Jason Clark's Blog, page 26

The Faith That Kills You?

Austrian born in 1879, Franz Reichelt ended up in France. He died in 1912.

He was a tailor, a designer, and an inventor. And he had a vision. He was intent on helping aviators survive large falls should they be forced from their aircraft mid-flight.

Franz was a parachuting pioneer and today is occasionally referred to as the ‘flying tailor.’ He designed the first prototype, it was not like what we know today, with no canopy above. It was a wearable parachute.

He worked on the design for years and, “initial experiments conducted with dummies dropped from the fifth floor of his apartment building had been successful, but he was unable to replicate those early successes with any of his subsequent designs.”

Finally, he developed a design he was convinced would work, if only he could test it from a higher platform. “Reichelt repeatedly petitioned the Parisian Prefecture of Police for permission to conduct a test from the Eiffel Tower. He finally received permission in 1912…” Now, finally, he could throw a test dummy from a high enough platform to prove the parachute suit a success.

When the day arrived, he was ready. Convinced in his design, he invited the press with their new black and white moving picture cameras to witness the experiment. You can actually watch it online.

He climbed the tower to the first platform, which had been approved for his experiment; 187 feet from the earth. And, with life-or-death confidence, with absolute conviction, with measurable faith, 187 feet of it, instead of putting the parachute on the dummy, and ignoring the attempts to dissuade him, he put it on himself.

And He jumped.

It’s the first recorded death on film.

It’s grainy black and white images of a man jumping off of the Eiffel Tower to his death. It’s horrifying.

It’s also fascinating. Not his death, his faith.

The measure of his conviction is terrifying and absolutely devastating.

Faith is a crazy thing; if it’s misplaced, it can kill you. And when it comes to misplaced faith, the greater the measure, the great the devastation. And not just to the faithful.

I am fascinated by Franz; he was a pioneer with a vision of what could be possible and believed he was the man to prove it. He had measurable faith and acted upon it.

He was wrong.

His faith was misplaced. Another way to ‘say it,’ he was delusional.

And what’s crazy is, he could have easily learned of his delusions. He had a test dummy, after all. But I think Franz had a perspective on faith that many Christians share today; that somehow the size of the act of faith determines the success of the outcome.

And I know this delusional perspective on faith; the bold ego-centric leaps one takes in order to prove himself right and therefore significant.

I have a good deal of broken experiences because of that ego-driven outcome-based definition of faith. There have been times I’ve hurt those closest to me with my measurable convictions.

Like Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, in faith, I’ve foolishly swung my sword believing the ends justified the means, thus proving my faith misplaced, false, destructive.

At 47, I’m learning that the size of my faith isn’t what’s important, it’s the purity of my revelation, it’s my conviction that sacrificial love, Jesus’ love, is what’s true.

Franz’s faith was measurable, substantial. Like Peter swinging a sword, Franz put all his metaphorical eggs in his faith basket. And he got it devastatingly wrong. You can put a whole lot of faith in a flawed belief and it will not serve you.

While faith can be witnessed in the boldness of a jump, it’s proved true or false by what’s on the jumper’s back; more to the point, it’s proved powerful and miraculous based on where the faith has been placed. And if it’s well placed, in sacrificial love, we really don’t need much of it, a mustard seed will do.

That’s because faith is about trust and expressed and revealed by those who know God’s love, forgiveness, grace, affection, intimacy, union…

Adapted from a chapter on the nature of measureless love.
Quotes pulled from Wikipedia.org

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, 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, 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… Hell, and Freedom

by Jason Clark | February 4, 2021 | Articles, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Popular | 2 Comments

Look, if a future punishment is the only thing keeping a person from hurting others, by all means, that person might need to keep believing in hell. But let’s not pretend that person is whole or free. And whatever we do, let’s not give that kind of thinking a pulpit in our lives.

Read More 5 Things I Learned From the Toronto Blessing

by A Family Story | May 15, 2019 | Articles, Faith, Friends | 2 Comments

The idea that God saw me as a spiritual giant seemed too good to be true…

KRISTIN DU MEZ / JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE

Kristin Du Mez Jesus And John Wayne

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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.”

QUOTES

Jesus divested Himself of power. And yet, when we look at American Evangelicalism over the last half-century and more there is a very different understanding of power at t’s heart. It is, ‘the more power the better.’ The more worldly power…political power…military power so that we can protect our truth, God’s truth, our truth, it’s the same. But it’s not that God’s truth defines ours…”

“Christians ought to be trouble makers within their parties. We should be the voices of conscience all the time, the ones who are not dependable party liners…Christians should be uniting across party differences…”

“Many (Christians) are deconstructing these cultural layers that for so long have been sold to them as orthodox Christianity, take-it-or-leave-it kinda things, and it never fit right with them.”

For more on Professor Kristin Du Mez
www.thepassiontranslation.com
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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… THE DE/RECONSTRUCTING PARENT WITH SARAH TURNER & KAREN CLARK

by A Family Story | April 21, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Sarah Turner and Karen Clark take the hosting reins to share their de/reconstructing faith journey and how, primarily through parenting, they began to rethink who God is and their approach to scripture, church, and ministry.

From Harry Potter and the college years to church life – the good, the bad, and the ugly, they talk about how parenting for connection and living an honest relationship with a loving God, is the most transformative thing we can do in our lives, our kids lives, and in ministry.

The post The Faith That Kills You? appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on May 26, 2021 09:39

Love And Religion

Love and Religion

God being Love is so revolutionary that we religious folk still get uncomfortable with it!

“Yes, but, He’s also Holy!

Yes, but you know, He’s also Just!

Religious folk too often tend to be arrogant and judgmental folk, dealers in shame; their own and others. Religion (the knowledge of good and evil) deals in superiority and inferiority which are both shame-based.

Our freedom from shame and religion will only be found in a revelation of the Love of God.

Love is irreligious!

Love is shameless!

Love is so transparent!

Love is so forgiving!

Love is so empowering!

Love is the TRUTH that sets us free…

Freedom from religion and shame (the good or evil paradigm) empowers us to set others free; because Truth sees others through the lens of love! Truth only works through Love!

God is Love, no buts. And Love is the lens of Truth through which we are seen by Him and the ONLY source of our freedom!

Religion and shame only empower the lies of separation and worthlessness. But Love is how God knows us and sees us in our created value, our union, not the lie of our sins and failures.

Love sets us free to be everything God created us to be.

Religion and shame have no power to accomplish that!

So, speaking the TRUTH in LOVE is NOT shame-based. It’s NOT about exposing and confronting your brother’s sin!

It’s about helping your brother or sister get a revelation of their true value and helping them see the truth about how our Father sees us!

God is Love!

Mercy triumphs over judgment!

Yeah, God!

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… 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 Father Abraham, Tacos, and God’s Goodness

by Jason Clark | December 9, 2020 | Articles, Faith, Life, Popular | 0 Comments

If Facebook existed during Abraham’s day, I imagine he would have been angry at my thoughts about God’s goodness.

BRIAN SIMMONS / THE PASSION TRANSLATION

Brian Simmons The Passion Translation & the Fiery Love of God

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“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.

QUOTES

“Pauline theology will get perverted if you don’t start at the song of songs. I’m convinced that Paul got most of his doctrinal teachings from encounters with the Lord and from an open bible with Song of Songs.”

“It’s just error to hyper literalize the song of songs, it’s a beautiful symphony of love… it’s a book that literally starts with a kiss”

“We have forgotten that Jesus Christ is a human being, that inside the Trinity is a man…and this human nature of Jesus is mingled with the divine…”

“A human being can be moved with feelings and passions… Jesus is every bit a man, inside the trinity. The universe is ruled by the passions of a man.”

“How we hear is every bit as important as what we are reading.”

“This love theology is the key to the great harvest of the nations.”

“God has to love you to be God. It’s almost like He wouldn’t be God if He didn’t love you intensely, powerfully.”

“To dishonor women and to say they can’t minister…goes counter to the heart of God.”

“You said earlier you’re a relational theologian, that’s exactly how we need to interpret scripture.”

“You literally have to have a love lens on your heart to read scripture, then you’ll read it the way God has written it for us.”

“The bible, minus love, equals false teaching, false living, and fosters an anger in the soul of man.”

“He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor 6:17), so the union is complete. When He said it’s finished it’s not only the work of the cross but it’s the perfected union that He has given us.”

“Nothing can separate us, not things present or things future, He doesn’t even mention the past because we don’t have a past. Our past ended with three nails; we only have a destiny, not a history.”

For more on Brian Simmons & The Passion Translation
www.thepassiontranslation.com
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Twitter

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… 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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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 KRISTIN DU MEZ / JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE

by A Family Story | May 26, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Leadership, Life, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 0 Comments

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.”

Read More MATTHEW HESTER / GOD WAS PLEASED TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME

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Mystery, faith, salvation and awaking to Christ’s likeness within us, adoption and sonship, being in the family, discovering the Word in scripture, and living from union, we discuss this and more with Matthew Hester in a passionate conversation around the love of God. Matthew is an author, pastor of Dominion Church (Greer SC), and founder of Hester Ministries and Present Truth Academy.

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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.

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by A Family Story | April 21, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Sarah Turner and Karen Clark take the hosting reins to share their de/reconstructing faith journey and how, primarily through parenting, they began to rethink who God is and their approach to scripture, church, and ministry.

From Harry Potter and the college years to church life – the good, the bad, and the ugly, they talk about how parenting for connection and living an honest relationship with a loving God, is the most transformative thing we can do in our lives, our kids lives, and in ministry.

The post The Faith That Kills You? appeared first on A Family Story.

View more on Jason Clark's website »

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Published on May 19, 2021 12:26

An Exercise in Union

An Exercise In Union

I was in a service a few years ago and Bill Vanderbush was speaking. Bill, who is a brilliant communicator and has since become a friend, did an exercise with everyone in the room. I have since appropriated and done this same exercise many times, often without even crediting Bill.

I thought I’d do this exercise with you and also, give Bill his due.

Ready?

Normally, Bill and I would ask you to close your eyes. But since you can’t read with your eyes closed, go ahead and keep them open.

Now take a deep breath and imagine a throne room, and in it, a throne. The room can look like anything you want, it’s your imagination.

If you need to close your eyes to imagine this, go ahead, we’ll wait…

OK, got it?

Good.

Now we want you to imagine Jesus is sitting on the throne.

Take your time, we’re in no rush.

Now, we want you to place yourself in the throne room; anywhere you want; there is no wrong or right place.

This is where Bill and I normally have folks open their eyes. And then we ask questions. “How many were able to picture a throne room?”

Nearly every hand goes up and I imagine yours would be among them.

“How many were able to picture themselves in the throne room?” We ask.

Again, nearly every hand goes up.

Then we get more specific, “How many were near the door or in the back, or along a wall; somewhere away from the throne? Again, there’s no wrong place.”

There are always some hands.

Was that you?

We keep going, “How many were at the front, maybe even at the feet of Jesus?”

We wait for more hands before continuing, “How many were sitting right next to Jesus?”

On that fifth question, when Bill did this exercise and I was in the audience, I thought of Ephesians 2:6 “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

I had imagined myself sitting next to Jesus. So, I raised my hand and I opened my eyes, I thought Bill was done asking questions.

But it was the perfect setup for the last question that Bill and I love to ask, “How many were sitting on the throne…?”

To be continued…

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. John 17:21-23

…The Kingdom is at hand, it’s within reach. But even better, the Kingdom is within you…

For more information about Bill Vanderbush, or for links to his website and social media, or listen to our Podcast interview, CLICK HERE

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, 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, 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… Papa Was A Minister

by Jason Clark | February 10, 2012 | Articles, Faith, Miracles, Prone To Love, Short Story | 3 Comments

After Papa dies, he was a better man; full of grace and love. My Papa was a minister. He was a good man before he died.

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“Jesus has pitched His tent in our flesh… If I didn’t believe that Jesus, Father and Holy Spirit is inside every person on the whole earth, I would not open my mouth… But we are bearing witness to something that is real.”

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Can you imagine a life spent hosting the goodness of God? What would happen to our lives and the lives around us if we were more aware of His Presence?

How Much Faith Do We Need?

Jesus’ face was fiery, magnificent, His union with His Father on display; and James and John were in awe; Peter too. But Peter was a man of action. So, while the cloud of God’s glorious oneness enveloped them, Peter couldn’t help but throw out ideas regarding things he could build. He was in the middle of suggesting shelters when a thunderous voice interrupted him,

“ This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

This was the second time the Father spoke those beautiful words over Jesus so all in proximity could hear. This time Jesus was atop a mountain with Peter, James, and John, and also Moses and Elijah. And this time Jesus was transfigured, transformed, His face shining like the sun.

Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered around the disciples who’d been left at the base of the mountain. The crowd was comprised of the needy, lost, and desperate; those who hoped that the boys, in the absence of Jesus, could provide some freedom from the oppressions of their cruel sin conscious world.

And the disciples did their best, but they were bewildered, ineffectual, short on power.

We know this because when Jesus came down the mountain, he was met by a distraught father who knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” (See Matthew 17)

And Jesus, one with the Father, intimate with Holy Spirit, on His way to reconciling the world to Himself, heartbroken with the people’s slave-like devotion to a transactional way of thinking, said,

“You unbelieving and perverse generation…no sense of God, no focus to your lives. How long shall I stay with you? …How many times do I have to go over these things?” (See Matthew 17 NIV & Message)

Then Jesus rebuked the demon and the boy was healed.

And it was simple; like turning on a light.

And it was effective.

Jesus got measurable results in a world desperate for measurable results.

Later, when the disciples were alone with Jesus, they asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” Essentially, “Why couldn’t we do what you did?”

And Jesus answered. “It’s because you have so little faith.”

And at first read, in a world defined by measurements, that statement makes sense.

If you were to ask me why your car stalled a hundred miles from home and I said, “It’s because you have so little gas,” you would think, “OK, so I just need more gas.”

We read, “It’s because you have so little faith,” and our minds naturally form the question, “So, how much faith do we need? What is the measurement?”

Good news, Jesus tells us!

Even better news, it makes no sense.

Jesus continues, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (See Matthew 17:14-21)

“So, how much gas do I need to drive the hundred miles home,” you ask. “Oh, just a thimble full,” I say. And then, while you look at me confused, I continue with grandiose claims of nonsense, “If you have just a thimble full of gas, you could fly your car to the Dagobah System and back…”

Did you know the Scanning Transmission Electron Holography Microscope stands 15 feet tall and weighs 14,000 pounds? Did you know “it can image at an unprocessed resolution of 35 trillionths of a meter, making it more powerful than any other microscope in the world?”

That’s the size and power of the microscope needed to quantify my faith in comparison with Gods’. Forget moving mountains, I couldn’t even Luke Skywalker a rock with the measure of my faith.

Thankfully, Jesus wasn’t really talking about measurements.

He never really is.

That’s because God is love and love is measureless. We can’t quantify it; we can’t do the math because love has no beginning and no end. We are invited to be filled to the measure of the fullness of love only to discover love’s ability to do immeasurably beyond all we can ask or imagine. (See Eph 3:19)

Love is a relationship. Jesus was addressing a transactional mind with a relational revelation. He was revealing a truth wrapped in the mystery of measureless love.

Jesus wasn’t being difficult; He was not suggesting faith was measurable and we could never have enough, He was saying faith is a measureless revelation and we are invited to become one with Him.

Jesus wasn’t talking about the size of our faith; He was revealing the nature of intimacy. He was speaking to space and time outside of space and time; He was addressing a finite way of thinking from an infinite revelation, love.

Jesus was revealing His intimacy with His Father, His oneness, and union with Holy Spirit. He was using the words of our understanding to invite us to know a love beyond understanding.

By the way, that’s always how God speaks to us, since the very beginning. That’s the nature of love; to communicate at the level of our understanding and ability in order to increase our capacity to understand and experience knowing.

And nothing is impossible for the person that knows this intimacy, this union, this love, this faith.

Nothing.

The impossible is simple, it’s like turning on a light.

Love, sovereignly given and received and given and received and given and received… We love because He first loved we love, because He first loved we love because He first loved, we love…. (See John 4:19)

In love, every impossibility is possible. Jesus lived heaven on earth, the kingdom at hand, but more to the point, the kingdom within. (See Mark 1:15 & Luke 17:20)

Faith, an infinite universe in a mustard seed.

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, 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, 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… Who Do You Say That I Am

by Jason Clark | July 8, 2013 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Life | 1 Comment

Jesus pressed his disciples asking, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Read More JOHN MARK MCMILLAN / A WORSHIP RECORD FOR ATHEISTS

by A Family Story | May 20, 2020 | Art, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Interview, Music, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season One | 0 Comments

“I am building bridges between my friends who are atheists, my friends who are fundamentalists, my friends who consider themselves progressive or any end of the spectrum. Because gratitude is the one place we all come together.” John Mark McMillan

DAVID TENSEN / YOU ARE NOT ALONE

David Tensen You Are Not Alone

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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.

QUOTES

“Christ, to know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings, I never realized there was fellowship in His suffering.”

“Jesus, descended into hell, there’s nowhere that He is not…including after you breathe your last breath, death has been overcome.”

“God’s mercy endures forever… I don’t know if forever has a full stop…”

Regarding abortion… “Why don’t you foster some kids, look after some single moms and then have your say, because it’s cheap to hold your stone…the research shows if you support single mothers the abortion goes down…”

“People are not problems to solve their people to love”

For more on David Tensen
www.davidtensen.com
Instagram

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… 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.

The post The Faith That Kills You? appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on May 12, 2021 08:57

Elmer’s Fortune

Elmer's Fortune

Elmer ate Chinese alone in a corner booth of Taste of NY Restaurant; chicken and broccoli with string beans.

Elmer used a plastic fork.

He watched a neighboring table of young people; early twenties. They were hanging all over each other, familiar in the way of youth. One girl, in a yellow sweater, was reading a fortune from her cookie. Elmer couldn’t make it out but heard the last words

“in bed.”

Everyone laughed and Elmer smiled, tiredly.

He knew the game.

Elmer noted the fortune cookie on his table, he hadn’t even realized it was there. And his smile faded. He never ate the cookie, to Elmer they tasted like stale burnt vanilla waffles. But he used to love opening them. Especially with friends, especially with her. He realized it had been years since he’d read his fortune.

Suddenly Elmer felt a deep sadness. The kind you can only experience with age and loss. The young people’s oblivious hope was contagious and he missed that feeling, the sense of wonder and expectation in the simple act of opening and then reading a fortune. The feeling that anything was possible, that the future was going to be, somehow, better.

Elmer reached for his cookie. He worried the cellophane packaging open and cracked his fortune free.

Unfolding the small slip of paper, he read, “You can’t get there from here.”

“In bed” he whispered almost subconsciously and he smiled. Just then the girl in the yellow sweater laughed at some random jest. “There is only here,” he thought, reveling a moment longer in the wonderful stubborn naivete of youth.

His mind turned to the hospital across the street, the future he couldn’t know.

He got up and fumbled a five-dollar bill out of his pocket for the Asian daughter who had brought out his food. He whispered a prayer for her and the kids at the booth; that kindness would find them before life did.

He looked down at his fortune one last time. “You can’t get there from here.”

Elmer nodded.

He had often wondered at the infuriating mystery of a God who puts such longing for “there” within the stubborn heart of the man traveling headlong down the wrong road.

“There is only here,” he thought, “And I can’t stay.”

Elmer walked out of the Chinese restaurant.

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, 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, 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… But What About Church Discipline?

by Jason Clark | May 6, 2020 | Articles, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Life, Popular, Sin, The Fathers Love | 2 Comments

If discipline isn’t about a father walking in humility, desiring the best for his child while mourning the fallen mindset, it will become punishment and there will be no life in it.

CARLOS PADILLA / WALKING IN GOD’S POWER

Carlos Padilla Walking In God's Power

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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. This conversation parallels and features the content from Carlos’ first book, Roar, Walking in God’s Power without Apology.

QUOTES

“I don’t have a healing ministry; I have a loving people ministry and sickness just keeps getting in the way.”

“It’s easier preaching the gospel when you know God already loves them…it’s made evangelism more effective because I don’t have to preach people out of hell…I just get to tell them that Gods already included them in His life…people are awakening to that fact…”

“I don’t have to preach them out of hell, I can’t stand the fact that they don’t know the love of God right now.”

“Sometimes we preach a good gospel that might be true one day…” Rod Williams

“Why is it News, cause it’s past tense, it’s already happened.”

For more on Carlos Padilla
www.thekingdomishere.org
Facebook

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

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… 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 | 0 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 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.

The post The Faith That Kills You? appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on May 05, 2021 12:06

RANDALL WORLEY / BRUSHSTROKES OF GRACE

Randall Worley Brushstrokes of Grace

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“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.

QUOTES

“My definition of empathy is the echo of someone else’s pain.”

“If there is anything the message of Jesus teaches us it is solidarity.”

“He (Jesus) is what being human, really looks like.”

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

“Jesus doesn’t want you to live for Him, He wants to live His life through you.”

“We have to make a choice at some point…whether we want a mind that makes sense or a heart that makes love.”

“Love has to have an object…love that is not manifested is not love.”

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that happened in the creation account. The idea of family began with Him.”

“The first image of adoration in scripture is the creation story…God was adoring us before we were.”

For more on Randall Worley
www.randallworley.com
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

CLICK HERE for a free download of
QUESTIONING MY ANSWERS
A Manifesto for Spiritual Searchers

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 Randall Worley hosts interviews on his Instagram and I (Jason) was honored to have a conversation with him about the goodness of God, the mystery of faith, the sovereignty of God, and how we are navigating the murky waters of offense in these unprecedented times.

I also share about the heart behind why I wrote the book, God Is (Not) In Control / The Whole Story Is Better Than You Think

Randall Worley is an author, speaker, leadership consultant, and life coach. For 40 years he has traveled the world speaking in conferences, seminars, and schools inspiring his audiences to think progressively about the role of the kingdom of God in the world.

www.randallworley.com

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Rethinking God

A post shared by Randall Worley (@therandallworley) on Aug 5, 2020 at 8:28am PDT

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… DON KEATHLEY / THE GOSPEL

by A Family Story | February 3, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 6 Comments

Don Keathley touches on the goodness of our Father, Jesus as perfect theology, grace, our union, our identity, how to approach scripture, and the lie of eternal conscious torment.

Read More THE DE/RECONSTRUCTING PARENT WITH SARAH TURNER & KAREN CLARK

by A Family Story | April 21, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

Sarah Turner and Karen Clark take the hosting reins to share their de/reconstructing faith journey and how, primarily through parenting, they began to rethink who God is and their approach to scripture, church, and ministry.

From Harry Potter and the college years to church life – the good, the bad, and the ugly, they talk about how parenting for connection and living an honest relationship with a loving God, is the most transformative thing we can do in our lives, our kids lives, and in ministry.