I grew up taking naps on those hard, wooden pews churches were so fond of…which may be why I have back problems. My parents were Assemblies of God pastors in Oregon and then became missionaries to Malawi & Ethiopia, Africa. I grew up in Malawi & Kenya from age 6 until I came back to the U.S. for college. Then I met a wonderful woman and we shared our faith (not as missionaries!) in China for 15 years. Our cross-cultural career ended in 2015. I have been on staff at Lake Stevens Assembly of God since 2016 (2017?). I do stuff.
SOME FACTS ABOUT JON
Hobbies: Discovering how to be “fully human,” Semitic languages, Anything to do with Football (aka Soccer), Computers, Photography…in that order.
Favorite Books: Lexicons and grammar books probably fit here somewhere but… Where the Red Fern Grows (by Wilson Rawls). Little Britches (by Ralph Moody). Books which left a great impression on me when I was young. Tolkien & C. S. Lewis. And…I’m becoming very fond of the ideas/books of Amos Yong, a Pentecostal theologian.
Which Tolkien character describes you best: No, not Sauron or Galadriel! Probably Aragorn since I long to be “fully human.”
Favorite Bible verse: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Favorite worship song: Can’t choose. I have a whole list of favorites on my Spotify “Renewal” playlist. …and I love Celtic music. 😮
Where is your favorite place to go: Anywhere cross-cultural. I love discovering culture.
Mottos that focus my life: Eat dessert first! “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13
I was merely human. When I allowed God to fully direct my life, I became “fully human,” God’s design for humans right from the beginning (Genesis 1).