SERMON:Pharisee And The Tax Collector - How To Unlock The Mercy Of God

Lon Solomon

Lon Solomon was born and raised in a Jewish home in Portsmouth, VA. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a chemistry major. While in college, Lon’s life became a relentless search for meaning and purpose. He sought to fill the void he felt on the inside with fraternity life, partying, gambling, and even developed a serious drinking problem. When all this failed to supply the inner peace he was seeking, Lon became deeply involved in drugs, both as a user and a distributor. He turned to “spiritual” things at this point, diving into psychedelics, Eastern religions and even attempting a return to mainstream Judaism. But all this failed to resolve his inner turmoil and he decided that suicide was the only reasonable way out. It was at this time that Lon met a street evangelist in Chapel Hill who began to talk to him about Jesus Christ. As a result of months of interaction with this man, Lon made the decision to accept Jesus as his personal Savior and Messiah in the spring of 1971.

Lon is a marvelous example of God’s transforming power in action. Subsequent to his decision to accept Christ, Lon was able to quit the drug and alcohol abuse that had plagued his life for years. He went on to graduate from Capital Bible Seminary in Old Testament with highest honors. He then did his graduate work at Johns Hopkins University receiving a Masters Degree in Near Eastern Studies in 1979. He taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Capital Seminary from 1975-1980.

In 1980 Lon became the senior pastor at McLean Bible Church in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D. C., where he has served for the last 25 years. Today, Lon ministers to over 11,000 people every weekend at McLean Bible Church. Included in the innovative ministry of McLean is (1) Frontline, a targeted ministry for young adults , that has grown to over 2500 weekly participants in less than ten years from its inception; (2) THE HOUSE, a ministry to teenagers in SE Washington, DC that provides after-school, weekend, and summer programs focused around spiritual growth, character formation, and skill training; (3) DAYBREAK, an afternoon and early evening ministry to elementary school children in the Lincoln Heights projects of Washington, D.C.;(4) ACCESS, the largest church ministry to children with special needs and their families in the United States; and (5) The Gathering, a ministry for college students that holds weekly Sunday services on various college campuses throughout the Washington metro area as well as small groups, social activities, and service projects

Lon has been on the Board of Jews for Jesus since 1987, where he now serves as chairman of the Board’s executive committee. In September 2002 Lon was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve in his administration as a member of the President’s Committee on Intellectual Disabilities, a position which he still holds. In 2005, Lon received an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Liberty University.

Lon and his wife, Brenda, have been married since 1974. They have four children: Jamie (28), a 1999 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a 2003 graduate of medical school now practicing as a Navy doctor; Justin (24), a law student at the University of Michigan Law School; Jonathan (20), a recruited baseball player at Johns Hopkins University (where he is a sophomore); and a special-needs daughter named Jill (13). They live in Fairfax, Virginia.

Lon’s 30-minute Sunday radio broadcast called “So What?” can be heard weekly on WAVA-FM (105.1), WJFK-FM (106.7), WASH-FM (97.1), WWZZ-FM (104.1), WBIG-FM (100.3), WMZQ-FM (98.7), WARW-FM (94.7), WJYJ-FM (90.5) in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as WGMD-FM (92.5) on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and WRVL-FM (88.3) in Lynchburg, Virginia.. Lon also has 60-second radio spots called “Not a Sermon, Just a Thought” that air on 13 secular radio stations in the D.C. area. These spots prompt non-Christian listeners, in language that makes sense to them, to think about the validity of the Christian message for their lives.

“So What?” characterizes the essence of Lon’s message: What difference does the Bible make for our lives in the 21st century? He often says that a pastor is no good unless he answers the questions “So What?” and “How?” for people. His practical, humorous and down-to-earth treatment of scripture is refreshing, challenging and always entertaining. You’ll never hear him speak without being able to answer the question “So What?” when he’s done.