Lon Solomon

Lon Solomon is an American non-denominational Christian megachurch evangelist and the Senior Pastor at the McLean Bible Church in McLean, Virginia.

Personal biography

Lon Solomon was born and raised in a Jewish home in Portsmouth, VA.

Lon holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry (1971) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; a Th.M. degree in Hebrew and Old Testament (1975, summa cum laude) from Capital Bible Seminary; an M.A. degree (1978) in Near Eastern Studies from Johns Hopkins University; and a Doctorate of Divinity degree (2005) form Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Spiritual path

While in college, Lon’s life became a relentless search for meaning and purpose.Fact|date=August 2008 He sought to fill the void he felt on the inside with fraternity life, partying, and gambling and 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 refers to his life as 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 Master's Degree in Near Eastern Studies in 1979. He taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Capital Bible Seminary from 1975 to 1980.

Ministry at McLean Bible Church

In 1980, Lon became the Senior Pastor at McLean Bible Church in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., where he has served ever since. Today, Lon ministers to over 11,000 people every weekend at McLean Bible Church.

The motto of Lon's ministry, “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 will never hear him speak without being able to answer the question “So What?” when he is done.

Lon’s 30-minute, Sunday radio broadcast called “So What?” can be heard weekly on WAVA-FM (105.1), WTGB-FM (94.7), WASH-FM (97.1), WJZW-FM (105.9), WBIG-FM (100.3), WMZQ-FM (98.7), 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.

The birth of Lon's disabled daughter Jill led to his initiating and organizing the “Access Ministry” of McLean Bible Church, a vast ministry to serve the needs of disabled children and their families.

Controversial statement

A U.S. News and World Report article (December 2003, The New Old-Time Religion, by Jay Tolson, pg. 42) quotes Lon Solomon, pastor of the McLean Bible Church near Tyson's Corner, Virginia (a megachurch that draws up to 10,000 people on Sundays) as stating...

"Abortion and homosexuality are minor concerns in our church. The bell we beat is that we must know Jesus. We are offering people a different and better way to live than secular America offers."

Activity outside McLean Bible Church

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 held until 2006.

Personal story

* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week818/pics/p_profile_youngsolomon.jpgYoung Lon Solomon Photo]
* [http://www.mcleanbible.org/media_player.asp?messageID=961 Listen Now to Lon's personal story]
* [http://www.mcleanbible.org/uploads/TheStoryOfAChangedLife.pdf Read Lon's personal story]

Source

http://www.mcleanbible.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=15964

Sermons and books by Lon Solomon

* [http://www.mcleanbible.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=2445 Sermons by Series] – Some of Lon Solomon's sermons online.
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0976377004 Brokenness: How God Redeems Pain and Suffering]
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0802428657 Future Hope: A Jewish Christian Look at the End of the World] – by David Brickner, foreword by Lon Solomon.

News articles

* [http://www.pbs.org/cgi-registry/mediaplayer/videoplayer.cgi?playeraddress=videoplayer.cgi&media=%2Fwnet%2Freligion%2Fweek818%2Fprofile-lo.rm%2C%2Fwnet%2Freligion%2Fweek818%2Fprofile-hi.rm&playertemplate=%2Fwnet%2Freligionandethics%2Fmedia_player%2Fvideo.html PBS NewsWeekly Video Clip]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week818/profile.html# PBS News Article]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7933-2004Jun26.html A Pastor With a Drive to Convert - Washington Post]