The Average Pursuit

About The Average Pursuit

A podcast about God, family, and life. Join Jonathan each week for real conversations and practical insights to inspire your everyday pursuit of what truly matters. Visit us online: www.theaveragepursuit.com Support The Average Pursuit: https://buymeacoffee.com/theaveragepursuit Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The.Average.Pursuit

Publisher

Jonathan Sheppard

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Jan 2025

Latest episode

17 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

76 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Jul 2026

   What Am I Doing?

   Four words stopped me in the middle of an ordinary week and wouldn’t let go. Not “what am I doing” as in the schedule — I know the schedule, you know yours too. It’s the question underneath it: what am I doing it for? This episode isn’t me on a hill talking down to anybody. This week the word of God found me out, and what follows is less lecture, more surgery — with me on the table first. Built around “The Perfect Love of Jesus” and centered on Matthew 3:17, where the Father calls Jesus “beloved” and “well pleased” before he’d done a single day of public ministry — we dig into the difference between performing for God’s love and simply overflowing from it. Because two people can do the exact same thing for entirely different reasons, and busyness will never tell you which one you are. This is The Average Pursuit — ordinary believers pursuing Christ in

2. 

   19 Jun 2026

   The Dwelling Place

   What If Church Is More Than a Weekly Gathering? What if the church feels smaller to us because we have forgotten the size of the story it belongs to? In this episode, Jonathan continues the question from the previous conversation: What if there’s more to church than what we’re currently experiencing? Rather than starting with attendance, programs, music, preaching, or preferences, this episode steps back and traces one of the major themes running through Scripture: God’s desire to dwell with His people. From Eden to the tabernacle, from the temple to Jesus, from the Spirit-filled church to the promise of the new creation, Scripture tells one unified story: God comes near. God makes Himself known. God forms a people for His presence. And if that is true, then maybe church is far more than a weekly service. Maybe the gathering of God’s people is meant to be a glimpse — imperfect, ordinary, sometimes messy, but still real — of the world to come. Jonathan explores: Why church often feels smaller than Scripture describes it How Eden shows us life as it was meant to be: humanity with God Why the tabernacle and temple were about more than buildings How Jesus fulfills the dwelling place of God among His people Why the church is described as a temple and dwelling place of the Spirit How the gathered church gives a foretaste of the new creation Why consumer Christianity shrinks our understanding of church Genesis 3:8 — Humanity hides from the presence of God. Exodus 25:8 — “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” John 1:14 — “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 — The church is God’s temple. Ephesians 2:19–22 — Believers are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Revelation 21:3 — “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” The Bible begins with God dwelling with humanity in the garden and ends with God dwelling with His people forever in the new creation. So maybe the gathered church is not just a service to attend. Maybe it is a signpost. A foretaste. A glimpse of the Kingdom that is coming. Have I been thinking of church mainly as a service, or as a people being formed by God? Where have I slipped into consumer thinking about the church? What would change if I saw the gathered church as a glimpse of the world to come? How can I come prepared to give, encourage, participate, and be formed — not just receive? This conversation is not meant to wrap everything up neatly. It is meant to open the door for deeper reflection. What if there is more happening when the church gathers than what we have trained ourselves to see? Continue the discussion in the comments, with your family, with your church, or around the dinner table with friends. This is The Average Pursuit. Pursue something greater.

3. 

   3 Jun 2026

   What If There Is More to Church?

   What if there’s more to church than what we’re currently experiencing? In this episode, Jonathan explores a question that has been stirring in his heart: What if church is meant to be more than a weekly gathering? What if it’s a glimpse of something greater - a foretaste of the Kingdom of God and the world to come? Together we’ll examine Scripture, wrestle with the decline of church participation, and consider whether we’ve forgotten something essential about what happens when God’s people gather. We don’t have it all figured out, and that’s intentional. Rather than arriving at a neat conclusion, Jonathan leaves this conversation open-ended as an invitation to learn together. Continue the discussion in the comments, on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/The.Average.Pursuit), with your family, or around the dinner table with friends. What if there’s more to church than what we’re currently experiencing?

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.