Jarrod Jones

I was in the middle of preaching through the book of Nehemiah from a series called “Envision.” Then, God began to lay on my heart another direction:  Tithing.

Tithing? Woo-hoo! The perfect sermon series for Church growth! The sermon series that will generate untold buzz around the community that will bring people flocking to Grace! The sermon series in which people will make countless phone calls and write countless emails inviting friends and family to come!

Not.

Grace’s Executive Pastor, Mark Lingerman, and I had discussions about tithing. Then we both wrote articles for Grace’s monthly periodical. One of our Elders had talked about the need for discipleship when it came to tithing.  And seeds from those discussions began to sprout in me. A couple in our small group, after having read the periodical, said to me, “Jarrod, I hope we’re not stepping out of bounds to share this. But when you start praying through a future sermon series’, maybe think about tithing.”

(Insert Twilight Zone theme song here).

The following week, again in our small group, I shared my fleshly hesitancy to preach a sermon on tithing, much less a series. Then a new believer in our group said to me, “Jarrod, if you know something that will draw me closer to the heart of Jesus, you have to tell me.”

Um, wow…

That basically did it.  Still, the following Sunday, I took two sermons with me into the Worship Center. One was a sermon from the “Envision” series out of Nehemiah, and the other was the tithing sermon.  As I stood before the people I knew the Lord wanted me to trust Him and launch us onto a journey about money, tithing, and giving.  I didn’t have a title for the sermon, much less the series.  I had a video clip I was going to use with the Nehemiah sermon, but instead used it for the tithing sermon and launch of the series. As I began to preach, I choked up with tears. And I said, “My fear is that you will miss out on God’s pleasure by not tithing and giving for the glory of Christ and His work.” I don’t know where the tears came from, nor the words (though I think it’s safe to say, the Holy Spirit), but I meant every word and still do.

And the series right then and there became entitled, “God’s Pleasure.”

We are 3 weeks into the series ( I had to leave for the last two weeks but kept the series in front of our people by way of video and Grace family testimonies). I have no idea how long the series would be. I’m still not sure. But it’s like a mini-revival is happening in the hearts of the Grace fam. We are growing into “fully devoted followers of Jesus”, and we’re experiencing God’s pleasure. Yes, our giving/tithing has gone up. But what excites me is that it’s not a one time call to give that people are responding to. Rather, it’s a response to the gospel and giving/tithing becoming part one’s DNA. A lifestyle of worship…

I’ve gotten some emails in response to the series. The following clip of a recent email sums it up best.

“What an even greater privilege and joy it will be for our family to offer the first and best we receive from God because He gave the first and best He had, His Son.  Thank you!”

Are you experiencing God’s pleasure through tithing and giving to your local church and missions? Don’t miss out on God’s pleasure.

I miss my family, and I miss being at Grace.  Two weeks from my fam, out of the office, and out of the pulpit and I’m getting very ancy.  But God has afforded me some sweet time here in the hot woods of Lone Star, TX for ministry, meditation, reflection, praying, repenting, reading, journaling, listening, and envisioning where God has us going in the future.

I’ve asked the question of myself and our people: “Are we motorboating or sailboating?” In other words, are we the ones doing what we think God wants us to do–steering the boat, determining the speed, etc.  Or, are we seeking, listening, and responding to the Lord’s direction—raising the sails and God blowing His Spirit wind in the direction He wants us to go and at the speed He wants us to go.

We desire to be a “sailboating” Church. In other words, we want to be a praying Church, a pleading Church sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit among us. And when we sense His movement among us, we want to work at raising more sails, turning the sails, patching the sails, or whatever needs to be done to move along with God’s Spirit.

Now think of your life.  Are you motorboating? Or sailboating?  Are you doing what God wants you to do, are you being who God wants you to be, and experiencing His blessing and joy (sailboating)? Or are you doing what you want to do and asking God to bless it (motorboating)?

I invite you to join me, my fam, and Grace.  Throw the motorboat keys over the side.  And pray up the sails.

Speaking in Texas for two straight weeks in front of 3 packed camps.  An underlying theme has arisen not only in my preaching this week, but within me.  I said to the people, “You complain of being bored in your life.  Bored with “church.” Bored with Christianity. Bored with Jesus.  Have you ever considered that Jesus is bored with you?”  Indeed, I believe if anyone is “bored” with Jesus, it’s because their life is boring to Jesus. In other words, there is no risk, no adventure, no sacrifice, for the sake of the gospel in your life, and therefore you are bored… and boring.

I’m in this with you. I have found myself in meditation, reflection, and prayer this week asking the Lord Jesus if He’s bored with my life. I’ve asked if He’s bored with my family. And I’ve asked if He’s bored with the Church He’s called me to Pastor, Grace Community (due to my potential “boring” leadership)?  Does my life, and the Church that He’s entrusted to me, keep Him on the edge of His seat in suspense to see what Spirit-led, crazy God-dependent, risk and sacrifice that I, my family, and Grace, is going to take for His glory and the sake of the lost and broken?

Is your life keeping Jesus on the edge of His seat?

Or is He bored with us?

God have mercy….

My last two blogs dealt with how while in Alabama I came to a renewed sense of how much I missed my family and hometown friends. But I wasn’t finished…

My final thoughts following Bama is about how excited and thankful I am to be pastoring Grace Community Church, Washingtonville, NY.  I greatly enjoyed Bama, but my thoughts and prayers were not far from the Grace family.  While in Bama, I would reflect at different times of the day about what the staff would be doing, who was meeting, what small groups that I knew about were happening.  The Sunday I was away, I was praying for Matt as he preached, Ryan as he led worship, and all of the staff and volunteers who were laying it on the line to welcome people with the joy of Christ and the hope of Christ, whether they were parking cars, greeting at the doors, tidying up the bathrooms, stocking the cafe, or brewing the coffee.

I thought about the new friendships God has granted Christie, me, and the boys with other families at Grace.  And how thankful I am for those friendships. They are growing more dear to us by the week. I got emails and texts from some of those friends while in Bama encouraging my heart in Christ.  The friendship connection and intimacy didn’t happen overnight in Alabama, and neither will it here. But I delight in the journey with these new friends as God draws us closer to Himself and to each other.

I compare my relationship with Grace Community Church with my relationship with Christie after we first met.  With Christie, right after we met, I knew that God had brought us together. I proposed to her three months later. I loved her. I was committed to her.  At the same time, we had a lot of growing together in that love and commitment. It was beautiful at times, rocky at times, scarey at times. But God was in it, He sustained us, and we’re having a blast. It’s the very same with Grace Community Church.

I reflected on how God is moving so powerfully at Grace.  People being saved by God’s grace through faith. People growing in Christ and repenting of sin. The love and warmth and joy that is sensed so powerfully among us.  Indeed, that is the testimony we hear often… how loving and warm and accepting the people of Grace are, and that we preach the word and give glory to Christ! The growth that God is granting us has been overwhelming–literally. As I shared a few Sundays ago. It’s as if God is blowing His Spirit’s wind into our sails, and we’re working hard raising sails, lowering sails, shifting sails, and so forth trying to keep up! Growing pains are just that–pain. But a glorious pain.

Wherever God is moving powerfully, that is where I want to be.  And God has gifted me that opportunity. I reflected on how I’ve prayed for years that God would bring revival in the Northeast and if he would allow me to be a part of it I would be honored. I prayed that if God called me to pastor, that I wouldn’t have to tell anyone, that I would never have to send out a resume’, that He would drop it in my lap, and that He would send me to the Northeast (Read about “The Journey To Grace” here). God answered that prayer spot-on.  And I believe in my heart He is going to answer my pleas, and the pleas of Grace, to bring revival to Orange County, the Northeast and beyond. I truly, truly, do.  Prayed specifically for it with the Elders and staff at 6:30am today.

Following Bama, I was reminded of how much I missed friends and family. It was the first time I had slowed down long enough to let it settle in. At the same time, I was affirmed of how thrilled and overjoyed I am to be the Lead Pastor of Grace Community Church, Washingtonville, NY. And as we departed Bama, I could not wait to hit the ground running back into God’s work here.

Greater things have yet to come….

Well, the days are passing by since our trip from Bama and my “initial” thoughts aren’t so “initial” anymore. But I’m committed to see this through so here’s another thought…

(The gang from top left to right-  Chris and Rachel Callahan, Christen and Ryan Sparks, Ashely and David Spurling, Greg Blevins, Chuck Andrews. From bottom left to right–me and Christie, Julie Blevins, Lydia Andrews.)

I miss my Bama friends, specifically our former church “small group.”  We did life together with four to five couples for seven straight years.  We laughed together. We cried together. We studied Scripture together. We prayed together. We served one another. We vacationed together at times. We had our share of conflicts.  When our group began seven years ago it was just us couples and no kids. Seven years later, there is a brood of 16 kids among us! We were family. We were loyal to each other, and to our Church family as a whole, no matter what. We held each other accountable. We experienced community in Christ in the deepest sense of the word. It wasn’t uncommon for our Thursday nights to end at 1:00am.

……………………

(Only experienced campers will know what this picture means! (From left to right: David Spurling, Greg Blevins, Your’s truly, and Chuck Andrews.))

The fellas and I had a yearly camp outing to a self-named place, “Privy Point.”   Most of them were hunters. I’m a reader. So they’d hunt. I’d read, and stoke the fire.  I feel feminine sharing that. But I read and stoked the fire in a primitive, manly, way. :)  I’ve laughed to the point of nearly throwing up with these guys. We made commitments to one another to display to each others sons what it looked like to be a man, and a godly man. We shared good times, bad times, played horse shoes, shot guns, dogged each other out, shared personal, marriage, and parenting struggles, talked about Jesus, Scripture, and prayed together.  And what the girls did while we were at Privy remains a mystery to me to this very day.

Then there’s Chuck and Lydia Andrews.  Years ago, early in our relationship, we committed to spend time with each other one night a month.  We connected to hang out and let our kids play together. But after the kids were put to bed, we got into the hard stuff. We asked each spouse questions about how we felt our marriages were going, the struggles we had with each other, the conflicts that seemingly couldn’t get resolved.  There was an encouraged green-light between us all that we could ask the hard questions and give honest answers. We shared our deepest hurts and fears about work, finances, marriage, parenting, life, and family. We prayed together and talked about the hope of Jesus in all that we faced. Those nights sometimes lasted into the very wee hours of the morning.

It was great reconnecting with the gang while we were home. They are all doing well and have a couple of new families in the group, and more kids on the way!! Wow. I’m kind of glad we’re out of there (J/K).  Christie and I rejoiced that they haven’t skipped a beat, and we all still feel like family.  Indeed, they are missed. I was originally going on mission to try and get them all to move to NY to be a part of the Grace Church family. They would fit in so well to the same kind of community and joy of our Church.  But they would leave a gaping hole in our former church back home, and in many other lives. So… I’ve let them off the hook.