Jared Sparks

2012 was the year of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I read Preaching and Preachers the year before and good thoughts of MLJ were fresh in my mind. Then a pastor/friend encouraged me to read the book Joy Unspeakable. When he told the premise of the book I immediately associated it with my … View Post

2 Tim. 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 1 Cor. 16:12 “No concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit … View Post

I met Jordan the year before. I entered into our first real conversation with my future wife as a nervous wreck. A group of us went to a Jason Morant concert (What happened to that guy?) and afterward, in typical post-concert fashion, we went to Denny’s to get a grand … View Post

I made it through the first year of pastoral ministry largely with the aid of naivety. Better said, grace-given naivety. But then came year two. Year two was similar to year one. We were having a good time and God was being faithful in spite of our ridiculousness. But year … View Post

My first year of pastoral ministry was insane. I mean insane! Let me clarify. I was 24, single and fresh out of Pentecostal college (Lee University). All I knew of preaching was what I heard from Mark Driscoll and Matt Chandler. Theologically, I had just been rescued from Rob Bell, … View Post

June 2018, marked 10 years since my ordination into pastoral ministry. I look back over those years and can’t help but cringe and smile. I am sure of it, it has been a decade of stumbling forward. Well, to be honest, sometimes stumbling backward. A lot of stumbling and countless … View Post

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me…Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered … View Post

  1 Corinthians 16:9 “For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Typically, when we consider God opening a door, adversaries are not among the first thing that we think about. I mean, if it read, “A wide door for effective work … View Post

Eugene Peterson’s The Contemplative Pastor has been so helpful to me. It contains one of the best chapters I have ever read, titled “The Unbusy Pastor.” In that chapter he talks about the scandal that is the busy life. Consider this excerpt: “The poor man,” we say. “He’s so devoted to his flock: the work is … View Post

1) Pastor, You Are Not Alone “For they say,’ His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 2 Corinthians 10:10 Pastor, know that you are not alone. You’re not the only one who has had church folk talk badly about … View Post