Jason Clark's Blog, page 21

If Then The Light Within You

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23

After Jesus tells us about how important our perception of God is, how the eye is the gateway to wholeness or brokenness, He says something amazing and often overlooked.

“If then the LIGHT WITHIN YOU is darkness…”

It seems our perception doesn’t change the nature of light nor its inhabitation. Even if we perceive the light within us as darkness, it remains light and remains within us. if there is no separation between us and God, then the question isn’t, “Is the light within us?” it’s, “How do we perceive it?”

What if Christian evangelism isn’t about getting the light into people so they can go to heaven? What if it’s about living as a bold relational expression of kindness that empowers people to truly perceive, repent, and awaken to the light that is within them? Eternal life here and now.

What if fallen humanity perceived light through the transactional lens of good and evil, the sin-counting lens of reward or eternal punishment; then how great is that sense of separation, condemnation, retribution; how great is that darkness!

What if hell has nothing to do with getting the LIGHT within us, but has everything to do with how we perceive the goodness of God and His reconciling love…

Some of this article is excerpted from my forthcoming book, Leaving and finding Jesus
CLICK HERE to Pre-Order

PRE-ORDER NOW!

Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God in a world traumatized by the religious abuses done in the name 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… Questioning My Answers / A Manifesto for Spiritual Searchers

by A Family Story | September 9, 2020 | Articles, Dreaming, Faith, Friends, Leadership, Relationship | 1 Comment

“…I felt that if everybody is saying the same thing then somebody is not thinking. Back then and now, my heart cry to the church I was a part of was, “Let my people think.”

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Published on August 03, 2022 22:34

WINN COLLIER / WE BELONG TO ONE ANOTHER

Winn Collier We Belong To One Another

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“The natural habitat is to be enveloped in the love of God.”

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!

For more on WinnCollier
winncollier.com

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

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

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.”

Read More SCOTT CROWDER / LEARNING TO BE PRESENT

by A Family Story | April 13, 2022 | Dreaming, Faith, Friends, Leadership, Music, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 2 Comments

Scott Crowder is a pastor, singer-songwriter, and one of Jason’s closest friends. The guys dive into their love for the church, about learning how to be present with God, ourselves, each other, and our community. Scott talks about creating church cultures that practice the fruits of the Spirit, learning to lead ourselves and others in seasons of joy and sorrow, that “success” isn’t about numbers, cool fads, or being ‘front runners,’ it’s discovered in community.

Read More 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 KIM HONEYCUTT / SHAME, AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT

by A Family Story | February 10, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

In this podcast, Psychotherapist Kim Honeycutt addresses shame, blame the trauma of rejection. She brilliantly highlights our intrinsic worth, our identity in Christ, and the journey from rejection to acceptance.

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 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!

The post If Then The Light Within You appeared first on A Family Story.

View more on Jason Clark's website »

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Published on August 03, 2022 21:57

A Relational Theologian

…My wife thinks I have brain damage.

I played hockey through high school and can remember at least three concussions.

She’s convinced I’ve had more.

It hasn’t affected her love or high opinion of me, but she occasionally sighs when, after 27 years of marriage, I still text to make sure I am buying the correct brand of sharp cheddar. And my whole family tease when I call out from the kitchen to again ask, “Bake or Broil?”

I did pass all my classes in Bible College. The school let me walk but held my diploma until I completed my senior ministry internship. Which I did by becoming a worship leader at a Foursquare church. I just never got around to sending in the paperwork.

Twenty years later, while working as a family pastor, the school sent new paperwork informing me it needed to be filled out and sent back within two weeks or they would no longer hold my diploma. I was thrilled. I had no idea they were still holding my diploma. I told my wife excitedly and gladly filled out the paperwork.

And I truly meant to send it in.

I recently connected with a brilliant friend who was sharing that, due to some medical issues, if a stranger calls while he’s driving, he can’t remember the person’s name long enough to pull his car off at the next exit and write it down. And I thought, “That’s every day of my life.”

Which is why I’m pretty sure I don’t have brain damage. My brain has always been this way. I didn’t retain the order of the months until Bible College. That’s also when I finally learned how to tell time on a clock face. And it was Bible College where I pulled an all-nighter to memorize 20 scriptures only to squeak out a C- on the test and then promptly forget those scriptures within hours. And when I say forget them, I didn’t do it on purpose, I just took a nap.

Though I’ve read scripture daily since I was thirteen, the whole book many times over, I couldn’t give you more than ten addresses from memory. Hell, I’ve lived in my house for eighteen years, could drive you anywhere, but couldn’t give you more than ten street names.

This isn’t a confessional.

Well, maybe it is.

But not of some indiscretion; it’s about how my brain works, and doesn’t.

I am writing about my limitations so you can properly place your expectations.

You see, in this book, I navigate Western Enlightenment and Evangelical tradition, and along the way confront some cruel and punishing systematic thoughts about God with the serious limitations of a fella who couldn’t read a clock face until he was twenty.

I have not written as a systematic theologian with letters in front of his name, it’s just not how I’m wired. I am a relational theologian and have spent my life leaning into my relational limitations; even when those limitations have confronted and offended many a systematic thought.

I’ve written as a son, husband, dad, brother, and friend – I am loved and I love. Family and friendship are the lenses through which I perceive and interpret all things.

All.

Things.

This is not a redress of my scholarly brothers and sisters. I am grateful for my friends who study, and provide scriptural, historical, and cultural context; who articulate with knowledge and grace. We are sons and daughters of the same Father and I pull from their faithful study. I am thankful for the way their minds work, for their knowledge, and many of their systematic approaches to our thoughts about God.

But I truly don’t care if creation took place over a literal six days or not. That’s just not the book you’re reading.

Relationship is the only theological lens through which I can communicate authentically and with any effect.

Love is my doctrine.

Kindness my dogma.

The goodness of God my creed.

And Jesus is what love looks like and He described love’s goodness when He said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (See John 15:13) To me, this scripture defines perfect theology and I reference it often. And Jesus didn’t just talk about perfect theology, He lived, died, and rose so we could fully know Him.

Greater Love, that’s what this book is about.

And Jesus is what Greater Love looks like, acts like, sounds, dreams, teaches, grieves, heals, saves, judges, transforms, dies, and raises like… Greater Love is the clearest and truest way to know God.

And Greater Love has pierced my heart with His friendship. He’s the kindness that leads to repentance, that transforms me; the goodness that answers every question of lack that aches within me, the eternal life I am awakening to, and the only road I’m keen on traveling.

This book is an expression of where my friendship with Greater Love has exposed three-foot cement medians in my life; where Jesus has redirected traffic.

Cause I know well the exhaustion of seeking the right destination on the wrong road. I’ve traveled many a Western Enlightenment, evangelically influenced, institutionally endorsed, well-worn what am I still lacking superhighway in an endeavor to arrive at eternal life only to discover you can’t get there from here.

You see, Greater Love is not a destination, it’s a revelation, a friendship, an awakening to the Spirit of God within us. (See Rom 14:17 & Luke 17:21)

Eternal Life is at hand, Jesus described it this way. “For indeed, this Kingdom of God is within you.” (See Matt 3:2 & Luke 17:20)

And so, I have written as a relational theologian about my friendship with Jesus in the hope I might encourage you in your friendship as well.

Brain-damaged or not, I have written with confidence, not in my ability to parse scripture or break down theological terms, neither in what is right or wrong, but in whatever is true, noble, just, pure, and lovely. (See Philippians 4:8)

As a relational theologian, I have also written in the awareness that the greater love of Jesus is always better than our best understanding.

And often offensively so…

Some of this article is excerpted from my forthcoming book, Leaving (& Finding) Jesus
CLICK HERE to Pre-Order

Early Book Cover Mock Ups

Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God in a world traumatized by the religious abuses done in the name 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… The Older Brother

by Jason Clark | September 6, 2018 | Articles, Faith, Prone To Love, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

Because he didn’t truly know his dads heart, he couldn’t truly know who he was nor could he understand how his dad could celebrate his brothers return. He was essentially saying, “Why on earth are you celebrating my brother? What’s he done for you lately?”

Read More God Is Not In Control, You Are…

by Jason Clark | May 29, 2019 | Articles, Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership, Life, Parenting, The Fathers Love | 8 Comments

“You know, I could control you, Ethan. I could force, manipulate or straight up shame you into obedience, you’re only ten. I can make him behave. But someday my boy, you will be a man and beyond my ability to control. But more importantly son, I don’t want to control you, I want you to control yourself. I want you to value freedom as the Holy Spirit does. Do you understand?”

Read More RELATIONSHIP IS WAY BETTER THAN RULES

by A Family Story | July 30, 2020 | Crisis of Identity, Friends, Interview, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season One | 3 Comments

This is a laughter-filled conversation about a kind God and a transformative faith…

Read More LEAVING (& FINDING) JESUS WITH DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | July 14, 2021 | Interview, Intimacy, Life, Popular, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

God’s sovereignty revealed by Jesus through cruciform, self-giving love, the nature of trust, intimacy, and union, and the transforming truth that there is no shadow of turning with God, in this podcast the guys explore Jason’s upcoming book, Leaving (& Finding) Jesus. This conversation juxtaposes an inclusive, reconciling, self-giving, unconditional view of God’s love against an excluding, hierarchal, punishment-focused, conditional view of God’s love.

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Published on July 20, 2022 18:43

FAITHFULLY CONNECTED WITH DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

Faithfully Connected with Derek Turner & Jason Clark

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“Faith is a seed that is to be planted firmly in the love of God.” Atheism, politics, nationalism, identity, punishment, hell, evangelism, and the church, in this conversation Derek and Jason, dive into a faith that is not transactional and always relational. The guys talk about how it’s the power of kindness to change the world. This is a generous conversation between two friends who are becoming sure that God is like Jesus and always has been; two fellas rethinking what it means to be a friend of God.

To learn more or to support this podcast go to www.afamilystory.org
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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JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… ADDISON BEVERE / SAINTS, BECOMING MORE THAN CHRISTIANS

by A Family Story | April 14, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Identity, union, searching scripture through the lens of Jesus, and holiness discovered through community, Addison brilliantly describes that we are beloved saints.

Read More SCOTT CROWDER / LEARNING TO BE PRESENT

by A Family Story | April 13, 2022 | Dreaming, Faith, Friends, Leadership, Music, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 2 Comments

Scott Crowder is a pastor, singer-songwriter, and one of Jason’s closest friends. The guys dive into their love for the church, about learning how to be present with God, ourselves, each other, and our community. Scott talks about creating church cultures that practice the fruits of the Spirit, learning to lead ourselves and others in seasons of joy and sorrow, that “success” isn’t about numbers, cool fads, or being ‘front runners,’ it’s discovered in community.

Read More KATHRYN LYNN CIENIEWICZ / LOVE IS THE LONG GAME

by A Family Story | February 24, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

Salvation, hell, justice, equality, the bible, and the unconditional transformative always good Love of God; in this insightful interview, Kathryn talks about her spiritual deconstruction and the journey of rethinking God. She brilliantly addresses the sin of certainty, newfound feminism, and a Love that casts out all fear.

Read More GOD IS NOT IN CONROL / SOVEREIGN LOVE with JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | March 31, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, Sovereign Love Series, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

What if control is a flawed word to describe God’s sovereignty? What if there is an infinitely better word, a greater revelation, LOVE! Through a fresh look at God’s sovereignty, Jason invites you into a transforming encounter with the love and goodness of our heavenly Father.

Read More CHRIST IN YOU with DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | February 17, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

Derek and Jason dive into our union in Christ and how that impacts everything from knowing our identity to loving our “enemies,” to evangelism, to navigating cross moments in our lives.

Read More DALE HOWIE / UNSPOKEN SERMONS ON THE GOOD NEWS OF INCLUSION

by A Family Story | June 23, 2021 | Interview, Intimacy, Life, Prayer, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

Paraphrasing the sermons of George MacDonald, Dale Howie shares his sometimes painful, often beautiful, journey of awakening to the irreducible truth of life discovered in relationship. He speaks to grace, our common Fatherhood, our inclusion in Christ’s life, death and resurrection, our union, and the wonder of our humanity. A humble storyteller and relational theologian, Dale speaks as a father on behalf of Our Father, who loves all His children with a reconciling love.

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Published on July 20, 2022 12:01

LEIF HETLAND / THE LOVE AWAKENING

Leif Hetland The Love Awakening

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Leif Hetland’s profound and powerful personal testimonies bring to light what it means to be transformed by God’s love. Leif has been recognized as an ambassador of the Father’s love—an everyday person who has received divine opportunities to bring God’s light into some of the darkest places on earth.

In this conversation Leif, Mark Appleyard, and Jason dive into Leif’s new book, The Love Awakening. Through personal stories, the guys discuss the powerful, supernatural Baptism of Love that breaks off shame, affirms identity, and reveals the unconditional love of the Father. This is a life-giving conversation around union, evangelism, and the miraculous.

For more on Leif Hetland
www.leifhetland.com

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

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

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN / with DEREK TURNER

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

He came and he walked beside us, He said, “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you; you are not alone, you belong.” When we discover this love, we are transformed and we begin to love like He does. On Palm Sunday Derek speaks about the cross and how we are invited to live surrendered and sure in love. He talks about laying down our loves, loving our enemies, and seeing the kingdom come.

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.

Read More LEAVING (& FINDING) JESUS WITH DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | July 14, 2021 | Interview, Intimacy, Life, Popular, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

God’s sovereignty revealed by Jesus through cruciform, self-giving love, the nature of trust, intimacy, and union, and the transforming truth that there is no shadow of turning with God, in this podcast the guys explore Jason’s upcoming book, Leaving (& Finding) Jesus. This conversation juxtaposes an inclusive, reconciling, self-giving, unconditional view of God’s love against an excluding, hierarchal, punishment-focused, conditional view of God’s love.

Read More SCOTT CROWDER / LEARNING TO BE PRESENT

by A Family Story | April 13, 2022 | Dreaming, Faith, Friends, Leadership, Music, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 2 Comments

Scott Crowder is a pastor, singer-songwriter, and one of Jason’s closest friends. The guys dive into their love for the church, about learning how to be present with God, ourselves, each other, and our community. Scott talks about creating church cultures that practice the fruits of the Spirit, learning to lead ourselves and others in seasons of joy and sorrow, that “success” isn’t about numbers, cool fads, or being ‘front runners,’ it’s discovered in community.

Read More SEXY DECONSTRUCTION? WITH DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | January 5, 2022 | Intimacy, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Matt Chandler, pastor, and writer, recently used the phrase “a sexy fad” when describing the deconstruction movement. Derek and Jason highlight his statement to dive into the nature of their own de/ and reconstruction. This podcast dives into sin, grace, reconciliation, and God’s love for all His kids, the church deep and wide. Ultimately, the guys kick off season three embracing Rom 8:38-29 That nothing… “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Read More CHRIST IN YOU with DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | February 17, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

Derek and Jason dive into our union in Christ and how that impacts everything from knowing our identity to loving our “enemies,” to evangelism, to navigating cross moments in our lives.

The post LEIF HETLAND / THE LOVE AWAKENING appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on July 06, 2022 08:33

A Wonderful Life!

#awonderfullife

I, Jason, collected a series of Facebook posts from my Dad, Lloyd’s page. He hashtagged each one #awonderfullife I found them to be full of joy and grace and wanted to collect them in one place and share them with you. Praying grace and wonder over you today!

Every life on this planet is in part a revelation of the creativity, diversity, and symmetry in the heart of God and an ever-expanding canvas paraphrase of the gospel!

Can I see and love what Papa sees and loves in every other person today?

The Incarnation, Christ in us!

#awonderfullife

There is not a life on this planet that Christ has not identified with.

Every life has value and purpose!

Every life is at home in Him!

We all are family!

And without each and every life, the rest of us will be deficit in the whole love story!

#awonderfullife

When Christ died, He died humanity‘s death, so that in Him humanity could find their truest life!

To see everyone in the value that God has placed in them, and be a catalyst in their self-discovery, yes, that is the whole point of life!

#awonderfullife

To say, “I love God and hate or disregard my neighbor,” is an oxymoron! It’s an impossibility! A lie!

Recognizing and appreciating every human being as a child of God is not only at the heart of Christianity, but the truest definition of Christianity;

That we all are participants in this Holy dance with Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

#awonderfullife

As Jesus was contemplating His death and return to the Father, He declared “I am going to prepare a place for you and you and you, in Father‘s heart.”

There is not only a vacuum in every heart for God but a vacuum in Papa‘s heart for you and every person before and after you, a divine place for each and every one of us! An intimate place in the family where you and only you belong!

#awonderfullife

In Abba’s huge heart there is a distinct and unique place for you.

A place no other can enter.

As a uniquely and wonderfully designed individual, there’s your own abiding place to which you alone are in-vited!

It is also a place from which you alone have a perspective, uniquely yours on the heart of Abba. That place is the source of your spark!

Oh, and that is your purpose. To reveal and declare in words and in your life, the identity, beauty, and wonder of that unique perspective.

A place which no other can enter, and a place from which only you can contribute.

Abba’s pleasure is in you!

And your life is complete in Him!

#awonderfullife

Grace is the celebration of life, relentlessly hounding all the non-celebrants in the world.

It is a floating, cosmic bash shouting its way through the streets of the universe, flinging the sweetness of its cassations to every window, pounding at every door in a hilarity beyond all liking and happening, until the prodigals come out at last and dance, and the elder brothers finally take their fingers out of their ears ~ Robert Farrar Capon

What a high calling!

What an opportunity!

Our mission on earth- to see and celebrate each and everyone in their true value!

We are family; We ALL belong!

And this is what makes it easy to love!

#awonderfullife / Dancing boys by Ayhan Özkan

My prayer for this year is that people that I run into, bump into, friend or foe, feel valued… because that is our Father in heaven; on earth…

In the context of family, (identity, security, and belonging), love flows.

Oh, and there is no resistance that can stand against that kind of love.

~

What is the point of the gospel?

A few people pray a prayer, avoid hell and get to go to heaven?

We get to have thousands of Christian labels, clubs, cliques, and societies?

We get to rule the world someday?

Or is it love; that our neighbors get to know their Papa and discover their wonderful life!

Love you, Lloyd

#awonderfullife

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 5 children and 7 grandchildren and live in North Carolina. Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… God Has Favorites & So Do I

by Jason Clark | October 29, 2009 | A Family Story, Articles, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Parenting, Prone To Love | 1 Comment

While holding hands with my family, I told my wife she was “the one” I loved, that I loved her best, she was my favorite. Then I looked at my oldest daughter and I told her the same thing. I moved on to my son and finally my youngest daughter repeating myself as I went. You are “the one” that I love…

Read More Five Signs You May Have a Wrong View of God

by Jason Clark | January 9, 2015 | Articles, Crisis of Identity, Faith, Leadership, Life | 0 Comments

There are many different false ideas we put on God, but here are a few signs that you have a wrong view of God.

1. You’re Motivated by Shame Instead of Love. Feelings of shame or condemnation are often the evidence that you believe God’s opinion of you is determined by how much you have pursued Him or, obeyed Him or loved Him…

JOHN ELDREDGE / RESILIENT: RESTORING YOUR WEARY SOUL

John Eldredge Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul

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The human soul has a built-in yearning for joy and beauty and all good things. But that craving for life has taken a real beating in recent years. Between false promises of ease and comfort on one side and the sheer trauma of global disease and disasters on the other, people today are facing a shortage of peace, happiness, and strength.

In this conversation, John and Jason dive into John’s new book, Resilient. The guys talk about life and faith during and since the pandemic. They dive into the evidence of trauma, how to discover peace in the midst of disappointment, the dark night of the soul, de- and reconstruction, and ultimately union. This conversation reveals a path toward genuine recovery and resilience provided by Jesus himself.

For more on John Eldredge
www.wildatheart.org

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

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… 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 | 2 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 CARLOS PADILLA / WALKING IN GOD’S POWER

by A Family Story | May 5, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 0 Comments

Healing, miracles, the power of God, evangelism through the gospel of inclusion, faith, and reframing repentance, Carlos shares about his journey of discovering that the miraculous, or a transformed life, is simply about discovering God’s love and our origin and union in Him.

Read More SCOTT CROWDER / LEARNING TO BE PRESENT

by A Family Story | April 13, 2022 | Dreaming, Faith, Friends, Leadership, Music, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three | 2 Comments

Scott Crowder is a pastor, singer-songwriter, and one of Jason’s closest friends. The guys dive into their love for the church, about learning how to be present with God, ourselves, each other, and our community. Scott talks about creating church cultures that practice the fruits of the Spirit, learning to lead ourselves and others in seasons of joy and sorrow, that “success” isn’t about numbers, cool fads, or being ‘front runners,’ it’s discovered in community.

Read More KIM HONEYCUTT / SHAME, AND WHAT TO DO WITH IT

by A Family Story | February 10, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

In this podcast, Psychotherapist Kim Honeycutt addresses shame, blame the trauma of rejection. She brilliantly highlights our intrinsic worth, our identity in Christ, and the journey from rejection to acceptance.

Read More 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 CHRIST IN YOU with DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | February 17, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

Derek and Jason dive into our union in Christ and how that impacts everything from knowing our identity to loving our “enemies,” to evangelism, to navigating cross moments in our lives.

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Published on June 22, 2022 14:02

JUSTIN STUMVOLL / LOVE IS THE KEY

Justin Stumvoll Love Is The Key

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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, forgiveness, grace, freedom from addiction, and more. This podcast is bursting with the kindness of God that transforms the world.

QUOTES

“The thing that is completely different with Jesus (as opposed to) any other religious system is that there is no hierarchy.”

“We are tormented by our disconnection to love that causes us to believe that “I am abandoned.”

“You are more than the amalgamation of the messes you’ve made.”

“People are terrified of forgiveness because it strips them of control…under a law-based system I can control the love of God… this removes relationship and trust…”

“There’s no such thing as an atheist, there are just people that really question religion.”

“When I look at an individual, I (am able to) have grace for their messes, (because) I don’t see a 40-year-old, I see a five-year-old…”

For more on Justin Stumvoll
www.justinandabi.com

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

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… KATHRYN LYNN CIENIEWICZ / LOVE IS THE LONG GAME

by A Family Story | February 24, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

Salvation, hell, justice, equality, the bible, and the unconditional transformative always good Love of God; in this insightful interview, Kathryn talks about her spiritual deconstruction and the journey of rethinking God. She brilliantly addresses the sin of certainty, newfound feminism, and a Love that casts out all fear.

Read More RANDALL WORLEY / BRUSHSTROKES OF GRACE

by A Family Story | April 28, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Popular, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, Worship | 2 Comments

“The two greatest myths that we, as humans, believe, are the myth of separation and the myth of scarcity.”

Grace, empathy, spiritual maturity, identity, destiny, purpose, and a sense of our eternal significance and worth; in this podcast, Randall Worley dives headlong into the measureless transforming and reconciling mystery of the love of God.

Read More HE CALLS US FRIENDS WITH BRENT LOKKER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | May 12, 2022 | Intimacy, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

This conversation with Jason Clark was hosted by Brent Lokker on his youtube channel Vibrant Life. This podcast begins with two dads sharing stories about helping their children encounter God as a loving Father. The guys dive into obedience in the context of union and friendship, learning to trust the unchanging nature of our Father, not as retributive, punishing, or abandoning, but as the tenderhearted one who accepts us, loves us, and is always good!

Read More THE CROSS with DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | January 6, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

In this first episode of season two, Jason and new host Derek Turner dive into the wonder of what Jesus revealed about our Father and humanity through the cross and resurrection.

Read More PETER HIETT / WHAT ABOUT HELL?

by A Family Story | March 2, 2022 | Articles, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Interview, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season three, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

The goodness of God but hell, atonement but hell, reformation but hell, scripture but hell, Calvinism but hell; in this podcast Peter Hiett describes hell as “Satan’s big but.” In this conversation Peter walks us through the story of our own creation, the goodness of God’s reconciling love, the relational kindness of a God who encounters, sets free and transforms.

Peter describes a God who delights in His creation, a God who destroys what is evil, creates what is good, and invites us to observe our own creation in Christ Jesus.

Read More DR. CAROLINE LEAF / CLEANING UP YOUR MENTAL MESS

by A Family Story | March 4, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Life, Popular, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

Brilliant, compassionate, and empowering, world-renowned neuroscientist and best-selling author, Dr. Caroline Leaf, talks about her new book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess. She addresses what happens when we don’t use our minds properly. Why mind-management is the solution to cleaning up our mental mess and how the science can help us transition from being aware of toxic thoughts to catching and managing them. In other words, she teaches us how to renew our minds.

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Published on June 08, 2022 19:53

icuTalks / End The Stigma With-In The Church

End The Stigma With-In The Church icuTalks

Last month I had the opportunity to speak at icuTalks on the topic of Ending Stigma in the Church.

I was incredibly honored and took all 26 of my 25 minutes to talk about a reconciling God in a church that often perceives him through the lens of retribution. If you’re curious about the new book I am finally wrapping up, Leaving & finding Jesus, this is a good introduction. icuTalks creates a safe and vulnerable environment through an authentic sharing of God’s redeeming love of life. They are a mental health ministry that provides a stage for every-day people to share about God’s redemptive love. The theme for the evening was Ending the Stigma with-in the Church and I was honored to share the stage with Heather Bise and Cody Suddreth. icuTalks is led by my friend, Kim Honeycutt, who is a psychotherapist and trauma recovery consultant. Kim provides individual services that are open to all seeking emotional healing. Kim was rated second in a “best list” of psychotherapists by Charlotte Fitness Lifestyles. You can learn more about them at www.icutalks.com

To pre-order my forthcoming book, Leaving (& finding) Jesus CLICK HERE PRE-ORDER NOW!

Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God in a world traumatized by the religious abuses done in the name 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… The Earth Was Never Flat : The Devastation of Sovereign Control

by Jason Clark | May 1, 2017 | Articles, Books, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership | 0 Comments

I would like to suggest that sovereign control is flat earth thinking, it’s an institution unto itself, a broken paradigm, a ruler by which so many have measured everything since the fall of Adam. This devastating narrative has dominated humanities thoughts and perceptions for far too long!

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Published on June 05, 2022 18:53

A Name Like Honey

The other day I took my Taylor guitar off the wall where it hangs in our living room and began to play some of the songs in which I’ve experienced God’s affection over the 48 years I’ve walked the planet; songs where my heart has burned with Gods love.

I leaned in.

“Jesus, I love you.” I sang and immediately His friendship flooded my heart. Wonder and thankfulness filled me.

With tears in my eyes, my voice weighted with the realization of Greater Love, I continued, “I turn my eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory, and grace…”

One song led to another.

“My Jesus, I love thee. I know thou aren’t mine…”

and

“My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

and

“Your name is like honey on my lips…”

With each hymn, I grew in my awareness of Jesus’ goodness and I was overcome by the great love we share for one another.

“Jesus, friends forever…” I sang, reconciled in love.

Friends forever.

It’s true, has been since before the foundations of the earth. And I’ve been awakening to it my whole life. And all humanity is invited to this awakening.

Friends forever.

Forever is a long time.

Even longer than time…

—

When I wrote this book under the title, Leaving Jesus, I did not write as a cynic, I haven’t lost faith. Just the opposite.

I am more fascinated by Jesus’ kindness, convinced in His goodness, amazed by His love, and confident in our friendship than I’ve ever been.

This isn’t a breakup book, it’s an expression of our friendship. And an expression of His great affection for humanity.

This book is an invitation to leave our infatuation with retribution and rediscover a relational God who walks beside us as a friend. This book is an invitation to repent, to turn from our cruel and punishing theological certainties, and awaken to the reconciling love of God…

Some of this article is excerpted from my forthcoming book, Leaving (& Finding) Jesus
CLICK HERE to Pre-Order

PRE-ORDER NOW!

Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God in a world traumatized by the religious abuses done in the name 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… If God Is Good…

by Jason Clark | January 15, 2018 | Articles, Faith, Life, Popular | 15 Comments

If I type into Google’s search bar, “If God is good…” Google will finish my search with the following suggestions: …Why is there suffering? …why do bad things happen? …why is there evil?

Read More LEAVING (& FINDING) JESUS WITH DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | July 14, 2021 | Interview, Intimacy, Life, Popular, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

God’s sovereignty revealed by Jesus through cruciform, self-giving love, the nature of trust, intimacy, and union, and the transforming truth that there is no shadow of turning with God, in this podcast the guys explore Jason’s upcoming book, Leaving (& Finding) Jesus. This conversation juxtaposes an inclusive, reconciling, self-giving, unconditional view of God’s love against an excluding, hierarchal, punishment-focused, conditional view of God’s love.