jonathan's bio

- What role has religion played in your life? What was the point in your life when grace vs. religion became real to you?

well, i've worked in and out of several traditional churches since i was about 14...just a few years after i had given my heart to the lord. that got old really quick. after gettin' the boot from a few different places i found myself extremely confused and frustrated with not only the church but even with god. i managed to maintain my feelings for quite sometime even while still working with youth in a local church. until the youth pastor i was working with booked jay bakker to speak for an event we were hosting at our church...the message of grace and acceptance to everyone didn't strike me as incredibly profound (i had felt those things were right for years) but the idea that it was being applied to a church and practiced by other christians is what struck a chord in me. could i be a minister and preach grace? could i sin and be forgiven? could god really love me as much as the bible says he does even though i fall short? according to revolution church, all these things were possible. hallelujah.

- What ministry have you been involved in up to this point? How have those experiences contributed to your desire to become a part of Revolution?

well, like i said before i've been in and out of several churches... the outs were ussually not my choice so i'll get past that part and skip ahead to my adulthood. i spent the 4-5 years prior to my involvement with revolution working for a church in rural maiden, nc, called living word... great church. cool kids. founded a groundbreaking ministry called 707 alongside zack deberry and several others. zack is now the pastor of a great church called circa 242 in our hometown of lincolnton, nc. we had some good times and changed as many lives as the lord saw fit for us to do... our involvement with revolution brought some disdain from some of our congregation which was one of the things that helped us to know it was right for us. after spending a summer as "the interns boyfriend" working at revolution atlanta i knew this was our home church. i just thought we were going to have to move to atlanta... thank God we didn't. i hate that place in the summer.

- You're very involved with the Charlotte music scene. How does this affect your involvement with Revolution?

well for one thing, i play guitar and sing for the baddest punk rock band in charlotte...25 minutes to go. i may be the only one who feels this way but who cares. it's a lot of fun. we are not a christian band. we're just a punk band. most of our songs are written about my wife... because she's incredible. but we do have a few that show what we believe. i don't believe as an artist your beliefs should define who you are but play a part in the character that god has created in you. if god wanted to make another example of his love for you he would have made you into two big pieces of wood crossed over each other. he didn't. he made you an individual... be an individual. that's how our band is... we're all followers of christ. but that belief doesn't show up in every lyric i write. it's a part of who we are. that said... being in this band pretty much goes hand in hand with the idea of revolution. we're sinners...there's nothing we can do about that but try and sin less. i believe that if we can accept that and accept the fact that god is ok with that and still loves us than we have a place in this world. how does 25 minutes to go affect revolution as a church? in many ways...revolution has its roots in atlanta...everyone knows that. but 25 minutes to go is all north carolina. the relationships that i've made in our band will be vital to the community idea of revolution... instead of approaching folks with the idea of our church as some random pastor I can go to locals as someone that they know they can trust and as someone already bearing a reputation of integrity. i think the band and the church can only be mutually beneficial. god has definitely blessed me by allowing the things in my life to come full circle and work together.

- What do you feel you can offer to those in the Charlotte area who have been "turned off" to the traditional church?

i think more than anything else, i come with a sypathetic ear... having been through the church trials myself I feel like I know something of the good and the bad of the church. people want to relate to someone. i've screwed up in my life enough to be able to relate to almost anyone! except terrorists...i've never done anything like that.