NEW PODCAST! I sit down with my older brother James to unpack our shared past growing up in the projects, gang violence, prison trauma, and deep family wounds. What unfolds is a story of pain, forgiveness, and how Jesus transformed our broken relationship into vessels of hope and healing.
🎙️ Watch/Listen to Unlearned Wisdom on every platform: https://linktr.ee/unlearnedwisdom
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro with special guest
02:00 - Johnny’s and James’ Childhood
05:30 – Their mom saves Johnny Chang from abortion
11:30 – Johnny and James earn respect at school through fights
24:07 – The first time James Chang got arrested
31:56 – Home life while Johnny was in prison
37:00 – Johnny faces 14 years and mental struggle
47:00 – Prison life: KFC, spreads, and survival hacks
52:00 – Prison trauma and memories
58:30 – Mom finds Christ while sons are in prison
59:30 – Pastor Kim knew Johnny Chang will preach one day
01:04:10 – The first time James Chang meet God
01:06:30 – Understanding what being a sinner means
01:10:11 – Cop recognizes James from Johnny’s testimony videos
01:13:00 – Former rivals now respect Johnny’s prison transformation
01:16:35 – James feared Johnny wouldn’t survive gang life
01:22:30 – James kept Johnny grounded while he was angry
01:26:00 – From gang life to preaching grace and truth
01:28:30 – Johnny leads James to Christ post-prison
01:29:22 – James teaches Johnny forgiveness through example
01:35:00 – Johnny shares to a non-prison crowd for first time
01:37:30 – James’ favorite childhood memory of Johnny
01:38:52 – Johnny’s favorite memory of James
01:42:30 – Johnny and James reflect on God’s redemption
01:45:34 – Final thanks from Johnny Chang
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Core of the Heart is our digital community to support you in getting closer to the true Gospel. Membership includes: Weekly Bible Class with Minister Johnny, hundreds of hours of livestream content, sermons, Q&A's and resources to help you understand the Bible faster.
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Hi All!
My apologies, I will be traveling to Korea from the 17th to the 22nd. Therefore I need to postpone our deep dive bible class to next THURSDAY 04/24 @ 3PM PST.
Thank you all for understanding and look out for the links, they will be emailed in another announcement.
Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
There are moments when we feel overwhelmed by our own emotions, frustrated that we’re even frustrated, mad that we can’t seem to shake a thought, or hurt by someone else’s words more than we’d like to admit. But if we peel back the layers, we often find a common root, Pride.
Pride doesn’t always shout, many times it disguises itself as frustration, comparison, or self-defense. We get jealous of others, not because of what they have, but because deep down we’re afraid we don’t measure up. We argue and defend ourselves, not because the other person is wrong, but because we can’t bear to feel exposed. We judge others, not because they’re broken, but because we haven’t faced our own brokenness.
What you resent in others is often what you refuse to confront in yourself.
The truth is, most of the time, we’re not mad at people.....we’re mad at God.
Mad that life didn’t go the way we wanted.
Mad that He didn’t answer that prayer faster.
Mad that we still feel stuck in our habits or emotions.
But we don’t want to say we’re mad at God, so we misdirect it. We snap at our friends, get cold towards and judge our leaders/servants, or silently compete with people we should be celebrating with.
At the heart of pride is the belief that “I can lead my life better than God or anyone else can.”
It’s why we push people away.
It’s why we isolate and “figure it out” ourselves.
It’s why we resist correction and resent those who’ve helped us.
The truth is however that when we lead our own lives without God, we end up in shame and exhaustion. We weren’t designed to guide ourselves. The path to peace isn’t self-reliance, it's surrender.
Most of us need to stop pointing outward and start looking inward. We must be 100% honest with ourselves. You must let go of the idea that you know best. If you could lead your life better than God, you’d already be at peace. This type of honesty opens the door to healing. We must recognize that we don't argue because we're right, often times we're arguing because we're insecure.
I hope we can all depend on God and recognize that pride has hidden itself in our reactions. I hope we can see that we cannot lead our own lives and that's the reason why God sent Jesus. Let us ask God to humble us down, surrender our lives, and receive his peace. Amen!
In today's episode, Johnny Chang shares stories from his trip to New York, breaks down why Leviticus isn’t about legalism but a hidden love story pointing to Jesus, and dives deep into how trauma, control, and unbelief can affect our faith. Johnny also reacts to viral memes and answers honest questions about grief, salvation, and what it really means to walk with God.
🎙️ Watch/Listen to Unlearned Wisdom on every platform: https://linktr.ee/unlearnedwisdom
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+ leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify :)
💙 For those that want to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible & get closer with God, to unlock true peace and happiness: https://coreoftheheart.com/
🕊️ Use code WISDOM for 50% off your first month.
Core of the Heart is our digital community to support you in getting closer to the true Gospel. Membership includes: Weekly Bible Class with Minister Johnny, hundreds of hours of livestream content, sermons, Q&A's and resources to help you understand the Bible faster.
Detailed instructions on how to sign up here: https://shorturl.at/ZuAFD