I’m Jon Nichols, a pastor, board-certified chaplain, and Doctor of Ministry. I work in a homeless shelter with families and people rebuilding their lives after addiction, trauma, abuse, and loss.

The name Jon the Weak comes from a story about Moses the Black, one of the old desert fathers. Before Christ found him, his life was violent and broken. After Christ changed him, he kept the name the Black to remember both where he came from and what grace had done.

I took the title Jon the Weak in the same spirit. Whatever good comes out of my life or writing does not come from competence or talent. It comes from God’s grace at work in weakness.

Much of my work begins with listening. Spiritual assessment means trying to understand how someone sees God, themselves, other people, and what has happened to them. Those beliefs shape how people respond to suffering, accept responsibility, make decisions, and imagine what comes next.

I write about those conversations and what I learn from them. I also write about the deeper questions behind them. My work sits at the intersection of Protestant theology, spiritual assessment, and pastoral care, along with the cultural ideas that shape how we live and what we love.

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Jon the Weak

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I'm a pastor, board-certified chaplain, and Doctor of Ministry working in a homeless shelter. My writing focuses on Protestant theology, spiritual assessment, and pastoral care.

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