Thanks for letting me in!

[JonnyLytnin']

For those of you who read my posts in the reception area some of this may be a little redundant but here goes a little about myself...

My name is Jon. I live in the Downriver area of SE Michigan. I am 25 years old. I am a Christ follower with a reformed theology.

When I was born my parents were already established members of a Free Will Baptist "Church". I was raised in, saved in, baptized in, and was a member of a Free Will Baptist church until I was age 20. My leaving of said group was the result of several things: Lack of opportunity for serving and growth, disagreement over doctrine (the no alcohol use thing w/ a lack of Scriptural support to call it a sin), and a personal issue w/ the pastor (who I still love).

I left the FWBs and began attend a non-denominational, aspiring "mega-church" in mid-to-late 2004. This was a congregation of over 500 at the time I began attending. They had great opportunities for serving but not growth. There was no real doctrinal statement except the Bible, which was okay for a while until I realized that it provided an environment where multiple opposing, non-essential doctrines could be taught w/o clarification. The three pastors they had were very nice but due to the size of the congregation there was no real opportunity for interaction w/ them or discipleship.

In mid 2006, one of the pastors at the wanna-be mega church - Mike - announced that he was leaving to plant a "church" in Taylor, MI. A small group of friends and I requested to meet w/ Mike and the head pastor of the large "church" to pray for them and to ask questions regarding the situation. Mike came, the other Pastor did not. At this Q&A/prayer meeting Mike spoke of the reformed doctrine (pre-destination, election, eternal salvation, etc.) and after our meeting I studied these teachings out in Scripture for the first time. Through prayer and study God reaveled to me the truth of these doctrines and how they permeate Scripture. I prayed about the situation and felt the Holy Spirit leading me to follow along w/ Mike. I did and was a part of this plant until it folded for various reasons in late 2007/early 2008. I learned alot under Mike's leadership. While with Mike, we had two married Christ following couples from Texas join our group. One of the men, Alan, is gifted in leadership and was placed in the lead pastor role by request of Mike. I entered into a discipleship relationship with Alan during this time. When the plant failed, I continued to follow along side Alan and am still being discipled in many ways by him to this day. It is our hope to follow God's lead in forming a NT-style community of believers (not just in theology but also in proximity) in the Woodbridge area of Detroit.

Since the demise of the plant, I have not been a regular "church attender". I believe church is the body of Christ, not a place to be attended. Even though that is my position, I still strongly believe in and practice the regular fellowship and communion of the saints.

Aside from my theological interests and background, I like NASCAR, Pro-Wrestling, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, 24, The Office, Classic Rock, playing Rock Band 2 on my XBOX 360, watching various other sports, eating good food, drinking good drinks, moderate tobacco use, and enjoying good times.

So that is a good portion of my paragraph in God's story. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to and learn from the fine message board you have here. Thanks to ctrups (Dean) for the thumbs up and to Darth_Bill for the welcome!

Until next time,
Soli Deo Gloria!

[Don]

Welcome! Add a post to a thread that interests you.

[ctrups]

Great!!!!!

Someone else from the Hand State.

DEAN