Author: pastorjonathan

Christian,Husband, Dad, Pastor, Mentor, Volunteer.

9 Reflections on Disciple Now (Part 2)

On By pastorjonathanIn Family, Kingdom of God, Manhood, MinistryLeave a comment

3. Our teenagers glorified God by serving others with the work projects this weekend (They painted a house, built a ramp, hosted a backyard bible club, and took cookies to the home bound).

4. Our teenagers were given at least one more point of contact with our church family (they stayed in the home of church members and the relationships at Calvary were deepened and  developed as students and adults interacted)

5. Our Teenagers were given a positive aim for their life and real reason to remain pure (to glorify God in manhood and womanhood!)  Too often the loftiest aim we give our kids is to stay out of trouble… ie… “true love waits” and we fail to provide a positive challenge to our kids to raise the standard.

9 Reflections on Disciple Now (Part 1)

On By pastorjonathanIn Manhood, MinistryLeave a comment

2227885657_25a043b6e5_m The event is over.  The students have gone home and the quiet descends on what was once a room full of chaos and chatter.  The lives that were united for a few hours this weekend have temporarily scattered across Pensacola.  As I pray over the quiet room I recount all the events of the weekend and I can not help but give God the glory for all he has done.

9 Reflections on Disciple Now 2009

  1. Our teenagers were confronted with the gospel. (One of our students gave her life to Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior!)
  2. Our teenagers were challenged with a biblical definition of manhood or womanhood. (they can no longer live in ignorance of the issue, they must now choose their actions each day based on the knowledge of an existing framework for how men and women can glorify God together).
  3. our teenagers were exposed to a model of successful discipleship where students become teachers (all of our leaders had been through this topic with me before…With the exception of John who has lead his students through similar material).

3 things you should know before you judge your friends

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, discipleship, Sermon, Thursday Post6 Comments

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.  (Matthew 7:1-6 ESV)


1. You will be Judged by the Same Standard you use with others (7:2)

It is easier to apply a stricter set of rules and regulations to others that it is to ourselves sometimes.  We see others faults much more clearly than our own.  We can be pretty harsh critics and most of us can be pretty good at fault-finding.  Think about this though, we should be expected to be judged for our faults to the same degree that we judge others.  I don’t know about you, but this makes me back off the need to be a harsh critic sometimes.

2. Sometimes the sin you see the most in others is the same sin you struggle with (7:4).

Ever notice how both the speck and the log were in the eye.  It’s easy to call out people who have sin in the same areas that we struggle.  This past week I have heard so many people condemn a girl about getting pregnant outside of marriage (don’t get me wrong… sex outside of marriage is a sin).  Though she is repentant she will feel shame for a while, her sin has become obvious to the world and is no longer private.  However, some of the people who seemed to take a perverse pleasure in her dilemma had requested help earlier for their struggle with pornography.  It’s easy to see in others the sin we struggle with.

3. It is difficult to do the right thing with the right motives (7:5).

It might be the right thing to lovingly confront a brother about his sin.  ( I would want to be confronted about mine.) However it can be difficult to do it in a way that glorifies God and does not promote your own ego.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .

People try to be righteous (right before God) in three different ways.

  1. Some try to do as much good as they can hoping God will overlook the bad things they have done.
  2. Some point out the flaws of others around them and say that since they are not as bad as others they must be okay.
  3. Some come to God knowing that there is nothing that they can do on their own and so they humbly trust in what Jesus Christ has done for them to save them.

The first group points to their deeds, the second points to their lack of bad deeds, the third points to Jesus Christ as a their source of Righteousness. Which group do you think is actually right before God?


Short Post: Christian Heritage Conference

On By pastorjonathanIn MinistryLeave a comment

heritage-conference-2007 So we are on the verge of another great Disciple Now and I started to think about all of the great events that I have had a privilege to be a part of in the past.  God has really blessed me to be a part of some cool things!  Disciple Now’s, Hunger for the Harvest, Camps, Christian Heritage Conference, etc.

Next to Disciple Now the most amazing events I have ever helped put together were the Christian Heritage Conferences.  We would pray over a theme, set up a team of helpers, develop a registrations strategy, line up a top notch speaker, get the word out, set up a bookstore, and all on a shoe string budget.  It was amazing!

Christian Heritage Conference

Though I cannot speak for the reason others were inspired, my inspiration came from a well spring of two sources.

One: The rappid movement in our day to redefine “church.” In the struggle to go back to Acts 2 many have missed the blessings that the church fathers in the first few centuries have handed to us as a guide to understanding and interpreting the scriptures (mainly the Rule of Faith).  In that many have also completely abandoned church history in order to become a “pure” church like the one in the New Testament.  (Which one? Corinth, Ephesus, Pyrgumum, Colasae?)  I figured that if we were to take our people down such a road that they should not do so with complete ignorance of what God has done through out history with faithful men and women so that we might be able to face the new gnosticism that such a forgetfulness will soon employ.  In short: if we do not learn from the past we are doomed to repeat its error and find ourselves facing the same obstacles that have already once been overcome.

Two: John Piper’s lectures in  Christian Biography.  I had to make a 16 hour ride home to Missouri one year while in college and was blessed to be able to listen to over 16 hours straight of the lives and times of great men that God had used to bring glory to his name throughout history. I understood then why history (for good or for ill) contributes to who we are today.

From these two wells of inspiration and a great friend and partner in ministry (Kyle Claunch).  The Christian Heritage Conference was born to popularize an education of Church history for the benefit of the whole church.

Like all things it morphed and changed over the years.  We covered a variety of historical figures and had a variety of Top notch Speakers.  We learned to advertise outside of our local areas and expand our vision beyond college students.   We contacted home-school associations, history and theology departments at local colleges and history clubs at local high schools.    We also contacted pastors in the surrounding associations.  We began to hold registrations so we could pull more people in earlier in the next years event.

When Church People do Bad Things

On By pastorjonathanIn Ministry, Thursday Post2 Comments

from-flikerSo here is the deal.  Most Wednesdays I teach and part of our strategy of discipleship is reteaching.  Which means that we challenge our students to take what they learn on a Wednesday and introduce it into conversation or get two or three of their friends together for a small groups Bible study using the Revelation Application Guide as teaching guide (its something we are working on and not a finished product).  So what better way to readdress the issues we discuss than to put up a blog post on Thursdays that highlights what we have learned on Wednesdays?

When Church People do Bad Things

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” – Matthew 18:15-17

It’s Not about You

One of the best things that can ever happen is for a believer to truly understand that it is not about being offended or hurt, but about individual relationships with God and each other.  Many times we are too easily offended because we love ourselves too much.  Self-love is not what should motivate us to seek out a right relationship with our brother in Christ, it is God-love.

For this reason it is important that that offended party (or the one who witnessed the brother in sin) go to him.  You should not wait for an apology before you attempt to reconcile with a Christian brother.  This models the way that Christ has come to us (Romans 5:8).

You Should Go Alone

It is not about you when someone has sinned against you.  It is about their relationship with God.  You should approach them about their offense in private in a way that makes much of God and minimizes your pride.  You should not use the world of social media (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc…) to defame the person who has offended you.  You should seek to reconcile things in the peaceful quiet of a one on one conversation.

The Goal is Restoration

The aim is to gently and persuasively pull your brother back into right relationship with Jesus Christ and others.    The gospel is preached and the drama of redemption is played out when we lovingly confront our brother’s sin for the purpose of restoration.  Real love does not allow sin to go unchecked but holds others accountable for the purpose of godliness.

I love my daughter and because I do I will prevent her from doing things that will cause her great harm and pain.  It is love to restrain and compel my three year old daughter that playing with knives is wrong.  It is hate to let her contently play with knives to the point that she causes serious harm to herself or others.  In the same way love compels us to reach out to our brother in sin and bring him back into the fold (Matthew 18:12-14).

. . . . . . .

Obviously there is a lot more to this passage that I have time for here.  We can pick up the debate about the later stages of this process later, but in the meantime check out some of the following passages that address this issue.

  • Matthew 7:1-7
  • Galatians 6:1-2
  • Romans 12:19

5 Growth Challenges

On By pastorjonathanIn Manhood, Ministry, Prayer, WomanhoodLeave a comment

300819410_8dfff801d5_m Are you looking to grow deeper in your relationship with God?  The challenges below are a great place to start.

1. Proverbs Challenge… Read a chapter of Proverbs each day.  Read Proverbs chapter 7 on the 7th of the month; chapter 8 on the 8th of the month and so on.  Our pastor Chris Aiken does a daily blog commenting on one chapter of scripture and a daily take away from the book of Proverbs.

2. Journal Challenge… Take the Bible reading one step further and keep a journal that you can record your thoughts in.  I like to ask myself two questions after I have read and prayed thought the scripture: 1. What does this say about God? 2. How will I respond?

3. My Story Challenge… Write out the story of how you became a Christ follower in 100 words or less and let me review it. Try use every day language and avoid words that are church specific.  Highlight three things:

  1. Life before you met Christ.
  2. How you met Christ.
  3. How your life is different now.

You can see a version of mine in the “About Me” section of “Meet Jonathan.”  After it has been reviewed take the opportunity to tell others your story and get their input.  Post it on your facebook and myspace profiles.

4. Teach others challenge… I encourage our students to take notes on the Sunday Morning sermon and the Wednesday night message.  Study their notes and then either through intentional study (like an established Bible study) or in regular conversation (“guess what I learned this week”) share what they have learned in a way that teaches others.

5. Accountability Challenge… I challenge our kids to encourage one another with what they have been learning and doing in smaller groups.  I do this by sending out a mass text each asking for prayer requests from those who subscribe and sharing a verse that stuck out to me that day from my daily bible reading (usually from Proverbs since that is one of the challenges).

Resources on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Family, Manhood, WomanhoodLeave a comment

15813429181 Since hearing about the upcoming Disciple Now at Calvary, many of you have been asking, “What is Biblical Manhood and Womanhood?” and “Where do I find resources on this stuff?”  Here are just a few things that have come across my radar in the last ten years.

A great place to start is John Piper’s book “What’s the Difference?“ it was written as an introduction to a much larger volume entitled, “Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.”  You can download a free copy (PDF) of the book here.

There is also an official website for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood that is full of free information.  Make sure you check out the resources page.

Boundless a webzine published by focus on the family has compiled a little book out of various articles they have posted over the years entitled, “Guys Guide to Marrying Well.”

Of course there is also Men’s Fraternity that was started by Robert Lewis.  Lewis has also written a book for women entitled, “The New Eve.”

Specifically for the teenager’s, the Rebellution has a great compilation of resources on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. While you are there check out there blog and their incredible book “Do Hard Things.”

As you will note, each one of these resources is in and of itself a treasure trove of information concerning biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  There are several other great resources out there, but this should be more than enough to get the conversation and thought process started.

Your Partner in the Gospel,

PJ

4 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor in 2009

On By pastorjonathanIn Prayer2 Comments

161992803_f87db32131_mIn the book of Malachi a scathing indictment is issued against priests who cut corners and received less than acceptable sacrifices from the people.  The priests were called to a special office of mediation between the people and God which made the charge against their office even more significant.  In Malachi 2:5-7  God reminds the priests about the covenant he had established with them through their fathers.

Pastors are not priests.  The pastoral ministry is significantly different than the ministry of Old Testament Priests especially considering the work of Christ.   Christ offered himself as the perfect sacrifice and now stands as the mediator between God and men (I Tim. 2:5, Hebrews 9:15, 12:24).   (This is one reason why we stand so staunchly against the Roman Catholic notion of priest as mediators and mass as a perpetual offering of sacrifice.)

4 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor

Though Pastors are not priests, there are aspects of their ministry that parallel the duties of the priests in Malachi’s day.  Pastors are responsible to teach and oversee the body of the church. (Piper does a fantastic job of fleshing this out so I won’t belabor the point.)  It is from examining Malachi in this light that I have pulled application from the failure of the priest in Malachi into four ways to pray for pastors in 2009.

. . . . . . .

So here is how I pray for myself and the other pastors I know:

  1. To stand in fear and awe of God’s name
  2. True instruction to be found on his lips
  3. To walk with the Lord in peace and uprightness
  4. To turn people away from iniquity

5 Questions About The Kingdom

On By pastorjonathanIn Kingdom of God8 Comments

2906018712_386fd8e288 I read a several books while I was visiting family for Christmas.  One book was a particularly good read but it had a catch.

The author put a lot of stock in his understanding of Luke 17:21 “The kingdom of God is in you.” Theologians have discussed the meaning of this passage at length. The debate is over whether Jesus is saying “inside of you” or “in the midst of you” (both appropriate rendering of the Greek word entos according to the context).  Since Jesus is responding to a question posed by Pharisees (by implication unbelievers)  it is my understanding that he would be stating “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

5 Questions about the Kingdom?

This only seems to be a big deal when you start listening to the way people are beginning to use “kingdom of God” speak.  The term “kingdom of God” has come to mean so many things to so many people that it is almost mind numbing.  I am sure that someone has done the world a great service of defining the different usages of the word “kingdom” and how different camps are using it.  I have yet to stumble across it.

To be sure, I doubt the author meant anything more than the rule and reign of Christ.  I just question the hermeneutic.  However doubtless to say, there are others who carry the same hermeneutic who have begun to talk about the kingdom in purely philanthropic ways.

The question the book raised in my mind are many.

  • Is the kingdom now, or yet to come, or both?
  • Does God love the poor more than the wealthy? (do the poor need the gospel more?)
  • Is the unity of the kingdom centered on the work of the kingdom or the king?
  • Is the Kingdom about what the king wants or the what the citizens need or is it the same thing?
  • What distinguishes the “work of the kingdom” from others who under take purely philanthropic endeavors like Bill Gates and Oprah? In a nut shell, “What makes mission Christian?” Apparently a current issue of debate (See IJFM Issue 25.2)

As always I would love to hear your comments and get my hands on some resources as I work towards understanding a solid definition of the kingdom.

Modeling for Life! (Manhood Part 1)

On By pastorjonathanIn ManhoodLeave a comment

Those of you who know me, know that I am a big fan of modeling.  Not fashion models… think role models.  People you can look up to or look to and think, “that is how it is done.”  People who teach you with their lives along with their words.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting people on pedestals… we are all human.  However, there are many people I look to and I want to be like in some regard.  There is something in their life worthy of emulation.  Men or women of character… Dad’s, mom’s, coaches, pastors, teachers, friends, etc…  They live their lives in such a way as to make you want to be like them.  Not because they are cool, but because they do it well.  Its not arrogance that fuels them, it is an authentic reality of the way they love God and people.

Think of it as leading for imitation (not to be confused with leading by intimidation).  I’m pretty sure its a biblical example (2 Thess. 3:7-9, Heb. 13:7).   It is a great way to learn.  Its a great way to teach.  This is one of the reasons Avia and I enjoy having people in our home.  Its one of the reasons we have sought out older couples to mentor us in our marriage.

Perhaps the best role model I have ever had is my Grandfather.  His name is Gerald Washburn.  Last night I was reading in his footsteps and looking at the Gideon New Testament and Psalms that was issued to him while he was in the service.  It shook my world as I chased him through the scripture.

I learned that he trusted Christ on his 30th Birthday in April of 1942 (It kind of stuck out to me because I will be 30 this April).  He married my grandmother just under a year later and they read a passage in Matthew on their honey moon.  If you turn to Romans 3:23 in that Bible you will find directions leading you through the Romans Road.  (Like a Bible Scavenger hunt.)

I used to love to see my grandfather with my grandmother.  He had a passion for her.  He loved her.  He enjoyed protecting her (even from hot headed grandsons who didn’t always honor her).  He enjoyed having her by his side.  They intentionally planned some things so they could work together.

He loved me.  He prayed for me.  He gave me a new Bible on my 8th birthday.  He had written several scripture references in the front and marked them in my Bible.  You know out of all the birthday and Christmas presents I ever received as a I child.. its the one I still have (at the time I didn’t think much of it).

He gave me so much; the best thing he ever gave me was a model of a Godly man.

. . . . . . .

  • Who do you imitate?
  • Who speaks into your life by their actions?
  • Who is imitating you?