Initiated by GOD

Hardly Initiated Network
Hardly Initiated Network
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Spirituality
  • Updated Weekly

Initiated By God isn't a show. It's an assignment.Hosted by Jessica Laine MacDonald, Initiated By God is a faith-forward interview series for people who've heard God call them to something — and are trying to find the courage to say yes. After a life-altering accident and a miraculous recovery, Jessica surrendered her platform to God and stepped into a new season of obedience. This show is what came out of it.Each episode, Jessica sits down with pastors, leaders, entrepreneurs, and everyday believers for raw, unfiltered conversations about calling, spiritual warfare, healing, transition, and what it actually costs to obey God when nobody around you understands. No veneer of perfection. No church-flyer answers. Just real testimony from people who've been broken, rebuilt, and sent. If you're stepping into a new assignment, running from one, or sitting in a season you didn't choose — this show was initiated by God for you.New episodes weekly. Stay initiated.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    Anthony O'Neal: You Can't Build Wealth If You're Your Family's Emergency Fund

    At 19, Anthony O'Neal was sleeping in the back of his car in a Walmart parking lot, washing himself with Dawn dish soap because he had nowhere else to go. He had already decided that night was going to be his last. It wasn't. And what happened in that back seat became the foundation of everything he teaches now. In this episode of Initiated By God, Jessica Laine McDonald sits down with bestselling author and financial educator Anthony O'Neal for a conversation the church rarely has out loud — the difference between being taught to give and being taught to build. Anthony breaks down why the poverty mindset convinces believers they don't deserve wealth, why your income is not your greatest wealth-building tool, and why he tells his own family no without flinching. He talks about tithing during a month his company made zero dollars, the three layers written into his estate, and why his nieces and nephews have never received a birthday gift from him — only a 529 receipt. He also says something that will make some people uncomfortable: you cannot build generational wealth if you are your family's emergency fund. This one is about legacy. Watch it, then send it to somebody who needs it. 📖 Anthony's new book Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck is available at anthonyoneal.com 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes of Initiated By God. Chapters 00:00 – Cold open 02:00 – Who is Anthony O'Neal 04:30 – Broke in a nice car: where the mission started 08:00 – Wealth from a spiritual perspective 11:00 – Homeless at 19 and the night everything changed 19:00 – The most dangerous lie the poverty mindset tells 24:00 – What the church teaches about giving vs. building 32:00 – Step 1: Get stable 38:00 – Step 2: Create margin 42:00 – Step 3 & 4: Investing and the legacy process 50:00 – Financing insecurity 57:00 – Investing when the market drops 1:04:00 – 89% of Black families inherit nothing 1:10:00 – Telling your family no 1:18:00 – Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck #InitiatedByGod #AnthonyONeal #GenerationalWealth #FaithAndFinance #FinancialLiteracy

  2. Jul 27

    Hardly Initiated Network: Five Shows, One Mission, and the Pivot That Started It

    She built the show. Then she walked away from it. After the Philip Anthony Mitchell episode, Jessica realized something she couldn't unrealize: she'd been interviewing people instead of finding the thing inside them that applies to everybody. That one realization didn't just change how she preps an episode — it changed the entire direction of this platform. So we made a decision. Hardly Initiated isn't just a podcast anymore. It's a network. In this episode we open up about the pivot nobody asked us to make: why Jessica stepped away from relationship content to build Initiated By God, why Michael is considering taking over the show he handed off, what the comments got wrong about "replacing then with a woman," and how five shows a week get made. Two people who already have full lives, two boys, and Invest Fest two weeks away. We're also introducing the full lineup for the first time: MONDAY — Initiated By God with Jessica Laine McDonald TUESDAY — Hardly Initiated with Michael J. MacDonald WEDNESDAY — Spiritual Discernment with Bishop Senegal THURSDAY — Bible Study With The Homies (live) With Ladun FRIDAY — Hardly In Love With/ Special Host One of those started with a single person in a room. It's now close to 100 people packed into a coffee shop every Thursday night. We're taking it outside those four walls. Content is king — but context is what makes it matter. We're not here to gossip and we're not here to tear people down. We're building for whoever is sitting in a dark place right now looking for God and doesn't know how to hear Him. New studio. New shows. Same mission. Subscribe so you don't miss the launch of all five. Stay initiated. — 00:00 We've been gone — here's why 01:15 The new studio (and the real reason we moved out the house) 02:40 "Seek ye first the kingdom" — the decision behind the pivot 04:05 What the Philip Anthony Mitchell episode exposed 05:30 Announcing the full network lineup 07:10 Bible Study With The Homies: 1 person to 100 09:00 "Relationships is not me" — knowing what you're not called to 10:45 Should Michael take back Hardly Initiated? 12:20 The dream guest list 14:00 InvestFest: the biggest business plan can't happen without God — #HardlyInitiated #InitiatedByGod #FaithBasedPodcast #ChristianPodcast #MarketplaceMinistry #BlackChristianPodcast #PurposeOverPain #EarnYourLeisureHost Jessica Laine-MacDonald: https://www.instagram.com/itsjessicalaine/ Renew The Mind Journal: https://www.hardlyinitiated.com/products/renew-the-mind-journal Fight The Flesh Bracelet: https://www.hardlyinitiated.com/products/fight-the-flesh-bracelet Hardly In Love Dating Cards: https://www.hardlyinitiated.com/products/dating-deck Apply for Teach The Game Thursdays: https://forms.gle/b3mxsAhMd6hx4AnN9

  3. Jul 16

    The Father Wound, Healing Before Marriage & Losing It All | Bishop R.C. Blakes & Lady Lisa Blakes

    He told her he didn’t want to get married. She didn’t cry, didn’t beg, didn’t ask why. She left — and started dating a millionaire major league baseball player. A year later, a broke, overweight preacher called her and said five words: “God said you’re my wife.” She said okay. That was 31 years ago. In this episode of Initiated By God, Jessica Laine MacDonald sits down with Bishop R.C. Blakes and Lady Lisa Blakes — the couple behind The Father Daughter Talk, Queenology, and a global movement healing women around the world. They open up about losing their entire church overnight in Hurricane Katrina and rebuilding from zero at 40, the depression nobody saw while he was saving lives every Sunday, and how Lady Lisa turned surviving childhood abuse into a ministry that fills altars with women who thought they were alone. Bishop Blakes breaks down the father wound — how it gives the world access to a woman’s soul, why it’s the root of “my type,” and the biggest lie wounded women tell themselves. Plus: why you should never marry potential, what an unhealed person looks like inside a marriage, why happy marriage became taboo, and the generational curse they intentionally broke in their son. “Everybody wants the anointing. Nobody wants the crushing.” If you’ve ever wondered why you keep choosing the same kind of person — this conversation is the answer. ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 01:48 Katrina Loss and Rebuild 03:01 No Options but Faith 05:28 Wife as Covering 09:09 The Wounded Healer 11:04 Turning Wounds to Doors 13:22 Finding Purpose in Pain 17:28 Anointing and Crushing 19:44 Pain as Identity 26:16 Healing Through Marriage 28:57 Father Daughter Talk 32:38 Father Wounds Explained 38:53 Unhealed in Marriage 41:07 His Past and Consecration 42:54 She Left for a Millionaire 43:18 Becoming Whole First 44:11 Calling Her Back Home 45:08 Her Strength to Walk Away 48:25 God Confirmed the Marriage 50:30 Healing Starts with God 54:44 Why Happy Marriages Feel Taboo 01:00:12 Don’t Marry Potential 01:04:26 Biblical Submission and Safety 01:06:59 Reconnect with Fun and Vision 01:09:31 Fight for Marriage with Change 01:12:24 Breaking Generational Curses 01:14:20 Books Ministry and Farewell 📖 Get The Father Daughter Talk, Queenology & Training for Reigning — rcblakesstore.com or Amazon Subscribe and stay initiated.

  4. Jul 9

    False Prophets, God's Voice & The Spirit Realm | Bishop Demetrius Senegal Ep.2

    A prophet walked into a small church in Waxhaw, North Carolina, pointed at a woman, and exposed an affair in front of the whole congregation — down to the hotel key sitting in a man's wallet. He was right. And he now says he was wrong. In this episode of Initiated By God, Jessica Laine McDonald sits down with Bishop Demetrius Senegal — the "master prophet" training nearly 7,000 prophets across 43 countries — for one of the most unfiltered conversations you'll ever hear about the prophetic. He breaks down the difference between false prophets, true prophets, and people who are simply not prophets, why the "10 millionaires by Friday" prophecy machine needs to be held accountable, and what really opens the door when believers dabble in tarot cards, psychics, and horoscopes. He also goes where most prophets won't: the time his gift outran his maturity, the prophecy a political leader ignored right before losing everything, why he asks God to show him nothing about the women he dates, and how to finally tell the difference between God's voice and your own. If you've ever been hurt by a prophetic word, manipulated in God's name, or just want to know who's really hearing from Heaven — this conversation is for you. ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Prophetic Culture Today 01:08 Life Before the Call 02:52 Hearing God Early 06:53 Discerning Gods Voice 10:20 The Cost of Yes 14:06 When Prophets Want Out 17:11 Spiritual Gifts and Darkness 25:26 Master Prophet Explained 27:50 Social Media and Prophecy 29:40 Ego and Entertainment 33:15 Gift Ahead of Maturity 37:17 Hard Words to Deliver 40:12 Spotting False Prophets 40:28 False True or Not 41:27 Fruit and Accountability 42:44 When Words Miss 44:35 Judging Prophecies 47:24 Healing From Abuse 48:49 Prophets Responsibilities 51:57 Idolatry and Validation 53:55 Trust and Self Doubt 57:23 Loneliness and Dating 01:03:09 Prophetic Discernment Love 01:07:49 Lessons and Losses 01:11:17 Awakening and Training 01:13:10 Programs and Farewell 📖 Get "Prophetic Identity Formation" on Amazon | Prophetic Certification Intensives: bishopdjs.com Subscribe and stay initiated.

  5. Jul 2

    The Prayer That Brought Me Back | Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell on Running From God, Warfare & Healing Ep.1

    The first episode of Initiated By God had to start here. Last year, Jessica Laine McDonald's head shattered a windshield. She lost her memory. She doesn't remember any of it — but her journal does. One entry reads: "Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell prayed for you." What she didn't know until recently: he stopped his entire staff meeting, shut down every room in the building, and formed a prayer circle around her on FaceTime. The next day, her recovery began. That's why he's sitting across from her for the very first conversation of this new assignment. In this episode, Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell opens up like few have heard him before — the night he sat with a shotgun and a bottle of Hennessy before God met him in a bathroom, the four years he ran from his calling, the five-year battle with depression he's never preached about, and the week half the country tried to cancel him. He breaks down what really happens the moment you say yes to God, how to tell His voice from your own and the enemy's, why rest is holy, and the one question that determines whether your trauma becomes your identity or your testimony: Do you want to be healed? If you're stepping into a new assignment, running from one, or sitting in a prison cell with the door wide open — this conversation was initiated by God for you. ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Suicidal Breaking Point 00:30 Healing and Trauma 00:44 Discerning Gods Voice 00:56 Joy in Persecution 01:16 Podcast Launch Intro 02:49 Prayer Circle Miracle 06:21 Rest and Sabbatical 08:06 Warfare After Yes 11:39 Handling Criticism Wisely 18:29 Transitions and Opposition 24:01 Called to Ministry Story 35:39 Stewardship Over Outcomes 40:56 Protecting Mental Real Estate 48:31 Please Don’t Die Silent 49:06 Clinical vs Spiritual Battle 50:43 Tailored Help Plan 51:43 Counting Trials as Joy 52:48 Cancel Storm Testimony 55:59 Voices That Matter 59:37 James and Jesus’ Brothers 01:01:45 Suffering That Forms or Breaks 01:04:58 Do You Want Healing 01:11:57 Open Doors to Warfare 01:13:40 Why People Leave Church 01:18:55 Church Hurt and Expectations 01:24:42 2AM Surrender Invitation 01:26:38 Book Tour and Farewell 📖 Pre-order Pastor Mitchell's new book "Contend" — contendbook.com Subscribe and stay initiated. Host Jessica Laine-MacDonald: https://www.instagram.com/itsjessicalaine/ Renew The Mind Journal: https://www.hardlyinitiated.com/products/renew-the-mind-journal Fight The Flesh Bracelet: https://www.hardlyinitiated.com/products/fight-the-flesh-bracelet Hardly In Love Dating Cards: https://www.hardlyinitiated.com/products/dating-deck Apply for Teach The Game Thursdays: https://forms.gle/b3mxsAhMd6hx4AnN9

  • 5 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Initiated By God isn't a show. It's an assignment.Hosted by Jessica Laine MacDonald, Initiated By God is a faith-forward interview series for people who've heard God call them to something — and are trying to find the courage to say yes. After a life-altering accident and a miraculous recovery, Jessica surrendered her platform to God and stepped into a new season of obedience. This show is what came out of it.Each episode, Jessica sits down with pastors, leaders, entrepreneurs, and everyday believers for raw, unfiltered conversations about calling, spiritual warfare, healing, transition, and what it actually costs to obey God when nobody around you understands. No veneer of perfection. No church-flyer answers. Just real testimony from people who've been broken, rebuilt, and sent. If you're stepping into a new assignment, running from one, or sitting in a season you didn't choose — this show was initiated by God for you.New episodes weekly. Stay initiated.

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