By Bradley Taylor

Every other week I get to sit down with Jonathan David Faulkner over Skype and ask him questions, he also takes time to answer some reader questions. This week Jonathan reflects on turning 25, dishes on the summer plans for God’s Heart for Those and much more.

Q. So, you turned 25 yesterday, how does it feel?

Well, I got to 24, I was not sure I would make it there…no…in all seriousness I do not really feel any different but then I think back on all that has changed in my life since I turned 24 and I cannot help but think I am different, much different, everything is different. The people, my attitude and outlook in life. God has even blessed me with probably the sweetest of very significant people into my life. Yeah, my life is not perfect, but God has shown me immeasurable grace and I want to continue seeking after Him well beyond the age of 25.

Q. You have written a lot lately on changes in your life in 2016, what would you say is the biggest change that you have experienced in thought or in growth?

That is a difficult question to answer because so much has changed. I would have to say that the one that stands out is just my attitude. That has changed, or been changed, the most since the end of the fiasco that was 2015. I think that praying the Psalms has had a lot to do with that in that, it allows me to focus on God and reminds me of the constancy of the Incarnation. Allowing me to rely constantly on the Joy of the Lord instead of having no foundation and becoming overly stressed when things do not go as planned. I would also say that part of that is just the understanding that God truly is always with me and my strength is made perfect in Him. Having someone in my life who reinforces that daily and prays for me and who I can build up and speak life into and pray for has been very good in encouraging me in this change as well. God is good, in all things, God is good.

Q. Can you dish on some of the things that are in the works for the summer of 2016 at God’s Heart?

Well, we have a lot going on over the summer, I am hoping to go and visit the Family Promise North Shore Boston Team at some point and interview them, see their ministry first hand. As you know I have a heart for Urban Ministry and what Family Promise does is similar to what we did at Joshua Station in Denver. I am also hoping to interview a close friend of mine who has been very involved in Refugee Ministry and perhaps get to meet some of the men and women he has been serving in Boston. I will also continue work on the four-part God’s Heart Talks and an expansion of my Master Class on First Timothy.

Q. Any updates on the music side of the Ministry?

Well, the brothers I have been leading worship with here at the Seminary and I are planning to play some summer shows at some of the local bars and clubs and we were honored with the chance to play Clamfest in September but we have not confirmed that yet as I am waiting for the other band members to figure out their schedules for that weekend. It is difficult to plan all these things so far ahead with Seminary. And it may not be all four of us playing the club shows because the stages are tiny. I have been working hard on adding Electric Guitar to some of the songs and getting new covers ready for some of these shows. No dates are confirmed so, keep checking the website for more information.

Q. Do you think Religion is more unifying or divisive in the modern age? 

Hannah – Morrow OH

Hmm, this is an interesting question, certainly some religions are divisive, preaching that you cannot associate with certain people for certain reasons. But to say that all religion is divisive would be incorrect. I think it may also depend on what you define religion as. If you define it by its Latin entomology it quite literally means “Reconnecting one to God.” But if you look at it through the purely modern lens as most do in this generation then it is simply something man made and can therefore be considered divisive because it divides man up into different groupings of what is considered to be truth. By the first it is easy to say that some religions are false because not every religion connects man to the one True God. Some religions do not even connect a person to god at all.

Now, within the Christian Religion there is great potential for unity. In fact, there has never been a religion that brought more unity to a society where it has flourished than Christianity with the exception of Judaism which endured much longer than and even gave birth to the Christian Religion. Now, Christians have not always lived up to the unity that is part of our faith. Today we are more splintered than ever and that is unfortunate. But I do not think we can blame religion for division. That blame, in the modern era, solely falls on the individuals who practice a divisive version of their faith. Religion is not the issue, religion, especially the Christian Religion in all its truth (I do maintain teat Christianity is the one true religion). Is actually a good thing when the teachings are learned and lived out. The issue, the cause of division, is human sinfulness, arrogance and pride. So I would say that religion is not the issue, but human depravity is.

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Bradly Taylor is the Content Editor for godsheartforthose.com