I am a pastor.
What that means is that I spend a lot of time helping people figure out stuff.
If money didn’t matter, I would spend my time
* conversing with people who feel distant from God about what His love might look like,
*conversing with people who feel close to God about how to be more like Him, and
* creating stories and content which convey that love and acceptance and obedience.
And because money doesn’t matter as much as people matter, I get to spend a lot of time doing those three things.
I talk about lots of things here, but mostly I’m talking about faith, about family, about productivity, about relationship, and about looking at normal things in odd ways and difficult things in simple ways.
The reason I called this blog Levite Chronicles is that in Israel, the levites were the people responsible for cleaning and singing and moving and counting and guarding and guiding and helping. We read about them in the Old Testament. They were also responsible to praise and thank God at the beginning and end of every day. They were named after Levi, one of the sons of Jacob, also called Israel. (Joseph (with the multicolored coat) was Levi’s little brother). I’ve been learning how to do the same things–praising and praying and working. And this blog captures some of my thoughts.
January 2008, I became the executive pastor here. I’m 50, live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, have a wife of 26 years and children of 22 and 18 years. I spent 15 years working in higher education as a communication professor and administrator before starting “church work” in 2000.
- I write a daily blog at 300wordsaday.com. It’s about following Jesus.
- I’m a social media chaplain (google it).
- Here’s more about my sense of calling.
- Here’s more about me.
- and here’s a post of my favorite posts.
- Here’s a post about following God.
- And here are some “popular” posts about prayer and about understanding God
Thanks for stopping by.
Jon Swanson
jnswanson at gmail dot com
[...] instant, have been blessings to me. If you’ve read Levite Chronicles, you’ll note that Jon Swanson often uses short lists (of 8 lately) in his posts. So here’s my list of 8 for today with a [...]
Pingback by CultureSmith Consulting » Blog Archive » Birthdays, Blessings & Twitter — July 10, 2008 @ 6:15 am
I’ve been truly enjoying your posts through GMNParents (I get the email version). I don’t remember any specifics now, but I do know that each time I opened an email and saw that something was written by you, I’d read that one first – and by gosh it always had something applicable, really meaty applicable to every day life. And … I just had a sense that – just maybe – you had some Jesus in your heart. Finally, I clicked on your name and found your blog. What an inspiration. Congratulations on your latest accomplishment in your journey toward our Lord. May He continue to bless you and your ministry – even when you’re not calling it ministry (out loud). In Christ, Heather
Comment by Heather — September 24, 2008 @ 10:57 am
You got recommended to me by Joanna Young…so I’m subscribing and love what I’ve read so far. Great stuff.
Comment by Tyler — November 25, 2008 @ 10:51 am
As a former Jehovah’s Witness and newly converted Christian, I’m always very interesting in reading about and hearing from people of faith and mission. Thanks for your blog.
Comment by Mark — January 1, 2009 @ 10:38 am
[...] love being inspired by other people’s blog posts. Speaking of inspirational, have you met Jon Swanson? I’ve been a fan of Jon’s for well over a year. His blog, Levite Chronicles, is one of [...]
Pingback by SuzeMuse » Is Your Network a Collection? Or an Accumulation? — January 18, 2009 @ 9:48 am
I was not sure where to send this but when a friend sent it to me one night as we e-mailed back and forth working hard and long on our childrens school auction. I had a quick giggle and flashback to your posts that include your love for coffee so I thought I would share-
Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It maketh me to wake in green pastures. It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses. It restoreth my buzz. It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction, I will fear no Equal – For thou art with me;
Comment by Katybeth — April 18, 2009 @ 10:17 pm
I realized that I had not posted the whole ode to coffee so here it is in its radiate entirety….
Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures.
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz.
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal -
For thou art with me;
Thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks.
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the House of Mocha forever!
Comment by Katybeth — April 19, 2009 @ 8:36 am
[...] I learned so much that it made my head hurt. God used two people in particular (thanks again Jon & Chris) to help me figure some things out. Now I have more questions than answers, which is [...]
Pingback by More Questions than Answers | CultureSmith Consulting — June 15, 2009 @ 4:51 am