Biography
Dr. J.R. Briggs possesses four passions: following Jesus, equipping and investing in hungry kingdom leaders, growing fruit on other people’s trees, and creating good kingdom mischief. In short, his calling is to partner with people who are called to follow Jesus while they lead others.
In 2011 he started Kairos Partnerships, an organization committed to serving hungry kingdom leaders through leadership coaching, consulting, speaking, teaching, equipping and writing.
For more than 15 years, J.R. served in pastoral roles in mega-churches, church plants and house church networks. Since starting Kairos Partnerships, he has served and invested in pastors and kingdom leaders in over 40 denominations throughout North America.
In addition to pastors and church planters, he has also invested in a wide variety of leaders, including business owners, U.S. Olympic athletes, university administrators, athletic directors, coaches, and attorneys.
He is affiliate faculty member in practical theology at Missio Seminary and guest instructor at Friends University in the Masters of Arts in Spiritual Formation program. He has guest lectured, taught and spoken at over a dozen colleges, universities, and seminaries around the U.S.
He also serves as the Director of Leadership & Congregational Formation for The Ecclesia Network and as a National Trainer and Strategist for Fresh Expressions U.S.
He has written, co-written or contributed to ten books on a wide variety of topics. His most recent book is The Sacred Overlap: Learning to Live Faithfully in the Space Between (Zondervan) He has also published articles in Christianity Today, Huffington Post, Preaching Today, American Bible Society, N.T. Wright Online, Missio Alliance, and Relevant Magazine, among others (see full list here).
He co-hosts the Monday Morning Pastor, a weekly podcast created to provide space for kingdom leaders to talk about ministry and leadership in raw and hope-filled ways, and hosts the Resilient Leaders podcast, a twice-weekly podcast equipping leaders to grow in their resilience in the new reality.
He serves on the board of Jerusalem University College, an academic institution offering short-term study programs, semester study abroad opportunities, and a Masters degree program right on Mt. Zion.
J.R. and his wife Megan have been married for over 19 years and have two sons, Carter and Bennett. They live in Lansdale, PA in the greater Philadelphia area.
Innovating Evangelism
Posts from J.R. Briggs
Eugene Peterson: The Man Who Translated – and Lived – The Message
My wife called me Monday afternoon with the expected, but untimely news that my mentor and friend Eugene Peterson had passed away. “I’m sorry,” she said with a soft and warm tone, her voice trailing off into silence. I was preparing for this moment for the past few years – even more so the past week, as he was put on hospice – but the tears still flowed. Some out of sadness, most out of gratitude for his life. His son, Eric, wrote that for someone who practiced Sabbath, which he kept on Mondays, it’s only fitting Eugene experienced true rest for the first time on that particular day of the week.
0 Comments10 Minutes
Learning the How-To’s of Pastoral Ministry
Several years ago, when I graduated from Biblical Seminary, I was equipped with valuable theological, missiological and philosophical truth about God and His Mission. I learned what it meant to join God and His mission in the world by being incarnational. But looking back, I realized I had missed something: I didn’t really know how to do that specifically and practically in my day-to-day role as a pastor. I lacked the practical training for how to put into practice what I had learned.
2 Comments5 Minutes