No, they've become my story.” Maybe freedom isn't pretending the mess never happened. Maybe it's becoming willing to bring what's hidden into the light and allowing your story—even the broken parts—to help someone else. Toward the end of the episode, Laurette also demonstrates her “Make the Shift” exercise, which combines Scripture with a bilateral movement technique she uses to redirect food cravings and thought patterns. Her discussion of this exercise and related health topics reflects her own approach and experience and is not a guarantee of specific medical, psychological, or weight-loss results. Connect with Dr. Laurette Willis PraiseMoves: https://praisemoves.comChristian Weight Loss Kit: https://christianweightlosskit.comChristian Meditation Kit: https://christianmeditationkit.com Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Dr. Laurette Willis regarding yoga, New Age spirituality, and related practices are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Wesley Farnsworth, UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, or Wesley Farnsworth’s ministry. Connect With UNMASKED YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-PodcastWebsite: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwfFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/ Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  5. Sep 22

    EP 91 - What If God’s “Not Yet” Is Actually Protecting You?

    Have you ever prayed for something good—something that made sense, something you genuinely believed would help you—and God still didn't give it to you? Maybe the answer wasn't no. Maybe it was not yet. And sometimes, “not yet” is harder than no because it requires us to keep trusting God without knowing how the story will turn out. In Episode 91 of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, Wesley uses an unexpected moment from a game similar to Candy Crush to explore God's timing, unanswered prayer, and the difference between wanting something and actually being prepared for it. While playing, Wesley had an opportunity to claim a valuable power-up. He chose not to take it—not because it wasn't useful, but because he knew he'd be tempted to use it too soon instead of saving it for when it would matter most. That sparked a bigger thought: What if God sometimes sees our lives the way we wish we could see the entire game board? We see the relationship we want. The promotion. The healing. The financial breakthrough. The ministry opportunity. The dream. The open door. God sees everything surrounding it that we can't. And sometimes the question may not be whether the thing we're asking for is good. The question may be whether we're ready to carry it. This episode explores why receiving something too early can sometimes hurt instead of help, why preparation may be part of God's answer to prayer, and why the waiting itself can develop trust, patience, character, dependence, humility, and faith. Wesley also connects this idea to recovery. What if every struggle simply disappeared overnight without the process of learning, growing, depending on God, and changing? Sometimes freedom isn't only about removing the struggle. It's about becoming the person who can live differently afterward. Abraham waited. Joseph waited. David waited. Moses waited. Again and again in Scripture, waiting wasn't wasted time. Something was happening in the people God was preparing—even when they couldn't yet see what He was doing. If you're frustrated by an unanswered prayer right now, Episode 91 leaves you with a question to carry this week: What if God's delay is actually preparation? What might He be teaching you right now that you can't see yet? Sometimes peace doesn't come from understanding the entire board. It comes from trusting the One who does. Connect With UNMASKED Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf X: https://x.com/Unmasked_WF TikTok: http://tiktok.com/unmasked.with.wf.podcast Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  6. Sep 17

    EP 90 - He Lost Both Parents Before 14—But Refused to Let Loss Define Him | Oluwole Babatunde

    Oluwole “Wole” Babatunde lost his mother when he was 7 years old. At 13, he lost his father. As the oldest of three boys, Wole suddenly found himself navigating adolescence without either parent. Home had changed. Holidays became difficult. Even basic needs such as school fees and sometimes food became things he had to trust God to provide. But somewhere in the middle of that adversity, Wole made a decision: His losses would not define him. In this episode of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, Wole shares how the Christian faith he was introduced to as a child gradually became his own—and how trusting God became something he learned through necessity, not simply something he was taught in church. Today, Wole is a physician, psychiatrist, researcher, and author of Adapt and Advance: A Faith-Based Guide to Move From Trials to Triumph. His accomplishments tell only part of the story. After establishing himself as a physician in Nigeria, Wole felt called toward another chapter. He moved his wife and two children to the United States to pursue a PhD and eventually psychiatry. That meant starting over. He went from an established career to becoming a student again. His family downsized significantly. Money became tighter. He encountered cultural differences he hadn't anticipated. And the success people see today came through years of rebuilding. Wole describes it simply: “There's a cost. There's a cost to it.” We talk about the cost behind success, the role faith played through his transitions, and why moving forward sometimes requires being willing to become a beginner again. Wole also shares something his childhood loss affected in an unexpected way: his emotions. After experiencing enormous loss so young, he says there were times when other people's losses didn't seem significant compared with his own. Later, while training in psychiatry, he received feedback that he could appear too objective and needed to connect more effectively with people's emotions. So he worked on it. That leads to an important conversation for men: Emotional connection is something we can learn. You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not, but you can become better at communicating empathy, expressing emotion, and creating enough safety for another person to open up. Wole also explains what “turning trials into triumph” actually means to him. It isn't necessarily one enormous breakthrough where everything finally gets fixed. It's daily. He believes big dreams should be broken into smaller goals—and eventually into actions small enough to take today. Through his book, Wole teaches a seven-part framework he calls MAP LAMP: meaning making, action, planning, learning, alliance formation, mission statement, and prayer. And when asked what someone struggling through a difficult season could begin doing today, Wole gives a practical challenge: Read one book a month. Find a book from someone who has navigated something similar to what you're facing. Learn from what they experienced. Take one useful idea from it and apply it to your own life. Because overcoming adversity doesn't always happen through one dramatic moment. Sometimes we adapt and advance one small decision at a time. 📖 Adapt and Advance: A Faith-Based Guide to Move From Trials to Triumphhttps://a.co/d/03FvbecI Connect With UNMASKED Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf X: https://x.com/Unmasked_WF TikTok: http://tiktok.com/unmasked.with.wf.podcast Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  7. Sep 15

    EP 89 - The Accident Happened. Then I Saw God Was Already There. | When Faith Meets Fire

    Some moments divide your life into before and after. This summer, while driving home from a Celebrate Recovery conference, I found myself in the middle of a five-vehicle accident. My car was totaled. I was hurting. I was about five hours from home. And almost everything that happened next was outside of my control. Underneath all the practical questions was a much bigger one: God, where are You in this? There's something almost ironic about telling this story today. September 15 is the official release of my new book, When Faith Meets Fire—a book I wrote about trusting God when life doesn't make sense. I wrote the message before the accident. Then I had to live it. In this solo episode of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, I'm talking about what happens when faith leaves the page and becomes something you actually have to depend on. Because eventually we have to answer a difficult question: Do I trust God only when life goes according to plan—or can I trust Him in the fire too? 📖 WHEN FAITH MEETS FIRE — AVAILABLE NOW I wrote When Faith Meets Fire for the person who is waiting, hurting, questioning, or trying to trust God when life doesn't make sense. It's not about avoiding difficult seasons. It's about learning to trust God when you're already in one. Get your copy here: https://a.co/d/06ZdmBA6 Connect With UNMASKED Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf X: https://x.com/Unmasked_WF TikTok: http://tiktok.com/unmasked.with.wf.podcast Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

  8. Sep 10

    EP 88 - When You Believe in God but Still Feel Broken | Jason Lyle

    Content Warning: This episode contains explicit language and candid discussion of pornography, sexual addiction, affairs, mental health struggles, and suicidal thoughts. Listener discretion is advised. What happens when you know what you believe about God, but your life doesn't seem to reflect it? Jason Lyle spent 13 years as a pastor. He studied theology, preached Scripture, taught internationally, and helped others grow in their faith. But underneath the role, Jason was struggling. Compulsive sexual behavior, affairs, anxiety, shame, and an increasing disconnect between what he believed and how he actually lived eventually contributed to the loss of his ministry and another job. When his adult children learned about another affair, Jason reached a breaking point where he began considering suicide. In Episode 88 of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, Jason tells the story behind the pastor everyone saw—and the man who was privately falling apart. Jason had spent years searching for answers through theology, ministry, and recovery. But he says a major shift happened when he began learning about nervous-system regulation and incorporating practices such as breathwork, cold exposure, movement, and stillness. That experience changed how he understood the connection between his beliefs, his body, his need for connection, and the compulsive behaviors he had used for years. Jason describes his former life as having theology in his head without being able to consistently live it through his actions. This conversation explores: What happens when you know what you believe about God, but your life doesn't seem to reflect it? Jason Lyle spent 13 years as a pastor. He studied theology, preached Scripture, taught internationally, and helped others grow in their faith. But underneath the role, Jason was struggling. Compulsive sexual behavior, affairs, anxiety, shame, and an increasing disconnect between what he believed and how he actually lived eventually contributed to the loss of his ministry and another job. When his adult children learned about another affair, Jason reached a breaking point where he began considering suicide. In Episode 88 of UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth, Jason tells the story behind the pastor everyone saw—and the man who was privately falling apart. Jason had spent years searching for answers through theology, ministry, and recovery. But he says a major shift happened when he began learning about nervous-system regulation and incorporating practices such as breathwork, cold exposure, movement, and stillness. That experience changed how he understood the connection between his beliefs, his body, his need for connection, and the compulsive behaviors he had used for years. Jason describes his former life as having theology in his head without being able to consistently live it through his actions. Jason also offers a simple challenge for anyone who feels stuck: start the day by spending five minutes doing something that helps you care for yourself in a meaningful way—and build from there. This is an honest conversation about contradiction, consequences, faith, compulsive behavior, responsibility, and what can happen when we finally confront the gap between who we say we want to be and who we're actually becoming. Connect With Jason Lyle Sacred Grit: https://thesacredgrit.com Adventures in Recovery: https://recoveryadventures.org Connect With UNMASKED Website: https://www.wesleyfarnsworth.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unmasked-WF-Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnmaskedWFPodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedwithwf X: https://x.com/Unmasked_WF TikTok: http://tiktok.com/unmasked.with.wf.podcast Want to be a guest on UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth? Send Wesley Farnsworth a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/unmaskedwfpodcast

See All (173)

Trailers

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Real stories. Real faith. Real hope. UNMASKED with Wesley Farnsworth is about what happens when we stop pretending, take off the masks, and get honest about faith and real life. Through solo episodes and conversations with guests, Wesley explores faith, identity, failure, recovery, mental health, relationships, calling, healing, and the struggles we often keep hidden. Discover how God can use our stories—even the messy parts—to bring redemption, growth, freedom, and hope. Your past doesn't have to define your future.

Information