Reveal / Defend
Years ago, I was on staff at a church where the worship leader and I had radical differences about theology. One week, I preached a message declaring that everyone in the room was a spiritual giant. I was speaking to our identity, our original innocence, and the invitation to participate in the finished work of the Cross.
The following week, the worship pastor stood with an actual whip in his hand and preached the opposite. He declared we are prone to wander and that God looks away. “There are no spiritual giants in this room,” he said. It was heartbreaking. His theology, to me, was wrong, toxic, and deeply flawed.
I stood in the back of the room for the third and final service. “Father, what am I doing here?” I asked. And then He reminded me who He is and who I am. LOVE. Measureless, other-centered, self-giving, transforming LOVE.
“You’re here to be LOVE—to be a walking revelation of My affection.” He said. “You’re here to reveal, not defend.” He reminded me that Love keeps no record of wrong and thus has no right to be offended.
Then my Father highlighted a fella who stood in the back row, arms stretched wide, tears streaming down his face. “That man is having an encounter with my love.” My Father said.
For a split second, I was annoyed. “But the message is wrong, toxic, it’s deeply flawed!” I thought. Then just as quick, my heart shifted as I heard my Father whisper, “Yes, Jason, the
message is wrong, toxic, it’s deeply flawed. But one encounter with My love is more powerful than anything else. My love is transformative, sustaining. My love is the long game. And I’ve never limited myself to your poor theology.”
That moment defined my ministry. God meets us where we are, in the middle of our flawed theology. He speaks in the language of our understanding.
I realized that man was unlikely ready to hear the good news as I had discovered it; he was lost in the knowledge of good and evil, a prodigal who only understood slaving, the context of transaction. It’s heartbreaking, but the whip message was the language of his understanding.
Was his understanding deeply flawed? Yes. But that’s the road he was traveling, and thus that’s the road our Father met him on. Our Father chased Him down and embraced Him, knowing that embrace would ultimately, over time, and hopefully in this life, reveal the Gospel. The good news that would set him truly and fully free. There is no shadow of turning with Thee, and thus there is no earning, no whip. Love is unconditional.
The point? Our Father did not limit His kind affection to the flawed words coming from the man on stage. No, our Father ran to meet his son, who only wanted to know he was loved! Our Father knew that over time, His measureless love would transform any part of the son’s wrong, toxic, and deeply flawed theology.
I’ve given my life to rethinking my theology. It matters. The closer we are to knowing Greater Love — the more our God lens is like Jesus — the more we experience eternal life. But it’s a journey.
My journey into this union grace has been 51 hard-fought, intentional years where my Father continues to faithfully meet me in my wrong, toxic, and deeply flawed theology.
And this is why I’m encouraged today. You see, I’m not alone. And while it’s taken me 51 years of growing conviction in this Greater love gospel, these days, I meet people who are just as confident at half my age. And then there are the fathers and mothers who are mature in their union – LOVE.
Union, grace, it’s in the ether. We have books, and language, ministries, people, the church, deep and wide, maturing in love.
Right now, there is a spiritual hunger in our world, while at the same time, there is an awakening within the church. Yes, there are distorted versions of Jesus being presented and leveraged, but there’s also a groundswell of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends who are convinced in His affection.
Yesterday, I recognized that man from the church years ago in the upraised arms of hundreds of thousands as we celebrated Charlie Kirk’s life and mourned his death. And I heard my Father whisper. “Yes, Jason, some of the message is wrong, toxic, it’s deeply flawed. But one encounter with My love is more powerful than anything else. My love is transformative, sustaining. My love is the long game.”
I watched yesterday in the liberty of a gospel that doesn’t require agreement or the “right” theology. A gospel that isn’t limited to our finite fears but is a measureless love that casts out fear. A Love that meets us where we are and, thank God, doesn’t leave us there but journeys with us. A love that transforms.
Many are worried about how Charlie’s passing has been politicized. Some are concerned about the left, others about the right. We live in a dualistic world, where the knowledge of good and evil always creates a vortex that pulls people in. It is a tired and powerless waste of time. There is no eternal life to be found in it.
But here’s a word of encouragement: we’re not here to defend, but to reveal. May we grow ever sure in His love.
My heart goes out to Charlie’s wife and kids, his family. Praying grace, grace, grace.
PETER HIETT / THE SEVENTH DAY & WAKING UP TO UNION
In this engaging conversation, Peter Hiett shares on Genesis, and emphasizes the centrality of God’s love in our identity and redemption. The guys explore the interconnectedness of creation, salvation, and the nature of God. They discuss how traditional narratives often start with human failure rather than God’s success, emphasizing the importance of understanding disobedience as a space for God’s mercy.
The conversation delves into the nature of time and eternity, the power of prayer, and the symbolism of the temple as a representation of love and sacrifice. Ultimately, they highlight the relationship between humanity and God, emphasizing that eternal life is about awakening to the goodness of existence and recognizing that what we take from God has always been given to us. Peter and Jason also discuss the significance of the cross, the nature of faith as a divine gift, and the evolving state of the church in contemporary society. The dialogue emphasizes the importance of authentic worship and the communal experience of faith.
For more on Peter Hiett
Website: https://relentless-love.org/
Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
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CHRIS GORE / UNION & MIRACLES
Chris Gore, Carlos Padilla, and Jason discuss healing, God’s nature, and the importance of understanding the Father’s heart. They emphasize being anchored in God’s goodness when understanding the miraculous. They also address the tension of disappointment and the importance of not defining God’s nature based on what we haven’t received.
The conversation highlights the journey of discovering the love of the Father and the significance of repentance in changing our mindset. In this conversation, the guys discuss union with God and its implications for healing and miracles. They emphasize that God is not just the God of the mountaintop but also the God of the valley and that regardless of circumstances, He is always with us.
They explore the idea of eternal life and how it is not something we will attain in the future, but something we can experience in the present moment. They also discuss stewarding healing or the finished work of the cross.
For more on Chris Gore:
Website: www.chrisgore.org
Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
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BOB SWITZER / THE EPIC NARRATIVE
In this conversation, Bob Switzer shares his journey. Women in ministry, shifting from exegetical to narrative preaching, challenging traditional church structures, and pursuing authenticity, in this conversation Bob discusses the importance of Jesus as perfect theology and the need to reexamine problematic scriptures.
Bob also reflects on the loneliness experienced as a pastor and the lack of long-term friendships. He highlights the significance of exploring new theological perspectives and embracing the goodness of God. In this conversation, Bob Switzer and Jason discuss the misconceptions of podcasting and the unique format of Bob’s podcast, The Epic Narrative.
They delve into the exploration of the life of David and the complexity of his story. They also touch on the importance of rethinking God and approaching scripture with a Christocentric hermeneutic. The conversation highlights the dualism in the story of Balaam and the liberty found in understanding the goodness of God. They conclude by emphasizing the significance of living in the eternal now and the freedom that comes from discovering the true character of God.
For more on Bob Switzer
Website: www.thebobswitzer.com
Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
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ETERNAL LIFE WITH JASON CLARK
This podcast features Chapter Three of Jason Clark’s recent book, Leaving and Finding Jesus.
“We have been invited to trade a finite perspective with an infinite eternal life revelation—Christ in us, the hope of glory—and nothing separates us from His love! In John 17, Jesus prayed that we would know this union, this oneness, just as He and the Father were one. Further, He revealed there is no darkness light won’t penetrate, no brokenness that won’t be made whole, no road He won’t join us on, no soil the Seed won’t transform, no consequence of sin that His justice won’t restore—past, present, or future…”
For more on Leaving and Finding Jesus
Amazon
A Family Story Store
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
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WM. PAUL YOUNG / ETERNAL LIFE, THE EVER PRESENT NOW
“Eternal life is not on a timeline, it is the ever-present now.”
Wm Paul Young, the author of The Shack, talks with Lloyd and Jason Clark about eternal life, an authentic friendship with our Father where we are free to live in the ever-present now. Union, peace, grace, expectancy, trust, facing our fear, the incarnation, death, writing for the one, and stories about Pauls’s friends on death row and the Shack movie, this is an authentic and vulnerable conversation.
For more on Wm Paul Young
wmpaulyoung.com
Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY
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The Preacher
Kenneth Tanner
If you find yourself in hell, a victim of natural disaster, drowned by your own ruined heart and participations in evil, do not be afraid or lose hope; a preacher is going to come, and the preacher is the crucified and risen creator, who is patient and who loves the world.
This preacher remembers his covenant with every living thing on earth; he remembers mercy, not our sins.
Unlike the ancient gods, whose malevolence or indifference must be appeased for favors, this preacher enters our world of tsunamis and wars and plagues as one of us to endure the waves and the violence and the pestilence, to suffer hunger and thirst and trials.
This preacher drowns with the disobedient outside the ark, with the chariot armies of the Egyptians, with the lost tribes of Israel, and with us.
He does not want to be the only righteous human while the rest of us, his unrighteous brothers and sisters, go under. His baptism is our baptism.
Our common ancestors failed to keep a fast but this preacher keeps his. Our ancestors grasped for equality with God but this preacher embraces human limitations. And because he does these human things as God, the one human nature we all share is granted his permanence by grace.
His record of resistance to evil is now the story of our life as a gift. His victory in wilderness temptation is our victory.
And what does this preacher preach?
The time is here. The kingdom has arrived. Repent. Believe this gospel (even if it all seems too damn good to be true). It’s trustworthy. We can venture everything on Jesus Christ, our human brother, with us in all of our prisons, hells to which he holds the keys.
Lectionary preaching used to be a chore. Now it is quite literally life to me.
Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-9, 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15
Art by Ivanka Demchuk
www.ivankademchuk.com
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Fr. Kenneth Tanner is a pastor of Church of the Holy Redeemer in Rochester Hills, Michigan. He writes for many magazines including, Sojourners, The Clarion Journal, and more.
You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
When Does The Bible Become An Idol?
“Careful, that’s a slippery slope.”
That’s a phrase I’ve heard a time or two, mostly from well-intentioned friends, and almost always as a way to express disapproval regarding how I searched the Scriptures…
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” John 5:37-40
Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees when He said this, the experts in all things scripture.
What happens when we search the Scriptures in search of eternal life? It’s not long before we start defining the words on the pages as “infallible” and “inerrant.”
And in my experience, an inerrant approach to scripture is a slippery slope into idolatry.
And yes, I smiled mischievously as I wrote the phrase “slippery slope,” but I believe it to be true.
Jesus, the Word made Flesh, is Life; and in whom we come alive. We can discover Him in scripture, but to conflate the two as the same is to make the bible a god.
In John 5 I think Jesus was essentially saying, “You’ve searched the Scriptures, the Old Testament, the law and the prophets, you know it inside out; you’ve memorized it word for word, and yet you’ve completely botched the interpretation. Your approach to scripture as a source of everlasting life has blinded you to everlasting life. You have elevated scripture above love and your idolatry has cut you off from intimacy.”
To me, the Pharisees perceived scripture much like the church today, through the religious spirit of inerrancy. And it blinded them to intimacy.
An inerrant approach to scripture trades intimacy for certainty. And it’s a cruel joke because the only certainty we can have through an inerrant approach to scripture is that Satan is powerful, humanity is depraved, God’s salvation is predicated on our compliance, and most of us aren’t gonna make it.
I would like to suggest that an inerrant or infallible approach to scripture is one of the greatest stumbling blocks to experiencing intimacy with God. It literally cut us off from recognizing the whole point of scripture; Love, sacrificial, unconditional, transformational, measureless, always good, always restoring, ressurection Love.
If scripture isn’t taking us into a deeper revelation of God’s love, if we aren’t discovering our union in Christ, we are searching it wrong.
What if we searched the scriptures as a witness of Jesus so we might awaken to the eternal life that resides within us?
What if the whole point of scripture is to recognize Jesus in every person that stands in front of us?
What if, “in experiencing that He first loved,” we love God with all our heart soul mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. What if “all the law and prophets, all of scripture, were to be searched toward this end? (see 1 John 4:19 & Matt 22:37-40)
Praying happy searching and eternal life over you today. And regardless of the slope, may you always find your footing in His measureless love.
JOHN MACMURRAY/ IF YOU LOOK AT IT AS A RELATIONSHIP…
“This is eternal life… “ That is how John 17 starts. It is the only place in all of scripture where you’ll even get close to a direct definition of what eternal life is. And Jesus defines eternal as a relationship. My entire education had defined eternal life as believing the right ideology… All I knew was, God was better than I thought he was and there was no way I’m going back…”
In this Podcast, John MacMurray shares with humor, ease, and insight into the nature of our Triune God’s love and faithful pursuit of humanity.
Quotes:
“If God is doing his best for man all the time it just changes the landscape of how I look at life and humanity, it changes everything.”
“The Father, Son, and Spirit say, ‘well, he won’t get his nose out of John so maybe we should meet him there. The way God loves us is, if you won’t get our nose out of playboy, then He’ll meet you here…’”
“When does punishment reconcile anything? It literally has no power to reconcile.”
“The theology I followed was leading me to a God that was a monster.”
John MacMurray is an author, speaker, and founder of The Open Table Conference
To learn more about John you can go to, www.johnmacmurray.com
Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly
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Doubting Thomas?: Why God Loves Our Questions
Years ago, I overheard my mom in the kitchen telling my sister, Aimee, how Thomas was her favorite disciple of Jesus.
I was a little surprised by her choice and thought I’d be clever.
“Mom, I don’t want to be a doubting Thomas, but I’m pretty sure your favorite disciple was the fella with the underwhelming moniker,” I yelled into the kitchen sarcastically.
My mom came out of the kitchen and gave me a fiery look. One I saw too many times in my youth; a look that releases the awe-inspiring fear of God, “Jason, it’s just horrible we call him that! Think about the scripture we have because Thomas was bold enough to ask when the others weren’t?”
And just like that, my whole thought about Thomas changed. Thanks, mom! I am so grateful for your wisdom!
Jesus, attempting to prepare His disciples for the coming dark days of His death, tells them, “You know the way to the place where I am going.”
And John leans over to Peter and whispers. “Hey, Pete?”
“What?” Peter responds in a whisper yell (Peter was a horrible whisperer).
“Do you know the way to the place Jesus is going?” John asks with sincerity.
Peter furrows his brow, “Of course!”
John raises an eyebrow, “So you have no idea then.”
Peter waves John off brusquely. John is a little concerned but then he remembers and smiles, “No worries, Thomas will ask Him.”
And Thomas did. And we are all infinitely glad he did.
“Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’
“We don’t know…” It was nice Thomas included the other disciples, but because of his question we all have an answer, and it’s one of our all-time favorites!
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”
Thomas’ “we don’t know” makes room for Jesus to highlight the tension of mystery and revelation, “You will know” and “From now on, you do know…” Jesus’ answer is the beautiful invitation to live in the tension of not knowing, with a promise of knowing.
Like always, Jesus is speaking in the infinite language of sovereign love…
John and Peter looked at each other after Jesus was finished. They still didn’t understand, but that wasn’t unusual. Jesus was always saying stuff that was not only confusing but also often seriously controversial.
The fact is, most of the time, most of the people listening to Jesus had little to no idea what He was talking about.
One time Jesus told His followers that the only way they could experience eternal life was if they ate His flesh and drank His blood. A lot of people stopped following Jesus that day. When Jesus asked the twelve disciples if they would leave Him also, Peter famously said, “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.”
Interpretation: “I don’t know… but God is good” and that’s enough.
Peter, John, Thomas and many others have revealed that to truly follow Jesus, we must be willing to live in the tension of not knowing and the invitation to know; to “get wisdom. Though it cost all (we) have, get understanding.”
We must embrace mystery if we are to gain revelation.
Jesus is the way to where we are going; He is the lens by which to discover wisdom, the key by which to unlock understanding.
I don’t call Thomas “doubting” anymore. He was a man of faith willing to live in the tension of the question so he might discover the whole story—the greater revelation. Thomas gave everything up to follow Jesus and after Jesus ascended to heaven, Thomas is believed to have shared the gospel of sovereign love, planting churches in Syria, Babylon (Iraq), Persia (Iran) and even into India before dying by a spear, martyred for his profound faith in the way the truth and the life.
**This is an excerpt from Jason’s new book on the sovereignty of love entitled, God Is (Not) In Control.