J.s. Park - The Way Everlasting Podcast

Spoken Word, given to Yale University Students in CT. About the three fateful days from Jesus's crucifixion to resurrection, told from the viewpoint of a modern day disciple. 1-21-18

1 Kings 18-19. The story of Elijah. Through discouragement, distress, and depression: how God speaks to us and how we speak to one another. As a lifelong sufferer of depression, this is hugely personal for me. "The sudden mental replay in the shower and the late-night regret twitch, the one common denial from every patient in the hospital, when you just need a hamburger and a really long nap, the hidden fear of men getting honest, the panic moment when someone sees your text messages and photos, how Yoda finally got through to Luke Skywalker, and Elijah versus depression versus the world." 4-17-16

A Spoken Word performance: a modern re-telling about the three fateful days of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, and how the chaos of the cross turned into beautiful death-defying glory. (Audio clip by Gungor, "We Will Run") 12-8-13

1 Samuel 17. How David and Goliath shows us true strength amidst our worst weakness. Preached at the Navigators Winter Conference. "The overwhelming statistical ultimatums of TED Talks, the time my 160 lb brother destroyed a 250 lb challenger in an MMA match, our hyper-mania in trying to go viral, play-by-play breakdown through the ultimate cage match between David and Goliath, a time travel interview with little boy David, how true strength is shaped in behind-the-scenes in background nowhere-ness, how I first started dating my wife through AIM messenger, and how God can work through a box full of pizza." 2-18-17 *Note: Details in stories have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

A workshop on atheism and faith, from a former atheist. At the Navigators Winter Conference. "A theological remix of Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, when you reduce money and marriage and government all the way down to the bottom, trying to find the non-contingent objective truth of 'just really,' when the transcendent existential panic kicks down the front door of your guts at 3am, the two things I hear on every deathbed, dismantling the zeitgeist of Us vs. Them dichotomy, giving up magical formulas for faith, un-weaponizing the cultural warfare of religion, and the scary moment when you bring a friend to church for the first time." 2-18-17

Matthew 7 and 18. About judging, rebuke, why we go to church, and confronting your friend with the truth. CCF Retreat 2 of 4. "That secret low-key grudge-hate against a fellow church member, the extremely painful (and necessary) peeling of accountability, the danger of isolating ourselves by echoing yes-men and self-affirming flattery, Jesus's graphic pictures of digging in your eyeball, the weird crazy arranged marriage of church, and four phrases we can use daily to heal one another." 11-5-16

Matthew 17. Our rest and resolve through demands and darkness. CCF Retreat 3 of 4. "The two things I hear on every deathbed in the hospital, how over 700 people answered the question, 'What is the greatest universal human desire?', how Jesus answers our marriage proposal, when we can finally stop being crushed by demands and deadlines, how faith is like a long-distance relationship, how God solves for both our lukewarmness and legalism, Seven Powerful Truths if the Gospel is True, and the Gospel according to Han Solo." 11-5-16

John 1. How to live our faith authentically in the real world. CCF Retreat 4 of 4. "The time I overheard a couple have the most dramatic break-up ever, what flirtation and 'romantic chemistry' is really about, the problem with trying to be the protagonist of your own story, seeing your name in the dedication section of a book, and the one question that every Christian can ask ourselves in every room we enter." 11-6-16

A seminar that I gave in San Jose, CA about the truths and myths of dating & relationships within both the church-culture & pop-culture. 2 Timothy 2. "The time I overheard a couple have their final knock-down drag-out fight, my absolutely favorite type of scene in the movies, what everyone really wants in the hospital, dating theology from Taylor Swift, when God looks at you through the ceiling, and Christianity according to a cologne sample." December 27th, 2015

Acts 2:42-47. Preached at CCF in Gainesville, FL. On the difficult messy work of giving grace. "My time at the mental institution with drug addicts and sex addicts and recovering mental patients, the awkward harrowing nerve-racking experience of bringing your friend to church (and it happens to be sacrifice-a-live-animal day), the cringe-inducing moment when the preacher goes political, finding out what percentage of the church is actually God's intention, the recent trend of movies where bad guys are not really bad but have a tragic back-story, what saying 'I do' really means, that time I fought a pastor in a parking lot, and sculpting a real eye-to-eye face-to-face friendship over coffee." 7-18-14

John 3:30. Preached at CCF in Gainesville. About our itchy eternal longing for heart-swelling value and worthiness. "My first audition for a TV show, the secret second language we use to fight for attention in every room, our crazy scrambling for a social media fanbase, when we become demon-possessed in rush hour traffic, our Main Character Syndrome, what I plan to do at my kid's first junior football game, and the absolutely face-melting moment when Jesus returns with a flaming sword ripping the sky open." 7-31-15

Mark 4. Two words that we quickly avoid but desperately need for growth, healing, and wholeness, for our relationships, churches, politics, and faith. "When you see someone else's kid misbehaving in public, the most unappealing things about Christianity for Christians, thinking the sermon is for the guy in the next row, tracing the theme of water and chaos through ancient history and Scripture, and how Jesus's war cry obliterated our worldly warfare." 3-6-16

Isaiah 6. How the holiness of God irrevocably changes us in two ground-shaking ways. "The two things I hear at every deathbed in the hospital, my body's crazy involuntary response when I flew over the Grand Canyon, every instance of the Bible characters seeing God and falling over crying, the unseen thankless art of raising children, how to live generously with zero guarantees, and a letter from Belize." 3-20-16

Acts 9. How killer Saul became Apostle Paul and got his first unlikely roommate, the disciple Ananias. "Adopting my abused dog Rosco and rehabilitating him, how an African-American musician befriended and changed a KKK leader, why I agree with the Elder Brother against the Prodigal Son, the impossibility of outgrowing your nickname and time-stamped hometown past, the one frustrating difficult person that never changes, how the back-row of punk kids at church completely humbled me, and the freedom of finally becoming the kind of person that loves no matter what." 4-24-16

Matthew 17. When we're crushed by deadlines, demands, and disorder, we need both the rest and resolve to get through. "That moment of exhaustion when you sigh for a long time before you walk through the door, the burn-out check-out from school and marriage and career, the strange beauty of enjoying something you can't pay for with nothing to offer, the greatest miracle Jesus ever pulled, faith as a long-distance relationship, a word for both perfectionists and slackers, and the one crucial question they ask you at a car accident." 7-17-16

Jeremiah 29. Exploring one of the most misinterpreted passages in the Bible about pain and perseverance. "The after-wedding shock of discovering your spouse is a stranger, when you take a test with lowered expectations to feel good about a bad grade, how 200 respondents answered whether Depression was a Choice or a Disease, life lessons from a tough plucky foster kid, and enduring the Saturday between the Cross and Resurrection." 6-26-16

Romans 7-8. A message preached to Yale students about the relevance and reason of Christianity. Part 1 of 3: How the Gospel uniquely differs from every other kind of motivation. "A meta-deconstruction of the Sunday church service, how to bomb a TEDTalk, the last two things I hear from dying patients in the hospital, the haunting of l’esprit de l’escalier, de-romanticizing adoption, the list of my flaws I gave to my wife before we started dating, and how a nine-year-old showed me the heart of Christianity." 1-30-16

Luke 15. A message preached to Yale students about the relevance and reason of Christianity. Part 2 of 3: How the Gospel solves for two universal human problems and the greatest human need."How to tell an alien about the human race, conclusions about humanity after a survey with 700 replies, the instant anxiety when you walk into a crowded room, the itchy self-conscious moment when someone is slightly more talented at 'my thing,' that loopy moment at night with your best friend when you start confessing everything, two universal human problems and our greatest human need, and the absolutely most important linchpin verse in the Bible." 1-30-16

Exodus 14, 20. A message preached to Yale students about the relevance and reason of Christianity. Part 3 of 3: How the Gospel compels us into action, neither by guilt nor religion, but deliverance."How long it actually should've taken the Israelites to get to Canaan from Egypt (not forty years), the moment right after the wedding, how the grace of my first pastor completely tenderized and galvanized me, the Christian life beyond 'overcoming-sin,' and seeing God in the Philippines and a homeless shelter." 1-31-16

Mark 9. The Transfiguration. Preached in Gainesville, FL. What it really means to be "on fire for God" and how to endure the dry desert valley. "Walking with kids and pigs through huts on the islands of the Philippines, the moment when Jesus dropped his flesh-suit and flexed his total divine glory with laserbeams out his mouth, how long-distance dating is like faith, and finding God in the homeless shelter." 10-25-15