Francis Chan - "What should I do next?" Father Josiah Trenham, an Orthodox priest, gives the answer. 

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Pastor Chan is articulating *the* exact questions I had before I became an Orthodox Christian. I was raised Protestant by two godly parents who instilled in me a love of God and the Holy Scriptures, and I am so thankful for that. I used to speak badly about my Protestant upbringing, until my priest called me out on it. He quietly reminded me that I'd learnt many, many good things from being raised in the Reformed tradition, and instead of scorning it, I needed to be thankful for having the Christian parents I had who made sure I loved God and the Holy Scriptures. When he put it like that, it cut me deep. I realized that my Protestant upbringing was a necessary step of preparation for me on my spiritual journey, and now I thank God for it.

He sounds like me 6 months before I converted to Orthodoxy. Glory be to God on high.

I'm Lutheran and have been exploring Orthodoxy for about a year. One of the most amazing things I'm encountering is there are so many people....just like me.

Many prayers for me if you’re reading this. I have been praying for a while that the Lord would show me the true Church, and I believe He is leading me to Holy Orthodoxy.

So proud of Pastor Chan for his honesty.

I feel for you brother Francis. I too felt like my 30’s I had all the answers. I converted to orthodoxy in my 50’s. “His mercy endures forever.”

I became an orthodox Christian about five years ago... the best thing to happen in my life... I wanted the ancient faith and worship and a bigger God.

I am so ecstatic upon seeing this.... Francis Chan's passion for Christ was instrumental in my journey towards Christ. And though such a key character in my faith was non-denominational protestant, I was actually baptized into the Orthodox faith. That Mr. Chan is even considering as such fills my heart. Just imagine how many he will take with him to the Orthodox faith bringing so many souls to be in communion with Christ in a very special way. Hallelujah, praise God 🙏

So many of us out here seeking the orthodox church

I’m a Protestant on my way home but I don’t know whether to go East or West. Please pray for me. I’ve been praying Eastern prayers faithfully on the hours for a year while being in Protestant Churches and feel I’m being led to Orthodoxy. But I feel the West is just as valid. Again, please pray for me. Lord Jesus have mercy on me. Thank you.

I have been on this journey for almost two years now. I have started catechism and desiring to become Orthodox.

Francis chan , your humble way of following God has led you to these questions. The Church is indeed one, amd going back to its root is best for all of us

This was me a year ago. Thanks be to the All-Holy Trinity I am a catechumen in an Orthodox Church now!

Many of us are feeling like this !We feel cheated in a sense and are seeking for the truth and original church! Thank you !Regards from South Africa.

Crazy love was a book that is still on my list of favorites. Here I am finding myself questioning my own path of faith, researching orthodoxy, and stumble upon Francis Chan doing the same. I cant help but feel like God is calling his people…

I've had the pleasure to be in some of pastor Chan's sermons. He's a great pastor and very open and frank about his feelings. He doesn't seem to know he's looking for the Orthodox church just like I was without knowing.

"Almost like a popularity contest... I'm so popular, follow me." I was raised Protestant, and eventually converted to Catholicism. What he is describing is exactly correct. It's funny that Protestants balk so much at the 'call no man father' passage. Spiritual fatherhood is a scriptural principle, Jesus isn't talking about that. He's talking about that guy who stands up and says, "I figured it out. I have the answers, follow me."

That's very close to how I feel. I was raised non-denominational leaning toward baptist, then fell into skepticism when studying biology, then searching for truth immersed in nature God drew me back to Christ and in looking for the church I find lots of people arguing and dividing and scattering and on one hand I want to say none of it stops God saving who He will but on the other I feel compelled to find the Apostolic Church and it is looking like it's Orthodoxy.

Богородице Дјево, радуј се Благодатна Маријо, Господ је с Тобом! Благословена си Ти међу женама, и благисловен је Плод Утробе Твоје, јер си родила Спаса душа наших!

I am being drawn towards orthodoxy for sure. I haven't even been to an orthodox service yet as I am cut off by location, but I anticipate going and I already feel like I know it's a Divine appointment

I knew. Chan is on his way to home. Church is waiting for him and our all separate brothers and sisters

this is me Praise the Lord for the Orthodox Church and how they have held the Truth for 2 thousand years., Pastor Chan nailed it....my exact siruaruion. Thank you Father for sharing the wisdom.

This is the thought process that led me to become Orthodox.

I also have been on this journey “ my people perish due to lack of knowledge”

Wow, this takes incredible bravery! You have my prayers brother.

I'm a Catholic, and I subscribe to everything you said!

Yup, Francis is where I am.

I was Catholic 40 years. Then, Protestant 10 years. For 10 years I got deeper into the word, and closer to Christ, thanks to my Protestant evangelical brothers. They feed only on the word, and live. But there is more, not just the Eucharist. If one wants to “worship” Jesus Christ, listen and proclaim, in union with the church, the words at the liturgy of the mass. It is full out worship of Jesus, the Lamb of God.

This is the exact question that I asked before becoming Catholic. I read the book Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn and it filled in all of the questions.

Do it~~~ It's the Eucharist!!!

Thank you for sharing

Fr Josiah stands on solid rock foundations

Man I just stumbled on this video and This exactly how Ive feeling about Christianity various interpretations

Byzantine Catholic 🙏🏻📿❤️

Francis Chan, I've been following you since college when my Protestant friends introduced me to you.....can't wait for you to come home to the Catholic Church ❤️❤️❤️

Francis speaks for many us Pastor/teachers [me]. We have historical writings for a reason, Josiah is becoming my source of information much need …

Revolutionary. Thank you, Pr. Francis & Fr. Josiah.

Then I would do a serious investigation into all of the Eucharistic miracles. I would then read about the greatest mass conversion to Christianity in the history of the world. Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in Mexico to the Aztecs and 9 million converted in 8 years! That’s about 90,000 baptisms per month for 9 years! Chew on that for a while. All became Roman Catholic. It’s no wonder the church is still divided listening to some of the comments.

As a retired Minister, I find myself exploring the Orthodox Church, for the same reasons Francis Chan is

Good job, John.

What intrigues me is that he produced a video series in which one of the many things he addressed was this idea of people "feeling their way" towards God, by asking, seeking, knocking, seeing the Eternal power and Divine nature manifested in creation. It seems that now he is the one experiencing that, feeling his way towards the true Church as Christ established her. If he converts, that will expose millions of Evangelical christians to Orthodoxy, and could possibly create a massive influx of people returning to the roots of their faith. Let us pray for Francis Chan, and all the Christians in America, that all would be united under Christ in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

I’m a Protestant who is inquiring into Orthodoxy, and having watched sermons from Pastor Chan, it doesn’t feel surprising that he’s started coming to these conclusions. Pastor Chan has always had a very fervent desire for closeness to God and a love for Him that is palpable. Perhaps in time he will be lead into the historical churches.

I had this breakthrough a few weeks ago and have been considering and studying orthodoxy lately. Shocker, here it is in my suggestions

thank God for this.

I became an Orthodox Christian after 24 years as a Protestant. Best thing I ever did.

JOHN 10: 27 - 28: 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Listen!

So much respect for all of these men. Where is the original version of this video?

This is so beautiful!!! Glory to thee o lord!! Always loved Francis Chan, and the lord calling him to Orthodoxy!!! Such a blessing!!! Kyrie Eleison!!!

As a 1689 Reformed Baptist, I 100% agree that it's right and would be best to have holy communion every Sunday. It's almost unheard of in Protestant Churches.

Every sign post along my post protestant journey points to orthodoxy

I like how Hank and the other guy just sat there and listened to Francis collect his thoughts.

LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO

He's being very honest. It's humbling. May he come home to the Orthodox Church. It's where he will find exactly what he's looking for.

I have found stability, lightness and nourishment in the Orthodox Church, having spent countless confused years in Protestant church. Not confused in myself but with the rudderless ship sailing to nowhere.

Very difficult to admit and accept for pastor chan that all the time invested with his beliefs is being challenged and he looks shocked..scared.. and being in a flight or fight response at the same time. Let God arise and his enemies be scattered!

As someone that still considers himself somewhat charismatic-evangelical, I can say with full assurance having seen the light of the Holy Ghost in both denominations that protestants miss out on so much that has already been passed down...often acting live a movement or revelation is new.

He's eccoing my very thorough.

What are some of the specific st. books, he talks about, that would be recommended to be read? Do you know where I could find a list?

I'm Reformed but enjoy these takes and like this channel.

Anglican here. We have the bishop, priest, sacraments, alter, great love for the traditions, weekly creeds, etc. When creating rubric for mass, it relied heavily on tradition. Many Anglicans feel a strong connection to our orthodox brethren, but also our Protestant as well. I hope pastor Chan can at least try to incorporate some of the ceremony of the centuries with his church. Perhaps start with the church calendar. Many Protestant churches do advent. It’s a step in the right direction, I think

2:55 This is the crux of it all for Protestants: pride and arrogance. It was the case for me before I surrendered to the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ - The Orthodox Church. Since my journey began into Christ’s church, I noticed so much pride in my soul - I knew everything I needed to know through Scripture and the Holy Spirit. As I gave myself over to the Truth, I found how arrogant I was(am). I began to hear that same arrogance and pride in all the Protestant family and friends I spoke to(and still do). My soul longs for their salvation, because I remember well the state of my soul as a Protestant before Christ led me to His Holy Church.

I definitely want to tead the early church fathers on my own (full letters) and see what they believed. Many protestants just say that we have better theologeans today, but that seems a really poor excuse to dismiss early theology.

This is how I feel

Has anyone Orthodox tried to reach out to Chan? He might stumble upon this video, but, there's no guarantee.

tbh im at this point as well! im from a pentecostal evangelical family and i feel like the foundations arnt stable. and the orthodoxy seems like the historical stone i should put my stance on... i just dont know please pray for me!

My faith as a believer is not based on the 16th century but on the Word of God “ delivered once for all to the saints” Jude 3 He uses the 16th century as a marker for those who left the Catholic Church but there were true believers all along before that time

Almost a year later , is there any indication that Francis Chan ever saw this video from Fr. Josiah Trenham answering his question: _What should I do next?_ . Has he moved at all in this direction ?

Christ is risen!

He’s asking the same questions I was asking in Bible college and Methodist seminary that led me to the Orthodox Church.

God bless Chan

I am Irish Catholic, as such it would be great to see a rebirth of monasticism which was really the essence of Celtic Christianity. It was at the time of St. Columcille virtually identical to Eastern Christianity. Pope Adrian, ( the only English Pope) thought it a good idea to bring Irish Christianity in line with Roman Catholicism. God willing may the island of Iona be the Renaissance of Celtic monasticism.

So if I’m not in the Orthodox Tradition, I’m not in the church. If I’m not in the church than I’m not in Christ. If I’m not in Christ I am condemned. Am I understanding this correctly? I’m not being difficult, I’m trying understand the position.

What do we do if we live in a town where there is not an orthodox church anywhere within two hours driving distance? I'm so interested but there are only evangelical churches here in my neck of the Bible belt.

You should get Josiah back to address the intercession of the saints and veneration of icons as that's one of protestants main gripes (i.e. it's not biblical) and just how is the best way to approach that complaint i.e. does one start getting into whether sola scriptura is actually a valid notion or is there some other way to approach it?

I hope he comes to the Eastern Catholic Church or Western.

2:35 wow. I have a lot of respect for a man who could say that and blast it to the world on RU-vid.

I would say I am still going to the church established by St Theodore of Tarsus, of happy memory. His notional successor is Cardinal Nichols in his role as President of the Bishops’ Conference. I would encourage everyone to say St John Fisher’s Prayer for Holy Bishops. There is an issue at the moment. Select or highlight the text of the prayer which I mentioned, right-click and then left-click to search the Internet to track down this prayer.

I am Eastern Orthodox, so what millions of people are. Well I guess in America it is quite unique.

Remember one thing: The Holy Spirit brings uniformity of understanding about Christ and a conformity to Godliness, not a tradition nor a lineage of people no matter how godly

I think having a discussion with James white would really be something to see

There was never a time when we all agreed.

Wow, Francis Chan seems like where I have been the last couple of years. I sadly dismissed him but he shows real honesty and sincerity in that clip. Who is he speaking to in that clip? The South Asian man in the red looks really familiar but I can't put a name on his face.

Does he think that Sola Scriptura was supported by the Church Fathers? Because, the way I see it, if you are going to believe in what the Early Church Fathers taught, you have only two possible options: converting to Roman Catholicism or converting to Eastern Orthodox.

What pastor Chan described at the beginning reminds me of what frank Schaefer described as a ‘cult of personality’

I feel it’s telling that he used the word Eucharist. I am praying for Francis Chan. He’s wholeheartedly searching. He’s getting so much negativity from many of his former colleagues and church members.

This video is so beautiful , i grew up catholic to protestant , seeing money bag pastors and lack of reverance for the eucharist and other holy biblical traditions i rather consider myself "non -denominational christian " because its so confusing reading scripture and picking a church to attend , living in seattle Wa, i cant find an orthadox church but i would love to visit one

Francis Chan actually began the conversation by critiquing that Eastern Orthodoxy has tribal thinking (i.e. everyone else is not part of the true Church). This scene was cut off which misrepresents Francis' stance.

I hope this is an appropriate question, but I guy used to listen to on the radio a long time ago. When I was still, Penecostal has now converted to orthodox his name is Hank Hanegraaff have you heard of him and what do you think of what he has been saying, regarding orthodoxy on the Bible answer Man

I have a suggestion, go read what St Francis of Assisi wrote about the Eucharist , then take into consideration that he received the physical manifestations of Christ’s wounds in his hands, feet , and side. Visible for everyone to see. Than go read the life of St Padre Pio, a Franciscan who had the same visible wounds for 50 years. Both were Roman Catholic.

What is this clip from?

Pastor Chan sounds like me when I returned back to Roman Catholicism after going to several different Protestant churches

The problem with holding to a theory that the ancient church was monolithic in doctrine is not true. There are doctrines, like the Trinity, that survived based on God's Mercy and Sovereignty, for the majority of the ancient Christians abandoned it. So then to make these kinds of arguments, especially when it comes to the eucharist, is extremely ahistorical. For the Church fathers did not necessarily believe or agreed on all these things. Even looking at the writings between Origin and Anthansius when it comes to the relationship of the persons of the God-Head, is something that is concerning to me. Therefore, you can make the argument all day concerning that people can make their own interpretations when they read their Bibles. However, that has been happening since the beginning of the Church. Also, you had the Church condemning Athanasius for being Trinitarian. Therefore, in Athanasius' own view the only way to defend the deity of Christ was not to appeal to the authority of the Church but to the Word of God. Hence, the Church was wrong based on God's word. This is the conundrum: The issue is then how do you know the Church is false, but by the Word. How do you know how to interpret the Word, by what the Church says. It goes to show either both are not right. One goes to Sola Scriptura, the other to Sola Ecclessia.

If I were a Protestant going back in time, unable to find a specific church in-line with my particular “Christianity”, then maybe I’m just looking for “Church” in all the wrong ways. As a human being made in the image and likeness of God, I always have to bring “Orthodoxy” back to the fundamental reality of what it means for God to become man. That is the ultimate foundation of the Faith, is it not? Anything less is just arbitrary subjectivity.

Josiah, What is the Gospel, How can one be saved, And what is the evidence of true salvation in ones life?

I don't believe the question is can you see yourselves in a time period slightly earlier than the 16th century. The question should be do you see yourselves in a church as spoken of in the Word of God, in the Bible when it was written. To me as a non denominational believer. Yes absolutely I can in those early churches that Paul and others describe in the Word of God.

I'm a evangelical Christian. I was not born in a family of believers, I was actually born in former USSR, where atheism was sort of a State Religion. But I was searching for meaning of life and at age of 16 I recieved Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I was looking for God in different religions, I visited an Orthodox Church, but as Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh said, you can't realy believe in God unless you saw a light of eternity shining through someone. At that time of my life I saw that light through people from a Baptist Church. Many years went by. About 10 years ago, or more, I started reading some Church Fathers and was fascinated with they lifes and they relationships with God. During these years some of my christian friends left protestant church and became Orthodox....then all of them turned they back on me, I was no more a friend for them. Later, all of them, except one, left Orthodox Church and returned to the World, to a lifestile of unbelievers. That one didn't leave the church, in the contrary, he became a deacon in a Russian Orthodox Church in US. With time I became more and more interested in Orthodoxy, I had lots of questions. I thought my friend, who is an Orthodox deacon, would answer my questions. But when I started to ask, he just pushed me away with such words as "if the Church (meaning Orthodox) is not your mother, God is not your Father".... Despite of all these negative experiences with orthodox believers, I'm still drown to the Orthodox Theology. I watch orthodox channels on youtube everyday, and read books. I try to understand some difficult for an evangelical mind consepts. My theology though, already changed a lot..., I was looking for someone, who will represent the true Orthodoxy. But, so far, orthodox churches in my city remind me more some civil clubs, and those who speak publicly are mostly the same type of people like in every other church, well educated, proud, convinced that they are the only true believers. And those who are exceptions, who look genuine, who I would trast to answer my questions, they are either already dead (Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, and Elder Paisios), or they are far away from me, and I'm not sure if they will be willing to answer... And the saddest thing, I found no present day Russian speaking orthodox Preast or a Monk, who would have a channel on RU-vid, and who will be as wise as orthodox teachers of the West.... It's very sad. I'm at the point where I need guidance, like pastor Chan, I'm asking myself, what's next, and I have no one to help me find an answer....

Praise the LORD, O My Soul …2I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.4When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.… Job Responds to Zophar …6The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure-those who carry their god in their hands. 7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.8Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; let the fish of the sea inform you.…

As I turned from Word of Faith for the reasons described, I also have seen the value of the ancient churches. Still not there for various reasons. I think we have to reach further back for purity. Just as protestants have followed crooked paths for 400 years that have created this mess, I think the early church deviated when it gained political power. Earnest believers seeing that deviance is what CREATED protestantism.

15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not [g]prevail against it. 19And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth [h]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” What is so hard here to understand. First Jesus, God incarnate, blesses Simon. Then he changes Simon's name to Peter (rock). Then he says on this rock he will build his church. Then he gives Peter the keys of the Kingdom and give him the power to forgive or retain sins instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Peter was the Bishop of Rome, not Constantinople. Saint Peter is buried beneath Saint Peter's Basilica IN ROME. I am just a lowly lay person but, as I said, what is so hard to understand about this?