Growing in Trust

We continue on a guided tour through some of Wayne’s books with the book that first introduced me to Wayne Jacobsen. The “Jake Book”, as it was then referred to, was released online chapter-by-chapter, and after catching up with what was already released I could not wait for the next one. What Jake was experiencing so mirrored all that God was patiently walking me through as I pined for a life lived in simple trust of the Father who loves me, with fellow travelers on the same journey, following Jesus’ lead via his Spirit in me. I didn’t have a John, but “Jake Colsen” (Wayne and Dave’s nom-de-plume) provided a similar invitation to trust Father’s perfect timing and care.

Again, as we approach the end of the calendar year we are highlighting a few of Wayne’s books, available here through Lifestream, and we’re offering a couple ways to save a little bit, too. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight one book per week, and offer bulk discounts on each of those, and a coupon for a 25% discount on any order over $75.

Today we’re featuring So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore?. For the next week, this book will be 25% off, or you can order in bulk, and save even more (Box of 10, or Box of 20). In addition, through the end of the year, use the coupon code 25off75 when you checkout to save 25% off any order over $75. Merry Christmas early from Lifestream!

Ordering Options:

• Purchase the individual book here at Lifestream
• Purchase in bulk: Box of 10, or Box of 20 (These also include free US shipping)
• Purchase the audiobook here at Lifestream (Additional audiobook options available on that page)

Other purchasing options such as Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books (all without special pricing), are available on any of those linked pages above. And if you’d like to order more than the Box of 20 option, email us your order and we’ll get you a custom price.

Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed.

Compelling and intensely personal, SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE relates a man’s rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, “There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life.”

A couple weeks back we asked for you to share something Wayne has written or said that has been particularly meaningful to you, and we’d post here. Today’s thoughts come from Jeannine, who wrote this on Thanksgiving Day:

This day I am thankful for You Wayne! Your support, wisdom, counsel, kindness, compassion, and prayers have helped me become a better reflection of Christ in this lost and broken world. I can try to express how your book “So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore?”, your testimony, your ministry, and your friendship have helped guide me to a stronger relationship with Christ and a deeper desire to learn more about how to live in His eternal love… But I will leave it at this. God has blessed me with so much, you included. I live in the hope of all we have and ALL that is to come.

If you have something you’d like to share, please reply to this email, or email me directly at webmaster@lifestream.org.

This post was written by Greg Campbell for Wayne Jacobsen and Lifestream.

Hi, I’m Greg Campbell. Wayne often calls me “[his] Web Guy” probably because I have been helping him with all his “web things” for about 20 years now. While Wayne is recuperating from his recent surgery and taking chemo, we thought it might be a good use of this space to remind people of some of the amazing resources Wayne has made available through Lifestream. Would you like to help? Perhaps something Wayne has written or said has been particularly meaningful in your own life. Would you be willing to share it as a way to encourage others who might be in a similar place in their journey. Perhaps there is a blog series, book, podcast, or audio recording (e.g. Transitions or Engage) that Jesus used to help you on your journey. Here’s the request again: Would you mind writing a paragraph or two about it? We’ll make it available here on the Lifestream website. Thanks!

I got to spend the weekend and then a three-hour drive with my dad this week. I realize I’m incredibly privileged to have a father like him. He was the epitome of character, integrity, graciousness, and willingness to follow God even at great risk to relationships he treasured.  I watched him be lied about by close friends and not defend himself, to be called names because he wouldn’t conform to what others wanted. This was not only my father according to the flesh, but also he is my father in the faith, setting the example of a man who would carve out time in his life to cultivate a closer relationship to Jesus, to listen to him, and to do whatever he put on his heart.

Spending time with my dad and talking over things we’re both thinking about and struggling with, is better than any book I can read, any conference I could attend, or any counselor I’d know. It is a rich, rich time that helps center my heart, shift my priorities, and adds nuggets of wisdom to my own journey.

After I dropped my dad off, I spent a few hours with another friend, Dave Coleman, who was my co-author on So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore. I enjoy time with Dave in the same way and with the same results. Between those two men in a single day, I gleaned over 170 years of experience of learning to know who Jesus is and and how to follow him. What an outstanding resource they both are! And, I know many more like them all over the world—men and women  in their 70s, 80s and 90s—who have been seasoned in walk with Jesus and picked up some amazing lessons along the way. Yet, they spend countless hours at home, alone. Few people come to visit, to ask questions, to not only offer them company but draw from their fountain of wisdom as well. And, I don’t just mean about spiritual things. These people know how to raise families, run businesses, cultivate healthy relationships, and put the welfare of others above their own.

In fact, after I left Dave’s, I met with some others who know him. They asked me how he was doing. It seemed so absurd to me. I live 250 miles away and they ask me how someone is doing who lives down the street from them. “He lives right here, you know?” I asked comically, though, I was also making a point. I know Dave would love to spend time with any of them, and they would all go away, enlightened and encouraged.

A few years ago I met with Jack Gray, a ninety-year-old in New Zealand, whose life and wisdom in Christ I’ve come to appreciate deeply. The man who drove me to that appointment joined in our conversation and after I came back home, he got a few more friends and went over to visit again and continues to, because of how helpful it has been to them. Jack told me those conversations have revitalized him and he looks forward to every one.

To its detriment, our culture has diminished the wisdom of age. Yes, I know many people grow old, bitter and more reclusive, but many others don’t. It’s as if we put their vast resources of wisdom and compassion on a shelf and ignore it, all the while trying to find the right book or speaker that might give us the wisdom we think we need. Don’t fall for it. There are brothers and sisters right around you that have what you seek and would love to help you discover a great life in Jesus. And you won’t just get platitudes or principles, but a living example and the honesty of their struggle.

If you know one of them, just invite them to lunch, or ask if you might visit. Get to know them and see what treasures spill out of their heart. If you don’t know what to talk about, here are some suggestions:

What are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned on your journey?

What are you thinking about these days?

What’s the best advice you ever received about marriage (or business, or relationships, or discipleship)?

Tell me some ways God has made himself known to you?

What has been the hardest thing for you to entrust to God?

I promise you, you’ll make their day.  And yours too!

Often I hear people say that God doesn’t speak to them. I never believe it. He’s been whispering his reality into your heart since you first took breath, it’s just that we’ve gotten used to listening to other voices until his fades into the background of our own fears and anxieties. The ubiquitous noise of our culture drown him out and the lies of religion have us looking for an accuser’s voice that we’re not enough, rather than the tenderness of the Abba’s voice.

Learning to quiet the noise and hear his heartbeat again is one of the great joys of this journey. Discovering that some of those thoughts running around your head are not you talking to you, but are addressed to you by someone who loves you more than anyone on this planet ever has or ever will. It helps to know what to look for. If you’re looking for accusation, condemnation, and disappointment, you’ll miss him. His are words of endearment, comfort, wisdom, and life! Yes, they may be challenging, but in a way that invites us into a greater reality, not that makes us despise ourselves.

Many have heard him who just haven’t recognized him yet. It may help to know some of the kinds of things God says. Over the years people have told me stories of recognition and freedom that came when they heard him speak to them. I love the things he says to people that are illuminating and liberating at the same time.

Here are a few of the examples I’ve heard:

• To someone lost in a temptation or addiction, “What are you doing? This isn’t who you are.
• To someone complaining about difficult circumstances, “You talk to me as if I am your adversary.”
• To someone drowning in feelings of abandonment, “I wish you knew how much I love you.”
• To someone with overextended commitments, “I didn’t ask you to do any of this.”
• To someone being battered by religious leaders, “They are not your shepherds. I’m your shepherd and I will never treat you like that.”
• Dealing with criticism and judgments of others: “What they think about you doesn’t define you.”
• To someone finding new freedom not to react out of their flesh, “I really enjoy you this way.”

This little two-minute video illustrates this all so perfectly as comedian Michael, Jr. talks about his baby hearing his voice for the first time. Watch the recognition and the immediate change in his newborn daughter. (Sorry about the ad!) And listen to what he is quite naturally saying to her in her disoriented fears.

If you knew Father was whispering similar things in your heart today, wouldn’t it change everything? “Daddy is right here. Everything will be OK. I love you.”

That’s what he is saying to you, whether you can hear it or not. Be still. Find a quiet place. Listen. Lean into the reality of his love, not the lies of our culture or your religious heritage.