“Of God”

I’ve been struck by the levity of the phrase “man (or woman) of God.” This label is simple, only three words, and commonly used, at least within the church; but far more wonderful than what I’ve realized. To be primarily identified in relationship to God is possibly the greatest achievement man can find in this life. That we can ascend to the humble title “of God.” What marvelous grace He has given!

To be “of” something means that something is the origin of who we are. Often this “of” is geographic, socio-economic, political, or familial. We derive rank and pedigree from land, wealth, and privilege. The more integrated we become in the lustful web of worldly status, the loftier and increasingly elaborate these titles become. Yet one stands above them all. Stunningly simple and mysteriously complex—“of God.”

Elijah was a Tishbite, meaning he was from the land of Gilead, the town of Tishbe. He had a prophetic gifting on his life and God used him to prophesy of a drought coming to the land of Israel. The nation was lukewarm and infected with idolatry, and God’s answer to this was to raise up a deliverer—a man “of God”—that could turn Israel back to covenant faithfulness. The problem is that at the beginning of the story, Elijah was a Tishbite. He was anointed by God, but not yet “of God.” 

As the drought proceeded to wreak havoc on the economy of Israel, Elijah was sent into the wilderness to hide in a ravine called Cherith (“ker-EETH”). This word in the Hebrew language means “cutting or separation,” and it is here that God accomplished a deep work of severing Elijah from anything derived in self-reliance. To be “of God” will require time in Cherith. All independence must be cut and separated if we are to live and move and have our being completely in God.

Practically, the cutting takes place as we embrace our need for God. For Elijah, following the Spirit to Cherith meant embracing a situation where he would need God for the provision of food and nourishment. In reply, God used ravens and a poor widow to provide for the prophet. This need humbled Elijah and that is the point of Cherith.

Needing God is a terrifying idea for a Western civilized citizen, even for Christians. The allure of wealth is self-sufficiency. Riches and status promise that you will be able to take care of all your needs and never have to face the scary reality of life’s extreme vulnerability. And this is where the choice for all of us lies: What will my life be characterized “of?”

Riches may bring temporary security. Status may manufacture a sense of self-importance. Title may procure worldly power. But all these fall short “of God.”

Elijah emerged from Cherith leaning on God, needy for His provision, weak and despised by worldly standard. He then raised a boy from the dead. Why this power? Cherith transformed Elijah the Tishbite into a man “of God.” The creative life-force of God could now flow unhindered through the humbled prophet. His power is perfected in weakness.

One of the questions I have received frequently over the years in ministry is “Why does God move more powerfully in impoverished nations than in America?” The answer is simple: need and dependence. In the west, we are full of contingency plans and only come to places of need when crisis causes all of them to fail.

I believe right now is a time when God is inviting many to come to the Cherith ravine. Following God into situations where you actually need Him is scary, but truly invigorating. Cherith is the door of entrance to a life of adventure with God. It’s not comfortable, but it is full of miracles, and when embraced makes us “of God!”

Abounding in hope,

Jordan

Consolation and Desolation

Consolation and Desolation

It has been a long journey for me to accept both consolation and desolation as gifts from God. These two words were not common vernacular for me until the recent years of my life. If you’re reading them and asking yourself what they even mean, you’re not alone.

Consolation is basically all the good feels when it comes to the Presence of God—the moments when we experience peace, joy, tranquility, clarity, epiphany, or anything that stimulates the sense of delight and pleasure. God is good, and He desires the experience of His goodness to be a common aspect of relationship with Him. Times of consolation are kisses of grace, gifts of love that flow from the endless riches of His great heart.

Desolation is the converse—disturbance, pain, anxiety, and a sense of burden are a few descriptors of what it feels like. In moments of desolation, a sense of forsakenness pervades the soul. The knee-jerk response to this is self-scrutiny, an introspective searching for where we have sinned or failed God. In desolation, God feels distant and sometimes even scary.

You may notice in both definitions above there is an emphasis on the emotions. That is because both consolation and desolation are experiences of the soul. God created us spirit, soul, and body; and the redemption Jesus purchased through His blood was triune. When we experience the gift of salvation, our spirit is regenerated within us and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. This is a miracle of grace! Though indescribably amazing, it still is only the beginning of God’s intended work in us. He desires to sanctify every part of us.

The soul is powerful. It is the seat of our emotions, affections, and desires. When aligned with the leadership of God, our soul has the force within it to create incredible movement. It was the passion of Jesus’ soul that exuded from both His life and death. The same can be said of Peter, John, Paul, and the countless others that have turned the world upside down for His name.

The soul can also be very fickle. This is because the soul can receive input from multiple sources. Primarily, it is designed to submit to our spirit that continuously abides with the Holy Spirit. When this happens through whole-hearted surrender, the leadership of God is expressed through a life. However, the soul can also receive instruction from any combination of the circumstances of a sinful world, the influence of other people, and the demonic realm. Therefore, an undisciplined inner life will produce a soul with divided allegiance. The truth is, we all inherit this as part of the Fall, meaning, to some measure, we have all been trained in this internal division.

Understanding this brings clarity to why we need BOTH consolation and desolation. Jesus desires a whole-hearted love affair with His Bride. We’ve been commanded to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We need Him to do this adequately, but this does not remove all responsibility from our shoulders. 

Once we become Christians, regenerated in our spirit by the Holy Spirit, and given a new identity in Christ, God continues to pursue, seeking to woo our soul into deeper places of connection with His heart. He longs for face-to-face fellowship. He longs to show us His glory. This woo-ing comes in the form of many consolations. In these many kisses of grace, our soul is becoming acquainted with Love. His Presence enkindles deep desire and affection. Like the bride in Song of Songs, our soul begins to long incessantly for the caresses of Divine consolation. And then suddenly, He vanishes.

Desolation ensues. The soul is thrust into chaos. It searches to and fro for consolation of any form. It turns from the inner life and begins to look without. The voices of other lovers begin to resound. Come shopping and take pleasure for yourself. Search images and find satisfaction. Work harder, and faster, and make yourself great. Eat as much as you like and be happy. Drink wine and let all worry slip away. All these lovers (and many more) are an arm’s reach away and promise to be available, on demand, so you will never have to experience the agony of desolation.

All the while, Jesus is intently gazing, silently asking, “Do you love me?”

Desolation are days of decision for the soul. Which lover do you choose? Desolation exposes the division within. Covenant faithfulness,  our “Yes!” to Jesus’ probing question, has the power to destroy it. To do this, you will be forced to submit to the way of faith, seen by the spirit, but not felt in the soul. Choosing faith, and therefore exemplifying faithfulness, trains the soul to submit to the inner man and brings us into internal alignment. Once patience has run its course—trying and proving the integrity of our inner “Yes!”—the trial is over, and you will surely find a sweeter consolation and more intimate fellowship with Christ than before. This is the pathway of glory to glory. 

If I’m being honest, my first response to desolation is still “What did I do wrong?” The last months have been very exposing on how dependent I’ve become on feelings. I’ve operated under the premise that I need consolation to pray, worship, preach, relate, work, and converse in an “optimal” way. I certainly want these things, but I do not need them. Faithfulness in the great and small matters, in the midst of desolation, is what Jesus is searching for. I pray He finds this in me. I pray He finds this in all of us. I am longing for a deeper revelation of His manifest glory, and I know it is not the fervency of my prayer, but the faithfulness of my obedience that will lead to this.

I would love to hear your thoughts as well as your own experience of this!

Abounding in hope,

Jordan

Hope in Trying Times

Hope in Trying Times

I was in high school when the 2008 “Great Recession” hit the American economy. I knew it was a big deal but had very little money or investments at this time, therefore I was unable to fully feel the turmoil of those days. My experience has been quite different during the last month.

The emotions that have flared up in me have been wide ranging, fluctuating between peace and terror. As I write this, Jackie and I are under contract to purchase our first home. I’m so excited; now, if I’m honest I’m equally as terrified. I feel out of control. I’ve been undisciplined in what I’m feeding my mind with and have been infected with a disease more contagious than Covid-19: fear.

Yet, when I come before God I find peace. It’s deep, wide, boundless and safe. My soul breathes easy in it. It was God that led us to the house. We stumbled into the owner by chance one evening as we were touring homes. This led to a 30-minute conversation and an opportunity to prophesy to him. It was a really beautiful moment. God was there. We loved the house and felt the peace of God as we walked through it. The next day we put in an offer.

We’d been turned down on three offers already this spring. Two of those houses we loved and so the rejection stung. As we waited over the weekend to hear back on this one I was feeling vulnerable. I didn’t want to hope, but I had so sensed God in the process and I couldn’t help but have a good feeling about it. We were supposed to hear Monday afternoon, and with each passing hour the tension was mounting. In the early afternoon I felt led by God to turn off my phone and go for a drive through my old neighborhood. As I began to drive I was anxious and going really fast, but He asked me to slow down and go below the speed limit. I obeyed and found my soul followed suit, sinking into the deep peace of His Presence. In that peace He spoke to me:

“I’m going to give you that land as your inheritance. It will be a garden to you and in it your soul will find great delight.”

I knew I’d heard from God. The house (and yard!) was ours. I drove home and told Jackie. I was nervous to believe because of the threat of disappointment, but I believed nonetheless. Two hours later we got the call- the house was ours! But there was more, the owner turned down better cash offers because he knew the house was supposed to be ours because there were two “signs”- the Lion and the Dove. Seriously. 

The Lion? The front door has a lion knocker on it. I had casually asked him about it when chatting with him the first night we met and mentioned how I loved lions. It struck a cord with him- he wrote on our acceptance letter “This house belongs with lions!” For those of you who don’t know me well or haven’t read my book- my core revelation of Jesus came as he manifested Himself to me as the Lion of Judah. It was the moment that changed everything.

The Dove? As he’d started working on the house, getting it ready to sell, two turtledoves had come to continuously rest upon the roof. When he met us, he immediately thought of the two doves, and felt strongly that us “lovebirds” should have the home. The core pursuit of my life is to abide in Christ and be a place where His Spirit (the Dove) rests. Pretty cool!

All this to say we were ecstatic! I personally felt very loved by God. At that point, we were set to close April 2ndand have a month to get the house ready to move-in after our May 1stwedding. It was a dream!

Now, less than a month later it seems everything has turned upside down. The market is tanking. Word on the street is the housing market could drop 30%. Our wedding is cancelled and we’re fighting to get refunds. The dream has changed very swiftly. And yet, God remains and in Him I find peace.

I tried to shake the house. Really. I have every rational reason in the book to walk away from it. Truth be told I went to bed last night in anxiety about it. But the truth is I can’t shed the conviction that God has called us there. It makes no sense to my own understanding, but in my spirit I have peace. My soul is vacillating and experiencing so many difficult emotions, but in my heart I know where He is.

Throughout the last decade God has taught me the importance of precedence. You cannot build anything of great value without a solid foundation. For Jackie and I, right now everything is establishing precedence and laying a foundation for what our life together will hold. The last month has been really challenging, emotional, and exhausting. We have processed the pain of our fears and broken expectations and now are prepared, in the face of a potential economic collapse, to lay a cornerstone of bold faith in following the voice of Jesus. We feel He has called us to this house and though backing out may save us money and makes more sense, we will lean on His understanding and trust His voice more than our own. We want to live on the cutting edge with God, and though this may cost us our comfort and potentially our money, He is worth it.

I’ve found consolation in the obedience Jeremiah modeled during the impending destruction of Jerusalem. Nebuchanezar was sieging the city. Jeremiah had been prophesying that Israel would fall and be given to exile. And then God spoke to Jeremiah and told him to purchase a plot of land in the city, as a prophetic promise, that in the wake of impending pain and destruction, God would be faithful to restore His people.

This is not the end of the American economy. The story of our nation has yet to be finished. We have entered a significant new chapter, where God is working to bring our nation to its knees, so that we can once again be a nation under God. I sense there will be suffering in the days ahead as the idol of mammon is exposed as powerless. There will be mourning, but as repentance crashes like a wave across our land, our mourning will be turned to joy. For Jackie and I, buying this house attaches us to the pain and uncertainty of what’s happening. It ensures we will be “in the world”, which will give opportunity to live in a way that’s not “of it”. We want to play our part in bringing Heaven to Earth and will seek to create a garden of His Presence in the midst of these trying times. Though our knees are wobbly right now, in our spirit’s we have hope. God is faithful and His promise is restoration. May He restore and liberate us from the idols that seek to destroy our lives. May He wake up this nation and once again shake our land with the power of revival.

Abounding in hope,

Jordan

The Inside Out

The Inside Out

I had a dream in 2013. In it I was given a microphone to preach in front of a large crowd of people. I froze—literally could not form a word! I was straining to hear God say something, anything, but all I heard was crickets! Eventually, someone came on the stage to take the mic from me. And, defeated, I walked off the stage, full of shame, and went to a secluded place where I began to beat myself up over the failure. As I was doing this, Jesus appeared before me, looked me in the eyes and asked “Do you know why you failed?” I replied, “No.” He then responded with words that changed my life.

“You failed because you were straining to try to find something you don’t realize you already have: My Kingdom is inside of you!”

At these words my heart began to burn. I then woke from my dream and have been pondering it ever since. In the immediate aftermath, I applied this to ministry and preaching. I recognized the insecurity I had over my legitimacy as a preacher, and by God’s grace, experienced some big breakthroughs over my fear of public speaking. Now, seven years later, I’m beginning to recognize the deeper implications.

As Christians, the phrase “inside-out Kingdom” is not unfamiliar. However, familiarity does not equate to understanding or embodiment. In our consumeristic culture, we are bombarded with a constant onslaught of advertisements and news updates that entice our senses morning till night. Even further, living in the age of technology means that for many (if not most), our cell phones have unboundaried access to our lives. When this is the case, we become accustomed to a life buzzing with external stimulation, and very unfamiliar with silence. This unfamiliarity then breeds contempt, as we most often fear what we do not understand. Why does this matter?

Because the Kingdom is inside you, and the only way to explore what is inside you is in environments void of external stimuli. Jesus modeled this for us. His rhythm of life was characterized by active engagement in the busyness and drama of those He ministered to, as well as consistent retreats to desolate places to pray with the Father. He needed both spaces. So do we. 

Why desolate places? The answer is simple and very profound. Environments void of external stimulation (aka silence!) invite what is inside to come out. Jesus always emerged from his retreats with instruction, direction, and grace to minister, because He was experiencing fellowship with God in the desolate place. When we learn to love silence, our experience will be the same.

I have found that prayer, Scripture reading, contemplation, and reflection are extraordinarily difficult when I’m surrounded by the stimulation of people and technology. I have also found that each of these things produce the most delightful and fruitful peace in my soul when I’m fully present to them. I’m coming to recognize that these inner practices are what God intends to use to train my soul to live in this peace and continually abide in His Presence. At the same time, my failure to place boundaries around my use of technology has trained my soul in a countermeasure. My first instinct each morning, and subsequently many times throughout the busyness of my day, is not to gently gaze within and worship Jesus. Instead, it is to grab my cellphone and consume some form of external stimulation. For this reason, I continue to fail dozens of times each day to live from the Kingdom that can so easily be accessed inside me. But God is at work training my soul to keep my eyes—and affection—sweetly fixed on Jesus. To do this, I know I need His help. I also know that my job is to form better boundaries around my use of technology, learning to embrace and love the silence of desolate places.

For those who are more practical and may be wondering, I have two desolate spaces I frequent: The first is the early morning with coffee, Scripture, and a journal. I have found the hours between 5 and 7am to be particularly fruitful and life-giving. I do not take technology with me to this place. Being honest, I don’t make it by 5am every morning (sometimes not even by 6!), and the reason for that is failure to go to bed on time. I’ve found the best way to protect my morning retreats with Jesus is faithfulness to go to bed when I should. I know, practical and boring, but love for Jesus is sometimes expressed best through the practical and boring.

My second desolate place is the foothills of Boise. Going to a physically desolate place is a fail-proof method when I’m feeling really stressed, overwhelmed, and needing peace. Without exception, the external emptiness draws my soul into refreshment, and I find my mind is liberated to see and hear with new perspective. I’d encourage you to experiment with different physical environments in prayer to see how your soul responds.

Thank you for taking time to read and engage with this. I pray God gives us grace to help us access the riches of the Kingdom and successfully live from the inside-out!

Abounding in hope,

Jordan

Intentionality

Intentionality

The last four years have been marked by constant transition. I had no idea what planting a church actually consisted of, and even less of an idea how much investment of time, passion, and creativity it would require. Growth has been the constant theme. People. Finances. Facilities. Administration. Ministries. Problems. Miracles. Relationships. Responsibilities. Heartache. Burden. Giftings. Worship. Nothing has been static. Everything has changed, grown, developed, matured. This has been endlessly exciting and equally brutal on my adrenal glands!

The seven years that preceded this pioneering—that formed the foundation for this work—were quite different. The wilderness was empty and terribly silent. It drew me inward and taught me to listen. These years revealed to me that I was never alone, that the silence, in fact, is not empty. There is One always there, and He speaks. The struggle in those years was not distraction or overexertion, but the doubt that plagued me over if I would ever do anything meaningful. I could not wait to escape the wilderness. Now, in the throes of a fruitful ministry and purposeful life, I’ve found myself fantasizing about going back.

In the rhythm of constant change, growth, and excitement, there has also been a subtle companion of grief that is mourning the good that was, as it slips into the memory bank of the past. What do I mean plainly? Hitting the painful limitation of relational capacity. Having more love in your heart than time and energy to express it. Choosing commitment (I’m engaged!) and therefore acceptance of the constrictive responsibilities that ensue. Every yes is a thousand no's. No’s are hard, especially when it’s to people you care about. All sorts of emotions and questions get stirred in me when I think about this. Am I spending my time wisely? Am I choosing the better portion? Am I governed by wisdom or ambition? Am I a good friend? Brother? Spouse (almost!)? Pastor? Son?

In all these questions and more I’m not looking for someone to pat me on the back, but for a Divine Objective to affirm and assure me that I have indeed chosen the road less traveled by. 

Where does this all lead? I value time now more than ever before. It is a precious and limited resource. I will never get it back, but daily I receive more of its sacred potential. I want to make the most of the time I’ve been given, investing it in accord with eternal wisdom. This is only possible if I’ve received instruction from the Eternal One. I have come to realize that my desire to “return to the wilderness” of a life void of ministerial and relational demands is impossible and not where God is leading me. The train of life is not stopping or slowing down any time soon! 

Instead I’m being forced to grow in intentionality, embracing structure at a level I never have before. I’ve actually sat down with God and crafted a weekly schedule of how I will invest my time. Even sitting down to write this is on the schedule! The honest truth is that I wouldn’t be writing this blog if it were not. Not because I wouldn’t desire to do it, but because of a lack of intentionality in investing my time.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a millennial, or just my own idiosyncrasy, but I’ve had a strong distaste for high structure and planning in my life in the name of “protecting my creativity” and “keeping it organic.” I’ve recognized the silliness of this! A garden is perfectly organic, literally creative, and also the result of a lot of hard work and intentionality. So when it comes to my time, I’ve been building garden boxes with the Lord. I spend time in prayer, asking the Lord to formulate a monthly strategy for my time allocation. This document is actually God’s plan for my discipleship. In it He is revealing to me how He is training me into a life of incarnational worship. I then break that down into a weekly rhythm (time schedule) that is fairly comprehensive and divides my time into blocks that fill up each day. This weekly rhythm is actually God’s plan for my discipleship. In it, He is revealing to me how He is training me to live a life of incarnational worship. This is awesome, but the hard part is actually doing it!

Making the strategy is like creating the garden box. Actually doing what you plan for is the work of sowing, fertilizing, and weeding! I’ve recognized two things in this process already. 

1.    Often multiple times throughout each day, I have to push through and do something I don’t feel like doing (like writing a blog when you have writer's block ha!). I have found that being disciplined to do what I’ve committed before God to do, whether I feel like it or not, has led me to increased levels of productivity and creativity. Emotions are not good leaders. I recognize that although emotions play an important part of my life, I’m not dependent on them to do what God has asked me to do.

2.    There are a lot of weeds in life, aka inefficiencies, roadblocks, hindrances. We have to plan for this! I’m an idealist, and so I often am overoptimistic and try to plan way too much to accomplish in a week. This has helped me further discern the difference between my voice and His. I’ve recognized I put pressure and expectation on myself that He doesn’t. When I start getting behind schedule because I’m stuck pulling weeds, I instinctively get frustrated and feel like I’m failing. All the while, He’s smiling and asking me, “Jord, do you need some help?” This has been humbling. And my repeated “failures” have helped me recognize how little I know and how needy I am. I feel as though I’m in kindergarten, because in His eyes, I am. I’m learning not to take myself too seriously, but to let Him help and teach me in His way of life.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Abounding in hope,

Jordan

Desire or Discipline?

Desire or Discipline?

As I have pursued God over the years I have had to navigate the waters between desire and discipline. At times, my prayer life and spirituality have been fueled by a nearly unquenchable thirst for His Presence. During others, I feel emotional apathy and become discouraged as I question what happened! Many times I’ve made the mistake of creating rigid routines around spiritual practices, that once fueled by passion—routines that changed and became instruments of performance driven by will power. When my will eventually tired and the routine sputtered out, I’d feel as though I’d failed God! Conversely, in the name of “freedom and spontaneity” I’ve at times lacked intentionality and discipline, becoming dull of hearing the whispers and nudges of His Spirit. Neither is fruitful.

The underlying truth in all of this is that the inner life is not static. Relating with God in the “world within” is dynamic because exposure to His Presence, by design, requires we are constantly changing!

A few years ago I had a break in the middle of the afternoon between meetings and I decided to go for a run along the river that flows through my city. It was August and the temperature more than 100 degrees outside. It was a spontaneous decision and I completely forgot to bring water! I was running a 6-mile route that was three miles out and three miles in. At the three mile turn-a-round I started to feel heat exhaustion setting in and was trying not to panic as I had a meeting to be at in half an hour! I knew I was in trouble, so I began running faster. The whole time I was running next to the river, looking at it repeatedly and wishing I had the time to get into the water and cool off. I continued running until I literally had to stop. My vision was going blurry and I was afraid I was going to faint. I still had more than two miles to run but my body was done. At this point, I only had one option- I had to get in the river. I began to gradually work my way down the bank, and then slowly submerged my body into the ice-cold water. As I did this the most refreshing sensation washed over me. I felt energy surge through my veins! I got out of the river, climbed back up the bank, and felt like I soared the last two miles back to my car! As I was finishing the run I felt the Spirit of God whisper to me, “Jordan, just like the river that was beside you, I am ‘God with you’. But I don’t just want to be ‘God with you’, I want to be ‘God in you’. You need to learn to slow down and get into the River.”

At this I was convicted (and still am honestly) at how often I’m content allowing God’s Presence to be a theological truth, instead of an incarnationally lived experience. This leads to the question of this article, is it desire or discipline that is to fuel our relationship with God? The answer is neither. It is not my felt desire, nor my will power and discipline that is to fuel my pursuit of Jesus, it’s His voice. Therefore, my willingness to listen is the single greatest factor to the vitality of my spirituality. 

If I fail to listen and receive from God, and rely on my emotional experience only, my spiritual walk will only be as consistent as the circumstances of life. Similarly, if I fail to listen and receive, instead relying on will power alone, I will create a religious regimen fueled by self-righteous performance. My actions will have the form of holiness, but I will be far from God, because I’m performing religious duties outside of relationship with Jesus. 

 Amazingly, I’ve found when I do listen and receive grace from God, I find both desire and discipline alive and at work in me! His voice awakens desire in my soul, and like David, I begin to thirst for His Presence (Psalm 63). At the same time, as emotions fade in and out during the course of life, the conviction that I find from His voice inspires my will to rise up and choose continued obedience to what Jesus has spoken. Discipline protects what desire awakens. Desire draws me into His Presence, discipline keeps me there. Both are found in His voice. 

We will never learn to hear His voice until, like me that day by the river, we learn to slow down and come into the River of His Presence. It is my conviction that our societal addiction to business and achievement is more devastating than we realize. Like gasoline for an automobile, so is God’s voice for the Christian. We cannot function properly without intimate connection to the precious whisper of God.

I want to encourage you to read the passage from Isaiah 55 below, and spend 10 minutes waiting on the voice of God today. Ask Him what hindrances to listening to His voice exist in your life and listen. I pray you will have ears to hear what He is saying, and that His voice will come to you, awakening both the desire and discipline to seek Him first today! 

Ho! (Stop!) Everyone who thirsts,

    come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without price.

 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

    and delight yourselves in rich food.

 Incline your ear, and come to me;

    hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

    my steadfast, sure love for David.

Abounding in hope,

Jordan

For more, listen to this week’s podcast: Discipled by Jesus—Habitational Christianity

Introduction

Introduction

It’s long been in my heart to utilize the power of social media as a tool to bridge the gap between perception and reality of the spiritual life of a pastor. Sermons are by far the most polished expression of my spirituality, they are the result of concentrated effort spent crafting days, months, and sometimes years of relational history into a 45-minute message. In preparation I have the benefit of hindsight to clearly gaze back upon the file vault of lessons learned, scriptures studied, sermons preached and testimonies lived. God’s wisdom weaves it’s way through my imagination, animating small portions of His Word made flesh in my life story, and ultimately communicates a specific message to the unique audience before me. 

All of this is beautiful, but it falls short in displaying the depth of weakness, struggle, insecurity, questioning, disturbance, inconsistency, and frailty I often experience in my walk with God. As humans, we are good at “connecting the dotted lines” and piecing stories together based on fragments of information. When it comes to spirituality this gets us in trouble. For example, If one were to paint a picture of my spiritual life based on my preaching alone I fear it would be far to grandiose, dehumanized and clean-cut. There is more between the dotted lines than appears on stage! If this err is not corrected, we’re tempted into leaving the spiritual depths to the “chosen few” and forfeit what God has in store for us.              

I’d like to start posting here weekly disclosing the nuts and bolts of being a spiritual person in a modern world, deconstructing the perceptions of any sort of a “super spirituality”. My hope is this will foster relatability between the pulpit and the pew. 

 Jesus’ spirituality is not reserved for the spiritual giant, His is a child’s Kingdom. I am passionate about equipping the church to bear abundant, tangible, Kingdom fruitfulness in the marketplace of American culture. This is how the Kingdom comes. To do this we must have a spirituality that is both mysteriously dynamic and mundanely disciplined, spontaneously vibrant and consistently ordinary. 

Abounding in hope,

Jordan