JR. Forasteros
Blogger, Pastor, Podcaster
When you think of Jesus, who do you think of? What about the words Church or Christianity? If you’re anything like me, you’ve met Christians who are ugly, hateful people. You’ve been burned by people who claim to follow Jesus. But I bet you’ve also met some incredibly kind, thoughtful and generous people who call themselves Christians, too. Me too. It’s a big mess, one I’m still learning to make sense of.
Here’s the story of how I learned to love the Church (and why I blog about pop culture):
I was born into the Church. I’ve been a part of the Church my whole life. My best and worst moments have happened in the Church. The best and worst people I’ve ever met have been Church people.
I always wondered how something could be so beautiful and so awful at the same time.
The Church will probably always be an institution. That doesn’t have to be bad. But when the people start serving the institution, rather than the other way around, that’s when things get toxic. Jesus never meant for the Church to keep people from God. He meant for the Church to help us discover the God who is already working all around us. In every culture. In every place.
What does the 21st century Church look like? What does it look like to follow Jesus today? Jesus’ resurrection was the beginning of a whole new story, one that each of our stories can be part of. The question is: are we paying attention? Are we telling the right story?
So that’s what I do. I learn stories. I critique stories. And I’m always trying to find where God is working and join in.
More Info
- BA in Religious Studies, Southwest Baptist University (2003)
- MA in Religious Studies, New Testament and Early Christianity, University of Missouri-Columbia (2006)
- Teaching Pastor (2010-Present)
- Podcasting (2011-Present)
- Young Adult Pastor (2009-2010)
- Blogging (2001-Present)
- College Pastor (2005-2009)
- Youth Pastor (2003-2009)
- Graduate Teaching Assistant (2003-2006)
Areas of Specialty
- Preaching & Teaching
- Theology
- Biblical Studies
- Pop Culture
- Film & TV Criticism
- Literature
- Church History
Don’t Just Take My Word
Batman!
Something you should know up front: I love the Batman. Everyone loves Batman, obviously. He’s the best superhero. But I’m dedicating a whole section of my page to the Batman. So that should tell you that I’m a little bit obsessed. If you want to know why, here are a few of the posts I’ve written concerning Gotham’s caped crusader!
My Batman PostsVIEW ALL
My Team
-
Amanda Forasteros Wife, Mister Manager, Translator
My awesome wife! Learn more about here here.
Plus, here are 26 reasons I love her, and her super power! -
Brandon Sharp Photography & Design
Brandon does all the photography, design, fonts and more!
Meet him here.