My Pastor, Jon

When Lindsey and I were searching for a church to serve at in response to God's call on our lives, we began to pray. We prayed for good people to serve with, a Godly church to serve at, for God to humble our hearts to be better used for Him, and so much more. I, quite selfishly, prayed for 2 things in a senior pastor that are sometimes mutually exclusive (unfortunately): a pastor who can teach and lead me in my role as a pastor and yet someone who can laugh and be a friend with me. When I first met with Jon when we came down for our interview at Forest Park in June, he told me he thought that we could sharpen each other (Proverbs 27:17). Having worked with Jon for nearly 3 weeks and known him for only 3 months, I can understand already what Humphrey Bogart meant when he told Captain Renault that it was "the beginning of a beautiful friendship." He's the kind of man who is passionate about God, his family, the lost, and our church. He and his family have welcomed us in with open arms and we feel so blessed to have them as friends. I can't wait to see what things we agree on and what things God allows us to sharpen each other over, but I feel confidant that God will allow us to love each other through serving side by side. Hopefully we can settle everything with words and prayer, but if not we can always rent the boxing ring again. Here's some snapshots of our "fight" at the VBS carnival.
I left out the rather embarrassing shot of Jon and I hunched over gasping for breath. When we were both exhausted, yet refusing to quit, we determined that the best way to end the fight was to go the old "Rocky 1" simultaneous knock out route. Thank God for my new friend Jon. I'm glad to serve under and alongside this very Godly (fun loving!!!!) man!