“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst” – William Penn It’s amazing how much time I used to have when I was a full-time vocational pastor and how I used to think that I didn’t have enough time. I used to be able to take an afternoon and spend just...

Introduction After nearly 9 years of vocational ministry, I left my former church/occupation to plant a new church in Downtown Los Angeles. One of the things that the pastoral leadership team of this new church plant decided was that we would not take a salary or any kind of compensation for...

For the past 22 years the Vineyard of Harvest has been my home church. It’s been my home for part of my childhood, all of my adolescence, and for the majority of my adult life. It’s where I first began following Christ. It’s where I first learned the importance of community....

It is the day after the election. I’ve been wanting to write this blog for several months now but I didn’t want to do so until after the election because I did not want the real intent of this blog to be misunderstood as an endorsement of a particular candidate. As a pastor and a...

“Arius of Alexandria, I am the talk of the town, Friend of saints, elect of heaven, filled with learning and renown; if you want the Logos doctrine, I can serve it hot and hot: God begat him and before he was begotten, He was not.” – A Tavern Song that was sang to support...

Not so long ago, my dad asked me why people at church don’t refer to me as, “Pastor Jonathan.” I started co-teaching a class with another pastor and whenever the class was advertised, people would say, “taught by Jonathan and Pastor Baldwin.” Maybe it’s not...

The heart is a complicated thing. No, I’m not talking about the physical organ of the body that pumps blood to the different parts of the body (although it is a complicated organ). The heart is just the name we give that non-physical aspect of a person. It is what makes a person who they...

I always have to remind myself that my faith is not one in an isolated bubble without any influence from anyone else. I always have to remind myself that I am standing on the shoulders of the giants of the faith who have gone before me. There have been great men and women of God who have gone...