Podcast Preview
In this episode of 12-Minute Convos with Jesus Believers, Engel Jones connects with author and speaker Constance Hastings from Wilmington, Delaware. Constance shares a deeply raw and pivotal moment from her life when, during a retreat, she was accidentally left behind by her group. Finding herself completely abandoned, she walked down a dark, cold road angry, kicking stones, and questioning if the God she had always believed in even existed. In the midst of this severe spiritual crisis, she encountered a massive, larger-than-regulation stop sign where she confronted God in the howling wind, finding a profound, life-saving reassurance of His love that kept her from walking away from her faith forever.
Listen in as Constance discusses how God sometimes intentionally separates us for His own personal purposes and messages. She also unpacks the heart behind her book, The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away, which is written with an edgy, honest voice tailored specifically for skeptics, doubters, and struggling believers. Constance boldly challenges conventional religious expectations by examining the "troublesome" things about Jesus such as His tendency to value outcasts, talk about money, choose "losers," and refuse to be a convenient "divine fixer". If you are wrestling with spiritual doubt, walking through a cold season of isolation, or searching for a faith that can withstand honest, hard questions, Constance's beautiful testimony and her reminder of Christ's light burden will deeply anchor your soul!
Guest's Bio
Constance Hastings brings an outsider's perspective to what insiders know about the story of Jesus. Raised by non-religious parents, educated in a Christian school; lover of great literature, teacher of the disadvantaged; ordained in a mainline denomination, mental health counselor outside the church; she aims to make connections speaking in new places the old voices of meaning. With an edgy voice recognized by those caught in an existential dilemma, for those who have never or not been in church for a long time, for those who used to think they knew him, Constance Hastings confronts your concept of one of the most controversial figures whoever existed and the trouble Jesus means.
Website links: