On July 4th, 2015, some 239 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I personally took the oath of naturalization. I was born and raised in Canada, I’d moved to the US in 1999 for grad school.
All tagged jason mcknight
Pastor Jason McKnight: Good Neighbors in a Divided World: Navigating differences with truth and grace
The new family moved in next door; they are from a different country; I wonder what decorations they’ll put outside. The new guy joined our team at work; he transferred from up north; he doesn’t even know what collards are! Our family reunion is next week; can “MAGA Mary” and “Obama Oliver” get along this year; I’m sick of fireworks.
Jason McKnight: Spring forward, Think Better
I’m a creature of habit. Every workday, the alarm sounds at the same time. The coffee brews on schedule. The first hour of our day is in quiet: meditating, reading, orienting, caffeinating, praying, planning. Most evenings for 12 years, we’ve walked the dog after dinner.
Jason McKnight: Snow-pocalypse 2026: The Snow’s Unmistakable Message
A foot of snow in Kinston! That was quite a sight. It was beautiful. It was arresting. It was cold. To think that precipitation fell not as drops of water, but as crystals of H2O which piled up on each other to lay down a white blanket of beauty.
Jason McKnight: How to Navigate Miscommunication
I love what I do for a living. Pastoring a local church is a whole lot of fun. But, as everyone who is part of a local church (or part of any lodge, supper club, travel team), the more time you spend with people, the more opportunity there is for miscommunication.
Jason McKnight: Lessons from Pain
This week, I’ve been flat on my back. Six days ago, I torqued the wrong way moving a pile of books. That was on top of an earlier morning tweak while exercising. Which resulted from a bad night of sleep for some unknown reason. That book torque was the kill-switch: “This guy’s going down.”
Jason McKnight: 14 Faith Forward – A Shepherd’s Life
“Who’s your favorite character in the Christmas story?” A great question. Well, aside from Baby Jesus, who we all probably should name! Many reverence Mary for her quiet faith and willingness to obey, or Joseph for his stepping up when needed. Others love Zechariah and Elizabeth or Simeon, or even the Wise Men.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Winning more battles over Porn
In our age of endless watching, hand-held screens, dropping cultural standards, and opportunities everywhere, we need to have frank and clear conversations about porn. The internet is so good at drawing people in. Men and women participate in porn almost equally. It’s so regularly consumed that the marriage bed is often affected for years into marriages. It’s just expected.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: The difference between forgiveness, reconciliation and relationships
In the last two Faith Forward columns, we have talked about forgiveness and how to walk in it. Like gravity is a universal truth in the realm of physics, forgiveness is a universal necessity in the realm of interpersonal community. There is no human flourishing without the practice of forgiveness.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Forgiveness: How do we achieve it?
In the last Faith Forward column, we began to talk about the single way to healing and wholeness when we’ve been wronged or unjustly treated: forgiveness. You can access that here [insert link]
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Forgiveness: what is it and why bother?
We’ve all lived the scenario: someone wrongs you, and it wounds you or makes you angry. Maybe you’re cut off in traffic, or cut out of a deal. Maybe its gossip or lies. Maybe its once, maybe its repeated: think of all the unjust wounds suffered by someone who is abused.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Four unexpected tools to help children mature
As parents, our job is to help “grow our kids up.” We focus on sleep, food, school, athletics, homework so they can grow strong, advance through life.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Giving back to the ones who gave us life
My grandmother died at 102 years young. She lived on her own until the final week when she moved to hospice. My mom died at 82 years old. Amazingly, she only outlived her mom by 7 months.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: GPS for a Great Marriage
I’ve married 45 couples over the last two decades. It’s a joy to help a man and woman stand before God, family and friends, and step into a whole new life: oneness, family, covenant from God. You’d think, since God gave humans the gift of marriage, it would be filled with power, ease and endless delights. In reality, it is a LOT of hard work.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: The Greatest Gift you can give your kids
As a friend and I ran together, he made a comment that has stayed with me. We were discussing our kids and family, and he said, “The greatest gift you can give your kids is emotional health.”
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Confidence in economic uncertainty
We’re supposed to be living the American Dream—hard work, decent reward, nice home and a few fun days at the beach. Yet, so many of us actually have stress and uncertainty: Is my job secure? Will I outlive my 401k? Will the economy tank? Will a medical crisis bankrupt me? Will our children’s generation ever make it?
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: How to win more arguments
One thing is certain in life: disagreements are inevitable. Chinese or Mexican? Beach or Mountains? Toyota or Chevy? State, Duke or Carolina? Disagreements are everywhere, because we all have our own ideas about what’s better.
Faith Forward with Jason McKnight: Screens & Better Kids
You’d never give a martini to a seven-year-old. No good parent would. Why? Because young minds take time to develop, and we all know that alcohol inhibits that development. America’s drinking age is 21 for just this reason: it takes more than two decades for brains to mature such that they can handle safe consumption of alcohol.
Jason McKnight: On Christmas Carols & Hope
Everyone has a favorite Christmas Carol. My grandmother, who has seen 101 Christmases, loves Silent Night. It fits her personality: warm, inviting, hospitable. What’s yours? And while we’re at it, why are Christmas Carols so well-loved? What is it about this collection of Hymns and Songs that mean so much to so many?
Dontario Hardy, Candidate for Mayor
Mayor Dontario Hardy is running for reelection in the 2021 municipal election. He sat down with Pastor Jason McKnight and Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy for interviews to discuss why he was running for re-election.