Leaving and Finding Jesus
$18.00
Author – Jason Clark
Published – 11-9-22
Publisher – A Family Story
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Trading a Punishing God for Reconciling Love
In Leaving and Finding Jesus, Jason writes about his deconstructing Emmaus Road faith journey. He confronts the myth of separation with the truth that nothing, not life or death, powers or authorities, present or future, not hell, nor our understandings, beliefs, systems, or actions—nothing separates us from the love of God.
Based on scripture, recent studies, shared stories, and his experiences as a pastor and relational theologian, Leaving and Finding Jesus encourages folks to trade a transactional view of God for something better, friendship.
From hell to hermeneutics, this book deconstructs our often cruel and punishing thoughts about God so we might discover a firm foundation upon which to build our faith; God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
Leaving and Finding Jesus is bold but kind and will encourage:
- the millions of Christians exhausted by the ‘for or against’ paradigm that seems to rule and define the Christian narrative today.
- those who are moving from a transactional approach to God toward a relational connection defined by other-centered, self-giving love.
- those who reject the image of God as a violent, retributive Being and embrace God’s image as the kind, reconciling Spirit at work within us, and our world, for good.
- the faithful followers of Jesus who may no longer identify with organized religion but are passionate about the work of reconciliation.
BIO — Jason Clark is a storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their four children, Madeleine and Joseph, Ethan, and Eva.
“What makes this book majestic is that it gives the reader permission to pursue and challenge traditions for the sake of uncovering the Goodness of God.”
“While joining Jason on this fantastic read, I found myself humming REM’s “That’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion.”
“If you’re like me and you’ve ever wrestled with putting your trust in a God who is supposed to be good but could one day ask you to kill your child, then Leaving and Finding Jesus is for you!”
“You will be challenged. You will be scared. But in daring to leave the retributive Jesus made by men, you will become fully alive and discover the Jesus of perfect love is waiting for you.”
“In Leaving and Finding Jesus, Jason finds himself in good company as he kindly invites the reader to ‘forsake their false concepts and follow Jesus—not as others present Him, but as He presents Himself.’”
“There are few people in my orbit that love God, like Jason. When you read Leaving and Finding Jesus, you feel God’s heart of love like you’ve never felt before. I believe you will be challenged to leave religious mediocrity for a reimagined spirituality with Jesus.”
“As you read this, you will feel like you’re sitting with a seasoned sage, wizened by the trail, who is explaining his scars and recounting the intersections of his travels while he affectionately removes the sacred dust collected along the Way.”
“In Leaving and Finding Jesus, Jason will encourage you greatly as he takes you on a journey down a road called Greater Love. He’ll also give you permission to leave behind false perceptions of our Father that do not reflect the excessive grace and kindness we find in Jesus.”
“In Leaving and Finding Jesus, you’ll discover what Eugene Peterson describes as the “unforced rhythms of grace.” In its pages is an invitation to leave that old religion of separation and awaken to the goodness of God, Christ within—an abundant life!”
THIS BOOK CONFRONTS
For too long Christians have been taught to build their faith upon the trust compromising belief in a God who leaves. This has led to,
- a dualistic, for or against thinking, that practices exclusion, and is used to justify violence, control, racism, sexism…
- a retributive view of God that defines hell as God’s ultimate form of justice.
- a hierarchal elitist approach to leadership that is complicit with rampant spiritual and emotional abuse.
- an inability to release reconciliation or speak authentically to issues of inequality.
- a spirituality that condemns anyone who does not hold to an unwavering defense of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.
- an institutional approach to community that is unaccepting of differences in beliefs, cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, or races and promotes isolation and tribalism.
