Still Standing with Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

Why I'm Changing Everything (And What's Coming Next)

If you have been listening to this show, you deserve to hear this directly. Something is changing. Not because things went wrong. Because things finally went right. This is Bridge Episode 2 of Still Standing. Today I am not pivoting. I am closing one chapter with intention, so we can both walk into the next one with both hands free. What You Will Learn: ① Why this show has always been about you, and why that does not change ② Why every new chapter requires a closing ceremony, and what happens when you skip it ③ The real cost behind the shift, the signals I ignored for two years, and what finally made me stop ④ Why you are not losing something, and why you are getting more of what you came here for ⑤ What Season 2 holds and why it has your name on it Key Takeaways: ① This show has always been about you. That does not change. What changes is how we show up together. ② Every new chapter requires closing the last one with intention. That is what today is. ③ The mission is the same. The method is sharper. The voice is clearer. ④ You are not losing something. You are getting more of what you came here for. ⑤ What is next has your name on it. Stay close. The Practice: Tell one person about this show. Not because the numbers need it. Because someone in your circle is in the middle of something hard right now, and they need to know they are not alone. This episode is for you if you have been here long enough to trust something about this show and you want to know what comes next. After you listen, tell me: what is the one thing this show named for you that nobody else was saying? I read every comment. Support the show [https://cash.app/$ClarenceStowers] 📲 Stay Connected: 🔔 Subscribe to my YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@ClarenceStowersTV] 📸 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clarence.stowers] 📲 Connect on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CEStowers/] 📖 Read my Substack for Weekly Insights [https://clarencestowers.substack.com/about] 🎁 Support Mars Hill Anywhere [https://marshillchicago.org/giving] 📚 Amazon Author’s Page [https://amazon.com/author/cestowers] ✉️ Subscribe to My Newsletter [https://clarencestowers.ck.page/profile]:  🛜 Website: https://www.clarencestowers.com [https://www.clarencestowers.com] 🎧 Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-clarence-stowers-leadership-podcast/id1595677363]

Thirty Years In. Here's What I Finally Stopped Pretending.

Thirty years. That is how long I did this before I admitted something I had known for a while. The podcast I was making no longer matched the life I had actually lived. This is the bridge episode for Still Standing with Clarence E. Stowers, Jr. No frameworks. No 3-step system. Just the truth about what ended, what it cost, and what this show is now - delivered in five minutes. What You'll Hear: ① What ended - and why it ending was not failure ② What it cost to keep going when the old structure stopped holding ③ What Still Standing is now and exactly who it is for If you have been doing something for a long time and have finally stopped pretending it still fits, this episode is for you. The Practice: Before you close this app, pull up one name. The person you already know is carrying something they have not said out loud. Send them this episode. No explanation needed. Just: This one is for you. After you listen, tell me: what have you been pretending for too long? Subscribe to Still Standing wherever you listen. Search: Still Standing with Clarence E. Stowers, Jr. Support the show [https://cash.app/$ClarenceStowers] 📲 Stay Connected: 🔔 Subscribe to my YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@ClarenceStowersTV] 📸 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clarence.stowers] 📲 Connect on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CEStowers/] 📖 Read my Substack for Weekly Insights [https://clarencestowers.substack.com/about] 🎁 Support Mars Hill Anywhere [https://marshillchicago.org/giving] 📚 Amazon Author’s Page [https://amazon.com/author/cestowers] ✉️ Subscribe to My Newsletter [https://clarencestowers.ck.page/profile]:  🛜 Website: https://www.clarencestowers.com [https://www.clarencestowers.com] 🎧 Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-clarence-stowers-leadership-podcast/id1595677363]

Your Worst Season Was Your Setup | Episode 59

Nine weeks ago, I sat in front of this microphone and told you the truth. I told you we sold our church building. That God went silent. That fear had me by the throat. That loneliness almost broke me. That I didn't know if I would make it. I told you that faith felt far. And then I walked you through every chapter of the book I wrote from inside that season. Nine weeks. Sixteen chapters. One story. Today is the finale. And I need to tell you something I couldn't say nine weeks ago, because nine weeks ago I was still building the case. Still walking you through the wreckage. But now? Now I can show you what's on the other side. I'm Clarence Stowers. This is Episode 9 of the When Faith Feels Far podcast series. The finale. Let's close this out. THE PROBLEM You have walked through grief, silence, fear, and loss. Some of you are still in the middle. You can't see the purpose while you're in the pain. You thought the silence meant God left. You thought the collapse meant the story was over. It wasn't. None of it was. THE PROMISE From where I'm standing now, I can tell you: everything you walked through was preparation. Not punishment. In this finale, I'm not teaching a lesson. I'm delivering a testimony. And I'm making you a promise. In this episode: ① Every season was a classroom. Here's what each one taught me. ② What the other side of suffering actually looks like. ③ Why Philippians 1:6 is not a hope. It's a contract. ④ Why your story was never just for you. ⑤ The declaration: joy is waiting. "Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5 (NLT) "God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished." Philippians 1:6 (NLT) Joy is not behind you. It is ahead of you. And the God who carried you through the worst season is the same God who placed joy on the other side of it. THE PRACTICE Write a letter to yourself from one year ago. Tell that person what survived, what changed, and what God built in the space where the old thing used to be. Then read it out loud as an act of worship. Not as a journal entry. As a testimony. Because your story was never just for you. GET THE BOOK When Faith Feels Far by Clarence E. Stowers, Jr. Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Link in the description. Joy is not behind you. It's ahead of you. Your morning is coming. I promise. Support the show [https://cash.app/$ClarenceStowers] 📲 Stay Connected: 🔔 Subscribe to my YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@ClarenceStowersTV] 📸 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clarence.stowers] 📲 Connect on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CEStowers/] 📖 Read my Substack for Weekly Insights [https://clarencestowers.substack.com/about] 🎁 Support Mars Hill Anywhere [https://marshillchicago.org/giving] 📚 Amazon Author’s Page [https://amazon.com/author/cestowers] ✉️ Subscribe to My Newsletter [https://clarencestowers.ck.page/profile]:  🛜 Website: https://www.clarencestowers.com [https://www.clarencestowers.com] 🎧 Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-clarence-stowers-leadership-podcast/id1595677363]

Protect Your Purpose and Your Plan | Episode 58

Everybody has an opinion about what you should be doing with your life. Your family. Your church. Your followers. But not one of them will live with the consequences of you abandoning your calling. In Episode 58, we walk through Chapters 15 and 16: Protecting Your Purpose and Protecting Your Plan. This is the last of the four non-negotiables: peace, paper, purpose, plan. If you know what God called you to, but the voices around you are loud enough to make quitting sound logical, this one's for you. What You'll Learn: ① Why your calling is not subject to popular vote, God's voice is the only one that assigns or releases it ② The difference between occupation and vocation, and why confusing them will cost you ③ Why purpose without a plan is just a wish ④ Why planning is stewardship, not a lack of faith ⑤ The one-sentence purpose and three-bullet plan framework Key Scriptures: * "My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus." Acts 20:24 (NLT) * "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) * "For I know the plans I have for you... plans for good and not for disaster." Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) This Week's Practice: Write your purpose in one sentence. Write your plan for this season in three bullet points. Run every opportunity through this filter: Does this serve my purpose or distract from it? Key Takeaways: ① Your calling is not a democracy. God assigns it. The crowd doesn't get a vote. ② Occupation changes. Vocation remains. Don't confuse the vehicle with the destination. ③ Purpose without a plan is a wish. If you're not preparing, you're not serious. ④ Planning is stewardship. Faith without preparation is presumption. ⑤ Distraction is the real enemy. Good things steal from right things. ⑥ Be ready when nobody is watching. The door will open. Preparation determines who walks through. About This Series: When Faith Feels Far is a 10-episode podcast series based on the book by Clarence E. Stowers, Jr. Grab the book on Amazon and follow along. Support the show [https://cash.app/$ClarenceStowers] 📲 Stay Connected: 🔔 Subscribe to my YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@ClarenceStowersTV] 📸 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clarence.stowers] 📲 Connect on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CEStowers/] 📖 Read my Substack for Weekly Insights [https://clarencestowers.substack.com/about] 🎁 Support Mars Hill Anywhere [https://marshillchicago.org/giving] 📚 Amazon Author’s Page [https://amazon.com/author/cestowers] ✉️ Subscribe to My Newsletter [https://clarencestowers.ck.page/profile]:  🛜 Website: https://www.clarencestowers.com [https://www.clarencestowers.com] 🎧 Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-clarence-stowers-leadership-podcast/id1595677363]

How To Protect Your Peace and Your Paper | Episode 57

Everybody wants peace. Nobody wants to protect it. Everybody wants financial freedom. Nobody wants the honest conversation about money. Today, we do both. Episode 57 of the When Faith Feels Far series. Chapters 13 & 14: Protecting Your Peace and Protecting Your Paper. What You'll Learn: ① Why peace is infrastructure — and what collapses when it goes ② How to spot the peace thieves disguised as good things ③ Why the church needs to talk about money honestly ④ The difference between stewardship and ownership ⑤ The two-part audit: one hour, two lists, one week This Week's Practice: Identify one peace thief and one money leak. Write the boundary. Enforce it for seven days. Key Takeaways: * Peace is infrastructure. If your peace has no wall, your life has no floor. * Peace thieves hide in good things. Audit your commitments. * Money avoidance is not spiritual. It is dangerous. * You are a steward, not an owner. Stewards know the numbers. * Financial margin is spiritual margin. When money breathes, faith breathes. * One boundary for peace. One fix for money. That is the whole assignment. Scriptures: Philippians 4:6-7 · Psalm 24:1 · Proverbs 22:7 · Luke 16:10 (NLT) 📖 When Faith Feels Far by Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.: amazon.com/author/cestowers [http://amazon.com/author/cestowers] 💰 Sponsor: Origin — a personal AI financial advisor that pulls your spending, investments, and net worth into one place. Get your first year for $1: https://www.useorigin.com/referral?referral_code=19c66778-f631-4053-94f9-8d5439755626 [https://www.useorigin.com/referral?referral_code=19c66778-f631-4053-94f9-8d5439755626] 🎙️ Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts Support the show [https://cash.app/$ClarenceStowers] 📲 Stay Connected: 🔔 Subscribe to my YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@ClarenceStowersTV] 📸 Connect on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/clarence.stowers] 📲 Connect on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CEStowers/] 📖 Read my Substack for Weekly Insights [https://clarencestowers.substack.com/about] 🎁 Support Mars Hill Anywhere [https://marshillchicago.org/giving] 📚 Amazon Author’s Page [https://amazon.com/author/cestowers] ✉️ Subscribe to My Newsletter [https://clarencestowers.ck.page/profile]:  🛜 Website: https://www.clarencestowers.com [https://www.clarencestowers.com] 🎧 Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-clarence-stowers-leadership-podcast/id1595677363]