S7 Episode #2 - Jack Mooring
THE ONE WITH JAck Mooring
This week we are excited to welcome pastor, speaker, songwriter and author, Jack Mooring to the show! His book, Portrait of God: Rediscovering the Attributes of God through the Stories of His People, is an incredible guidebook, using the stories of influential Christian figures to help modern-day believers find stability in their faith amidst the chaos of the world. Tune in to this week’s episode of The Collected Podcast for the tools on digging deeper into the truths about the unchanging character of God, experiencing the presence of God, and finding healing from depression.
A Little more about Jack
Beginning in ministry from an early age with his family, he and his brother went on to start the band LEELAND. Signing to Provident Music Group (A division of SONY BMG), the band released seven records, four of which received Grammy Nominations for “Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.” After touring full time and ministering around the world from 2005-2014, Jack left the band in order to pastor full time. For several years he served on the pastoral staff of two different churches before planting Celebration of Life Church: Nashville. Jack continues to make music as a songwriter signed with Integrity Music. As both a pastor and creative, Jack is passionate about communicating the gospel in a post-Christian culture. He resides in Franklin, TN with his wife Whitney and four children: Smith, Kate, Anthony, and Gabriel.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In an ever-changing, often turbulent world, recognizing God’s goodness can be challenging. Many Christians describe their faith as a rollercoaster, with seasons of feeling close to God and having a clear sense of His presence, and others where He seems distant.
Author Jack Mooring experienced this personally, and by reflecting on and learning from the lives of the faithful men and women in history, he uncovered powerful reminders of God’s unchanging truths.
Mooring’s new book, Portrait of God: Rediscovering the Attributes of God through the Stories of His People (David C Cook, August 6, 2024) serves as a guidebook, using the stories of influential Christian figures like C.S. Lewis and St. Augustine to help modern-day believers find stability in their faith amidst the chaos of the world. In Portrait of God, Mooring provides thought-provoking questions and a list of further readings about each faith leader, allowing readers to dig even deeper into the truths about the unchanging character of God.
“I’ve learned that the Christian life is less about learning and more about remembering,” writes Mooring. “I grew up in a rich tradition of truth, but life’s lies have often buried those true ideas about God. So I wrote this book to remind myself and the rest of us forgetful people that this God we love is really who He says He is. This book is an attempt to rediscover our wonder about who He is. For each attribute of God, I chose a person in church history who actually experienced that part of God’s nature. The goal is that, as we hear the stories of these people, we can get a glimpse of God through their eyes.”
Each chapter explores an attribute of God through a person in church history who radically experienced His nature, applying it as a brushstroke to our portrait.
Readers will uncover:
Faith: How an all-powerful God worked miracles in the life of Kathryn Kuhlman.
Holiness: What Augustine of Hippo’s life in a secular world teaches us about God.
Compassion: How William and Catherine Booth’s service to others radiated God’s love.
LISTEN
WATCH
SHOW NOTES
DOUBT AND PAIN
Through seasons of doubt and struggle, Jack encourages listeners to lean into God and rely on what you know to be true about His character and His Word.
If you keep going, the healing is coming. God will make all things right in the end.
Jack’s parents walked through an intense season of hurt from their home church. They choose to forgive. Forgiveness is fundamental to our life as followers of Christ. We can set boundaries and remove people from positions of power, but we also must forgive. Unforgiveness can destroy your life.
God knows your pain. He hurts alongside you.
THE LOVE OF GOD
God is perfect love. His love is the most pure and perfect form of love.
We have a tendency to want to earn God’s love and prove ourselves to him. We live in a “hussle culture” that impacts every area of our lives… including our spiritual life. The Gospel is the exact opposite of this mentality. We cannot earn His love. We are children of God and nothing we do or don’t do can take that away.
Some other attributes of God:
Holiness
Joy
Compassion for the lost
God is multifaceted.
THE HOLINESS OF GOD
The angels sing “Holy, holy, holy” before the throne of God.
Holy means “other, set apart”, there is no one else like God. He is completely “other”.
We can at times play God’s love and holiness against one another. However, they are inseparable. God has boundaries for us, he tells us “no” in order to protect us.
St. Augustine lived during the Roman Empire. He started as a young man living a wild life in Milan. When he came to know the Lord, he truly wrestled with the decision because he knew that following God would mean letting go of his former way of living.
REMEMBERING VS. LEARNING
We must remember the things we already know about God. If you’ve been walking with God for a little while, you know everything you need to know in order to have a flourishing walk with God.
There is always more to learn about God, but even just the basics are enough to walk with God.
We must be in a rhythm of remembering. Remembering the truth about who God is and all the things that He has done in your life. Remembering the past faithfulness of God can be the encouragement to get you through the next tough season.
FEELING THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Struggling to feel the presence of God often coincides with a loss of “spiritual hunger”.
In our physical bodies, a lack of appetite is a sign of sickness. It is the same in our spiritual lives. If we have a lack of appetite for learning about The Lord, that could be a sign that you need to set aside distractions and spend some time with God. Turn off the noise and spend time in prayer and The Word.
How to feel the presence of God:
Turn off the noise
Be patient
You may not feel an overwhelming sense of God’s presence every time you pray. However, Hebrews promises us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.
Stay faithful and keep showing up.
In the Bible, Thomas doubted that Christ had risen and he felt disconnected from the presence of The Lord. Jesus showed up to Thomas and let Thomas experience His presence in a powerful way. God knows when we need to experience Him in a new way and He will be faithful to provide that.
However, the verse in Hebrews reminds us that God will draw near… not that you will always feel Him. Even when you cannot “feel” Him, He is still near. His presence never leaves you… despite what you feel in a given moment.
Sometimes we must believe without seeing and feeling. Jesus tells Thomas that Thomas is able to believe because Thomas could see Jesus… but that it is far better to believe without seeing.
You are not forgotten, God is near, He is working. Keep digging in, keep seeking God.
God wants to be known. He made himself known. He seeks after us.
In the Ancient Near East, the pagan gods/idols required food, cleaning and clothing. BUT, our God clothes us, feeds us and cleans us. He’s the God that pursues us. He is know-able and near.
OVERCOMING DEPRESSION
Jack grew up in a strong spiritual home and understood the spiritual battle of depression, but he felt like he lacked the tools relating to the physical and emotional toll of depression.
Depression is all three– spiritual, physical and emotional. We must tackle it in all three areas as a holistic journey.
You don’t have to wait to reach a magical point of healing or perfection in order for your life to be ok. In the messiness of your journey, God still loves you, He is still with you, and He is still able to use you! This is the whole point of the Christian life– God is with you now, and He takes our mess and uses it for His glory. You don’t have to earn your way out of your struggles.
Tips:
Ask people to pray for and with you.
Pray for others.
Serve other people.
Every person has a Genesis 1:26 and a John 3:16 value.
We are made in the image of God.
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
We are worth the blood of Jesus.
John 3:16 – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Every person is valuable to God! Seeing the value in others and serving them can be a powerful part of your own healing process.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We live in a contentious time – nationally and globally. In times with a heightened sense of trouble, we need to go back to the fundamentals of who God is and what He is like.
The people in Jack’s book also lived in contentious times and there are valuable lessons that we can learn from their lives.
God chose you to live in this moment! What a privilege to live in such a time as this. God will use you right where you are!
NEXT STEPS
Here are a few action steps to help you dip deeper this week!
Take 10 minutes this week to sit down and remember specific ways that God has been faithful in your life. Write this list down and put it in a place where you will see it on a daily basis. Let it be a reminder to you that God was faithful then and He will be faithful again.
Reach out to 2 people in your life and ask how you can be praying for them this week. Take time to intentionally pray for them each day.
CONNECT WITH JACK:
| Instagram | Website | Get the Book|
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The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes Biondo and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.