Unreasonable Hope: book review
A review of the new book by Chad Veach, and an interview!
Unreasonable Hope is the new book by Pastor Chad Veach of Zoe Church L.A. (California). Pastor Chad is known for his awesome smile, energy on stage on stage, and incredibly relatable leadership training. Not to mention his presence in social media and influence in Young Hollywood. Pastor Chad has an uncanny ability to make the Gospel all together truth, yet all together relatable, especially to young adults. This is especially evident in his street style, his taste in music, and the way he can be like Jesus: judgement free with everyone around him. I attended his conferences and youth group events throughout high school and college. Pastor Chad has penned an amazing book that left me wanting more, much like he always does in his speaking and teaching rhetoric.
What’s the book about?
In the moment a couple finds out they are going to be parents, it is not the carefully picked out name, or the gender reveal party they will throw that comes to mind, but their wish for a happy and healthy baby to arrive. Pastor Chad and Julia Veach had dreams for their unborn baby, and expected nothing but greatness for their little girl. Unreasonable Hope largely centers on Pastor Chad’s journey in walking through life with his wife and his beautiful first-born daughter, Georgia (or G), who has a very rare brain disorder. In Unreasonable Hope, Pastor Chad has let the rest of the world into a day in the life of his world. Not just the perfectly selected Instagram pictures or lively podcasts of his world, but the real, raw, and sometimes very painful, authentic parts of it. It chronicles the devastation felt in finding out G’s diagnosis, the frightening experiences that the disorder causes (like frequent seizures), and the honest struggles they face, from not wanting pictures of her to be posted and not wanting to go to amusement parks with their family to the loneliness on even the best days, and wrestling with the fact that G needs a feeding tube.
Pastor Chad is full of faith. He believes in all the prayers he (and the world) has ever said, especially for G. Yet to this day, sweet baby Georgia is not healed. Why does God allow bad things happen to good people? Why does He allow it to happen to innocent children? These are NOT the questions Pastor Chard answers in the book. Rather, he offers his journey in finding hope - Unreasonable Hope - in the bleakest of circumstances. Hope that comes through small wins, the incredible friendships of support formed, and the way that Georgia has sparked an international phenomenon in people turning to Christ. Throughout his book, he often humorously lets us into the frustrations as well as the joyous rewards he faces through it all on a daily basis. He perfectly outlines each chapter with questions and actions we can take to apply to our own set of circumstances. God is so good. Life keeps going on, even in the hardest of times. Pastor Chad so graciously shows us that through all the hardships his family has faced, they were still able to leave their home state, and go out to plant a church in the heart of Los Angeles, where God has used them in mighty ways, even to young Hollywood.
Talking to Pastor Chad
Pastor Chad is always such a joy to be around. Without the book or looking at his social media accounts, you would never imagine the struggles is faced with on a daily basis. I was blessed enough to get my hands on a copy weeks before it was sold, and read it through in one sitting. I was able to sit down with Pastor Chad, who was doing a leadership training at my home church conference, and I interviewed him for the Fervr family.
Fervr.net (FN): How was the transition moving from your home state to Los Angeles, California?
Pastor Chad (PC): (L.A.) is the best. It’s a beautiful city, it’s a great time to be there. We are loving it.
FN: How do you see the transition from “home” to California as a part of your family’s legacy, and for the Kingdom of God?
PC: (Moving to L.A.), we have committed the next fifteen years to really invest into the future of our family, and God will take care of the rest. We are going to invest in what He has called us to do. In the Kingdom, God has given us a real heart and burden for Millennials and young people (Pastor Chad has spent years as a youth pastor before being the Senior Pastor at Zoe Church). We now have a church that is filled with people, and we want to balance that out with making sure we are still being faithful to serving young people, and are inspiring them, loving them, and giving them hope, and letting them know you can do this (walk with Christ), and it is obtainable. So, it is a very great season to invest into.
FN: How have you used Social Media as a platform (for your ministry)?
PC: I look at myself as someone who is trying to tell a story of what I’m doing, where I’m at, and what I’m about. We’re all telling a story. Your life is a story. You see in the past, in church we’d have to get up and tell a testimony, tell our our story. But with a post, a picture paints a thousand words. Now, I can constantly be telling the story of what God is doing in me, and through my life, and through my family, and on the earth. I see myself as someone who is just an artist that way, and a storyteller. I am (using social media) to paint a beautiful picture of hope and what God can do.
FN: What would you tell the youth or young adult who want to make an impact in their town/city for Christ?
PC: Go BIG! Swing hard. The reality it, this is life and death. The reality is, there are people dying in your city everyday. If you want to be used, go for it. Don’t be shy or bashful. Don’t think just because you’re a Christian, you shouldn’t be there making an impact. Go into those dark spaces. Invade dark spaces with the light.
FN: What are some of your favorite ways to love life and enjoy it to the fullest even through the hardest times?
PC: I love going out to eat. Food is a major part of the Veach family’s life (Laughs). I love going to the movies, you know, feeling good, working out. Family time is so fun. You just gotta do what fills your cup. If we don’t do that stuff that fills you up, and you don’t take the time to delight in (the God-given) life, we get weird. So I just always try to have that stuff in my world.
The final word
Reading through Unreasonable Hope, you will definitely laugh, you will cry, and you might even consider getting yourself a tattoo (read the book for context, and search “#gtat and Justin Bieber”). Unreasonable Hope is highly recommended for all ages. It is a read that can relate to every walk of life. No matter what the struggle or the battle is, Unreasonable Hope will empower you to believe in yourself, comfort you in the Joy of the Lord, and find the hope that is found through Christ and the people that he brings into your life.
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