Posts by Brent Clark

Posts by Brent Clark

Freedom

Congratulations! If you are doing the digital fast, you are over halfway done! What has changed for you in the last two and a half weeks? Have you noticed your desires shifting? Have you become aware of the times you do reach for your phone and stop to ask yourself, “Do I really need to do this right now?” Has God spoken to you during this time? One thing I have noticed is that some of the things that I…

Discoveries

We’ve entered the second week of the digital fast. How’s it going? What have you been noticing? This week, someone texted me that they looked at their screen time numbers, and last week’s screen time was down 56%! That’s awesome! If you’ve had a similar story of success (or even a story of struggle), we want to know! As you fast, you may notice things shifting in you. The “withdrawals” of the first week may become the urges and pangs…

Digital Fast Vs Autopilot

As we have begun a digital fast, I have started to notice a few things about my technology habits. One has been how much background noise seems to exist because I have enabled it. Another is finding myself wondering what I should do since I don’t have websites or social media to turn to during this season. One of the most fascinating things that I am discovering is just how much of my technology habits have been on autopilot. I…

Eat This!

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live…

Peace Be Still

I need time in God‘s presence today. Reading the news and what’s going on in the world has my soul troubled and anxious. Meet me here God; quiet my heart and my restlessness. Let me sit with you this morning.  I feel the heaviness, the weight of the world. Others must feel it too. Divisiveness. Hatred. Murder. War. Enemies. Violence. Cancer. Sickness. Weariness. Exhaustion. Stay busy so I don’t have to face it. Keep the devices on, so I can…

My Paradigm Challenged

As I was reading John 9 this morning, I was struck by the interaction between a man healed of his blindness and the Pharisees. What an incredible story with a convicting ending. As the man who had been blind his entire life has to justify his healing, he tells the Pharisees (those with religious power), “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (John 9:33 NIV) What happens next is sad and scary. Verse 34: “To this…

Coming Soon! Ashworth Learning Center

A few weeks ago, we announced that as part of an effort to be more intentional about meeting the needs in our community, we established the Ashworth Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit with the express intent of providing programs, offering services, and engaging in other activities that promote and support low and medium-income individuals in West Des Moines. To listen to a conversation between Pastor Brent and Pastor Ryan on this, click here. Our first initiative is the Ashworth Learning…
bible

03.16.21 Feed

THE B-I-B-L-E, YES, THAT’S THE BOOK FOR ME If you grew up in church, it is likely you sang this song many times. Often, we find ourselves in a love/hate relationship with the Bible. At times we read it and feel encouraged as if the words were jumping off the page at us and guiding our steps as we live. And at other times, we feel the guilt of not picking it up because it just doesn’t seem to resonate…
prayer

A Prayer of Confession

Abba Father, Forgive us, we pray. We have sought power in politics and not in surrender and service to you and to one another. We have looked to politicians and judges for salvation and been willing to overlook and even make excuses for blatant behavior that reveals a heart far from the character of Christ. We have looked the other way so that we can grab and hold on to power. We have put down and desecrated others who have…

A Response to the Injustice and Racism in our Nation

Too often, when things happen around us that we do not understand or that make us uncomfortable, our immediate response is, “Yes, but…” “Yes, George Floyd died, but he might have had a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill.” “Yes, black lives matter, but all lives matter, too.” “Yes, there are some bad cops, but we still have the greatest justice system in the world.” And while these statements may technically be true, the “Yes, but…” response is an attempt to shift the…