We live in a fatherless generation where we have seen deep wounds emerge and lives become crippled. In Escape the Lie, Walker Moore talks about this deep-seated problem known as the Orphan Heart. He inspires readers to overcome these wounds from the past through freedom found in the hope of Christ. Your life matters to God, but there’s a lie Satan uses to tell us that it doesn’t. Walker Moore takes you on a journey through personal stories that will help you find freedom—moving away from the Orphan Heart into a truth that will set your heart free, allowing you to live the life God intended for you to live.
What led Moore to write about the Orphan Heart? Why does this all matter? Why do we hope you’ll help us share this book with others? We had the opportunity to get Walker Moore to go behind the scenes of Escape the Lie to share why this conversation matters so much to him.
Q: How did you first learn about the Orphan Heart?
A: My first exposure to the Orphan Heart came through a discussion with a friend. He visited author and speaker Jack Frost in his latter days, and Jack shared the things God was teaching him. Hearing the words “Orphan Heart” for the first time started me on this journey.
Q: You’ve preached the Orphan Heart message for several years now. Why did you decide to turn it into a book?
A: It became a book because so many people asked for it. Whenever I taught on this topic, almost everyone who came up afterward would ask, “Do you have this in writing? My brother, my friend, etc. needs to have this message.” The book wasn’t something I decided to do right away. Instead, it was a response to the many people who told me they needed the Orphan Heart teaching in print.
Q: Near the beginning of the book, you quote Bruce Springsteen’s line, “Everybody has a hungry heart.” Do you believe everybody has an Orphan Heart, too?
A: Yes. Deep inside, we all long for our father. We see that here at home and in the orphans we work with across the world. Some people have been blessed with a father who spoke their identity into them, so this need was taken care of as a young child. But even those who have a father are often missing out on a real relationship with him. And, as we show in the book, the unmet need for a father grows deeper and deeper, affecting every area of life.
Q: You spend lots of time on the mission field. How does the Orphan Heart message apply there?
A: We all long for a father, so that need is the same on the mission field and at home. But all an orphan can produce is more orphans, and that holds true on the mission field, too. For a long time, I didn’t understand how I could take students on a mission trip and have them fail to experience joy. Learning more about the Orphan Heart has helped me realize that it’s impossible for someone with an Orphan Heart to bring freedom to someone else. They can’t find joy in sharing sonship, because they don’t have it themselves.
Q: If the Orphan Heart is so widespread, do you think it’s truly possible for people to “Escape the Lie”?
A: Yes, because that’s the whole message of the Scriptures. That’s why Jesus came: to set us free from all the world’s bondage, from our fallen nature. We can absolutely be His children, so free that we enjoy our Father and dance in His presence. Even when I’m by myself in the middle of the jungle, the knowledge that I’m His favorite child gives me great joy.
Q: You say that when you preach on the Orphan Heart, you don’t get many questions. Instead, people line up to tell you stories. What do they say?
A: They come up to me and say, “You’ve just described me. That’s my life.” And then they tell me about their experiences: rape, abuse, a father who ignored them, a father who tried to be successful at their expense. I hear story after story of people who identify with the Orphan Heart message. It’s a universal theme, and I have lots of people who share their stories with me because they so identify with it.
Q: The Bible says “the writing of many books is endless” (Eccl. 12:12). Why should we read Escape the Lie?
A: There are two reasons for reading this book. The first is for your personal journey, because even if you escape the lie and embrace sonship, you might discover some areas in your life where you aren’t free. Sometimes God wants to shine a light on an area of your life—like the Orphan Heart—that you didn’t even know existed. The second reason is that you work with, live with, and are friends with people you can help by reading this book.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
A: In my life, the Orphan Heart message is part of an ongoing journey. This is not a be-all, end-all book but the journey of an imperfect person trying to do the perfect will of God. And we’re eager to discover more truth. If you find an idea or example that helps you better understand the Orphan Heart, please share it with my collaborator and me (marti.pieper@awestar.org, walker@awestar.org). We’d love to hear from you.
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