Jonathan Lotson
Listen to the interview (approx. 44 minutes) or download it.
*UPDATE* March 2018: Jonathan has branched out into consulting for religious organizations, and has a professional website.
Graduated in 2012 with a major in Professional Music. Principal Instrument: Piano.
Positions: Youth Minister, and Organist, at New Life Tabernacle Church of God & Christ (Atlanta, GA). Also, administrative assistant at the Salvation Army’s Evangeline Booth College’s School for Leadership Development.
Overview: Growing up, Jonathan was heavily involved in church activities, but he stepped away from that for a while to pursue music. But while at Berklee he got involved with a local (Boston) church and connected with the pastor. By his last year at Berklee, he found that “music wasn’t as much fun as it used to be.” Jonathan did some soul-searching (so to speak) and decided that he wanted to be a minister. He decided that the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta would be a good fit, applied while still at Berklee, was accepted, and started there the following fall, earning his Masters in Divinity after 3 years of hard work. Before he even got to Atlanta he connected with the minister at New Life Tabernacle Church and was hired as organist, his job expanding to Youth Minister once he got his M.Div.
During that first year in Atlanta Jonathan worked mostly at a bank, but his heart wasn’t in it, so he used Indeed to find the administrative job at the Evangeline Booth College.
While working two jobs, Jonathan is taking classes online at Regent University to get his Doctorate in Strategic Leadership, which he expects to complete in 2019.
You can see Jonathan’s LinkedIn Profile here.
Choice Quotes: “I feel called to the ministry, and I love that component in both of my jobs. I also like meeting new people as well as travel, and both of my jobs feature both of these.”
“What would you be if you could drop everything and just be it? What are you naturally GOOD at? In our world today there’s nothing that you can’t make a living off. Jump out on faith and allow what you’re naturally good at to make you a living.”
See the full index of Successful Berklee Grads.
Jonathan’s ultimate goal is the be the lead pastor of a church. “The components of a great church are the music, the preached word, and the organizational management/leadership. Once I finish my Doctorate in Strategic Leadership, I’ll have a degree for each one of those!”
Jonathan, shown here as a student with Berklee President Roger Brown, has fond memories of Berklee, and particularly appreciated the way that the City Music program led to his being engaged with the local community. “I hope that in the future all Berklee students get to connect with the local community like I did.”
Jonathan as a Berklee student “For those who are going into Berklee or are there. I encourage you to take advantage of as many things as you can. My one regret is not taking advantage of the semester abroad program.”
“Berklee was such a rare opportunity to be surrounded consistently by people who love to do what I love to do. I met so many great people and made many great friends.”
A passionate gospel song which Jonathan wrote and produced. He has another great gospel song titled “Forever.”