Jeff Jones
My life has always been marked by curiosity and a sense of adventure. Perhaps it’s because of the multiple moves our family made when I was younger. I was born in Ohio, moved to New Jersey, and then Southern California, and then finally to Texas. Not only is leaving your friends and home behind difficult, but I don’t have to tell you that each
one of those places is very different from the other.
Yet as I look back on each of those moves, each place held a key relationship or moment that would shape me into the person I am today. Along each step of my journey
God was revealing to me the joy and adventure of following His leading. Perhaps that’s why verses like Romans 8:28 or Ephesians 3:20-21 have always been so important to me, as they reminded me God had a plan and each step on the journey had a purpose.
In his book the Art of War, Steven Pressfield wrote, “Most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
Maybe that’s why I get excited when I encounter people, communities, organizations, and ideas find themselves stuck. Often times, in those moments, the focus is on the resistance, but the Gospel reminds us that the old has gone and the new is here!
I love to bridge the gap between the old and new; the now and next. Perhaps that’s why…
- When I’m driving and see an old empty building, I begin to imagine what new thing could revitalize that space to be a blessing to the community?
- I love to watch my children and dream about what God is calling them to be and do, and how to parent that makes that more likely.
- I walk around our house dreaming about knocking down walls, adding on a room,
or reconfiguring our backyard. - I love coaching my daughter’s soccer team, helping each girl discover their
strengths and talents, and empowering them to leverage them in a way that
helps the team be successful. - I love to look for the next in which God is leading our church, so we might be His
Kingdom blessing to our community and city.
The Gospel is that God has overcome the resistance bridging the gap between these two lives by making all things new. I want this for me. I want this for my family and friends. I want this for my community and for my church.
And I want this for you. It is in this that I find the meaning to my two words, Navigating Renewal. No matter
where I am and who I’m with, I want to help people bridge the gap between what is and what one day could be…what one day will be!