The Uncommon Truth

In the very first episode of The Uncommon Truth, podcast host Max Ehrman introduces himself and shares his family's journey to discover the authentic expression of the Church.  He details the process of moving from rural Canada to a rough neighborhood in Northern California to be a part of The Father's House Church in Oroville, CA.   Max is joined by the senior and founding pastor of The Father's House, Steve Orsillo, to talk about the uncommon message and ministry that caused Max and his family to move away from a thriving ministry and community.   For more information about The Father's House Church: Visit: www.changeoroville.org School of Transformation YouTube Facebook Instagram  

As Christians, we know we are supposed to experience lives characterized by peace and joy.  We also know that our faith should make a difference in the world around us.  Yet how many of us, if we are honest, actually experience our Christianity this way?  Does our Christianity work? Max and Steve talk about how Christians sometimes limit their expectations and miss out on experiencing all of what a relationship with Jesus can be.  Steve outlines the differences between working Christianity and what many have settled for.  For more information about The Father's House Church: Visit: www.changeoroville.org School of Transformation YouTube Facebook Instagram

As the Body of Christ in the West, what do we care about?  On first look, it would seem obvious that we care about what Jesus does, right?  But is that really true of how we live and prioritize our lives day to day? This week, Max and Steve discuss some of the ways that we have misplaced our passions, using Jesus' words as the benchmark.  Steve unpacks how we've subtly allowed the desire for comfort, security and happiness to limit our effectiveness for Jesus.  Thankfully, they also discuss how the Church and individual believers can get back into alignment with what Jesus is passionate about.   For more information about The Father's House Church: Visit: www.changeoroville.org School of Transformation YouTube Facebook Instagram      

As Christians, there are few topics more important than what we believe about salvation.  The problem is, there seems to be a lot of confusion on the subject in the Church today.  Have you ever read the words of Jesus in the gospels and left feeling confused?  Why is that? Max is joined by Steve Orsillo, pastor of The Father's House Church in Oroville to get a little more clarity.  Steve outlines how he faced that same confusion as a new believer, and how he eventually recognized and overcame it.  Along the way the discussion covers common misconceptions Christians have and examines them in light of the words of Christ.   For more information about The Father's House Church: Visit: www.changeoroville.org School of Transformation YouTube Facebook Instagram

How does our understanding of salvation impact the way we live?  This week on The Uncommon Truth, Max is joined by a special guest, Geordie Mumby, to discuss that question.  Geordie is an associate pastor at The Father's House and the director of the church's School of Transformation. Max and Geordie build on last week's conversation about a biblically consistent salvation theology, which is not very common in the Western Church.  They talk about the outcomes of living that out in a believer's life, and in the Church in general.  Geordie brings examples from his life growing up and the contrast he found after encountering Jesus.   Connect with us: The Father's House Church: www.changeoroville.org,  Steve Orsillo's Books on Amazon, Connect with us on our Facebook page, Check out our Instagram feed, Watch messages on YouTube, School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org, Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com, Project 61 Short Term Missions: www.project61.org , Project 61 Instagram.    

After his resurrection, Jesus promised to send his disciples His Holy Spirit.  He actually commanded them to wait for this before doing anything else.  Fast forward to the present day and believers still have access to the same Spirit, however, do we depend on Him?   While we are familiar with some of what the Spirit does, many in the Western Church have a hard time identifying the reason why Jesus sent us his Spirit in the first place.  Is the Holy Spirit meant to be our sidekick, helping us accomplish whatever we put our minds to? Is there a bigger purpose to his presence within us? Max is joined by Geordie Mumby, Director of of the School of Transformation and associate pastor at The Father's House Church of Oroville, CA to discuss.  Also, Justin Rife of Catch the Fire's School of Revival in Raleigh, NC stops by to talk about his team's visit to The Father's House on a Project 61 short term mission trip.   For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon  For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions visits: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship    To connect with Justin Rife at CTF Raleigh: www.ctfraleigh.com - www.schoolofrevival.us

Max and Steve discuss a practical question of church structure this week on The Uncommon Truth.  In North America, the Church seems to have a hard line between ministry and vocational work.  In other words, most people think they have to choose between dedicating their lives to either working in the marketplace or serving in full time ministry.   The work of Jesus’ commission is left to a select few while the rest of the Body of Christ is excluded or apathetic.   Max asks Steve what the bible says, focusing on Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church.  Along the way, Steve shares his insights from over 40 years in both full time work and ministry. For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

In the West, and in North America especially, our culture has elevated individual independence to new levels. When we look at that through our 21st Century, Western worldview that does not seem like anything to be concerned about.  However, how does that effect the way we as Christians represent Jesus to the rest of the world?   Jesus calls Christians to be unified with Him, the Father, the Holy Spirit and each other.  Yet we find ourselves scattered, living outside of Christian community and depending on no one but ourselves. Max is joined again by Geordie Mumby to discuss the implications of such independence and to explore the Biblical alternative.   For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

When it comes to measuring success, whether in church, business or life in general, it is important to understand what constitutes success.  In today's Christianity in North America, the churches and ministries we consider successful are usually the ones with the largest followings.  In other words, our standard for what we deem successful is not that different from what our Western culture calls success.   In this episode, Max and Steve talk about how consumerism and a worldly success model have impacted how we minister.  Is there more to the story of success than just attendance numbers, building size and giving statements?  What was Jesus' standard for determining success?  If believers are the product that we are producing, are we happy with the outcome? For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

In his final moments on earth, Jesus commanded his followers to engage in the practice of making disciples. This command is what we like to call, “the great commission,” today, and most of us could even quote it verbatim. Yet a definition of terms is necessary to make sure our way of making disciples today matches with what Jesus had in mind.  In this episode, the first in a multi-part series on discipleship, Max and Steve start with the basics: what is the definition of a disciple? Is a disciple just the title given to someone who has believed in Jesus?  Is there a difference between the life of a disciple and that of “normal Christians?” What characteristics do disciples demonstrate? Before we go about making disciples, we need to make sure we understand what Jesus meant by the word. For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

Max and Steve continue the series on discipleship this week. If a disciple is an imitator of Jesus, or literally an identical twin, then how do we get there? Where do we even start? How do we do discipleship in real life? Steve outlines several simple New Testament principles for becoming more and more like Jesus. Submission and surrender are not popular ideals in the West, yet scripture seems to indicate that they are necessary for discipleship. Even more uncommon is the idea that we are supposed to follow and imitate fellow humans who represent Christ well.  For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

Special guests Duncan & Kate Smith from Catch the Fire World in Raleigh, NC join Max in studio this week. Duncan and Kate Smith are revivalists who carry the fire of God's love and power all over the world. Originally from the UK, they are also Presidents of Catch The Fire World, a global network of revival churches, missions and ministries, birthed out of the Toronto Revival. They planted CTF Raleigh with their three beautiful daughters. The Smiths share about their faith journey from the UK to Canada and eventually to North Carolina in the USA. As worldwide church leaders, they also share some perspective on the status of the Church as a whole: specifically what the North American Church can learn from believers in the rest of the world.  Finally, Duncan and Kate reflect on their visit to The Father’s House Church in Oroville and offer their impressions.   To connect with Catch the Fire in Raleigh: ctfraleigh.com - Facebook - @catchthefireraleigh on Instagram - Twitter @ctfraleigh CTF School of Revival: schoolofrevival.us - Facebook - @schoolofrevival on Instagram - Twitter @SoRevival CTF Music's New Album Presence out now: catchthefiremusic.com - Facebook - YouTube - @catchthefiremusic on Instagram Stay tuned to CTFRaleigh.com for more info on the Encounter Conference, Nov 7-9, 2019 - For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

Max and Steve look at the topic of discipleship from the perspective of those doing the discipling. One of the reasons Max and his family moved from Canada to The Father's House Church was because of the level of discipleship. From community living, accountability, mentorship and self sacrifice, both the methods and the results were extraordinary.   What does it take to guide people into real relationship with Jesus and the life change that comes from that? What does it take as leaders to live lives that inspire people to follow? All this and more as Max seeks to learn from Steve's four decades of discipleship. For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

In the final episode the series on discipleship, Max and Steve explore the cost of following Jesus. Many Christians have found themselves following Jesus without ever being warned of what that entails. Steve points out that the life of discipleship is not just for “super Christians”; discipleship is actually just regular Christianity. When considering what it takes to follow Jesus, the obvious verses about carrying your cross and leaving your family are often cited. Steve goes beyond the obvious, however. He makes the point that the cost of following Jesus is paid in almost every aspect of your life.  Hypocrisy, selfishness and double lives are no longer options for disciples. Every little detail of your life needs to reflect your imitation of Christ if you want to be His disciple. This is the cost Jesus asks us to add up before we commit to following Him. To connect with Max: Send me an email maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or questions about an episode.   For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Project 61 short term missions: www.project61.org - www.instagram.com/tfhcproject61 For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

Max is joined in studio by special guest Johnny Bowers. Johnny shares about how he found Jesus at The Father's House and the School of Transformation after years as the frontman for a heavy metal band. The discussion centers around the ways in which we often mischaracterize Jesus in the West. The commonplace view of Jesus is as a passive, inoffensive teacher who never crossed anyone. However, reading the New Testament shows a much different picture. How does our view of Jesus effect how we live our lives? Do misconceptions surrounding Jesus harm our relationship with Him? Is Jesus just a nice guy you can choose to listen to or ignore? If He's more just the fluffy caricature our culture portrays Him as, we need to know. Johnny points out that a great way to get to know the real Jesus, and therefore God as well, is to read the gospels.  To connect with Max: Send me an email maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or questions about an episode.   For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available on Amazon! For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

In a new segment, Max welcomes School of Transformation teacher and alum Jessica Zeppi to talk about her experience in the school and her journey at The Father's House. She shares about meeting SOT director (and podcast guest) Geordie Mumby in Toronto and knowing there was something different about The Father's House. In the six years since, Jessica has gotten married, began helping with the school and has joined the church's pastoral staff.   In the main part of the episode, Steve is back from a cruise he was actually paid to go on! He talks about sailing to Alaska and reminisces about the Apollo 11 moon landing which happened 50 years ago this past weekend. Continuing the theme of the uncomfortable sayings of Jesus, Steve and Max discuss what Jesus actually says about how the Kingdom of God will make its way to Earth. Sometimes we can become frustrated when the promised Kingdom doesn't seem to be getting any closer, both in our own lives and in the communities around us. Are we just supposed to be patient and wait, or do we have a role to play as individual believers in making it happen? For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville To connect with Max: Send me an email at maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or feedback about an episode.   For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available here on Amazon! For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

Max is joined by his first Dutch guest in the new spotlight segment. Jos Van Huysse is on staff at The Father's House working with media creation, worship and Life Recovery Ministries. He shares about his skepticism upon visiting Oroville and why he felt drawn to return anyway. Now five years later, he has the privilege of helping others along the same path. After Jos, Steve and Max talk about their shared love of baseball, in honor of the MLB trade deadline, before moving on to talk about their shared love of Jesus. Specifically, the conversation centers on what Jesus has to say about salvation.  When reading Jesus, it can be tempting to gloss over teachings that challenge our preconceived notions or even confuse us. Yet Steve faces them head on. Instead of bringing our theology to Jesus for Him to approve, we need to go to Jesus to inform our theology. For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville To connect with Max: Send me an email at maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or feedback about an episode.   For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available here on Amazon! For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

The Uncommon Truth got off the ground in the beginning when Max pitched the idea of a podcast to Danielle Devine in the business office at The Father's House Church. Now, a few months later, Danielle joins to share some stories about her time in the ministry. As Steve and Vicki Orsillo's youngest daughter, Danielle has been involved in the ministry since the age of 4, so she's seen it all.  After setting California state scoring records in high school basketball, Danielle went on to become an all-Pac 10 player at Arizona State University. She married Derek, an aspiring NFL quarterback, and was projected to be drafted in the first round of the WNBA draft. On the podcast Danielle discusses several, "moments of insanity," where she said yes to Jesus despite how crazy it seemed. The world might think following Jesus makes no sense. Yet when looking back, so much of what happens at The Father's House can be tracked back to Danielle just saying yes to Jesus. Share the podcast with a friend! Just copy+paste this link (https://link.chtbl.com/UCT_listen_now) into an email, text or Facebook post. To connect with Max: Send me an email at maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or feedback about an episode. For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available here on Amazon! For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

  Wrapping up a loose series on the uncomfortable sayings of Jesus, Max is joined by Chloe Wellsand to discuss the sometimes overlooked topic of forgiveness. Chloe comes from near Cardiff in Wales, UK and is on pastoral staff at The Father’s House.  Her work includes prayer ministry and teaching in the School of Transformation, and her hometown—The Vale of Glamorgan—is also the hometown of some of the elves from the Lord of the Rings (probably). Max and Chloe talk about how the topic of forgiveness has been overlooked, or at least misunderstood, in the Church in general. While the idea of receiving Christ’s forgiveness is probably pretty familiar to most Christians, what Jesus says about our role in forgiving others is not quite as common.  What does Jesus mean when He says, “Forgive and you shall be forgiven?” As His followers, how are we supposed to respond? Share the podcast with a friend! Just copy+paste this link (https://link.chtbl.com/UCT_listen_now) into an email, text or Facebook post. To connect with Max: Send me an email at maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or feedback about an episode. For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available here on Amazon! For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship

The focus of the Uncommon Truth has always been a diligent search for Christianity authentically lived out. Nothing fits that description better than the lives of Geordie and Stefanie Mumby. Since The Uncommon Truth debuted in April, Geordie has been a regular co-host of the show. It was around that same time that he received a dire cancer diagnosis. Rather than sink into despair or victimhood, both Geordie and Stefanie have focused on serving and loving Jesus. It is a recognition that authentic Christianity has very little to do with what Jesus can offer them, and much more to do with how they can bring glory and honor to Jesus. It is easy to talk about these things in abstract, as is usually the case on the show. Watching a whole family walk it out daily is a different story.  Geordie's Journey can be followed on facebook.com/geordiesjourney and at gofundme.com/f/geordies-journey. Please consider supporting the Mumbys through this difficult time. Share the podcast with a friend! Just copy+paste this link https://link.chtbl.com/UCT_listen_now into an email, text or Facebook post. To connect with Max: Send me an email at maxehrman@changeoroville.org with topics you would like to see covered or feedback about an episode. For the School of Transformation: www.transformationschool.org - www.instagram.com/sotoroville For more about The Father's House: www.changeoroville.org - www.facebook.com/fathers.house.oroville - TFHC Media on YouTube - www.instagram.com/the.fathers.house.oroville  Steve Orsillo's books are available here on Amazon! For Life Recovery Ministries: www.liferecoveryministry.com - www.instagram.com/lrmdiscipleship