July 31, 2024 • 47 mins
Imagine hitting rock bottom as a homeless heroin addict, only to rise and become a dedicated pastor and family man. That's the incredible journey of Pastor Jason Krail, our guest on this powerful episode of the Dorsey Ross Show. Jason's captivating story starts with a childhood memory that adds a touch of humor before we navigate through his dark past and his remarkable transformation. His story is a testament to the power of faith, hard work, and taking life one step at a time. Jason’s message is clear: regardless of how bleak your past may be, with faith and effort, a brighter future is within reach.
We're unpacking the complex issues of addiction, faith, and family, with Jason offering his unique insights drawn from personal experience and biblical principles. He highlights the destructive forces of selfishness and self-centeredness, linking them to broader societal problems like addiction and the absence of father figures. Jason's perspective on the urgent need for Christians to foster stronger spiritual connections and support each other in faith serves as a wake-up call in a world struggling with widespread addiction and societal unrest.
Lastly, we turn our focus to the ever-evolving challenges of youth ministry and parenting in today's tech-driven world. Jason shares his pastoral counseling experiences, tackling issues such as addiction and eating disorders, while stressing the importance of professional networking and spiritual guidance. We discuss the alarming decline in church attendance among youth and young adults, and Jason offers practical advice for integrating youth groups into the main congregation and balancing technology use in family life. Don’t miss this episode filled with personal anecdotes, practical advice, and a deep dive into the everyday miracles of faith and recovery.
We're unpacking the complex issues of addiction, faith, and family, with Jason offering his unique insights drawn from personal experience and biblical principles. He highlights the destructive forces of selfishness and self-centeredness, linking them to broader societal problems like addiction and the absence of father figures. Jason's perspective on the urgent need for Christians to foster stronger spiritual connections and support each other in faith serves as a wake-up call in a world struggling with widespread addiction and societal unrest.
Lastly, we turn our focus to the ever-evolving challenges of youth ministry and parenting in today's tech-driven world. Jason shares his pastoral counseling experiences, tackling issues such as addiction and eating disorders, while stressing the importance of professional networking and spiritual guidance. We discuss the alarming decline in church attendance among youth and young adults, and Jason offers practical advice for integrating youth groups into the main congregation and balancing technology use in family life. Don’t miss this episode filled with personal anecdotes, practical advice, and a deep dive into the everyday miracles of faith and recovery.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dorsey Ross (00:00):
Hello everyone, thank you again for joining me
on an episode of the Dorsey RossShow.
Today we have a special guestwith us.
His name is Jason Krail.
He is a husband, a fatherconvicted.
Felon.
Jason has been in activepastoral ministry for over a
(00:22):
decade now and has been marriedto his wife for 10 years.
They have three boys Maxwell,paxton and Miles.
Pastor Jay has a master'sdegree from Liberty University
(00:44):
and has spoken at numerousblessings, and for government
officials, while doingchaplaincy work for large
corporations.
He has received many differentawards for his contributions for
the community and leadershipawards for his dedications to
(01:08):
serving Jesus in the margins.
Pastor Jay's introduction toJesus comes in an unorthodoxy
way, on the run from authoritiesand living as a homeless
hearing addict in the addict inKensington, philadelphia.
(01:28):
The Holy Spirit entered hislife and was forever changed.
Pastor Jason, thank you so muchfor coming on the show today.
Jason Krail (01:38):
Thank you for having me Looking forward to it.
Dorsey Ross (01:40):
Absolutely.
Let me, as I always start offwith I always start off with a
icebreaker question what is yourmost embarrassing?
Jason Krail (01:51):
memory One of the biggest ones is when I was a
young kid and I was at the pool.
I have two older brothers and,being the youngest, I was picked
on quite often and one time Ijumped off the high dive.
(02:12):
I did a perfect dive.
You should have saw it.
It was like Olympic medal awardwinning dive at least in my
mind it was and I went down butmy swim trunk stayed at the top
and I went all the way down to a15 foot pool and my brothers
jumped in and grabbed the swimtrunks and ran away with them.
So I had to sit in the pool fora half hour while other people
(02:33):
were looking at me laughingbecause I was naked in this pool
it was a community pool, therewere so many people around.
I was embarrassed.
I didn't live that down for afew years, but it still sticks
with me to this day, whichbasically the reminder is to tie
your swim trunks really tightthere you go.
Dorsey Ross (02:48):
Before telling your story about your past, let's
talk about your present for amoment.
And you know right now, like Isaid in your bio, you've been a
pastor for the last you know 10years past, for the last you
know 10 years.
And I'm sure a lot of people,regardless of you, know their
(03:11):
past and what people go through.
They probably think tothemselves right now where they
are.
Because of where they are atthe moment, they're probably
saying I'm not going to be ableto do anything that I want to do
in the future because of mypast, because of my criminal
(03:32):
record, because of my addictions, because of this, because of
that, how did you decide?
Obviously it was Jesus and youknow your conversion story, your
facing moment.
Obviously it was Jesus and yourconfidence through your faith
in the moment.
But what made you finallydecide, hey, I want to take that
(03:52):
step of faith, get my degreeand become a pastor.
Jason Krail (03:58):
Yeah, I would say for those that are stuck right
now and feeling like the oddsseem insurmountable.
I've been there too.
I remember sitting in a prisoncell.
I was like $50,000 in debt owedto the state.
I was sitting in this prisoncell.
I had no family by my side,everything.
And I had Jesus at this pointbecause, correct, you're right,
With Jesus behind you.
No obstacle in front of you canstop you.
(04:20):
That's a fact.
But there is going to be somerequirement on your part.
Everybody wants the resultswithout putting in the work.
That's what I've come to find,as long as you're working hard
to get to where you need to beand you actually have a plan.
So there's a saying that goesplan your work and work your
plan.
So that's what I did.
They say how do you eat anelephant, One bite at a time?
How do you get ahead in life?
(04:40):
One day at a time, so every day.
Head in life one day at a time,so every day.
And it's still the sameprocesses that I used from that
time that I was sitting in theprison cell, that my odds seem
insurmountable, until it isright now where it's like okay,
I owe 50,000 or whatever themoney was how do I pay that off?
$1 at a time.
Everything is just like theselittle baby steps and then, if
(05:01):
you calculate them and quantifythem all up over the course of
15 years or whatever, you lookback and you see that, as long
as you have those actionableitems that you can execute on
and be obedient to the process,obedient to God, for sure that
you're going to be able to getto your destination.
That's just been my experiencethroughout my entire life and in
(05:24):
my entire ministry.
Like you know, people alwayssay God will move mountains, but
you've got to bring a shovel.
There is going to be arequirement on your part, but
don't think too far ahead.
That's my suggestion, rather,to anybody who is stuck thinking
that I'm a felon or all theseother things.
Don't get stuck on whathappened in the past.
Don't project too far in thefuture.
Live in the moment, stay in theday and take it one day at a
(05:52):
time.
See, I think, Dorsey, even as apastor for a decade now, people
are always coming to me withsome revolutionary type of
advice.
Right, Like pastor, how do Iget through these things?
And it's simple, right?
The basic spirituality is whatI try to live my life by.
And if you do that in your ownwalk with God and I call it the
common walk with God.
See, God had this amazing,miraculous experience with me
and we'll get to that later, butreally it's that common walk
(06:14):
with God day by day.
Right that it was going toactually get you to the goal
line.
Same thing as spirituality, butthe same thing in anything you
want to complete in life.
You got to take it one day at atime, one step at a time, and
you'll get there.
Dorsey Ross (06:27):
Yeah, and even the Bible.
You know they talk about worryabout today.
Think about today, don't worryabout tomorrow.
Jason Krail (06:35):
Amen.
It says what does worrying do?
What's it going to add to you?
It steals really.
You know, anytime I project orreflect, I get sick.
If I stay in the moment andlive in today, I've never had it
so good.
Dorsey Ross (06:47):
Amen.
Jason Krail (06:54):
What's been one of your biggest challenges in your
life, pre-christ BC, beforeChrist I would say heroin
addiction, any addiction, right,because I was an alcoholic, I
was a heroin addict.
I popped pills like youwouldn't believe, like Tic Tac.
So I would say before Christ itwas absolutely addiction.
And people don't realizeaddiction is addiction, no
(07:14):
matter how you slice it.
Right.
There's people in the churchesthat might be like, oh well,
this guy's suffering from heroinbut they're gambling on their
money away or they're nothealthy and spiritually healthy
because they have a shoppingaddiction.
Addiction is addiction, nomatter how you slice it.
Being in the field of addictionand working in addiction,
substance use disorder andmental health, we see it
(07:35):
shooting up at an all-time highright now.
Really, what you'll see ispeople are moving away from the
main solution, which is it's aspiritual disease number one and
you need a spiritual solution,which is G.
That's really the ultimateresolution to the problem.
But they're moving away fromthat because, just like anything
, it's mental.
So you have a mental obsessionof physical dependency.
(07:55):
Once you start doing it and itcould be betting, it could be
buying clothes, heroin, and thenthe spiritual malady, that
spiritual disease.
So I do believe that it's athree-stage disease, no doubt
about it.
So that would be my biggest oneprior to Jesus right, because
he is the answer.
And then after Jesus, mybiggest hurdle, my biggest
hurdle now after Jesus, ismyself.
(08:16):
You know what I mean.
So it's my own thinking and mythought process, and that's
something that I think everybodycould.
Quite frankly, selfishness andself-centeredness is the core,
root problem of everybody, evensince the garden, you'll see, it
was selfishness and pride thatgot in the way of man.
Well, nothing is new under thesun.
(08:36):
The same rules and problemsexist for me in my own life, and
selfishness andself-centeredness could take
form in a different type of wayfor everybody, where it's like
you know, I worked so hard toget where I'm at and I feel like
I should be further.
Well, this is exactly where Godwants me to be.
So it all comes back to theoriginal thought of if I stay in
(08:58):
the moment and live in the dayand remember all the gifts that
God has given me, I will neverforget the giver.
See, that's the problem.
A lot of people think like theyshould.
When, anytime I say like Ideserve or I need, I'm in headed
for dangerous ground.
But as long as I just say I amperfectly fine, I am exactly
(09:18):
where I need to be, I am lovedby God.
As long as I say those, I amstatements just like Jesus did.
I am a sinner saved by God.
As long as I say those, I amstatements.
Just like Jesus did, I am asinner saved by grace.
I'm able to handle the thingsand my mindset more
appropriately because I knowthat God has a plan for me and
it isn't my job to speed thatplan up.
It's my job to follow that planone day at a time.
Dorsey Ross (09:40):
And then why do you think heroin and drugs, even to
this day, over all the yearsthat we've known they're
addictive, we've known they'reillegal, we've known all these
things and what they can do toour bodies, why do you think
there's still such a bigaddiction to those drugs?
It's like a big addiction, youknow, to those drugs.
Jason Krail (10:04):
Yeah, I mean, well, it's fine, it's.
I think it's like a person diesevery I forget what it was
minute or something in Americafrom heroin, like it's.
Something like astronomical istoo hard to quantify and it's
quite depressing.
But I mean, you know and I'llget to the point of helping
others which I see peopleliberated on a daily basis by
Jesus from that.
(10:25):
So that's what keeps me going.
But I would actually say it'sbecause you look at the culture
that we're in, right, I mean ourculture in America here
resembles God, but littleanymore.
And of course there's alwaysbeen, you know, even opiate
addiction.
Back in the Wild West days,when somebody got the tooth pool
, they drink some or smoke someopium or they would drink
whatever.
Days when somebody got thetooth pulled, they'd drink some
or smoke some opium or theywould drink whatever.
(10:46):
So there's always beenaddiction and I think there
always will be, because it comesdown to a lack of a spiritual
connection.
Like when you try to findanswers to the problems
internally and outside of whatGod wants for your life, you're
always going to be left hurtbecause we always try to find
the easier, softer way and thatisn't what God wants for you.
(11:06):
Sometimes God is calling us tosomething greater, and sometimes
that's going to come through apain.
It's going to come through aprocess, it's going to come
through a refinement.
God is putting us through thefurnace at times to refine us,
to make us better, but I've onlyfound one way to overcome that
and that is through the blood ofJesus Christ.
For sure for me, but to peoplethat are out there right now.
You look at the culturalclimate, the politics that are
(11:28):
going on.
You look at all the people thatare riding in the streets in
America right now.
You look at the border right,not to get too crazy on that,
but that's where all the heroinis actually coming from right
now.
It's just coming through.
So, profit motive you look atthe profit motive, right, and it
all comes down to a spiritualdisease.
We don't have the answer to oursolution outside, so we try to
(11:49):
find it somewhere else, in a bag, in a box, in a roulette wheel
or whatever the case may be.
But all we're doing is actuallykind of giving us a sense of
temporary relief.
See, I've had that times, right, dorsey?
I tried every way.
See, this is not new to me.
Trauma number one is probablythe greatest offender right.
(12:11):
Resentment and trauma at allkind of stems from this disease
that we are hurt by from anearly childhood, the systemic
patterns that happened in ourupbringing, our cultural climate
that we live in, all thesethings and ultimately it leads
to a lack of connection from God.
But trauma and then resentment,those two things, coupled with
(12:34):
fear, coupled with mental healthissues, coupled with the three
stages of alcoholism andaddiction, are the driving force
on why you see young kidspassing at a greater rate in
society.
And then also, not to get tooon a tangent, because this is
very important to me, because Igrew up without a father.
My dad was in my life early on,but he was a heroin addict,
(12:54):
alcohol, coke addict, everythingunder the sun, and I followed
in his footsteps as fatherlesshomes in America.
If you look at the numbers offatherless homes in America,
you'll see that, like 75% ofpeople that are in men's prisons
and women's prisons in Americaand who have addiction issues,
by the way, come from fatherlesshomes.
So we have to do better, even asChristians I'm speaking to
(13:16):
myself right now we got to dobetter at stepping up and
fighting against this culturethat wants to make you depressed
.
They want to give you pills tomake you feel better.
They want to give you this.
They want to give you pills tomake you feel better.
They want to give you this.
They want to do that.
But really, ultimately,christians, we need to stand up
and be louder than the culturethat we live in, because that's
what Christ has commanded us to,because where there is hope,
there is freedom, where there isJesus, there is salvation.
Where there is Jesus, there isfreedom and salvation and peace
(13:40):
in the stream of life.
Dorsey Ross (13:41):
You know, we hear about that a lot, where you know
the parent is, you know aheroin addict or you know an
alcoholic or an abuser, and thenthe son or the daughter.
You know if it's the mother,it's the daughter, if it's the
(14:01):
father, it's the son, and itwill like it's the daughter, if
it's the father, it's the son,and it would trickle down, in
fact, to that.
Why do you think that is?
Why do you think that it waswhen your father was in a
hearing addict?
Then you became one?
Was it because you saw yourfather doing it, or was it
(14:26):
something else?
Jason Krail (14:28):
Well, there's a ton of research on this that tells
you that it is actuallyhereditary.
Addiction issues do pass alongthe family timeline, so
sometimes it might skip ageneration.
There's all the scientificproof and facts that go about it
.
But the chemical makeup?
The fact remains that thealcoholic and addict brain is
different than somebody else's.
(14:49):
It's true.
We've seen it before.
They've seen it in rats.
They've done so many differenttests.
So sometimes it'll skipgeneration.
But a hundred percent.
If somebody in your family is analcoholic or an addict that are
suffering from substance usedisorder, chances are somebody
in the immediate line is goingto be affected by it too.
So really the only thing youcan actually do is draw
(15:10):
awareness to that issue.
But then it also goes backthrough the familial tree, which
is like now, and praise God,it's all through his grace and
mercy in my life that I was ableto break that chain, and now
that I have three children on myown, chances are they might
have the components that make upan alcoholic or an addict.
(15:32):
So what do I do?
I raise my children.
Well, I show them how to beservant leaders.
I show them how to be healthyindividuals, even amongst this
terrible culture that we're inright now and I feel like it's
going to get better because Godis at work in American society,
regardless of what we see.
But it's up to me, as a father,to mold these children, to
teach these children the ways ofthe Lord.
That way they will never departfrom it.
(15:53):
That's what the Bible says.
So that's what I do with mychildren to say, hey, I am an
alcoholic and an addict, but,more importantly, I'm a
Christian, I'm a follower ofJesus.
But you got to be careful withthose kind of things.
Right, I don't rule with aniron fist.
I mean, I correct them and I'mall about obedience and all
those things too, but they'regoing to make decisions someday
(16:13):
when I'm not around.
So I need to help themformulate that plan now, that
way, when they're around, thosetemptations, they're going to
remember that.
Oh wait, dad, right, he told usabout this.
Maybe I should call him andtell him to get me out of here,
or whatever.
That's the plan, dorsey.
But so I do think that it doespass along the family tree.
There's been so much historyand scientific proof that shows
(16:34):
that.
But it's up to the peoplewithin that system to break that
family curse, and God is allabout breaking chains and he's
all about setting generationsdifferent, and he's a fan of the
underdog.
That's been my experience.
Dorsey Ross (16:47):
Amen.
Going back to your working inthe church and yourself as a
pastor, what do you think thechurch can do better in helping
or accepting those withaddictions?
Jason Krail (17:03):
Yeah, I would say, see, see the church, right, they
kind of fall short in thatregard where they don't know.
So if somebody comes to them,like somebody who's a church
member comes to them and they'relike I'm suffering from
alcoholism, a pastor might feellike, oh gosh, what do I do?
Well, it's simple For me.
If somebody's coming into that,for me it's a little easier,
obviously because I have thehistoric background from it.
(17:26):
But I always tell pastors thatthey should actually get in
touch with people who understandthe disease of addiction, right
.
So they have that in theRolodex.
See, I know, as a pastor whohas done a lot of pastoral
counseling over a decade, that Idon't have all the answers.
Yeah, I could throw scriptureat it for sure, because
ultimately it's going to be Godthat changes that person.
But at the end of the day it'slike all right, we'll go read
(17:47):
whatever, whatever scripture,whatever, whatever.
That doesn't necessarily,that's not going to really just
change.
Scripture does change you, butthey're going to need support,
they're going to need guidance,and this goes for not just
addiction but anywhere elsewhere it's like eating disorders
.
I don't have eating disorders,but I know a bunch of people who
has had relief in that.
So I think a pastor needs to doa good job of networking around
(18:09):
his peers and colleagues indifferent churches to realize I
don't have all the answers, butat least I know the people that
do.
And I think that's really wherethe community comes into play,
because a pastor might say, hey,you need to stop drinking.
But to an alcoholic that'sgoing to take a divine act of
God.
That's like telling a fish tobreathe air.
It's hard right.
(18:30):
So I'm telling you, for me it'salways pointing them in the
right direction.
The people who areprofessionals when it comes to
the disease of addiction andalcoholism.
100% pray for them.
Obviously, that goes withoutsaying.
Dorsey Ross (18:42):
Pray for them, Encourage their walk, hold them
accountable, but also put themin touch with the people who
really understand the disease ofaddiction and alcoholism why do
you think that we've seen,especially when it comes to the
youth, that we've seen a declinein the attendance of youth and
young adults attending?
Jason Krail (19:04):
That's a great question.
These kids today, theirattention span is worse than
mine and I'm telling you, I'mundiagnosed ADHD.
There's no doubt about it.
It's like a gift and a cursefor me, but these kids'
attention span, they're good for30-second TikTok clips now,
dorsey, right?
So how do I actually engage thecommunity and these teens right
now?
Because, let's face it, you seekids, even when it comes to
(19:25):
addiction and alcoholism andeven addiction for gaming you
see that now, the gamingaddiction.
So it's terrible, right,because these kids lack guidance
, right?
Instead of them playing withtheir iPads and their iPhones or
whatever they have, they needto be active, and in the
community too.
But also churches.
I think they need to do abetter job of integrating the
youth groups into the mainchurch, right, it's always like,
(19:47):
oh, we got church on Sunday anda youth group this day, right.
So it's always been like thisthing to the side at least in my
experience, that's what it'sbeen where it's like, oh, but
the youth ministry meetsdownstairs or whatever, and
that's fine.
But we need to have the peoplethat are in the main church the
elders, the people who have beenwalking with Christ for a long
time actually involved in thesekids' lives.
(20:08):
Parents?
Obviously number one.
It starts at home.
It's always going to start athome.
So you need to actually be inyour child's life.
You need to be watching whatthey're, what they're taking
into their spiritual diet.
You know what I mean?
I always say that Watch whatgoes into your spiritual diet,
watch what goes into your kids.
If you think that they're justsurfing TikTok, you know they
shouldn't be.
My kids don't get those kindsof things right, because Because
(20:31):
I don't need them to be,because if I'm not influencing
them, the world is and I don'tneed them.
I don't need them to.
So I think that's the biggestthing that we see with
especially the youth groups andthe kids today is that their
attention spans are so lowbecause of technology.
It's the gift and the curse.
We live in the best of timesand the worst of times.
That's an old saying and it'strue in any century or any
(20:56):
decade.
We do live in the besttechnological times, but it's
also a curse too, because now wecan plug into the computer
really fast, but it's hard forus to plug into other people now
.
And what does that create?
It creates disconnection, andthat's what the youth groups and
all these kids nowadays aregoing through lack of connection
, so I think it's up to us asthe adults, as parents, to make
(21:17):
sure that they're connected tosomething outside of a youtube
screen.
That's the truth, because ifI'm not influencing them, the
world is, and I don't want thatfor my children yeah, and even
with it, even a lot of theadults.
Dorsey Ross (21:29):
You know, you go to restaurants or you go outside
and what do you see?
You see the adult on the phone.
You know.
Jason Krail (21:36):
Yeah, yep.
Dorsey Ross (21:37):
Looking on the phone or on social media and
whatnot.
Jason Krail (21:41):
Yeah, don't catch me frauding.
Sometimes when I go out todinner I will bring a little
tablet for my youngest son,miles, because, trust me, he's
like sitting there we're tryingto eat like a nice dinner.
We don't get out much threekids, you know but sometimes
I'll throw on a little you knowSesame Street cartoon or
whatever and throw it in frontof them.
But I do try to.
I mean, my phone is alwaysblowing up.
(22:06):
I've been, you know, blessedthat people see me as a resource
for a long time, but I need toactually take my own advice a
lot where it's like let me justturn off these things and go
play with my kids.
I'll tell you what, dorsey, theother day this is a little pat
on the back, I guess, but I'mreally proud of it the other day
I was playing wiffle balloutside with my boys and my son
crushed one and hit the lady'scar.
It's only a wiffle ball, she'sa neighbor, but it's across the
street.
(22:26):
I go up to her and I said sorryabout that.
She said no problem, she's like.
No, I mean that.
She's like.
I always see you outside everysingle day.
It doesn't matter what theweather is.
You're always out here playingwith your sons, and I can see it
, and it's really nice that Ihave somebody else that doesn't
even really know me like thatsay that about myself.
So I say that as a father.
(22:47):
I think fathers need to spendtime with their children.
I think it's so vital that theyneed to get that, especially in
these sweet years, because Inever had that Growing up.
I missed my dad from the agesof nine until I was 20-something
when I came home from prisonand I lived with him for a
little bit.
But those years were such aformidable years that I was
being formed and I was beinginfluenced.
(23:08):
Unfortunately, I was beinginfluenced by the streets and,
lo and behold, that's whathappened until Jesus saved me.
Dorsey Ross (23:14):
Yeah, and hang on to that and tell us more of your
story.
Jason Krail (23:19):
Oh yeah, absolutely .
So I could talk for another twohours about that, but I'll keep
it brief.
And you know I've lived a crazylife, right, there's no doubt
about it.
I was I think I was 11, 12years old when I was taken from
the state of Pennsylvania andput into a foster home.
I think I was 12 or 12.
Yeah, 12 years old and I wasput into a foster home and I ran
(23:42):
away from that foster homewithin a year and I went out on
the run because my dad was anaddict and an alcoholic and very
abusive and my mom couldn'ttake care of me because I was a
misguided kid and I was breakinglaws, quite frankly, literally
breaking the law.
And so I went on the run and Iended up back down in North
Philly with my brother andselling drugs, doing drugs and
just hurting, robbing people andjust doing all these things
(24:03):
that were just terrible.
I hurt other people, not proudabout that whatsoever.
And and you fast forward I was26 years old, homeless, in an
abandoned house in Kensington,on Cambria Street rather, and at
this point I burned everysingle bridge.
I was already a two-time felon,convicted of two felonies,
already did a bunch of yearsincarceration and I was just a
(24:27):
shell of a human being, right, Iwas living to use and I wanted
to die, and that's just thebottom line.
I did die from heroin threetimes prior to this experience
and I was 26 years old and itwas June 10th.
I robbed some kid for heroin onthe streets of North Philly and
I tried to do all the heroin atonce and I was not all of it,
but close to all of it and Iwanted to die from it and
(24:49):
unfortunately I couldn't evenkill myself correctly.
And I woke up and that was June10th and I was walking back to
the abandoned house where I wasliving in Kensington and I seen
this church that said freepepperoni pizza on the side.
And eating is a luxury for aguy like me.
When I'm out there, rip runningand if it's free, it's for me.
That's what I always tellmyself.
If it's free, it's for me.
So I went into this church andI went down into this basement
(25:12):
and they were eating pizza there.
I sat in the back and I alwayssay I look like Forrest Gump.
After he stopped running, right, like my beard was down to the
floor, I look like a whole messand it was a Spanish church.
I always tell people I'm notPuerto Rican, but I'm sort of
Rican, you know what I mean.
So I'm sitting down there inthis church and I'm eating this
pepperoni pizza and this Spanishpastor is speaking Spanish and
(25:33):
then all of a sudden he switchesto English and he starts
walking towards me and he startstalking about this God that was
foreign to me.
He talked about a God who wasready to save me.
He talked about this God thatsaid, doesn't matter what you've
done in your past, this Godwill redeem you.
And I was so convicted that Istarted tearing up and crying a
little bit eating this pizza,and I did what I only knew how
to do, and that was run.
So I ran away, but not before Itook a few slices for the road.
(25:56):
You know what I mean, dorsey,when you're home eating the
luxury.
So I grabbed these coupleslices and I ran out of there.
Then I went back to the houseon Cambria street and I was
sitting there eating this pizzaand I couldn't stop thinking
about this Spanish pastor thattalked about this foreign guy.
I'll never forget it.
The next morning I woke up and Ihad a few bags of heroin on me
from the day before and I wasjust, for some reason, I just
(26:18):
felt different.
I just felt I felt differentand I was walking, I was running
with this guy who had an oldcell phone and I took the cell
phone off him and I asked him touse it and I called my mom and
my stepfather answered the phoneand my stepfather was a Vietnam
War veteran, an amazing guy,and I robbed him too.
He tried to be the dad that Inever had, and I robbed him
(26:40):
because of my addiction.
I'm not proud about that eitherwhatsoever, but he got to see
me become a dad, a husband and apastor.
So, praise God, before hepassed from cancer recently,
amazing guy.
And so I called home to thatfaithful day, june 11th 2011.
So I called home to thatfaithful day, june 11th of 2011.
And my stepfather answered andmy mom said she refuses to get
on the phone with me becauseshe's prepared to bury me.
(27:00):
And really I needed to hearthat, because I was just a
tornado roaring through her life.
Every relationship I ever had Idestroyed and the only thing I
really wanted to do was hear hervoice.
That was it the last time I sawher.
That was probably like two anda half, three years prior, and
(27:21):
she just didn't want nothing todo with me.
She said she was prepared tobury me, and the smallest words
of love, driven by the power ofGod, can save somebody's life.
Because my stepfather said Iknow your mom won't talk to you,
but I refuse to turn my back onyou.
He said I know I'm not your dad, but I sure as heck do love you
like I am.
He said do me a favor, turnyourself into authorities.
And he hung the phone up andright there I started thinking
about the Spanish pastor and allabout the foreign God that he
(27:44):
talked about and I said God, Idon't know if you're real, but I
need help.
And right there, in anabandoned house in North
Philadelphia, in Kensington, youknow, god saved a w rest like
me now, and I had this whitelight experience in this
abandoned house and at a timewhen I thought my life was over,
I realized that God entered inmy heart.
It was finally just beginning,when love was the only thing
(28:04):
that mattered and I knew nothingelse really mattered at all.
God came into my heart, theHoly spirit penetrated my heart
and and he saved my life.
And I haven't thought itnecessary in 13 plus years now
to put anything stronger thanit'll leave in my body, and I'm
so grateful for that.
I always say that in God'sgarden of grace a broken tree
can bear fruit.
I've heard that saying beforeand that everything's true in my
(28:25):
life.
I'm just a broken tree.
I went to jail that day.
I turned myself intoauthorities.
That day I was on a run fromthree different places.
I turned myself into the jailthat served the best food
because I've been to them all,so I knew what kind of trays I
was getting.
They used to call me a trayslayer.
That's what I used to do, and Iate the food.
But I was in this holding celland it was wild because there
was a Bible there, a liferecovery Bible, and the first
(28:47):
verse I ever read in the Biblewas Isaiah 41 to 10.
It said fear not, do not bedismayed, for I am your God.
I will help you, I willstrengthen you, I will hold you
with my righteous right hand.
And I knew that God was callingme and saving me, to save me.
But he was also calling me tosay that the age of miracles is
still upon us.
That's what I get to do.
I live on the front lines of mylife.
Every single day.
I talk to people that arebroken every single day and I
(29:08):
tell them that Jesus is real,jesus is ready to heal, jesus is
going to save you, he's readyto liberate you.
See, it's one thing for God toliberate you from your fears,
but it's a whole nother ballgame when Jesus uses you to
liberate somebody else's.
See, it gives a new meaning toa life of purpose, it gives new
meaning to your life in generaland it gives you a life, and I'm
very grateful.
But I knew God was calling meto be a pastor that day.
(29:30):
It didn't happen.
The next day that I was a pastor, it took me three years of
going to school to become ayouth pastor and then, from
youth pastor, it took me anotherthree after that to become the
associate pastor at a churchwhich I just stepped down from.
Obviously, I go to Trinity nowin Westchester.
If anybody's watching this,come check out Pastor Jimmy and
(29:51):
the crew over there.
They're the best, amazing,amazing church and now I'm
serving over there.
I'm looking forward to thefuture for that.
But I went to a prison.
I mean, excuse me, I went tothe first church I ever went to
outside of a prison cell.
I became a pastor and I servedthere for 12 years.
Now I was serving there for 12years, which I just stepped down
about six or seven months agojust because I felt the Holy
(30:14):
Spirit calling me to leave.
But it was a very hard decisionfor me to make because that's
the only church I ever knew andthey treated me.
I was rough around the edgesbut they treated me as one of
their own and I'm reallygrateful for that.
And I always say this first,because it's one of my life
errors is in Hebrews.
It says remember your leaders,those who spoke the word of God
to you, consider the outcome oftheir life and imitate their
(30:38):
faith.
And I'm so grateful to God thatI've had the best men as
leaders in my life and women,but men that have walked with
Jesus, the pastors in my lifethat I've served under.
I have been blessed that theyhave shown me the path and how
to be obedient, how to be a goodhusband, how to be a good
father, how to counsel otherpeople and just really walk that
narrow path that it takes to bea pastor, to be above reproach,
(31:00):
because you see that in oursociety, a lot of pastors
falling by the wayside, bignames falling by the wayside and
I really getting back to ourfirst discussion is that common
walk with God, not letting youbecome the destruction in your
own life.
And I think that's because ifyou don't have other people
(31:20):
holding you accountable andyou're the only person balancing
your checkbook, you're going togo broke.
That's like when you becomesuper pastor, whatever that is
like.
You know.
I mean, we're all just sheepamong sheep.
But even a pastor, their job isto not lead sheep astray and
God holds them accountable.
So I think it's important forpastors, especially pastors that
(31:42):
have bigger churches.
I'm always a small church guy.
I love smaller churches.
That's how I was raised.
I know every single person byname.
I get to see their kidsgraduate or whatever.
That just means so much to me.
But I think a lot of pastorsthey don't have the checks and
balance and that's why they fallout of line with Jesus If you
don't have somebody checking youand I'm not just talking about
God, because of course you go toGod and that's always going to
(32:04):
be number one but you need othermen and for the ladies, you
need other women in your lifeholding you accountable.
Iron sharpens iron.
If you don't have that otherpiece of iron, you're not going
to.
Dorsey Ross (32:19):
You mentioned the day after you stopped doing the
hearing and everything, thatthat was the day that you wanted
to become, or you felt calledto become, a pastor.
Some people may hear that andyou know, down the road, like
(32:48):
you said, it didn't take you.
It wasn't like the next day youbecame a pastor.
It took you several years.
Oh yeah, what made you that day?
You know, obviously, you knowprobably the Holy Spirit moment.
Amen.
You know, obviously, you knowprobably the Holy Spirit moment
Amen.
What was it that day that youwere like, okay, that's what I
(33:09):
will do, and that like, no, Ican't do that.
That's not me, that's not who Iam.
Jason Krail (33:17):
Well, I mean, I think number one I am a little
crazy in a good way.
I'm a good crazy today, and Idon't think anything's
impossible.
I just don't.
You know now, like, and let mejust get back to one thing
before I speak on that Any rolewith God is a big role, right?
(33:38):
So it doesn't even have to bepastor.
You could be a greeter, youcould anything.
Any role that God has you isvital to the body of Christ.
God uses the leastextraordinary to do the most
extraordinary.
That's been my experience.
That was just what God had formy life.
But 1,000% it's a slow walkwith God sometimes, sometimes
(34:04):
quickly, sometimes slowly.
That's how God works.
It took me I had to wait, or Ihad to grind through nine years
to get my master's degree.
It gets back to our original.
I love how we're guys that workright here at Dorsey, because
how did I do that?
One day at a time I felt like Iwas going to be so I did.
One year incarceration, a smallyear, and the first church I
(34:24):
ever went to, I pulled a pastoroff the pulpit Andrew, pastor,
andrew, one of my first mentors.
I told him God is calling me tobe a pastor.
When can I preach?
I said, can I come here nextweek and preach?
He's like who are you Like?
And then he's like do you evenhave any education?
Not that you necessarily needall that, obviously, some people
(34:47):
have been walking with the Lord.
But he saw me.
I was an infant.
I'd been to church while I wasincarcerated.
That was the only time I'dreally been to church.
So it took him to sit me downand be like yo, you need
schooling, you need to go backto school.
So over this course of time, sodid I feel like God was calling
me to be a pastor?
(35:07):
Yes, I did, a hundred percent,unequivocally.
I knew that's what it was andit proved to be true.
But I also had other people inmy life, pastor Andrew being one
.
That he saw the call on my life.
It's one thing for somebodylike I want to be a pastor.
Maybe that's not what Godcalled some people to, and
that's okay.
It was other people who kind ofwalked me along this process and
(35:28):
through that process ofgrinding it out, becoming a
youth pastor after three and ahalf, four years, or whatever
the case was, of them saying,yes, god's hand is on you.
In this call Number one, yougot to be called by God, but
number two, you have to haveother people that see that call,
can't just be you to see thatcall.
(35:49):
And like I've been wrong a lotin my walk with God.
So let me just go on record andsay that like I have a plan for
myself and God has a wholedifferent one, let me tell you
and the more that I stoppedfighting that, the better off.
I am for sure.
But like 1000% I see God in thesmall things.
Right, that happened.
I had this revolutionaryexperience with God.
(36:09):
I felt like God was removing mefrom that situation and it
proved to be true.
I felt like he was calling meto be a pastor.
It proved to be true.
But over the course of 13 plusyears that I've been walking
with the Lord, what I've come tofind is that common walk with
God, that common walk with Godis where I get to see the true
blessings in my life.
That common, arduous walksometimes can be arduous with
(36:31):
Jesus is when I get to be ableto see the miracles that happen,
the miracle that I even haveevery single day that I open my
eyes.
People forget about thatmiracle that you opened your
eyes.
Anything that comes after isjust a bonus.
It's the truth.
You know, I know there's peoplethat are in hospital systems
around where we're sitting atright now that are begging God
for the opportunity that we have, and that's a fact.
(36:51):
So anytime I open my eyes,that's the true miracle.
But I get to have these thingslike love in my life.
Right, that I don't ever, youknow, take for granted, because
I've never actually had thosetype of things.
I get to be the dad to my ownchildren.
How about?
That's a miracle.
So it's like, yeah, I had thisrevolutionary experiences, but
now it's in that common walkwith Jesus that I get to see the
(37:13):
miracles on a daily basis, aslong as I'm in tune with the
Holy Spirit, as long as Irealize that the best of God is
in the small things.
Not waking up every day,wanting to shoot a bag of heroin
in my neck Dorsey, sorry to begraphic, but that's the truth.
Not wanting to happen to dothat, not even having a desire,
having that removed from me youknow somebody that was shooting
(37:34):
heroin for over a decade, sinceI was 14 years old was when I
first shot my first bag ofheroin.
Not having that and I get tosit with other people and I
realized that my experience isradical to some degree.
Now it's just pretty normalright Now.
It's pretty normal.
My spirituality, my walk withGod.
It ebbs and flows likeeverybody else.
Sometimes I'm on the peak,sometimes I'm in the valley, but
(37:56):
I'm always climbing, dorsey.
I'm always climbing and I tellpeople that let's look at your
life right now.
Like, yeah, you might bestruggling in one area, but I
remember you came to me in thepast and you were struggling in
this area.
What happened?
God did?
He's going to take care of thattoo, but we just got to be
obedient to the process and wegot to trust that process that
it's going to work just like italways has before.
And as long as we do that anddon't blame God and all these
(38:19):
other things, that's one of thebig things.
You'll see, it's like well, ifGod, if God, if, if it shouldn't
be that way.
Dorsey Ross (38:25):
Yeah, Now you had mentioned also that you said
that you died from the heroinoverdose three different times.
Jason Krail (38:35):
That's right.
Dorsey Ross (38:36):
What was it like?
Was it like did people come andsave you?
Was it an ambulance?
Was it, you know?
Did they do knock-in?
What was that like?
Jason Krail (38:47):
One time it was on Somerset Street and I was giving
mouth-to-mouth because wedidn't have those pumper things.
It was actually a person whowas suffering too with me.
They do CPR.
They brought me back to lifethe second time.
I was done for like a solidminute in the back of an
ambulance.
They brought me back again andthen they had to bring me back
(39:07):
when I got to the hospital again.
So, yeah, they both, both, bothtimes or all, three times,
twice in one day and then onetime over there, and I'll speak
on that too.
Right, dorsey, that when I diedand came back, I didn't want to
come back.
I didn't want to.
That's how terrible of a lifethat I was living back.
I didn't want to.
That's how terrible of a lifethat I was living.
And all you got to do is lookaround our neighborhoods now,
especially in our inner cities.
You could pick any city.
(39:27):
You could pick any city.
It doesn't have to bePhiladelphia, where I was at.
You could pick any city andyou'll see the terrible
destructiveness.
People don't believe in thedevil.
Well, I could tell you, I couldrecommend you, going into the
inner cities where people areshooting heroin, pregnant women
you see a pregnant womanshooting heroin.
You think they actually want todo that.
They lost the power to choose.
There's something outside ofthemselves that is making them
(39:47):
do that too right.
Of course it's going to be amental, physical and spiritual
disease.
But evil is real and a lot oftimes it has a hold on our youth
and our generations that arefalling off into oblivion.
But I didn't want to come back.
That's how miserable my life is, and today I can honestly say I
shudder to think that I almostmissed this life, that the Holy
Spirit and God has transformedmy life in every single way.
(40:08):
Yep, just a normal dude likeeverybody else.
But when I look back and lookat the blessings and the moments
that God has led me and savedme from myself and still
continues to do maybe not asmiraculous as that I always tell
people continues to do, maybenot as miraculous as that I
always tell people.
You know the Bible says heavenrepents anytime a sinner is
(40:31):
saved, right.
So I don't even sometimes likeyou know my radical stuff.
I remember early on in mypreaching career I would use
illustrations that like werekind of wild right, like one
time I was in a high speed chaseand it's like you know little
Bobby over there that's beenwalking with Jesus for 20 years.
He's never been in a high-speedchase.
You know what I mean.
So now it's kind of like I toneit down over the course of 10
years of preaching.
(40:51):
Now I tone it down to makepeople relate more, and I speak
about the principles because myexperience is not like somebody
else's, but the principle is thesame.
Right, we've all been foreign toGod.
We've all had our own strugglesin life, enemy of ourselves.
We've all dealt withselfishness.
We've all dealt with pride,lust, greed, all these different
things, and that's somethingthat, like, everybody can relate
(41:14):
to.
We're all just trying to youknow better ourselves in
Christ's eyes as Christians andwalk that path.
But we also, you know, I wouldencourage people to do something
for other people.
I think that's like one of thethings that we need to see a
revival of in the Western churchis like, okay, church on Sunday
is great.
I'm not telling you not to dothat, but that is just a
(41:35):
spectator sport, like you mightget filled, your cup filled and
all these other things, but areyou actually trying to fill
somebody else's?
Are you actually playing therole that God has for you, using
the spiritual gifts that Godhas called you for in the
community at large right.
So you need to get active afterSunday.
We need to be the church onMonday.
We need to actually do more,because there's people that are
dying right Every single day, oreven divorces at an all-time
(41:59):
high.
Christians aren't immune tothat either.
They're a part of that 50% orwhatever that crazy number is.
Why is that?
It's because everybody isfocused on themselves and we
need to step out of ourselvesand focus on other people if
we're going to heal as a nation.
That's a fact.
Dorsey Ross (42:14):
When you went to the hospital and they found out
that you were high or that youhad overdosed, did they give you
any type of help?
Did they give you any type ofSuccession, any type of help?
Jason Krail (42:26):
Yeah, they weren't too keen about me being there
For long though.
I'll say that, but I'm notgoing to.
You know, there's some peoplelike the nurses, like you know,
I mean I wasn't no picnic dudethere's people coming in there
with Gunshot wounds and stuff orwhatever.
Somebody that had a heartattack.
And you know, I mean there is a.
There is some stigma aroundaddicts and alcoholics, no doubt
(42:49):
about it, and I fully am awareof that.
But yeah, I mean, they weren'ttoo keen that I was there, but
they treated me.
Nurses and doctors have aservant's heart.
You know what I mean.
I always look at it like that.
Even my parole officer, andre Idon't know if he's watching,
maybe he will Andre, I had himas he was my Philadelphia parole
officer.
I put this guy through so muchpain and stuff Not even pain
(43:11):
because he wasn't in pain, but Iput him through so much
aggravation.
He used to be like, when areyou going to get this right?
I'm like I don't tell you know.
So, even him, though, he had aservant's heart.
You know what I mean.
Like, at the end of the day,these people are just and cops,
and all these people, they allhave a servant's heart.
So you know I've been blessedthat I've had people come in and
(43:32):
help save my life multipletimes.
That's a fact.
Dorsey Ross (43:35):
Yeah, so as we get rid of the clothes, I always ask
my guests to give encouragingword and encouraging message to
those that are listening.
Jason Krail (43:47):
Yeah.
So all right, you know, let mejust the main thing that I would
tell somebody you know, as aword of encouragement and this
is specifically towards peoplethat, like you, feel, like you
know they are hopeless, right, Ithink that's like a thing and I
honestly believe, and we're notjust talking about obviously
I'm not a pastor just foralcoholism and addiction, I'm a
(44:09):
pastor for the people, but Ieven think it doesn't matter if
you're suffering from thosediseases.
I think that we are allsuffering from some form of lack
of faith or hopelessness anddespair.
And, like I said, you lookaround our country and you see
all the warring that's going onacross globally.
You see the warring that'sgoing on in our communities.
You see the youth that wetalked about and touched on.
(44:31):
I just think that we need toreally understand and realize
that the problem that we'refacing is not new to God.
Praise God for that.
What's the Bible say?
That God is the same today,yesterday and forevermore, and
we can find comfort in that.
The Bible also says that Jesusexperienced everything that we
(44:53):
do as human beings.
Right, he's experiencedeverything we did.
He didn't sin, obviously, buthe felt pain.
He felt things that we feel wedon't have a God who is foreign.
We have a God who can relate tous in every single way.
Yet he stayed true, which meanshe can help you get out of that
(45:14):
.
He did it and through his power, through his love, through his
grace, through his sovereignty,he's going to bring you out of
that too.
I'm telling you this, dorsey,that I have been at the lowest
of lows and that God has pluckedme from the margins, a state of
hopelessness and despair.
I'm talking about wanting todie numerous times, dying
(45:36):
physically, dying numerous times, coming from that to a life
that is full of love, that isfull of peace, that strives to
be better every single day.
This can be anybody's story.
Who's watching?
Whether you're suffering inyour marriage, whether you're
suffering with your children,whether you're suffering from
some type of an addiction?
God is not deaf to yourproblems.
He has a quick ear to listen.
(45:57):
God is ready to redeem you.
He is ready to save you.
Dorsey Ross (46:08):
He is ready to pluck you from your own margins
and give you a life of purpose.
Amen Well, Pastor Jason, thankyou so much for coming on the
show today.
Jason Krail (46:11):
Blessed to be here, dorsey, thank you so much for
having me.
I really appreciate it.
Dorsey Ross (46:15):
Well, guys and girls, thank you so much for
listening again and please likeand share this episode and leave
a review on all podcastplatforms, and please go check
out my website atwwwdorseyroastministriescom.
God bless, bye-bye.
Jason Krail (46:34):
Thank you, thanks, bye-bye.
Hello everyone, thank you again for joining me
on an episode of the Dorsey RossShow.
Today we have a special guestwith us.
His name is Jason Krail.
He is a husband, a fatherconvicted.
Felon.
Jason has been in activepastoral ministry for over a
(00:22):
decade now and has been marriedto his wife for 10 years.
They have three boys Maxwell,paxton and Miles.
Pastor Jay has a master'sdegree from Liberty University
(00:44):
and has spoken at numerousblessings, and for government
officials, while doingchaplaincy work for large
corporations.
He has received many differentawards for his contributions for
the community and leadershipawards for his dedications to
(01:08):
serving Jesus in the margins.
Pastor Jay's introduction toJesus comes in an unorthodoxy
way, on the run from authoritiesand living as a homeless
hearing addict in the addict inKensington, philadelphia.
(01:28):
The Holy Spirit entered hislife and was forever changed.
Pastor Jason, thank you so muchfor coming on the show today.
Jason Krail (01:38):
Thank you for having me Looking forward to it.
Dorsey Ross (01:40):
Absolutely.
Let me, as I always start offwith I always start off with a
icebreaker question what is yourmost embarrassing?
Jason Krail (01:51):
memory One of the biggest ones is when I was a
young kid and I was at the pool.
I have two older brothers and,being the youngest, I was picked
on quite often and one time Ijumped off the high dive.
(02:12):
I did a perfect dive.
You should have saw it.
It was like Olympic medal awardwinning dive at least in my
mind it was and I went down butmy swim trunk stayed at the top
and I went all the way down to a15 foot pool and my brothers
jumped in and grabbed the swimtrunks and ran away with them.
So I had to sit in the pool fora half hour while other people
(02:33):
were looking at me laughingbecause I was naked in this pool
it was a community pool, therewere so many people around.
I was embarrassed.
I didn't live that down for afew years, but it still sticks
with me to this day, whichbasically the reminder is to tie
your swim trunks really tightthere you go.
Dorsey Ross (02:48):
Before telling your story about your past, let's
talk about your present for amoment.
And you know right now, like Isaid in your bio, you've been a
pastor for the last you know 10years past, for the last you
know 10 years.
And I'm sure a lot of people,regardless of you, know their
(03:11):
past and what people go through.
They probably think tothemselves right now where they
are.
Because of where they are atthe moment, they're probably
saying I'm not going to be ableto do anything that I want to do
in the future because of mypast, because of my criminal
(03:32):
record, because of my addictions, because of this, because of
that, how did you decide?
Obviously it was Jesus and youknow your conversion story, your
facing moment.
Obviously it was Jesus and yourconfidence through your faith
in the moment.
But what made you finallydecide, hey, I want to take that
(03:52):
step of faith, get my degreeand become a pastor.
Jason Krail (03:58):
Yeah, I would say for those that are stuck right
now and feeling like the oddsseem insurmountable.
I've been there too.
I remember sitting in a prisoncell.
I was like $50,000 in debt owedto the state.
I was sitting in this prisoncell.
I had no family by my side,everything.
And I had Jesus at this pointbecause, correct, you're right,
With Jesus behind you.
No obstacle in front of you canstop you.
(04:20):
That's a fact.
But there is going to be somerequirement on your part.
Everybody wants the resultswithout putting in the work.
That's what I've come to find,as long as you're working hard
to get to where you need to beand you actually have a plan.
So there's a saying that goesplan your work and work your
plan.
So that's what I did.
They say how do you eat anelephant, One bite at a time?
How do you get ahead in life?
(04:40):
One day at a time, so every day.
Head in life one day at a time,so every day.
And it's still the sameprocesses that I used from that
time that I was sitting in theprison cell, that my odds seem
insurmountable, until it isright now where it's like okay,
I owe 50,000 or whatever themoney was how do I pay that off?
$1 at a time.
Everything is just like theselittle baby steps and then, if
(05:01):
you calculate them and quantifythem all up over the course of
15 years or whatever, you lookback and you see that, as long
as you have those actionableitems that you can execute on
and be obedient to the process,obedient to God, for sure that
you're going to be able to getto your destination.
That's just been my experiencethroughout my entire life and in
(05:24):
my entire ministry.
Like you know, people alwayssay God will move mountains, but
you've got to bring a shovel.
There is going to be arequirement on your part, but
don't think too far ahead.
That's my suggestion, rather,to anybody who is stuck thinking
that I'm a felon or all theseother things.
Don't get stuck on whathappened in the past.
Don't project too far in thefuture.
Live in the moment, stay in theday and take it one day at a
(05:52):
time.
See, I think, Dorsey, even as apastor for a decade now, people
are always coming to me withsome revolutionary type of
advice.
Right, Like pastor, how do Iget through these things?
And it's simple, right?
The basic spirituality is whatI try to live my life by.
And if you do that in your ownwalk with God and I call it the
common walk with God.
See, God had this amazing,miraculous experience with me
and we'll get to that later, butreally it's that common walk
(06:14):
with God day by day.
Right that it was going toactually get you to the goal
line.
Same thing as spirituality, butthe same thing in anything you
want to complete in life.
You got to take it one day at atime, one step at a time, and
you'll get there.
Dorsey Ross (06:27):
Yeah, and even the Bible.
You know they talk about worryabout today.
Think about today, don't worryabout tomorrow.
Jason Krail (06:35):
Amen.
It says what does worrying do?
What's it going to add to you?
It steals really.
You know, anytime I project orreflect, I get sick.
If I stay in the moment andlive in today, I've never had it
so good.
Dorsey Ross (06:47):
Amen.
Jason Krail (06:54):
What's been one of your biggest challenges in your
life, pre-christ BC, beforeChrist I would say heroin
addiction, any addiction, right,because I was an alcoholic, I
was a heroin addict.
I popped pills like youwouldn't believe, like Tic Tac.
So I would say before Christ itwas absolutely addiction.
And people don't realizeaddiction is addiction, no
(07:14):
matter how you slice it.
Right.
There's people in the churchesthat might be like, oh well,
this guy's suffering from heroinbut they're gambling on their
money away or they're nothealthy and spiritually healthy
because they have a shoppingaddiction.
Addiction is addiction, nomatter how you slice it.
Being in the field of addictionand working in addiction,
substance use disorder andmental health, we see it
(07:35):
shooting up at an all-time highright now.
Really, what you'll see ispeople are moving away from the
main solution, which is it's aspiritual disease number one and
you need a spiritual solution,which is G.
That's really the ultimateresolution to the problem.
But they're moving away fromthat because, just like anything
, it's mental.
So you have a mental obsessionof physical dependency.
(07:55):
Once you start doing it and itcould be betting, it could be
buying clothes, heroin, and thenthe spiritual malady, that
spiritual disease.
So I do believe that it's athree-stage disease, no doubt
about it.
So that would be my biggest oneprior to Jesus right, because
he is the answer.
And then after Jesus, mybiggest hurdle, my biggest
hurdle now after Jesus, ismyself.
(08:16):
You know what I mean.
So it's my own thinking and mythought process, and that's
something that I think everybodycould.
Quite frankly, selfishness andself-centeredness is the core,
root problem of everybody, evensince the garden, you'll see, it
was selfishness and pride thatgot in the way of man.
Well, nothing is new under thesun.
(08:36):
The same rules and problemsexist for me in my own life, and
selfishness andself-centeredness could take
form in a different type of wayfor everybody, where it's like
you know, I worked so hard toget where I'm at and I feel like
I should be further.
Well, this is exactly where Godwants me to be.
So it all comes back to theoriginal thought of if I stay in
(08:58):
the moment and live in the dayand remember all the gifts that
God has given me, I will neverforget the giver.
See, that's the problem.
A lot of people think like theyshould.
When, anytime I say like Ideserve or I need, I'm in headed
for dangerous ground.
But as long as I just say I amperfectly fine, I am exactly
(09:18):
where I need to be, I am lovedby God.
As long as I say those, I amstatements just like Jesus did.
I am a sinner saved by God.
As long as I say those, I amstatements.
Just like Jesus did, I am asinner saved by grace.
I'm able to handle the thingsand my mindset more
appropriately because I knowthat God has a plan for me and
it isn't my job to speed thatplan up.
It's my job to follow that planone day at a time.
Dorsey Ross (09:40):
And then why do you think heroin and drugs, even to
this day, over all the yearsthat we've known they're
addictive, we've known they'reillegal, we've known all these
things and what they can do toour bodies, why do you think
there's still such a bigaddiction to those drugs?
It's like a big addiction, youknow, to those drugs.
Jason Krail (10:04):
Yeah, I mean, well, it's fine, it's.
I think it's like a person diesevery I forget what it was
minute or something in Americafrom heroin, like it's.
Something like astronomical istoo hard to quantify and it's
quite depressing.
But I mean, you know and I'llget to the point of helping
others which I see peopleliberated on a daily basis by
Jesus from that.
(10:25):
So that's what keeps me going.
But I would actually say it'sbecause you look at the culture
that we're in, right, I mean ourculture in America here
resembles God, but littleanymore.
And of course there's alwaysbeen, you know, even opiate
addiction.
Back in the Wild West days,when somebody got the tooth pool
, they drink some or smoke someopium or they would drink
whatever.
Days when somebody got thetooth pulled, they'd drink some
or smoke some opium or theywould drink whatever.
(10:46):
So there's always beenaddiction and I think there
always will be, because it comesdown to a lack of a spiritual
connection.
Like when you try to findanswers to the problems
internally and outside of whatGod wants for your life, you're
always going to be left hurtbecause we always try to find
the easier, softer way and thatisn't what God wants for you.
(11:06):
Sometimes God is calling us tosomething greater, and sometimes
that's going to come through apain.
It's going to come through aprocess, it's going to come
through a refinement.
God is putting us through thefurnace at times to refine us,
to make us better, but I've onlyfound one way to overcome that
and that is through the blood ofJesus Christ.
For sure for me, but to peoplethat are out there right now.
You look at the culturalclimate, the politics that are
(11:28):
going on.
You look at all the people thatare riding in the streets in
America right now.
You look at the border right,not to get too crazy on that,
but that's where all the heroinis actually coming from right
now.
It's just coming through.
So, profit motive you look atthe profit motive, right, and it
all comes down to a spiritualdisease.
We don't have the answer to oursolution outside, so we try to
(11:49):
find it somewhere else, in a bag, in a box, in a roulette wheel
or whatever the case may be.
But all we're doing is actuallykind of giving us a sense of
temporary relief.
See, I've had that times, right, dorsey?
I tried every way.
See, this is not new to me.
Trauma number one is probablythe greatest offender right.
(12:11):
Resentment and trauma at allkind of stems from this disease
that we are hurt by from anearly childhood, the systemic
patterns that happened in ourupbringing, our cultural climate
that we live in, all thesethings and ultimately it leads
to a lack of connection from God.
But trauma and then resentment,those two things, coupled with
(12:34):
fear, coupled with mental healthissues, coupled with the three
stages of alcoholism andaddiction, are the driving force
on why you see young kidspassing at a greater rate in
society.
And then also, not to get tooon a tangent, because this is
very important to me, because Igrew up without a father.
My dad was in my life early on,but he was a heroin addict,
(12:54):
alcohol, coke addict, everythingunder the sun, and I followed
in his footsteps as fatherlesshomes in America.
If you look at the numbers offatherless homes in America,
you'll see that, like 75% ofpeople that are in men's prisons
and women's prisons in Americaand who have addiction issues,
by the way, come from fatherlesshomes.
So we have to do better, even asChristians I'm speaking to
(13:16):
myself right now we got to dobetter at stepping up and
fighting against this culturethat wants to make you depressed
.
They want to give you pills tomake you feel better.
They want to give you this.
They want to give you pills tomake you feel better.
They want to give you this.
They want to do that.
But really, ultimately,christians, we need to stand up
and be louder than the culturethat we live in, because that's
what Christ has commanded us to,because where there is hope,
there is freedom, where there isJesus, there is salvation.
Where there is Jesus, there isfreedom and salvation and peace
(13:40):
in the stream of life.
Dorsey Ross (13:41):
You know, we hear about that a lot, where you know
the parent is, you know aheroin addict or you know an
alcoholic or an abuser, and thenthe son or the daughter.
You know if it's the mother,it's the daughter, if it's the
(14:01):
father, it's the son, and itwill like it's the daughter, if
it's the father, it's the son,and it would trickle down, in
fact, to that.
Why do you think that is?
Why do you think that it waswhen your father was in a
hearing addict?
Then you became one?
Was it because you saw yourfather doing it, or was it
(14:26):
something else?
Jason Krail (14:28):
Well, there's a ton of research on this that tells
you that it is actuallyhereditary.
Addiction issues do pass alongthe family timeline, so
sometimes it might skip ageneration.
There's all the scientificproof and facts that go about it
.
But the chemical makeup?
The fact remains that thealcoholic and addict brain is
different than somebody else's.
(14:49):
It's true.
We've seen it before.
They've seen it in rats.
They've done so many differenttests.
So sometimes it'll skipgeneration.
But a hundred percent.
If somebody in your family is analcoholic or an addict that are
suffering from substance usedisorder, chances are somebody
in the immediate line is goingto be affected by it too.
So really the only thing youcan actually do is draw
(15:10):
awareness to that issue.
But then it also goes backthrough the familial tree, which
is like now, and praise God,it's all through his grace and
mercy in my life that I was ableto break that chain, and now
that I have three children on myown, chances are they might
have the components that make upan alcoholic or an addict.
(15:32):
So what do I do?
I raise my children.
Well, I show them how to beservant leaders.
I show them how to be healthyindividuals, even amongst this
terrible culture that we're inright now and I feel like it's
going to get better because Godis at work in American society,
regardless of what we see.
But it's up to me, as a father,to mold these children, to
teach these children the ways ofthe Lord.
That way they will never departfrom it.
(15:53):
That's what the Bible says.
So that's what I do with mychildren to say, hey, I am an
alcoholic and an addict, but,more importantly, I'm a
Christian, I'm a follower ofJesus.
But you got to be careful withthose kind of things.
Right, I don't rule with aniron fist.
I mean, I correct them and I'mall about obedience and all
those things too, but they'regoing to make decisions someday
(16:13):
when I'm not around.
So I need to help themformulate that plan now, that
way, when they're around, thosetemptations, they're going to
remember that.
Oh wait, dad, right, he told usabout this.
Maybe I should call him andtell him to get me out of here,
or whatever.
That's the plan, dorsey.
But so I do think that it doespass along the family tree.
There's been so much historyand scientific proof that shows
(16:34):
that.
But it's up to the peoplewithin that system to break that
family curse, and God is allabout breaking chains and he's
all about setting generationsdifferent, and he's a fan of the
underdog.
That's been my experience.
Dorsey Ross (16:47):
Amen.
Going back to your working inthe church and yourself as a
pastor, what do you think thechurch can do better in helping
or accepting those withaddictions?
Jason Krail (17:03):
Yeah, I would say, see, see the church, right, they
kind of fall short in thatregard where they don't know.
So if somebody comes to them,like somebody who's a church
member comes to them and they'relike I'm suffering from
alcoholism, a pastor might feellike, oh gosh, what do I do?
Well, it's simple For me.
If somebody's coming into that,for me it's a little easier,
obviously because I have thehistoric background from it.
(17:26):
But I always tell pastors thatthey should actually get in
touch with people who understandthe disease of addiction, right
.
So they have that in theRolodex.
See, I know, as a pastor whohas done a lot of pastoral
counseling over a decade, that Idon't have all the answers.
Yeah, I could throw scriptureat it for sure, because
ultimately it's going to be Godthat changes that person.
But at the end of the day it'slike all right, we'll go read
(17:47):
whatever, whatever scripture,whatever, whatever.
That doesn't necessarily,that's not going to really just
change.
Scripture does change you, butthey're going to need support,
they're going to need guidance,and this goes for not just
addiction but anywhere elsewhere it's like eating disorders
.
I don't have eating disorders,but I know a bunch of people who
has had relief in that.
So I think a pastor needs to doa good job of networking around
(18:09):
his peers and colleagues indifferent churches to realize I
don't have all the answers, butat least I know the people that
do.
And I think that's really wherethe community comes into play,
because a pastor might say, hey,you need to stop drinking.
But to an alcoholic that'sgoing to take a divine act of
God.
That's like telling a fish tobreathe air.
It's hard right.
(18:30):
So I'm telling you, for me it'salways pointing them in the
right direction.
The people who areprofessionals when it comes to
the disease of addiction andalcoholism.
100% pray for them.
Obviously, that goes withoutsaying.
Dorsey Ross (18:42):
Pray for them, Encourage their walk, hold them
accountable, but also put themin touch with the people who
really understand the disease ofaddiction and alcoholism why do
you think that we've seen,especially when it comes to the
youth, that we've seen a declinein the attendance of youth and
young adults attending?
Jason Krail (19:04):
That's a great question.
These kids today, theirattention span is worse than
mine and I'm telling you, I'mundiagnosed ADHD.
There's no doubt about it.
It's like a gift and a cursefor me, but these kids'
attention span, they're good for30-second TikTok clips now,
dorsey, right?
So how do I actually engage thecommunity and these teens right
now?
Because, let's face it, you seekids, even when it comes to
(19:25):
addiction and alcoholism andeven addiction for gaming you
see that now, the gamingaddiction.
So it's terrible, right,because these kids lack guidance
, right?
Instead of them playing withtheir iPads and their iPhones or
whatever they have, they needto be active, and in the
community too.
But also churches.
I think they need to do abetter job of integrating the
youth groups into the mainchurch, right, it's always like,
(19:47):
oh, we got church on Sunday anda youth group this day, right.
So it's always been like thisthing to the side at least in my
experience, that's what it'sbeen where it's like, oh, but
the youth ministry meetsdownstairs or whatever, and
that's fine.
But we need to have the peoplethat are in the main church the
elders, the people who have beenwalking with Christ for a long
time actually involved in thesekids' lives.
(20:08):
Parents?
Obviously number one.
It starts at home.
It's always going to start athome.
So you need to actually be inyour child's life.
You need to be watching whatthey're, what they're taking
into their spiritual diet.
You know what I mean?
I always say that Watch whatgoes into your spiritual diet,
watch what goes into your kids.
If you think that they're justsurfing TikTok, you know they
shouldn't be.
My kids don't get those kindsof things right, because Because
(20:31):
I don't need them to be,because if I'm not influencing
them, the world is and I don'tneed them.
I don't need them to.
So I think that's the biggestthing that we see with
especially the youth groups andthe kids today is that their
attention spans are so lowbecause of technology.
It's the gift and the curse.
We live in the best of timesand the worst of times.
That's an old saying and it'strue in any century or any
(20:56):
decade.
We do live in the besttechnological times, but it's
also a curse too, because now wecan plug into the computer
really fast, but it's hard forus to plug into other people now
.
And what does that create?
It creates disconnection, andthat's what the youth groups and
all these kids nowadays aregoing through lack of connection
, so I think it's up to us asthe adults, as parents, to make
(21:17):
sure that they're connected tosomething outside of a youtube
screen.
That's the truth, because ifI'm not influencing them, the
world is, and I don't want thatfor my children yeah, and even
with it, even a lot of theadults.
Dorsey Ross (21:29):
You know, you go to restaurants or you go outside
and what do you see?
You see the adult on the phone.
You know.
Jason Krail (21:36):
Yeah, yep.
Dorsey Ross (21:37):
Looking on the phone or on social media and
whatnot.
Jason Krail (21:41):
Yeah, don't catch me frauding.
Sometimes when I go out todinner I will bring a little
tablet for my youngest son,miles, because, trust me, he's
like sitting there we're tryingto eat like a nice dinner.
We don't get out much threekids, you know but sometimes
I'll throw on a little you knowSesame Street cartoon or
whatever and throw it in frontof them.
But I do try to.
I mean, my phone is alwaysblowing up.
(22:06):
I've been, you know, blessedthat people see me as a resource
for a long time, but I need toactually take my own advice a
lot where it's like let me justturn off these things and go
play with my kids.
I'll tell you what, dorsey, theother day this is a little pat
on the back, I guess, but I'mreally proud of it the other day
I was playing wiffle balloutside with my boys and my son
crushed one and hit the lady'scar.
It's only a wiffle ball, she'sa neighbor, but it's across the
street.
(22:26):
I go up to her and I said sorryabout that.
She said no problem, she's like.
No, I mean that.
She's like.
I always see you outside everysingle day.
It doesn't matter what theweather is.
You're always out here playingwith your sons, and I can see it
, and it's really nice that Ihave somebody else that doesn't
even really know me like thatsay that about myself.
So I say that as a father.
(22:47):
I think fathers need to spendtime with their children.
I think it's so vital that theyneed to get that, especially in
these sweet years, because Inever had that Growing up.
I missed my dad from the agesof nine until I was 20-something
when I came home from prisonand I lived with him for a
little bit.
But those years were such aformidable years that I was
being formed and I was beinginfluenced.
(23:08):
Unfortunately, I was beinginfluenced by the streets and,
lo and behold, that's whathappened until Jesus saved me.
Dorsey Ross (23:14):
Yeah, and hang on to that and tell us more of your
story.
Jason Krail (23:19):
Oh yeah, absolutely .
So I could talk for another twohours about that, but I'll keep
it brief.
And you know I've lived a crazylife, right, there's no doubt
about it.
I was I think I was 11, 12years old when I was taken from
the state of Pennsylvania andput into a foster home.
I think I was 12 or 12.
Yeah, 12 years old and I wasput into a foster home and I ran
(23:42):
away from that foster homewithin a year and I went out on
the run because my dad was anaddict and an alcoholic and very
abusive and my mom couldn'ttake care of me because I was a
misguided kid and I was breakinglaws, quite frankly, literally
breaking the law.
And so I went on the run and Iended up back down in North
Philly with my brother andselling drugs, doing drugs and
just hurting, robbing people andjust doing all these things
(24:03):
that were just terrible.
I hurt other people, not proudabout that whatsoever.
And and you fast forward I was26 years old, homeless, in an
abandoned house in Kensington,on Cambria Street rather, and at
this point I burned everysingle bridge.
I was already a two-time felon,convicted of two felonies,
already did a bunch of yearsincarceration and I was just a
(24:27):
shell of a human being, right, Iwas living to use and I wanted
to die, and that's just thebottom line.
I did die from heroin threetimes prior to this experience
and I was 26 years old and itwas June 10th.
I robbed some kid for heroin onthe streets of North Philly and
I tried to do all the heroin atonce and I was not all of it,
but close to all of it and Iwanted to die from it and
(24:49):
unfortunately I couldn't evenkill myself correctly.
And I woke up and that was June10th and I was walking back to
the abandoned house where I wasliving in Kensington and I seen
this church that said freepepperoni pizza on the side.
And eating is a luxury for aguy like me.
When I'm out there, rip runningand if it's free, it's for me.
That's what I always tellmyself.
If it's free, it's for me.
So I went into this church andI went down into this basement
(25:12):
and they were eating pizza there.
I sat in the back and I alwayssay I look like Forrest Gump.
After he stopped running, right, like my beard was down to the
floor, I look like a whole messand it was a Spanish church.
I always tell people I'm notPuerto Rican, but I'm sort of
Rican, you know what I mean.
So I'm sitting down there inthis church and I'm eating this
pepperoni pizza and this Spanishpastor is speaking Spanish and
(25:33):
then all of a sudden he switchesto English and he starts
walking towards me and he startstalking about this God that was
foreign to me.
He talked about a God who wasready to save me.
He talked about this God thatsaid, doesn't matter what you've
done in your past, this Godwill redeem you.
And I was so convicted that Istarted tearing up and crying a
little bit eating this pizza,and I did what I only knew how
to do, and that was run.
So I ran away, but not before Itook a few slices for the road.
(25:56):
You know what I mean, dorsey,when you're home eating the
luxury.
So I grabbed these coupleslices and I ran out of there.
Then I went back to the houseon Cambria street and I was
sitting there eating this pizzaand I couldn't stop thinking
about this Spanish pastor thattalked about this foreign guy.
I'll never forget it.
The next morning I woke up and Ihad a few bags of heroin on me
from the day before and I wasjust, for some reason, I just
(26:18):
felt different.
I just felt I felt differentand I was walking, I was running
with this guy who had an oldcell phone and I took the cell
phone off him and I asked him touse it and I called my mom and
my stepfather answered the phoneand my stepfather was a Vietnam
War veteran, an amazing guy,and I robbed him too.
He tried to be the dad that Inever had, and I robbed him
(26:40):
because of my addiction.
I'm not proud about that eitherwhatsoever, but he got to see
me become a dad, a husband and apastor.
So, praise God, before hepassed from cancer recently,
amazing guy.
And so I called home to thatfaithful day, june 11th 2011.
So I called home to thatfaithful day, june 11th of 2011.
And my stepfather answered andmy mom said she refuses to get
on the phone with me becauseshe's prepared to bury me.
(27:00):
And really I needed to hearthat, because I was just a
tornado roaring through her life.
Every relationship I ever had Idestroyed and the only thing I
really wanted to do was hear hervoice.
That was it the last time I sawher.
That was probably like two anda half, three years prior, and
(27:21):
she just didn't want nothing todo with me.
She said she was prepared tobury me, and the smallest words
of love, driven by the power ofGod, can save somebody's life.
Because my stepfather said Iknow your mom won't talk to you,
but I refuse to turn my back onyou.
He said I know I'm not your dad, but I sure as heck do love you
like I am.
He said do me a favor, turnyourself into authorities.
And he hung the phone up andright there I started thinking
about the Spanish pastor and allabout the foreign God that he
(27:44):
talked about and I said God, Idon't know if you're real, but I
need help.
And right there, in anabandoned house in North
Philadelphia, in Kensington, youknow, god saved a w rest like
me now, and I had this whitelight experience in this
abandoned house and at a timewhen I thought my life was over,
I realized that God entered inmy heart.
It was finally just beginning,when love was the only thing
(28:04):
that mattered and I knew nothingelse really mattered at all.
God came into my heart, theHoly spirit penetrated my heart
and and he saved my life.
And I haven't thought itnecessary in 13 plus years now
to put anything stronger thanit'll leave in my body, and I'm
so grateful for that.
I always say that in God'sgarden of grace a broken tree
can bear fruit.
I've heard that saying beforeand that everything's true in my
(28:25):
life.
I'm just a broken tree.
I went to jail that day.
I turned myself intoauthorities.
That day I was on a run fromthree different places.
I turned myself into the jailthat served the best food
because I've been to them all,so I knew what kind of trays I
was getting.
They used to call me a trayslayer.
That's what I used to do, and Iate the food.
But I was in this holding celland it was wild because there
was a Bible there, a liferecovery Bible, and the first
(28:47):
verse I ever read in the Biblewas Isaiah 41 to 10.
It said fear not, do not bedismayed, for I am your God.
I will help you, I willstrengthen you, I will hold you
with my righteous right hand.
And I knew that God was callingme and saving me, to save me.
But he was also calling me tosay that the age of miracles is
still upon us.
That's what I get to do.
I live on the front lines of mylife.
Every single day.
I talk to people that arebroken every single day and I
(29:08):
tell them that Jesus is real,jesus is ready to heal, jesus is
going to save you, he's readyto liberate you.
See, it's one thing for God toliberate you from your fears,
but it's a whole nother ballgame when Jesus uses you to
liberate somebody else's.
See, it gives a new meaning toa life of purpose, it gives new
meaning to your life in generaland it gives you a life, and I'm
very grateful.
But I knew God was calling meto be a pastor that day.
(29:30):
It didn't happen.
The next day that I was a pastor, it took me three years of
going to school to become ayouth pastor and then, from
youth pastor, it took me anotherthree after that to become the
associate pastor at a churchwhich I just stepped down from.
Obviously, I go to Trinity nowin Westchester.
If anybody's watching this,come check out Pastor Jimmy and
(29:51):
the crew over there.
They're the best, amazing,amazing church and now I'm
serving over there.
I'm looking forward to thefuture for that.
But I went to a prison.
I mean, excuse me, I went tothe first church I ever went to
outside of a prison cell.
I became a pastor and I servedthere for 12 years.
Now I was serving there for 12years, which I just stepped down
about six or seven months agojust because I felt the Holy
(30:14):
Spirit calling me to leave.
But it was a very hard decisionfor me to make because that's
the only church I ever knew andthey treated me.
I was rough around the edgesbut they treated me as one of
their own and I'm reallygrateful for that.
And I always say this first,because it's one of my life
errors is in Hebrews.
It says remember your leaders,those who spoke the word of God
to you, consider the outcome oftheir life and imitate their
(30:38):
faith.
And I'm so grateful to God thatI've had the best men as
leaders in my life and women,but men that have walked with
Jesus, the pastors in my lifethat I've served under.
I have been blessed that theyhave shown me the path and how
to be obedient, how to be a goodhusband, how to be a good
father, how to counsel otherpeople and just really walk that
narrow path that it takes to bea pastor, to be above reproach,
(31:00):
because you see that in oursociety, a lot of pastors
falling by the wayside, bignames falling by the wayside and
I really getting back to ourfirst discussion is that common
walk with God, not letting youbecome the destruction in your
own life.
And I think that's because ifyou don't have other people
(31:20):
holding you accountable andyou're the only person balancing
your checkbook, you're going togo broke.
That's like when you becomesuper pastor, whatever that is
like.
You know.
I mean, we're all just sheepamong sheep.
But even a pastor, their job isto not lead sheep astray and
God holds them accountable.
So I think it's important forpastors, especially pastors that
(31:42):
have bigger churches.
I'm always a small church guy.
I love smaller churches.
That's how I was raised.
I know every single person byname.
I get to see their kidsgraduate or whatever.
That just means so much to me.
But I think a lot of pastorsthey don't have the checks and
balance and that's why they fallout of line with Jesus If you
don't have somebody checking youand I'm not just talking about
God, because of course you go toGod and that's always going to
(32:04):
be number one but you need othermen and for the ladies, you
need other women in your lifeholding you accountable.
Iron sharpens iron.
If you don't have that otherpiece of iron, you're not going
to.
Dorsey Ross (32:19):
You mentioned the day after you stopped doing the
hearing and everything, thatthat was the day that you wanted
to become, or you felt calledto become, a pastor.
Some people may hear that andyou know, down the road, like
(32:48):
you said, it didn't take you.
It wasn't like the next day youbecame a pastor.
It took you several years.
Oh yeah, what made you that day?
You know, obviously, you knowprobably the Holy Spirit moment.
Amen.
You know, obviously, you knowprobably the Holy Spirit moment
Amen.
What was it that day that youwere like, okay, that's what I
(33:09):
will do, and that like, no, Ican't do that.
That's not me, that's not who Iam.
Jason Krail (33:17):
Well, I mean, I think number one I am a little
crazy in a good way.
I'm a good crazy today, and Idon't think anything's
impossible.
I just don't.
You know now, like, and let mejust get back to one thing
before I speak on that Any rolewith God is a big role, right?
(33:38):
So it doesn't even have to bepastor.
You could be a greeter, youcould anything.
Any role that God has you isvital to the body of Christ.
God uses the leastextraordinary to do the most
extraordinary.
That's been my experience.
That was just what God had formy life.
But 1,000% it's a slow walkwith God sometimes, sometimes
(34:04):
quickly, sometimes slowly.
That's how God works.
It took me I had to wait, or Ihad to grind through nine years
to get my master's degree.
It gets back to our original.
I love how we're guys that workright here at Dorsey, because
how did I do that?
One day at a time I felt like Iwas going to be so I did.
One year incarceration, a smallyear, and the first church I
(34:24):
ever went to, I pulled a pastoroff the pulpit Andrew, pastor,
andrew, one of my first mentors.
I told him God is calling me tobe a pastor.
When can I preach?
I said, can I come here nextweek and preach?
He's like who are you Like?
And then he's like do you evenhave any education?
Not that you necessarily needall that, obviously, some people
(34:47):
have been walking with the Lord.
But he saw me.
I was an infant.
I'd been to church while I wasincarcerated.
That was the only time I'dreally been to church.
So it took him to sit me downand be like yo, you need
schooling, you need to go backto school.
So over this course of time, sodid I feel like God was calling
me to be a pastor?
(35:07):
Yes, I did, a hundred percent,unequivocally.
I knew that's what it was andit proved to be true.
But I also had other people inmy life, pastor Andrew being one
.
That he saw the call on my life.
It's one thing for somebodylike I want to be a pastor.
Maybe that's not what Godcalled some people to, and
that's okay.
It was other people who kind ofwalked me along this process and
(35:28):
through that process ofgrinding it out, becoming a
youth pastor after three and ahalf, four years, or whatever
the case was, of them saying,yes, god's hand is on you.
In this call Number one, yougot to be called by God, but
number two, you have to haveother people that see that call,
can't just be you to see thatcall.
(35:49):
And like I've been wrong a lotin my walk with God.
So let me just go on record andsay that like I have a plan for
myself and God has a wholedifferent one, let me tell you
and the more that I stoppedfighting that, the better off.
I am for sure.
But like 1000% I see God in thesmall things.
Right, that happened.
I had this revolutionaryexperience with God.
(36:09):
I felt like God was removing mefrom that situation and it
proved to be true.
I felt like he was calling meto be a pastor.
It proved to be true.
But over the course of 13 plusyears that I've been walking
with the Lord, what I've come tofind is that common walk with
God, that common walk with Godis where I get to see the true
blessings in my life.
That common, arduous walksometimes can be arduous with
(36:31):
Jesus is when I get to be ableto see the miracles that happen,
the miracle that I even haveevery single day that I open my
eyes.
People forget about thatmiracle that you opened your
eyes.
Anything that comes after isjust a bonus.
It's the truth.
You know, I know there's peoplethat are in hospital systems
around where we're sitting atright now that are begging God
for the opportunity that we have, and that's a fact.
(36:51):
So anytime I open my eyes,that's the true miracle.
But I get to have these thingslike love in my life.
Right, that I don't ever, youknow, take for granted, because
I've never actually had thosetype of things.
I get to be the dad to my ownchildren.
How about?
That's a miracle.
So it's like, yeah, I had thisrevolutionary experiences, but
now it's in that common walkwith Jesus that I get to see the
(37:13):
miracles on a daily basis, aslong as I'm in tune with the
Holy Spirit, as long as Irealize that the best of God is
in the small things.
Not waking up every day,wanting to shoot a bag of heroin
in my neck Dorsey, sorry to begraphic, but that's the truth.
Not wanting to happen to dothat, not even having a desire,
having that removed from me youknow somebody that was shooting
(37:34):
heroin for over a decade, sinceI was 14 years old was when I
first shot my first bag ofheroin.
Not having that and I get tosit with other people and I
realized that my experience isradical to some degree.
Now it's just pretty normalright Now.
It's pretty normal.
My spirituality, my walk withGod.
It ebbs and flows likeeverybody else.
Sometimes I'm on the peak,sometimes I'm in the valley, but
(37:56):
I'm always climbing, dorsey.
I'm always climbing and I tellpeople that let's look at your
life right now.
Like, yeah, you might bestruggling in one area, but I
remember you came to me in thepast and you were struggling in
this area.
What happened?
God did?
He's going to take care of thattoo, but we just got to be
obedient to the process and wegot to trust that process that
it's going to work just like italways has before.
And as long as we do that anddon't blame God and all these
(38:19):
other things, that's one of thebig things.
You'll see, it's like well, ifGod, if God, if, if it shouldn't
be that way.
Dorsey Ross (38:25):
Yeah, Now you had mentioned also that you said
that you died from the heroinoverdose three different times.
Jason Krail (38:35):
That's right.
Dorsey Ross (38:36):
What was it like?
Was it like did people come andsave you?
Was it an ambulance?
Was it, you know?
Did they do knock-in?
What was that like?
Jason Krail (38:47):
One time it was on Somerset Street and I was giving
mouth-to-mouth because wedidn't have those pumper things.
It was actually a person whowas suffering too with me.
They do CPR.
They brought me back to lifethe second time.
I was done for like a solidminute in the back of an
ambulance.
They brought me back again andthen they had to bring me back
(39:07):
when I got to the hospital again.
So, yeah, they both, both, bothtimes or all, three times,
twice in one day and then onetime over there, and I'll speak
on that too.
Right, dorsey, that when I diedand came back, I didn't want to
come back.
I didn't want to.
That's how terrible of a lifethat I was living back.
I didn't want to.
That's how terrible of a lifethat I was living.
And all you got to do is lookaround our neighborhoods now,
especially in our inner cities.
You could pick any city.
(39:27):
You could pick any city.
It doesn't have to bePhiladelphia, where I was at.
You could pick any city andyou'll see the terrible
destructiveness.
People don't believe in thedevil.
Well, I could tell you, I couldrecommend you, going into the
inner cities where people areshooting heroin, pregnant women
you see a pregnant womanshooting heroin.
You think they actually want todo that.
They lost the power to choose.
There's something outside ofthemselves that is making them
(39:47):
do that too right.
Of course it's going to be amental, physical and spiritual
disease.
But evil is real and a lot oftimes it has a hold on our youth
and our generations that arefalling off into oblivion.
But I didn't want to come back.
That's how miserable my life is, and today I can honestly say I
shudder to think that I almostmissed this life, that the Holy
Spirit and God has transformedmy life in every single way.
(40:08):
Yep, just a normal dude likeeverybody else.
But when I look back and lookat the blessings and the moments
that God has led me and savedme from myself and still
continues to do maybe not asmiraculous as that I always tell
people continues to do, maybenot as miraculous as that I
always tell people.
You know the Bible says heavenrepents anytime a sinner is
(40:31):
saved, right.
So I don't even sometimes likeyou know my radical stuff.
I remember early on in mypreaching career I would use
illustrations that like werekind of wild right, like one
time I was in a high speed chaseand it's like you know little
Bobby over there that's beenwalking with Jesus for 20 years.
He's never been in a high-speedchase.
You know what I mean.
So now it's kind of like I toneit down over the course of 10
years of preaching.
(40:51):
Now I tone it down to makepeople relate more, and I speak
about the principles because myexperience is not like somebody
else's, but the principle is thesame.
Right, we've all been foreign toGod.
We've all had our own strugglesin life, enemy of ourselves.
We've all dealt withselfishness.
We've all dealt with pride,lust, greed, all these different
things, and that's somethingthat, like, everybody can relate
(41:14):
to.
We're all just trying to youknow better ourselves in
Christ's eyes as Christians andwalk that path.
But we also, you know, I wouldencourage people to do something
for other people.
I think that's like one of thethings that we need to see a
revival of in the Western churchis like, okay, church on Sunday
is great.
I'm not telling you not to dothat, but that is just a
(41:35):
spectator sport, like you mightget filled, your cup filled and
all these other things, but areyou actually trying to fill
somebody else's?
Are you actually playing therole that God has for you, using
the spiritual gifts that Godhas called you for in the
community at large right.
So you need to get active afterSunday.
We need to be the church onMonday.
We need to actually do more,because there's people that are
dying right Every single day, oreven divorces at an all-time
(41:59):
high.
Christians aren't immune tothat either.
They're a part of that 50% orwhatever that crazy number is.
Why is that?
It's because everybody isfocused on themselves and we
need to step out of ourselvesand focus on other people if
we're going to heal as a nation.
That's a fact.
Dorsey Ross (42:14):
When you went to the hospital and they found out
that you were high or that youhad overdosed, did they give you
any type of help?
Did they give you any type ofSuccession, any type of help?
Jason Krail (42:26):
Yeah, they weren't too keen about me being there
For long though.
I'll say that, but I'm notgoing to.
You know, there's some peoplelike the nurses, like you know,
I mean I wasn't no picnic dudethere's people coming in there
with Gunshot wounds and stuff orwhatever.
Somebody that had a heartattack.
And you know, I mean there is a.
There is some stigma aroundaddicts and alcoholics, no doubt
(42:49):
about it, and I fully am awareof that.
But yeah, I mean, they weren'ttoo keen that I was there, but
they treated me.
Nurses and doctors have aservant's heart.
You know what I mean.
I always look at it like that.
Even my parole officer, andre Idon't know if he's watching,
maybe he will Andre, I had himas he was my Philadelphia parole
officer.
I put this guy through so muchpain and stuff Not even pain
(43:11):
because he wasn't in pain, but Iput him through so much
aggravation.
He used to be like, when areyou going to get this right?
I'm like I don't tell you know.
So, even him, though, he had aservant's heart.
You know what I mean.
Like, at the end of the day,these people are just and cops,
and all these people, they allhave a servant's heart.
So you know I've been blessedthat I've had people come in and
(43:32):
help save my life multipletimes.
That's a fact.
Dorsey Ross (43:35):
Yeah, so as we get rid of the clothes, I always ask
my guests to give encouragingword and encouraging message to
those that are listening.
Jason Krail (43:47):
Yeah.
So all right, you know, let mejust the main thing that I would
tell somebody you know, as aword of encouragement and this
is specifically towards peoplethat, like you, feel, like you
know they are hopeless, right, Ithink that's like a thing and I
honestly believe, and we're notjust talking about obviously
I'm not a pastor just foralcoholism and addiction, I'm a
(44:09):
pastor for the people, but Ieven think it doesn't matter if
you're suffering from thosediseases.
I think that we are allsuffering from some form of lack
of faith or hopelessness anddespair.
And, like I said, you lookaround our country and you see
all the warring that's going onacross globally.
You see the warring that'sgoing on in our communities.
You see the youth that wetalked about and touched on.
(44:31):
I just think that we need toreally understand and realize
that the problem that we'refacing is not new to God.
Praise God for that.
What's the Bible say?
That God is the same today,yesterday and forevermore, and
we can find comfort in that.
The Bible also says that Jesusexperienced everything that we
(44:53):
do as human beings.
Right, he's experiencedeverything we did.
He didn't sin, obviously, buthe felt pain.
He felt things that we feel wedon't have a God who is foreign.
We have a God who can relate tous in every single way.
Yet he stayed true, which meanshe can help you get out of that
(45:14):
.
He did it and through his power, through his love, through his
grace, through his sovereignty,he's going to bring you out of
that too.
I'm telling you this, dorsey,that I have been at the lowest
of lows and that God has pluckedme from the margins, a state of
hopelessness and despair.
I'm talking about wanting todie numerous times, dying
(45:36):
physically, dying numerous times, coming from that to a life
that is full of love, that isfull of peace, that strives to
be better every single day.
This can be anybody's story.
Who's watching?
Whether you're suffering inyour marriage, whether you're
suffering with your children,whether you're suffering from
some type of an addiction?
God is not deaf to yourproblems.
He has a quick ear to listen.
(45:57):
God is ready to redeem you.
He is ready to save you.
Dorsey Ross (46:08):
He is ready to pluck you from your own margins
and give you a life of purpose.
Amen Well, Pastor Jason, thankyou so much for coming on the
show today.
Jason Krail (46:11):
Blessed to be here, dorsey, thank you so much for
having me.
I really appreciate it.
Dorsey Ross (46:15):
Well, guys and girls, thank you so much for
listening again and please likeand share this episode and leave
a review on all podcastplatforms, and please go check
out my website atwwwdorseyroastministriescom.
God bless, bye-bye.
Jason Krail (46:34):
Thank you, thanks, bye-bye.
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