The Jernigans are Moving!

The Jernigans are Moving!

05 Jun , 2017 No Comments

Back in March I wrote about our realization that God was calling my family to a new season of ministry (see: Big News for Our Family). You might recall that while I sensed God nudging us forward, I had no idea yet of where that might lead us. I’m beyond stoked to have that next detail to share now!

Beginning in August, I will serve as the Lead Pastor of Abundant Life Church. ALC has three campuses outside of Portland, Oregon. I have the incredible opportunity to become just the second Lead Pastor of the church in its three decades. Pastor George Powell and his wife Ann planted the church twenty-eight years ago and have sensed God leading them into a new season in their lives. God has given Michelle and me a great love and heart for Portland and we look forward to serving these communities with a new church family. One of the things that Pastor George shared recently describes how we have all felt through this process:

“What I’ve discovered in this process is what I have always felt would be true . . . that when the time came that Ann and I felt we should pass the baton of leadership, God would have been working way upstream of us preparing the couple that He has raised up for this ministry.”

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The Prophetic Imagination

17 Apr , 2017 No Comments

Every now and then I come across a book that seems to speak the language of my soul. Where the words connect on a deeper level than normal and it feels like reading someone else’s profound articulations of thoughts you’ve felt emerging inside you. As should be expected, it is rare to find books like this. I was beyond excited to read Walter Brueggemann’s book, The Prophetic Imagination, originally written in the 1970s. It has since been revised and I easily rated this a five on my reading list this year.

Brueggemann explores the role of the prophetic voice throughout the scriptures and invites the church to continue living out this role in any culture today. He sets it up like this: “the essential question for the church is whether or not its prophetic voice has been co-opted into the culture of the day.” When we live out this role, we as the church “will be prophetic voices crying out in the wilderness of the dominant culture of our day.” While the book itself is not all that long, it is a deep dive into ideas which call us to question many accepted norms around us. This is a much-needed read for the American church. Below are a few of my favorite ideas from the book.

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Easter Reflections

Easter Reflections

14 Apr , 2017 No Comments

I’ve always been a fan of words. The right words communicate subtle nuances in addition to the obvious message. But we can also arrive at misunderstandings through words as well. Consider a popular expression which Christians use at Easter (you’ll likely hear it this weekend if you attend a church service): “He is risen.” To which the reply is, “He is risen indeed.”

It’s worth noting the language the New Testament writers used when describing the resurrection. They often describe how Jesus was raised to life. Depending on the context, it might read as “be raised,” (Mt. 16:21, 20:19; Lk. 9:22, 24:7) “was raised,” (Jn. 2:22, 21:14)  “been raised” (Mt 17:9, 27:64), or specifically that “God raised” (Acts 2:24, 2:32, 3:15, 3:26, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40, 13:30, 13:34, 13:37). Those are just the examples through the book of Acts.

The point is that Jesus didn’t do it Himself. We might imagine Jesus naturally rising from the dead on His own timing and power. Like it was the inevitable reaction to His dead body lying there for three days. “Oh look, He is risen!” Yet that’s not how the text reads. The Father raised Him to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s actually a beautiful picture of the Trinity. Consider a couple of passages that highlight this aspect:

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Top 20 Quotes from Catalyst West (2017)

Top 20 Quotes from Catalyst West (2017)

31 Mar , 2017 No Comments

This is part of a series of posts on 20 quotes. Click here to see others.

I had the opportunity to attend the Catalyst West conference this week with some of the team from Central. I’ve had the chance to become friends with the President of Catalyst and that has made these experiences even more special. Catalyst is a great shot in the arm of encouragement and connection with other church leaders.

Below I’ve selected twenty of my favorite quotes from the event. Each of these quotes is my best representation in writing of what they said verbally or a summary thereof. Any errors in wording are my own.

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Don't Feed the Dogs from Central Christian AZ on Vimeo.

Don’t Feed the Dogs

27 Mar , 2017 No Comments

This weekend I taught at Central on one of Paul’s most interesting passages in the book of Philippians. For most of the book he’s speaking poetically about joy. In chapter three he confronts a group of Christians who are standing in the way of it for others. Throughout it all, I unpacked how we should avoid allowing our activity for Jesus to eclipse our view of Jesus. Whenever you add anything to Jesus you end up diminishing Jesus.

“Whenever you add anything to Jesus you end up diminishing Jesus.”

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Big News for Our Family

Big News for Our Family

23 Mar , 2017 No Comments

This upcoming May will be my twelfth anniversary of being on staff at Central. It has been an unbelievable journey for me and my family. When I started on staff I was finishing up my undergrad degree and was about to get married. I began as a fifteen-month intern and had no idea how long I’d be on staff here. Now we have five kids and we’ve been married more than eleven years. And now we also feel God is leading us to a new opportunity for the next season of ministry.

I realize this likely comes as a shock to many of you. I know it did to me. Yet I’ve felt God moving in my heart and it has been repeatedly confirmed in Michelle as well. We sense God nudging us away from the safety of what we know and love in order to experience a new chapter in our lives. And here’s the crazy part… we don’t know where that is yet!

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