About the Writer:
· 35th year seeking to follow Jesus
· 32nd year in vocational ministry
· 24th year writing & leading multiple weekly workplace Bible studies
· 24th year providing group & individual leadership coaching & counseling
· 10th year providing Christ-centered relationship counseling alongside my wife
· 1st year pastoring Grace Pointe.
Learning is a passion. I’ve done professional training, graduate and post-graduate work, earning 9 letters behind my name, 12 if you count a business degree – and all of that is worth less than a handful of crabgrass when I stray from loving Jesus, loving others, and aligning with God’s Word.
I am a prodigal, having whole-heartedly pursued much of the junk the world offers, and having blindly fallen into much of the junk the church has created. Yes, I said “I am,” not “I was,” because I think following Jesus is the continual process of finding oneself enamored by junk, and shifting one’s focus from the junk, old or new, to Jesus, with whom we find our real joy, peace, strength, and purpose.
My ministry story is the story of God’s unrelenting love and personal invitation for an easily distracted junk addict to come home and bring friends. I have been blessed with what others might deem ministry successes. Though it’s my motivation behind efforts entirely dismissed by others which may most delight my Father. For as often as I fail, I yearn to please Him and thank Him for loving me even as my focus drifts to whatever junk has grabbed my attention.
My experiences have taught me to listen carefully to questions, to excavate the concerns or questions beneath the questions, and then to seek answers from within God’s Word. I trust that the Bible is what it says it is – the Word of God. Where I share my own opinion, I try to clarify what it is and how little it is worth compared to God’s perspective as revealed through His Word. My writing is a collection of responses to the questions, snares, self-inflicted wounds, doubts, and blind-spots I’ve encountered. In other words, I hope to leverage those experiences and observations through 7 Prodigals to walk alongside you, if you want company, on your journey(s) from junk to joy.
Grace & Peace,
John Crosby