Jason Clark's Blog, page 14

CATHERINE TOON / MARKED BY LOVE

Catherine Toon Marked By Love

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“Love is not only a powerful emotion, but a person.” Experiential knowing, discovering our identity, helping people encounter love, connection, union, intimacy with God, the value of our humanity, the mystery of maleness and femaleness represented in the Godhead; in this conversation, Catherine and the guys explore the perfection of God’s love both male and female and invite the listener to know Gods personal love for themselves.

For more on Catherine Toon
Website: www.catherinetoon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CatherineToonMD
Instagram: www.instagram.com/catherinetoon

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Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace
www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… BRUXY CAVEY / LOVING GOD BY LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR

by A Family Story | May 7, 2021 | Interview, Intimacy, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

Bruxy Cavey, author, and pastor of The Meeting House, dives into relational faith, loving God through loving our neighbor, repenting with a hopeful future focus, how doubt is connected to our faith, how we are not people of the book (bible) we are people of the person (Jesus), and three perspectives on hell concluding with the fact that the New Testament church never leveraged hell to get people to make a decision to for Jesus.

Read More SCOT MCKNIGHT / A CHURCH CALLED TOV

by A Family Story | January 19, 2022 | Faith, Interview, Life, Popular, Prayer, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Co-Author of A Church Called TOV, Scot McKnight talks about his new book written in response to the abuses of power, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse within the leadership of Willow Creek, Harvest, and sadly churches of all shapes and sizes.

We talked about TOV (which means goodness) and how when we practice empathy, compassion, extending grace, putting people first, telling the truth, promoting justice, and serving others, TOV emerges in the culture and we all become more Christlike.

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Published on August 02, 2023 13:36

A Trinitarian Salesman

The pitch…This bliss!This Trinitarian dance!This entwinement with love!This holy union and oneness!

No longer orphaned or abandoned, but abiding in this garden of intimacy and rest… every promise fulfilled!

Whole, well, and at peace with springs of living water bubbling up from within! Limitless and abounding!

My very own special unique place of bliss…

I am a salesman. That’s how I made my living. And when I am sold, it’s generally easy to convince somebody to trust what I believe to be true. It’s easy to sell somebody something I know they need, want, and can’t afford to live without; especially when I have the confidence that it delivers.

I know how sales work; it’s generally a heart connection built around trust.

And I’m an easy mark for somebody who is contagious in what they believe to be true about the product they are representing.

As a young salesman, I bought into my share of scams, but with age and experience, I became a cynic. Trust is a steeper climb at my age. I can usually read a scam intuitively. I now generally distrust salesmen. And I generally distrust preachers. I’ve experienced my share of shysters.

Try selling something to a culture steeped in distrust. A few years back, I lived in the cultural melting pot of DC for a year or so, and I knew instinctively, when I walked into their space and was face to face, the amount of distrust and skepticism I would be faced with in order to walk away with an order in my hand. But I was quite comfortable with my product, capable of reading the room, and I also had enough experience to know where the starting price needed to be in order for it to be a win, win.

Life is Tricky and complicated. And selling somebody who knows me from the inside out, like my wife, or my family, shouldn’t be, but can still be a tall order. Sometimes I want to scoop up everybody I know and transport them into this blissful union. But I have learned that this union isn’t something I have the ability to sell. It is such a precious place that is unique to every person in my sphere of influence. But everyone, including my family, needs room to come into their own unique place of intimacy with the Abba of Jesus. I can’t coerce, push, manipulate, or force anyone to drink. As a father, I am learning that I have to take my hands off. That’s what a good father does. His job is not as a salesman but as a cheerleader.

Having discovered this place of bliss, I want to take everyone I know with me.

But that is a false premise. My story is mine alone, and my unique place of wonder and transformation wasn’t designed for you. You wouldn’t be happy in my abiding place…

There’s a big difference between heartburn and a burning heart. On the road to Emmaus, those two fellas used the phrase, “Did not our hearts burn within us.”

Being sold a religious bill of goods will give you heartburn. Because your heart knows what only your heart can know, and instinctively, we all can read a scam.

When Jesus said, I am going to prepare a place for you, so that where I am there, you may be also. He wasn’t talking about a corporate y’all. This was an individually peculiar place designed, especially for you, a place with your name and identity on it. Not a Church, a mansion, or a place somewhere in the future. He prepared a peculiar place next to his heart. And when you enter that place next to his heart, that’s when you feel the sensation of a burning heart.

It’s a place only you can enter. No other person on the planet can go there except you. It’s a unique and special place where you alone experience the bliss, of knowing, as you have always been known, the place of a burning heart. And the place from which you can be, as you have always been. From his perspective, of course! And it’s a safe place. The only place on this planet uniquely your own. You can’t buy it. It’s not something you can be sold. But it’s real, authentic, and full of glory!

Have I sold you yet?

Love you, Lloyd

Lloyd Clark is an entrepreneur, a former pastor, and a writer. He is passionate about being loved by our Heavenly Father and revealing that same love to everyone he meets. He and his wife, Mary have five children and seven grandchildren and live in North Carolina.

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JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… A Boy, A Puppy, And A Greater Faith

by Jason Clark | June 28, 2018 | Articles, Faith, Parenting, Prayer | 6 Comments

I believe God is always saying one thing: “I love you.” And He always follows up with a question, “do you believe me?” What would our lives look like if we could answer this one question that God is always asking?

Read More Time Travel and The Omnipresent Nature of Love

by Jason Clark | April 27, 2021 | Articles, Faith, Intimacy | 2 Comments

What if today, while I write, I am also in the “cloud of witnesses” cheering on myself, my family, my friends, and the sons and daughters of God as we awaken to love? What if, while you read this, you are also seated in Christ at the right hand of my Father? (See Heb 12:1 & Eph 2:6) What if we have been invited to live from the measureless omnipresent love of God that dwells within us? What if every prayer, every promise, every dream, every hope has its beginning and end in the measureless, retroactive, proactive, reconciling, omnipresent love of God?

MARK BATTERSON & JOEL CLARK / I CHANGED THE WORLD

Mark Batterson & Joel Clark I Changed The World

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“Jesus is the dictionary in which we look up the meaning of words” – Eugene Peterson.

A God with smile lines, loving our enemies, recognizing miracles, proactive love, finding God in the midst of story, living a better story, awakening to a better gospel, the power of please, sorry, thanks, the breath of God, hindsight bias, imaginative meditation, and fantastical storytelling, in this podcast, Mark Batterson, Joel Clark, and the guys talk about the love of God discovered in storytelling and share about their new book series, I Changed The World. This bible story adventure series is aimed at tweens ages 9-12. The first title, David, is available now.

For more on I Changed The World
Website: www.ichangedtheworldbooks.com
Amazon: link

Mark Batterson: www.markbatterson.com
Joel Clark: www.afamilystoryfilms.com

Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

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David lives at a time unlike any other in the history of Israel. The High Prophet Samuel has chosen Saul, the first king to lead the twelve tribes. Yet the fledgling nation faces enemies on every side, and skirmishes from warring countries are a daily ordeal.

As King Saul builds his army, Israel’s most menacing threat looms. The Philistine warriors, the most powerful and largest neighboring enemy, are marching toward Israel to destroy them.

What’s worse, they are led by a legendary and brutal giant, Goliath. In the face of the impossible, what can a shepherd boy from Bethlehem hope to do? Will David leave the war to King Saul and his army, or could it be possible that David could change the course of history?

Click Here For Info On Book Series Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace
www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY BUY NOW!

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… DANIEL GROTHE / THE POWER OF PLACE

by A Family Story | March 15, 2022 | Articles, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Interview, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

Daniel Grothe and the guys discuss his new book, The Power of Place, which speaks the sense of loneliness that many feel in today’s age of hypermobility and noncommittal wandering, reminding us of the ancient vow of stability and teaching us how we can lead a richer life of friendship, community, and purpose.

They also touch on the deconstruction movement within the church, how authoritarian leadership has wounded and undermined trust, and how healing and connection are available only where we practice the long game of family.

Read More JUSTIN STUMVOLL / LOVE IS THE KEY

by A Family Story | June 8, 2022 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Hell, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, Sin, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

Justin Stumvoll is a speaker, teacher, and life consultant who knows the kindness of God and loves to create space for individuals to find healing so they can be their most authentic selves Just dives into Love being the key to helping folks walk through the gritty, vulnerable and real approach to transformation. This was a fast-paced conversation where the guy’s traded stories about the reconciling nature of God; they talked about punishment, self-judgment, reconciliation, justice, sin, grace, freedom from addiction, and more. This podcast is bursting with the kindness of God that transforms the world.

Read More HAROLD & LINDA EBERLE / THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION

by A Family Story | March 10, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, Sin, The Fathers Love | 4 Comments

Harold and Linda Eberle share about the catalytic love of God that is transforming our western understanding of the church. They speak on victorious mindsets, kingdom thinking, the myth of separation, reconciliation through the death of Jesus, and salvation through his life; plus old elephants! This is a power packed interview full of profound insight.

Read More BRIAN SIMMONS / THE PASSION TRANSLATION

by A Family Story | May 19, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Life, Popular, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 2 Comments

“The bible, minus love, equals false teaching, false living, and fosters an anger in the soul of man.” Brian Simmons, author of The Passion Translation, talks about approaching scripture with a love theology, the oppressive impact of hyper literalism, women in ministry, equality, union, Jesus’ humanity inside the Trinity, the finished work of the cross, and the passionate, powerful, transforming love of God.

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Published on July 27, 2023 20:36

Jesus, The Objective Definition Of The Word Good

“Jason, I think it’s really important that we all agree on the definition of the word ‘good.’ You might think something is good while someone else might think that very same thing is bad.”

I nodded in agreement with the fella.

He was right; for the entirety of my life, much of the church has seemed pretty confused about the definition of a lot of words—the word ‘good’ chief among them. Looking back through history, it appears to be a confusion nearly as old as time—especially when describing the nature of God.

But I recognized by the tension and tone of the fella’s voice, and by how quickly he stood when the pastor asked if “anyone had any thoughts or questions,” that he was unnerved and possibly offended.

It was a Wednesday night at a local church where I had just finished speaking on the always good, never leaving, reconciling love of God. I had told a story about a fan in the Philippines that oscillated; one moment, it was my reward, the next, my punishment.

And I’d shared that Greater Love isn’t like that fan. He isn’t fickle. He is never our punishment and always our reward. Greater Love has never turned away. He never oscillates.

Over the years, I’ve discovered the more I share on the never-oscillating, non-punishing, always-good love of God, the more I am challenged on the definition of the word ‘good.’

My early responses were simply a confused, “Good means good.” But I’ve learned, when it comes to the nature of God, while we all read from the same Bible, we’re not all searching through the same lens.

So, it’s understandable we might wrestle with our definitions.

When you grow up in the disparity of a loving God who oscillates, a kind God with a hateful streak—when God’s goodness is often presented through the cruel and punishing lens of hell trains, you’re forced to do mental gymnastics around the definition of a lot of words. And many Christian backs have been broken trying to acrobat our way around the word good.

I opened my iPad and went to the dictionary definition I had put there years earlier for just such occasions.

“Good: morally excellent; virtuous, righteous, of high quality, worth, benefit. Good could be used in a sentence as follows: What good will that do? We shall work for the common good. To do good. To be a power for good.”

Then, I told a story about the street taco I had in Mexico City.

In short, it wasn’t good.

And when I say, “It wasn’t good,” I am not referring to its flavor. I’m not writing subjectively. Rather, I’m talking about the following 24 hours I spent hugging a toilet while lying on a tiled public bathroom floor in an old church just outside Mexico City.

While the taco tasted good, as it turned out, it wasn’t good. And this delineation is both important and easy to grasp.

Words mean something. Good has a definition that is wildly different from the definition of the word bad.

That taco was the opposite of good, the antonym, bad—that’s the word. And not just bad; it was cruel and punishing! But I digress.

When I use the word good to describe God, I am not communicating subjectively. I’m not making “a god to my own liking,” as offended brothers and sisters have occasionally suggested. My subjective thoughts don’t get a say in how Jesus defined the word, and Jesus is the revelation of what good means.

Jesus is the sovereign definition of “morally excellent, virtuous, righteous, of high quality, worth, and benefit.”

And Jesus fully revealed goodness as Greater Love when He laid His life down for you and me. God’s goodness is self-giving, other-centered love. It is “patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others; it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, and does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.” 1

Always!

And it’s a sovereign always.

So, dear church, let’s get on the same page. God’s love is always good, as Jesus defined it.

I agreed with the fella. The whole world is desperate to know and experience the objective definition of the word good. More to the point of this book, the whole world needs the Church to foundationally define the word good on the Greatef Love Cornerstone—Christ crucified and risen! This goodness is the certainty upon which we can build our faith.

When it comes to the nature of God, we, the Church, must stop manipulating the word good to fit our cruel theologies and punishing interpretations of God and Scripture. The goodness of God is not a subjective ‘flavor of the day,’ nor does it bend the knee to our experience, understanding, or hermeneutic. God is love, and His goodness doesn’t oscillate; it is not cruel nor fickle like the wind. It does not punish and has never left or forsaken us.

The goodness of God is revealed in a Son who lays down His life, a Holy Spirit who always reconciles, and in a faithful Father who never leaves. Greater Love has never once looked away.

1 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This article is excerpted from my book, Leaving and Finding Jesus
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Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children, Madeleine, Ethan, and Eva. Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… Meet the Father

by Jason Clark | October 4, 2018 | Articles, Faith, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

I would like to suggest that our questions, longing, insecurity, and identity are forever answered, settled, satisfied, and secured in our revelation of God as Father.

Read More Don’t Sacrifice My Beloved for the Sake of a Cause

by Aimee Perry | April 20, 2017 | Articles, Faith, Friends, Life, Parenting | 0 Comments

Both girls sat on the bed, wanting to hear something wild. The problem was, I’d already told them all the wild stories I could remember. I looked around the room and spotted the October calendar. I

Read More Revelation: It’s Always An Encounter

by Jason Clark | December 4, 2008 | Articles, Faith, Relationship | 0 Comments

Truth can be read about and discussed but to own revelation requires some form of experience. “God loves you,” is simply a statement of fact. But the statement doesn’t hold any power until His love is engaged.

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Published on July 19, 2023 19:27

JARED NEUSCH / A CHRISTOCENTRIC HERMENEUTIC & A NON-VIOLENT GOD

Jared Neusch A Christocentric Hermeneutic & A Non-Violent God

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The doctrine of inerrancy, a Christocentric hermeneutic, the multiple genres of literature within the bible, Jesus as perfect theology, intimacy, trust, and the goodness of God, overcoming evil, loving our enemies, a non-violent God, forgiveness, the American Church’s’ obsession with retribution, Christocentric pacifism, our interconnected-ness, justice; in this conversation, Jared Neusch and the guys dive into a Christ-Centered approach to life, faith, and Scripture.

For more on Jared Neusch
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jaredneusch

Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace
www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY BUY NOW!

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… DAVID TENSEN / YOU ARE NOT ALONE

by A Family Story | May 12, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 5 Comments

Trauma, pain, empathy like Jesus, and healing for the oppressed, misunderstood, lost, or broken; in this podcast David Tensen shares how we are loved and not alone. Addressing how shame and condemnation are compounded by religion, the guys talked specifically about abortion and the LGBTQ community with an invitation to love like Jesus, through our union with God and reconciliation.

Read More AWAKENING! with DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | June 2, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

An infinite love, the nature of revelation, a kindness that changes our minds, the joy of our salvation discovered as we awaken to the resurrection, the risen Christ within us, in this podcast Derek and Jason discuss how all creation is awakening to the transforming certainty of sacrificial love and resurrection life.

Read More ALLEN ARNOLD / THE EDEN OPTION

by A Family Story | March 30, 2023 | Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Four, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

“The world is accelerating in the wrong direction. It feels like all we’re doing is trying to fix what’s broken. And it isn’t working. We’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and losing heart. Where is God in all this? Well, he’s living a different story. A story he’s inviting us into.” That’s the back cover introduction to Allen’s new book, The Eden Option. In this conversation, the guys dive in and explore a homeward journey, not to the Eden of the past, but a new Eden discovered in Christ. Union, rest, community, creativity, miracles, and hope, in this podcast Allen shares his journey into trust and maturing faith.

Read More BRIAN SIMMONS / THE PASSION TRANSLATION

by A Family Story | May 19, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Life, Popular, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 2 Comments

“The bible, minus love, equals false teaching, false living, and fosters an anger in the soul of man.” Brian Simmons, author of The Passion Translation, talks about approaching scripture with a love theology, the oppressive impact of hyper literalism, women in ministry, equality, union, Jesus’ humanity inside the Trinity, the finished work of the cross, and the passionate, powerful, transforming love of God.

Read More JASON GRIMSLEY / CROSS STITCHED

by A Family Story | November 30, 2022 | Faith, Interview, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 0 Comments

“Whether I’m high or low, in heaven or hell, nothing can ever separate me from God’s love.” Jason dives into a memoir he helped his friend, baseball legend, Jason Grimsley, write. They guys talk about Jason’s wild and unbelievable life. This conversation is part storytelling, part revelation, and all testimony of the love of God.

Jason shares about several hardships he’s faced, including a botched suicide attempt and the near destruction of his marriage. The guys shared insights and wisdom for the highs and lows of life. And all along the way, they highlighted the message of the book. Cross Stitched displays the very real and present love of God and the abundant life He offers us when we surrender to Him.

Read More SHAWN HARNISH / UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

by A Family Story | February 16, 2023 | Faith, Intimacy, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Four, Sin, The Fathers Love, Writing | 0 Comments

Pastoring a community, faith and living in mystery, putting unconditional love before understanding, kindness that leads to repentance, the nature of trust, punishment hell, Bible College, the Age of Certainty, and timeless reconciling love – in this conversation, Shawn Harnish shares about his 25-plus years of pastoring in one area and the transforming discovery of the finished work of the cross. Add to that, 25-plus years of friendship with Jason and a mutual love of the Buffalo Bills, and you got a profound and fun conversation – Go Bills!

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Published on July 19, 2023 18:45

That Time I Was Asked About Ultimate Reconciliation

Recently I shared about the ultimate nature of reconciling love on a Zoom Call with a group of young radicals in Australia. During a question and response time at the end of the call, I was asked about my thoughts on hell. They inquired, “Can we be saved after we die?”

I smiled and hesitated. In that brief pause, the lady who was leading, graciously said, “Jason, this is a safe place.”

It caught me funny, and I laughed in a way that was cathartic and healing.

Then, while wiping the humor from my eyes, I said, “Thanks for letting me know it’s a safe place. I believe you. But I laughed because the last time I responded to this question in what I thought was a safe place, my family and I were kicked out.”

* * *

There’s nothing safe about a retributive view of God; there’s nothing safe about a God who uses a gun.

I’ve learned first-hand that if you step on the toes of a gun-carrying God culture, even if they’re family, you’re likely to get shot. A church that believes in a God of retribution will participate in punishment—often cruelly, and blindly—even with those they love. Anyone who questions the nature of authority-by-way-of-a-gun will quickly realize they are only as safe as their conformity. And if they can’t comply, they will, at some point, find themselves on the wrong end of the gun. And that’s the opposite of a safe place.

I answered the question, “Can we be saved after we die” this way.

• Hell exists here and now, and we have been invited to discover and establish eternal life, heaven on earth, here and now.

• Family is the long game; it transcends dimensions of time and space, and God is our infinitely good and eternal Father.

• If my hope isn’t placed in reconciling love, I will find myself, in one way or another, aligned with the older brother at odds with my Dad’s reconciling heart.

• I can’t afford to undermine my faith by entertaining any certainty that conflicts with Greater Love.

I want to be fully engaged in the reconciliation party because everything our Heavenly Father has He has given to us, it’s ours! But only in love can we access it.

So, when someone asks, “Can you be saved after you die?” my best response is, “I think God is like Jesus, so…

“Yes, I sure hope so.”

This article is excerpted from my book, Leaving and Finding Jesus
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Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children, Madeleine, Ethan, and Eva. Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… KATIE SKURJA / Discovering Our Humanity

by A Family Story | August 26, 2020 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Life, Parenting, Relationship, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season One, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

In this podcast, Katie Skurga talks about discovering our humanity in the image of God, shame and behavior, grace and identity, paradox and spiritual and emotional maturity, freedom, and intrinsic authority.

Read More ERIC JOHNSON / In The Image of God

by A Family Story | August 19, 2020 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Life, Popular, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season One | 3 Comments

Eric Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church in Redding CA, shares generously, humbly, and with great insight on the goodness of God, navigating culture, Jesus and American politics, spiritual maturity, emotional health, and what it means to be alive.

Read More 7 Things to Do During a Time of Shaking and Disruption

by Pete Scheller | March 25, 2020 | Articles, Faith | 1 Comment

…Reconnect with our Father by recalling that He is good, He is love and He is for us (Romans 8:31)! Remember that He has already promised to make all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) including the current circumstances you are facing…

Read More THOMAS JAY OORD / OPEN & RELATIONAL THEOLOGY

by A Family Story | March 29, 2022 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Hell, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, Sin, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

Thomas Jay Oord shares about open relational theology; how it connects with the way we live and matches our deepest intuitions. The guys talked about a relational God who is genuinely loving, looks like Jesus, and walks through each day with us, impacting and impacted by our friendship.

Thomas describes an uncontrolling, loving God, that harmonizes with scripture. In this podcast, he dives into the subjects of hell, prayer, and evangelism all through the lens of open relational theology.

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Published on July 12, 2023 22:54

DR. MATT PANDEL / LIVING IN THE IN-BETWEEN

Dr. Matt Pandel Living In The In-Between

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“God, here I stand in you, God help me” Martin Luther. The reality of our completion, a pure grace, objective truth (Jesus), experiential truth (how we live it out), union and the God of the promises, evangelism, the ministry of reconciliation, law and grace (never the less, Christ is preached), obedience, community and healing from church trauma, in this podcast, Dr. Matt Pandel and the guys discuss faith, trust, and tacos.

For more on Dr. Matt Pandel
Facebook: www.facebook.com/matthew.pandel
Website: www.unconditionalgrace.org
Consulting: www.noexceptionsministries.org
Global Grace Seminary: www.globalgraceseminary.net

Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace
www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… ALLEN ARNOLD / CHAOS CAN’T

by A Family Story | January 27, 2021 | Art, Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

God creates order from disorder and we have been invited to co-create with Him. In the midst of chaos, “we associate peace with answers. God associates peace with Union.”

The post That Time I Was Asked About Ultimate Reconciliation appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on July 12, 2023 15:21

JOHN BLASE / ARE YOU LETTING GOD LOVE YOU TODAY?

John Blase Are You Letting God Love You Today?

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“Are You Letting God Love You Today?” Abundant life, the goodness and the GODness of God, loss, suffering, and trust, grieving and grace, and more grace, healing, embracing the heights and depths of the human story, becoming like Jesus, poetry and faith, in this podcast, John Blasé and the guys have a vulnerable conversation about life and trust and the GODness of God. John shares about his friendships with Brennan Manning and Eugene Peterson and the impact they both had on him and our world today.

For more on John Blase
Website: www.johnblase.com
Substack: www.johnblase.substack.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jdblase

Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace
www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR / LIFE, LITERATURE, & GOD

by A Family Story | April 27, 2022 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Hell, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, Sin, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Karen Swallow Prior is a Reader, Writer, and Professor. In that order, which was discussed in this conversation along with the power of language, the Word becoming flesh, the connection of imagination with logic and reason, empathy, trauma, the theodicy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and love being the center of our conversations. Karen also shares about getting hit by a literal bus and how she grew in her understanding that her life is in God’s hands.

Read More JUSTIN STUMVOLL / LOVE IS THE KEY

by A Family Story | June 8, 2022 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Hell, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, Sin, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

Justin Stumvoll is a speaker, teacher, and life consultant who knows the kindness of God and loves to create space for individuals to find healing so they can be their most authentic selves Just dives into Love being the key to helping folks walk through the gritty, vulnerable and real approach to transformation. This was a fast-paced conversation where the guy’s traded stories about the reconciling nature of God; they talked about punishment, self-judgment, reconciliation, justice, sin, grace, freedom from addiction, and more. This podcast is bursting with the kindness of God that transforms the world.

Read More THERE IS NO “US OR THEM” AT THE CROSS

by A Family Story | September 15, 2022 | Faith, Interview, Leadership, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 3 Comments

This podcast highlights Jason’s book, Leaving and finding Jesus, where he writes about his deconstructing faith journey. The book is Jason’s Emmaus Road discovery of a love that is reconciling all creation; a journey where he’s awakening to a burning heart while leaving every Jesus who won’t lay His life down for His friends.

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Published on July 06, 2023 12:16

I Just Let Him Love Me

Several years ago, Anthony and Mary Keith Skinner visited the Clark family.

Anthony and Mary Keith are worshipers who know the love of God. Anthony is a dad, a singer/songwriter, and an author; and Mary Keith is a mom, a teacher, and an encourager. They are a lot of things, but mostly they are loved.

“People who have lived immersed in the Father’s love, simply can’t help but love; they’ve become transformed—they have become love.”

(click to tweet)

You know what was really refreshing about the Skinners’ visit? They didn’t visit us for them. That’s not to say we aren’t good company, because we’re amazing. But they didn’t come to receive; they came to give. They walked through the door and started loving us before the coffee was fully brewed. And you know what was amazing? It was easy; they didn’t even have to try. People who have lived immersed in the Father’s love, simply can’t help but love; they’ve become transformed—they have become love.

Karen and I have begun to live this way as well. We are daily becoming convinced in our Father’s always-good love. And so we, too, are being transformed. You know what the best thing is about becoming love? You don’t have to try to love; it’s just the natural expression of one who is loved. All you have to do is walk through the door, and before the coffee is fully brewed… well…done…

Love is an awesome thing. The more you know and experience, the more transformed into love you become. There is an ease that enters your life. Even in the midst of hardship, there is a grace to live at rest—like Jesus when He slept through the storm.

“When you are loved and you know it, you don’t have to try not to sin, you don’t have to beg God for breakthrough, you don’t have to strive to obey, you don’t have to work up your love for God, your wife, your kids, your neighbor, your coworker, or even your enemy.”

(click to tweet)

When you are loved, and you know it, you don’t have to try not to sin; you don’t have to beg God for breakthrough; you don’t have to strive to obey; you don’t have to work up your love for God, your wife, kids, neighbor, coworker, or even your enemy.

Jesus was love. It wasn’t hard for Him, either. There was no striving. He didn’t have to try. All He had to do was keep His eyes on His Dad.

We went to Queen City Church, a wonderful family of believers, to worship with the Skinners that Sunday night before they headed to their Nashville home. It was beautiful, sweet, and powerful. It was all those things for several reasons. First, as my friend Andy Squyres says, Anthony Skinner’s voice is a million bucks. So there was that. But it was also beautiful, sweet, and powerful for a profoundly simpler reason: the Skinners weren’t there for themselves; they were there for the Father… and for all of us.

Mid-strum, Anthony muted his strings and paused, “I used to try and love God, but now I just let Him love me.”

Jason Clark is a writer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE…

The Thorn…

by Jason Clark | September 14, 2012 | Articles, Faith, Intimacy | 4 Comments

Here is a thought, the grace that was sufficient for Paul was the same grace Jesus operated in; the same grace in which Jesus become poor that His rich power would be available to all of us. It’s the same “grace of God that brings salvation” Paul wrote about in Titus 2:11. Could it be that the power of this grace is the whole point of Paul’s message? Of course, it is!

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Published on July 05, 2023 23:38

BRITTNEY SERPELL / IMPERFECT PARENTING

Brittney Serpell Imperfect Parenting

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The true goal of parenting—safe, loving, heart-to-heart connection with our kids—in this podcast, Brittney Serpell shares about growing mature in our own identity as parents, modeling repenting and humility, finding courage to fight for family, recognizing fear, control, and punishment in our parenting, trading perfectionism for trust and always pursuing heart-to-heart connection as we guide our kids on their own learning journey to becoming healthy, confident, emotionally intelligent, and strong in character.

For more on Brittney Serpell
Website : www.lovingonpurpose.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/brittneyserpell

Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace
www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY BUY NOW!

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… JOHN CROWDER / TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY

by A Family Story | May 25, 2022 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Hell, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, Sin, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

John Crowder pulls from the different streams of the church to talk about Christilogical Trinitarian theology, grace, union, contemplative practice, intimacy, and mystical Christianity. John and Jason dive into the Cross, Western atonement theories, and the religious industry built upon separation; how Jesus is healing the human race. John describes a relationship with a person, Christ. He invites us to embrace mystery so we might discover that God looks like Jesus.

Read More SCOT MCKNIGHT / A CHURCH CALLED TOV

by A Family Story | January 19, 2022 | Faith, Interview, Life, Popular, Prayer, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Co-Author of A Church Called TOV, Scot McKnight talks about his new book written in response to the abuses of power, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse within the leadership of Willow Creek, Harvest, and sadly churches of all shapes and sizes.

We talked about TOV (which means goodness) and how when we practice empathy, compassion, extending grace, putting people first, telling the truth, promoting justice, and serving others, TOV emerges in the culture and we all become more Christlike.

Read More JOE CHADBURN / PEACE IS INEVITABLE

by A Family Story | June 14, 2023 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Four, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Justice, love, respect, our shared humanity, a discussion around Christian Zionism and the peace of Jerusalem, ETC, and a shift in hearts and minds around war and the inevitability of peace; in this conversation, the guys connected with Joe Chadburn around the finished work of Jesus and an inevitable peace on earth as it is in heaven.

Read More BRIAN ZAHND / WHEN EVERYTHING’S ON FIRE

by A Family Story | November 17, 2022 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Hell, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, Sin, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

“I felt like the Jesus I knew deserved a better Christianity than the Christianity I knew.” In this podcast, Zahnd shares about the Christian faith in alignment with Jesus and the journey he’s taken in discovering this good news! De- and reconstruction, a non-violent, non-retributive God who is reconciling the world to Himself, hermeneutics, hell, and the wonder of church deep and wide, in this conversation, the guys discuss a much richer, wider faith. The guys dive into Brian’s book, “When Everything’s on Fire,” a conversation that invites us to move beyond the crisis of faith toward the journey of reconstruction.

Read More WINN COLLIER / WE BELONG TO ONE ANOTHER

by A Family Story | August 4, 2022 | Faith, Interview, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 0 Comments

The thread through all Winn Collier’s work is delight in the God who exists as the blazing center of everything that is good, beautiful, and true; and you feel that in this conversation. In this podcast, Winn and Jason talk about God’s hope and heart for all creation to know we belong to one another. The guys dive into wholeness, cruciform love, and what it means to be fully human.

Then Winn talks about his friendship with Eugene Peterson, writer of The Message Translation. Winn shares about the biography he recently released on Eugene’s incredible life, A Burning In My Bones, and on their shared heart for pastors and the church!

Read More KRISTIN DU MEZ / JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE

by A Family Story | May 26, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 1 Comment

Patriarchy, authoritarian rule, the nature of power and privilege in America and the Church, the deconstruction movement, Christians in politics; in this podcast, Professor and Historian Kristin Du Mez, examines the impact of perhaps the most influential subculture in this country, white evangelicalism. This conversation explores how evangelicals have stepped away from the Jesus of the Gospels, from sacrificial love. “But what was once done, can be undone.”

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Published on June 29, 2023 08:39