Once upon a time, the quest for the ideal self and society led to banishing the poor, orphaned, and criminals to serve on English ships. At sea, these outcasts found hope in birds signaling land. Among them, larks stood out, singing joyfully as they free-fell through the sky—just for the fun of it.

Sailors, inspired by the larks' carefree spirit, used "lark" to refer to "mischievous playfulness" or anything done out of "uninhibited freedom." Seeing this, the late theologian Robert Capon declared the gospel is "all a lark”—a hilarious act of one-way generosity by which Jesus revealed the delusion of our religion with the reality of our union in Him.

The fulfillment we long for in life is hard to find in the modern misunderstanding of faith. Let’s face it—we take ourselves seriously because we haven’t been taught to take Jesus seriously enough. And so we fear, hide, posture, and strive for an imaginary self.

With a heart to end this clarity crisis, Lark exists as a pathway for people to rediscover faith in who Jesus is so they can reimagine life as being a friend—the way God does.

No story has ever captivated the imagination like the epic of Jesus. God in flesh—out of sheer delight—became like His creatures to show us what it means to flourish as humans. In Him, we find that God is Trinity, Trinity is relationship, and we were created to participate in His life.

This is the paradox of satisfaction: we flourish as humans, not by gaining everything we can, but by giving ourselves away as a friend with no strings attached.

Inspired by a bird that sings as it free-falls just for fun, Lark unveils this invitation by throwing parties, publishing resources, and creating space for conversations of scandalous grace.

Our hope is to spark a movement of people who are reimagining the life of faith through friendship. And yes, you’re invited.

We hold to the doctrines expressed in the Apostle's Creed in general, and specifically to the following:

About Christ: Aware of humanity's perpetual love affair with performance, Jesus tells the most shocking stories of grace to level all our empires of progress. For both religious Pharisees with resumes and despondent tax-collecting outcasts, Jesus did the impossible. He reconciled all to God through His death and resurrection. This “Good News” is the invitation out of the exhausting madness of trying to hide the junk of our lives. We are free to be nothing in Christ.

About Church: The mystery of the kingdom of God is like a dragnet being hauled to shore, catching everything in its path. It rejects nothing, Jesus said. One day this net will arrive on the beach, and the angels, not us, will determine what is and what is not. In the meantime, we are free to be what we are: a random sampling of the broken world that God has united himself to in Christ. To be the Church and pretend we are anything more would be false advertisement.

About Change: We are conditional creatures. But only because we love the allure of control that lies with if/then transactions. We want a life of sight—not faith; a life that’s about here—not hope in a place to come; a life that offers lists to assure we’re okay—not a way of love that doesn’t compute. One is tidy, the other is messy. But only one is the life God has actually given us. Like branches on a Vine, we exist solely in the hands of a Vinedresser. Transformation is His work, and happens on his time. Not ours.

The “church” is best defined in Scripture as flawed, everyday people who are learning to trust Jesus. It’s who we are—an identity, not somewhere we go—a place.

The Church gathered is best described in Scripture as “unnamed friendships” where the conversation of grace is always unconditional, the life of grace is unhurried, and the spread of grace is unlimited. 

The truth is, faith is learned and experienced in the everyday moments of life, through ongoing conversations about God’s scandalous grace—not through more sermons or spiritual disciplines

Recognizing this, we’re committed to the one thing we can do: bring the conversation of grace into real life, rather than straining to bring the change we believe is needed in others and within our control.

For a look at what the Church could be if we took Jesus at his word, grab a free copy of Reclaim.

Yes. LARK is a licensed nonprofit organization, governed by a Board of Directors who are committed to helping people find the freedom faith was meant to bring.

All donations to LARK are tax-deductible.