Pastor Chad Veach Says He's on a Quest for Radical Inclusion, Sharing God's Grace With Next Generation
Best-selling author and popular millennial Pastor Chad Veach has released his latest book, Faith Forward Future, and hopes to inspire everyone, young people especially, to do all God has destined for them.
"The basis of the book really just comes from the idea that God has a plan for all of our lives," Veach told The Christian Post. "I was preaching this message in our church and I became further convinced of this idea that God has a plan for all of us."
Veach hopes to challenge people to look in the Bible at anybody who God used because they, too, had flaws, weaknesses and issues, "and that didn't change God's mind about His plan for their life."
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"One weekend I was preaching and said, 'You gotta have faith to move forward into this future that God has.' So that's where the whole idea came from. I just became overwhelmingly encouraged that no matter where you're from or what you've done, God has a plan for your life," he said. "Everybody that God uses somehow has to overcome their past and the pain of what they've done and step into what God has ultimately destined them to."
The Zoe Church founder in Los Angeles admitted that he is not doing what he dreamed of doing as a child. Veach thought he would become a basketball coach but God intercepted his plans with something far greater than he ever expected.
"I think God gives vision, God is a dream talker, the dream-giver. You've got to learn to differentiate what's me and what's God, and as you go to Him, having the humility to say, 'This is what I want to do, this is what's in my heart,'" he explained. "I think it's hard to mess up God's will for your life. I think if you go against His will, He's going to let you know. He talks, He speaks, you're going to feel it in your spirit. You'll get a sense of His voice. I always just say, 'I'm going to move forward. I'm a dreamer, I want to do these things, and anytime you step in [Lord], I'll adjust and stop anything you want me to do.'"
Veach has been a pastor to many celebrities in Hollywood, including Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Hailey Baldwin among others. When asked about his passion for the next generation and how he impacts such great influencers, Veach revealed that his heart was always to be a support for young people.
"Anytime you're trying to reach anybody, you have to have a heart for them. It really bothers me when people talk bad about millennials. I'm like, 'Wow, you just excommunicated them! Why would they ever listen to you if that's your attitude toward them?" Veach questioned. "I just love young people. I was a youth pastor for 15 years and the greatest generation is the younger generation. I'm in love with them, with their world, and that's what allows me to speak their language."
The 39 year old says he leans into their world and wants to know what young people listen to and how they are talking, how technology has changed schools and their social life.
"I'm obsessed with all that stuff. I think the first step of being a communicator is knowing your audience and speaking the language of your audience. I still find it a privilege and a challenge to try and speak the language of young people so that the message can be relateable and ultimately touch their hearts and their lives," he insisted.
Veach is considered the "trailblazer" of "church merch" which is a movement toward fashion with a purpose. The stylish pastor had a pop up shop event in Los Angeles this month and is also using fashion to reach the next generation.
"I come from the belief that people love to wear what they're passionate about," Veach told CP.
The Seattle native talked about visiting schools and seeing students wearing hoodies and hats while showcasing bumper stickers which all represented pride for their schools and universities.
"People are passionate about church, they want to rock it and they want to rep it around town. They want to wear a beanie and a hat and a T, a hoodie. So we just started thinking, 'Why don't we make the sickest merch? We are in L.A., there are garment pieces everywhere!" he said.
Along with great spiritual counsel, Veach's Faith Forward Future offers practical tips from his experiences for entrepreneurs and big dreamers who have hit bumps in the road. The minister went on to explain that despite sometimes getting a negative reputation, being a successful Christian is not a bad thing.
"Let's go to the book of Proverbs. What is Proverbs all about? Wisdom! And what does wisdom say? Wisdom says, 'I will promote you, I will give you favor.' Wisdom says, 'I will give you great success. I'll give you a good name,'" the father of three, soon to be four, explained.
"So when we talk about practical business tools or practical life living skills — that's what the whole book of Proverbs is! Wisdom is so that we can move forward and do better, obtain more, have a better name, have a better revelation. I think that all biblical principles lead forward. They don't lead you backwards, they don't take you to a smaller audience or smaller business or smaller life, because the world is getting larger. Everything with God gets bigger, so I think we need to have wisdom and practical steps on how to build our lives so that we can obtain all that God promises to us."
When dealing with bad chapters and getting over those chapters rather than being stuck in them, Veach speaks from his own struggles of being a strong parent to his daughter, Georgia, who is living with a rare brain disorder known as lissencephaly.
"I think at the end of the day life is not about what happens to you, it's about how you respond to what happens to you. So I think at the end of the day we have to make the decision to get up and try again. To get up and do our best to keep moving forward, fail forward and learn from our mistakes, learn from bad seasons, learn from things that happen to us and say this may not be what was chosen for my life or for this season, but I believe this: greater days are ahead," Veach said.
"I believe so much of life is a mindset, it's an attitude, and I think all of us have the decision to make and say, 'You know what? This is just a minor setback. I'm going to have a major comeback.' So that's why I think the subtitle [of the book] is so strong — 'Moving Past Disappointments, Delays and Destructive Thinking,'" he added. "It usually goes in that order. When you are disappointed you feel delayed, and when you feel delayed then you're mind gets destructive. You start having very bad thoughts, and I think it's so important that we learn how to think well, think appropriately about ourselves, think appropriately about others and it helps reveal who God is in our lives."
To get your copy of Faith Forward Future, click HERE.
