TGC’s Ordinary Pastors Project seeks to find wisdom and honor in faithfulness, demonstrated in varied contexts. Learn more from the introduction by Matt B. Redmond. If you’d like to honor and encourage the ordinary pastor who shaped you, tell us about him in about 500 words and include a photo, or record a video testimonial of five minutes or less and send the link to [email protected]. This submission comes from Mike West.
Nick Jackson (pictured at right with his family) is first and foremost a servant of Christ. He is my pastor, mentor, brother, and friend. He is currently the senior pastor at Oakridge Baptist Church in St. Joseph, Michigan.
I will start out writing about the incredible gifting of leadership this man has been given by God. When I read books about leadership such as Tim Witmer’s The Shepherd Leader or Bill Hybels’s Courageous Leadership, I am consistently blessed in seeing what I read on paper demonstrated by this man in real life. His leadership has not only affected me, but also many others, who are becoming more committed to following Christ and serving his people. Nick Jackson is a leader who disciples leaders.
For the past three summers, I’ve served under Nick’s supervision as an intern, and each internship experience has blessed me in ways that I am sure I have yet to fully realize. When I look at Ephesians 4, I often think about the fact that pastors are given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Nick continues to work toward such an end faithfully, and the evidence of his efforts is clearly shown in the lives in which he invests much time, energy, and prayer. The time I have spent with him in service, prayer, mentoring, and discipling has equipped me in many great ways. He has never painted the work of the pastor as one that is glamorous, but he has shown me that it is a “noble task.” Each glimpse I have received of true pastoral ministry has only made me more excited to jump in.
I cannot write about this man without mentioning his tremendous love for the gospel. His life is gospel-saturated. His love for the Word is both contagious and challenging. Nick’s desire is not only that his life would be one that is rooted in the Word, but also that his beautiful family and congregation would be rooted in it as well. He lives up to the call of a man to study, preach and obey the Word. His heart is for the gospel and the goal of his life is to “testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).
The thing that I have learned from Nick most recently is to always think big and pray bigger. His faith in God to move mightily is something that both challenges and encourages me. Nick is one who consistently reminds me that God is sovereign and all things work for good. Further, he has an unashamedly large vision for his congregation, community, and world. It is a Bible-born goal to spread the gospel of Christ for the glory of God and the good of the saints. In light of an admittedly “pulpit star” culture, one may, on a surface level, see this man as an “ordinary pastor.” But he isn’t. He is an extraordinary servant serving with extraordinary faith the extraordinary purpose of our extraordinary God.
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
