Joby Martin - This Generation's "Homer Lindsey, Jr." in Jacksonville

Joby Martin is just about everywhere these days. He’s doing, what, five or more podcasts every week? My YouTube feed seems to think I’m on staff at Church of Eleven22 because it serves me new Joby clips daily. But I’ll be honest with you, I don’t skip them.

I’ve been watching pastors for more than thirty years. I’ve seen the good ones, the bad ones, and the phony-baloney ones who could sell ice to an Eskimo if it came with a church logo on it. And the more I see of Joby Martin, the more I appreciate the man.

Here’s one simple contrast between Joby and the last megachurch pastor I personally experienced (and many of you longtime readers know exactly who I’m talking about). Joby loves Jacksonville. He’s not using this city as a stepping-stone to a bigger stage or a book deal or his next mega gig. He's not here for the short-term. He came here to serve as a youth pastor at a small Baptist church in Jax Beach, and then the pastor there helped launch Joby to start 11:22, and he loves this town. I watched him recently on The Speakeasy podcast with Daniel Davis, and he talked about how much he loves this city; the people, the water, the weather, the hunting, the fishing, everything about it. He said he plans to stay here for the rest of his life. Imagine that: a megachurch pastor who actually wants to live among the people he’s serving.

That’s rare. Too many of these big-name guys parachute in from out of town, or they ride the tithes while they can, and bolt the minute the heat turns up or the money slows down. We’ve seen that play out right here in Jacksonville at multiple megachurches in the last 10 years. But Joby Martin? He reminds me of Homer Lindsay. And no, they’re far from carbon copies obviously, but both men share a genuine love for this city and its people and they are building a church to help the people in this city. Homer built FBC Jacksonville because he loved Jacksonville. Joby is doing the same thing in his own way at Eleven22 and he is absolutely crushing it. 

He’s also a family man. You can hear it when he talks about his marriage and kids. There’s no fake piety  or fake humility; just a dad and husband who loves his family and tries to lead by example. And the man can preach. Most megachurch preachers are fine as long as the sermon is scripted and the lights are perfect. But Joby shines best when he’s unscripted, when someone throws him a question about life or faith or wisdom, and he just talks. No pretense. No catchphrases. Just truth, delivered with heart and clarity. I guarantee you the typical megachurch showman can't do what Joby does. Most of these megachurch pastors are phony and empty vessels if you sit them down and make them answer questions and apply Christianity to everyday life. 

We’ve had our share of pastors in Jacksonville who left wreckage behind: churches divided, reputations ruined, faith shaken. I don’t see that coming from Joby Martin. He’s grounded. He’s consistent. And, more importantly, he’s real.

So yes, I’ll say it again: Joby Martin is this generation’s Homer Lindsay.

We’ve got something special here in Jacksonville with Joby Martin and Church of 11:22.