Gatorade's old slogan was, "Is it in you?" Westpoint believes that those who follow Jesus daily have His Spirit WITHIN them blossoming the "fruit of the Spirit" - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - out of them into their everyday life.
As people are toughing it out, loving no matter the cost, the game of life can get difficult. In the New Testament, "pastors" are not described as high-powered CEO types. Instead, they are described as servants who equip followers of Jesus for daily ministering to the people they encounter in the course of their everyday lives.
Thus, Westpoint suggests that their "pastoral team" would better be called "Gatorade givers" - trying to give whatever it takes to resource and refresh followers of Jesus whose daily lives are the real story of the church. We are no more important or no more "spiritual." Rather, we are walking alongside everyone else, learning the ways of Jesus and living them together, and being
sharpened by other followers while hopefully sharpening them.
Read more about our team below.
our pastoral team
Jason Dukes
pastor
Jason and his wife Jennifer were married in August 1998. They have 5 kids - Caleb, Katey, Abby, Ella, and Noah. Jason grew up in New Orleans, LA. Jennifer grew up in Orlando. They met at Union University in Jackson, TN. Jason graduated from there with his BA in 1996, while Jennifer graduated from there with her BSN in 1998. Jason has served as a Children’s Pastor, Student Pastor, and a College Pastor prior to helping start Westpoint. He graduated from New Orleans Seminary in 2003.
He and Jennifer believe that their "must" in life is to give themselves away to their kids, their family, their friends and neighbors, and their community in hopes that people will believe that Jesus loves them. Jason hopes to be an encourager and equipper for the Westpoint family as well as other church leaders as they exist to be the church in their daily activity and influence others to do the same. He also hopes to grow along with the Westpoint family as a cultural-collision point, influencing the culture around us to follow Jesus, live the way we were made to live, be the church in the marketplace and around the world, and live sent daily.
Jason really enjoys teaching and writing. He teaches for a local college extension. He has authored two books: Live Sent: you are a letter and beyond MY church. You can follow Jason on Twitter or friend him on Facebook. He also blogs at CultivatingDaily.com.
Jason's likes_dating my wife, watching NASCAR and football with Caleb, daddy-date time with my daughters, coffee with my Dad, and Duke basketball
Jason's dislikes_painting, jogging, painting, and painting
Jim Collins
teaching pastor, SENT Groups
Jim has been married to Beth since 1997, and they have two children. Megan was born in 2005 and Jacob was born in 2007.Jim is a native of Tennessee, and has served churches in Tennessee, Texas and Florida. Jim is a graduate of Southwestern Seminary.
Jim's primary focus is overseeing/teaching in Westpoint's weekly Worship Gathering, and Small Group development.
Now, if you want to have a little fun, check out Jim's alternate bio.
Josh Taylor
pastor to families with children
Josh and Kelly Taylor were married in October of 2000. Josh planned ahead of time for their wedding to be held in the year 2000 so he would always remember how long they've been married and not get in trouble. They have two beautiful girls, Morgan (born June 28th, 2002) and Cameron (born April 21st, 2005). Josh grew up in Baton Rouge, LA and Kelly in Eustis, FL. Josh also serves as General Manager of HOUSE BLEND CAFE. Visit the cafe's website by clicking here. View a short video about HOUSE BLEND CAFE by clicking here.
Josh and Kelly are committed to equipping parents with children to learn and live the ways of Jesus as families. Along with an amazing group of volunteers, they lead our Sunday morning kids ministry called CompassKids. They are also passionate about unleashing people to be the church in their marketplace setting and to realize that everyone is equally called to live on mission for Christ, not just the pastoral team. In fact, everyone else is in better position to love those outside the church and it's the pastoral team's role to equip the church with what they need on the field, like a towel or water boy.
Josh's Likes_hanging out with the family, daddy daughter dates, watching movies, and doing life together with friends and neighbors.
Josh Dislikes_people who load toilet paper so that it hangs from the back. It's just not tolerated. Intense flogging for anyone caught doing it.
Tommy Novak
pastor to families with students
Tommy Novak joins the Westpoint pastoral team as Pastor to Famlies, focusing with Josh to equip and serve the parents of our kids and students. He is also a gifted pastoral counselor and teacher. And, he will work with Jason to focus on Westpoint's involvement in the Church of West Orange. Most importantly, Tommy, his wife Patti, and their wonderful kids are a loving, amazing addition to the Westpoint team.