Justin Buzzard

Justin Buzzard is lead pastor of Garden City Church in San Jose and blogs regularly at the Buzzard Blog.
 

Jun

15

2011

Justin Buzzard|5:00 AM CT

We Need More Churches in the Bay Area
We Need More Churches in the Bay Area avatar

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to almost 8 million people. Most of these people do not know Jesus. I live in San Jose, the largest city in the Bay Area and the tenth-largest city in America, a city where only 4 percent of the population is churched.


Mark Driscoll once claimed Seattle/the Northwest as the most unchurched region in America. Fortunately, this past decade the statistics have changed in the Northwest because of how the gospel has advanced, largely through church planting. Jared Wilson and others have rightfully drawn our attention to New England/the Northeast as a region desperate for gospel advancement. I'm in agreement, New England needs help.

But because nobody else is saying it and because, best I
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May

20

2011

Justin Buzzard|5:01 AM CT

Spend $75 for Two Incredible Days in San Jose
Spend $75 for Two Incredible Days in San Jose avatar



I want you to join me at a two-day conference in San Jose about preaching the gospel, following Jesus, and planting churches.

We are putting on this conference as a joint effort between Acts 29, The Gospel Coalition: Bay Area, and the NorCal Network.

This is the first conference of its kind in the Bay Area. A little less than 8 million people live in the Bay Area, and more than 1 million people live in San Jose (the 10th largest city in America), yet this is arguably the most unchurched region in America. I love San Jose. It’s a great place to live and work. But this is a place where the gospel is not widely known. We have a big mission on our hands here. I’m excited about
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Feb

04

2011

Justin Buzzard|11:13 AM CT

Last Night God Turned My Son Into His Son!
Last Night God Turned My Son Into His Son! avatar

I want to celebrate good news with all of you. Last night I had the privilege of leading my oldest son to Christ!

Since their time in the womb, Taylor and I have prayed for our three sons and their relationship with the living God. We have boldly prayed that God would rescue our sons from their sin and grant them saving faith in Jesus at a young age. We’ve prayed this because we want our sons to know and enjoy God from an early age, and we want the joy of discipling our sons while they’re still learning to tie their shoes. We’ve been praying this prayer for Cru for four years. Last night that prayer was answered.

There are many people who doubt the...

 
 
 
 

Nov

02

2010

Justin Buzzard|11:00 AM CT

Pastoral Pressure Makes You a Better or Worse Man
Pastoral Pressure Makes You a Better or Worse Man avatar

I’ve been a pastor here in the San Francisco Bay Area for 9 years. Before becoming a pastor I worked as an alarm installer, furniture mover, college campus handyman, ministry communications director, security guard, and waiter.

I’ve come to experience that there is a type of pressure that’s unique to the office of pastor. This unique pressure can lead to two opposite outcomes. I first heard Tim Keller name this reality and it has helped me make better sense of my life and work.

The Unique Pressure

The pastorate is a unique calling that requires a man to constantly, daily, publicly say to people sentences like:
God is good.

Trust God with all of your heart.

The gospel is the best news in the world, it can radically change
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Oct

01

2010

Justin Buzzard|8:00 AM CT

Idolatry Is Like a Pacifier
Idolatry Is Like a Pacifier avatar

The idolatry in our lives is like a pacifier problem I recently observed.

My friend has a 2-year-old son who is always sucking on his pacifier. Always. He sucks on his pacifier all day long. He sucks on his pacifier all night long. Two years of all-day and all-night pacifier sucking has caused a big problem: This toddler’s teeth have hinged forward and up like an old fashioned garage door because of the constant shape and suck of the pacifier.

A pacifier is a good thing. But a pacifier becomes a dangerous and idolatrous thing when we give it our ultimate allegiance–when we suck on it all day long, all night long, for two years. This pacifier has changed the structure and appearance of this little boy’s mouth, and now significant corrective action is required.

Job security, relationships, success, reputation, money, planning, and comfort are also good things. But these become dangerous and...

 
 
 
 

Jul

21

2010

Justin Buzzard|2:51 PM CT

Go to Where Your Men Work
Go to Where Your Men Work avatar

Pastors, go to where your men work.

During my past 4 years as a pastor in the Bay Area I quickly discovered that one of the most important things for me to do was to hang out with men in my church at their workplace.

This helped the men. It showed them that I care about their callings, how they spend 50+ hours of their week, and the people they work with.

This helped me. It taught me about the unique opportunities & challenges men were facing in their different workplaces, it opened my eyes to a world bigger than our church, and it helped set new trajectories for my preaching and discipling.

This is how I did it (and how I will continue doing it once I get started in Phoenix):

-Schedule a lunch-time visit with...

 
 
 
 

Jul

20

2010

Justin Buzzard|1:43 PM CT

Live FROM Feedback, Not FOR Feedback
Live FROM Feedback, Not FOR Feedback avatar

We live in a feedback culture. Move your eyes to the right or the left and you’ll spot someone looking for feedback. There’s nothing wrong with feedback. The problem is most people are living FOR feedback, rather than FROM feedback.

We live FOR feedback when we base our identity/happiness on the evaluation others give of us.

This is the plot line of every reality TV show. A group of contestants have a job to perform (sing well, dance well, woo a woman’s heart, etc.). At the end of each show the contestants stand before the judges panel, anxiously awaiting the evaluation, their identity hanging in the balance (will I get a rose, or will I be rejected and sent home?).

I fear that many of us live the Christian life this way. We live FOR feedback. The deep feedback of the gospel hasn’t invaded our hearts,...

 
 
 
 

May

27

2010

Justin Buzzard|9:14 AM CT

Steve Smallman Interview: 'The Walk'
Steve Smallman Interview: 'The Walk' avatar

I have been so impressed with Stephen Smallman’s book, The Walk: Steps for New and Renewed Followers of Jesus, that I decided to interview Steve. I hope this brief interview persuades you to buy Steve’s book. I’m preparing to plant a church right now and I’ve decided that Steve’s book will be part of the backbone of reading we do as a core team as we learn to be disciples and make disciples.

Here is Tim Keller’s endorsement for the book:
This is the fruit of a lifetime of experience in ministry. I recommend this warm, practical, gospel-centered, and very useful manual on discipleship.

Steve has served for over forty years in pastoral ministry and has served as executive director for World Harvest Mission. He currently teaches for CityNet Ministries of Philadelphia. You can learn more about Steve at his website, Birthline Ministries.

Q. Why did you...

 
 
 
 

Apr

23

2010

Justin Buzzard|1:53 PM CT

TGC Bay Area Conference: Christ, Sex, and the City
TGC Bay Area Conference: Christ, Sex, and the City avatar

Last month nearly 400 people (mostly twentysomethings) from across the Bay Area showed up for our TGC: Bay Area; Christ, Sex, & The City Conference with Peter Jones. It was a great night and very encouraging to see this many people gathered together in the Bay Area to hear a message about responding to the sexuality of our culture with the gospel. Now we’re working on plans for the next conference. Here are some glimpses from the night...





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Apr

07

2010

Justin Buzzard|9:47 AM CT

Christians Ought to Be the World's Greatest Explorers
Christians Ought to Be the World's Greatest Explorers avatar


I recently stumbled upon a quote while reading Outside magazine. This quote comes from 58 year-old Reid Stowe, a sailor en route to setting the record for the longest sea voyage without resupply in history.



I’ve learned a lot about myself…I’ve learned that we as humans must explore. We must see and discover new things or we degenerate. My hope is that this voyage will inspire people to overcome their fears and follow their dreams–to explore.

I think this has something to do with being created in the image and likeness of God on a planet that God deemed “very good.”

God gave us Bibles and Beauty, neighbors and neighborhoods, Yosemite and the Yellow Pages, the gospel and grapefruit, as territory to explore.

And God gave us eyeballs, fingertips, nostrils, holes in our ears, bumps on our tongues, synapses in our brain, and...

 
 
 
 
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