About The Wholehearted Project

The Wholehearted Project provides resources for believers searching for hope, healing, and freedom from the sin and suffering of this world while we wait for the day that Jesus restores all things. We live in the tension between the now and the not yet—a time when our lives are intermingled with joy and sorrow, gratitude and lament, the bitter and the sweet. Through Christ, we've experienced some of the first fruits of gospel hope, healing, and freedom, but what will be has not yet come to full fruition. So until then, we wait in eager anticipation of the day when all sad things will become untrue, and we entrust ourselves to the hands of our loving Father, who is both willing and capable of mending all things.

Mission

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus interacted with those that society had labeled unclean and untouchable—the lame, overlooked, abused, outcast, and sinners. He drew near. He saw them. He heard their cries. And he touched them—forgiving their sins, healing their infirmities, restoring their honor and dignity, and reconciling them to their communities. It didn't matter if their brokenness and need resulted from their own sin, the sins someone had committed against them, or the inevitable suffering from living in a broken world. He invited them into his presence and offered them hope, healing, and freedom.

I believe the same is true of Jesus today. He is still at work, binding up wounds, forgiving sin, restoring reputations and relationships, and providing hope when all the cards seem stacked against you.

The Wholehearted Project seeks to help others engage their stories, encounter Jesus, and experience hope, healing, and freedom. We do that by creating and highlighting resources that foster honest conversations about the complexities of life and faith and help you encounter the compassionate and transformative love of Christ in the midst of your circumstances. We want to create a space where you can come to find words for all the things you think and feel, fear and hope, doubt and believe. It’s a place where we honestly wrestle with the realities of life and faith in a broken world—a world that holds both the first fruits of redemption and the groaning of “How long, O Lord?”

About Our Logo

The Wholehearted Project logo includes two symbolic elements. First, at the center of the logo is a tree. Trees play a significant role throughout Scripture. There were two trees at the center of God’s garden in Eden—the tree of life, from which Adam and Eve were permitted to eat freely, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was prohibited. When Adam and Eve chose to eat of this forbidden tree, it ushered in sin, suffering, and the brokenness of the world (Genesis 2:9). At that moment, all of creation was fractured and fragmented. But that wasn't the end of the story. Trees were places where God often met with man (Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3; Elijah under the fig tree in 1 Kings 19). Jesus refers to himself as a vine and those who believe in him as the branches—his life flowing into them and producing fruit (John 15). Jesus was crucified on a tree (Acts 5:30, 10:38-40, 13:28-30), and through his death and resurrection, we are receiving the first fruits of hope, healing, and freedom. And at the center of new creation is the tree of life, which will be the complete and final healing for which all creation currently awaits with great groaning (Revelation 21:1-3, 10-11; 22:1-2, 13-14 and Romans 8:18-25). So we see the tree as symbolic of the redemptive and life-giving work God has been doing from the beginning.

Note: I highly recommend two Bible Project resources for a robust look at trees in Scripture. This booklet takes a deep dive into the Scriptures and discusses the role trees play throughout. This podcast discusses both the blessing and testing trees represent.

The second element is gold, illustrated by the logo's color. Like trees, gold is often present in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It is first mentioned in Gen 2:11-12 when God declared the gold of the land surrounding Eden to be good. God sent the Israelites out of Egypt loaded with gold given to them by their Egyptian captors—a good gift for their flourishing. But just as Adam and Eve corrupted God’s good gift in the garden, the Israelites took the gold and used it to fashion an idol they bowed down and worshiped. (Exodus 32). God instructs Moses to use gold in constructing the Ark of the Covenant, and the mercy seat—symbolizing God’s covenant promises to his people (Exodus 25). Gold adorns the priestly garments worn by the priests, serving in God’s presence and offering sacrifices for the people’s sins (Exodus 28). And also, like the tree of life, gold is in the new Jerusalem (throughout the book of Revelation): the elders wear gold crowns on their heads, the golden incense bowl is filled with the prayers of the saints, a golden altar is before the throne, and the city and its streets are pure gold. Gold is good, beautiful, and prevalent in both God’s original creation and in the new creation, and it is often found in the holiest places in God's presence. The gold used in our logo illustrates the holy work God is doing in us as he mends all of the broken places.

Finally, we use the phrase “curating good” within the logo. Curating is often associated with collecting—like a museum curator collects art for display. Scripture displays God as a masterful artist—both in creating and mending. At The Wholehearted Project, we want to collect and display the Creator's goodness, kindness, and compassion toward his creation and help you encounter Jesus as the skillful mender.

Statement of Faith

There's much that could be said here, but the foundational truths of the Christian faith are captured beautifully in the Nicene Creed. This is the foundational belief of The Wholehearted Project and all of our created resources.

The Nicene Creed

"We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."