Watch Pat, Terry, and Gordon on your iPod as they bring you amazing stories and celebrity interviews.
Have you experienced the presence of God?
Ron DiCianni: Painting the Resurrection?
Become a CBN partner and receive The Transforming Word: Verses to Overcome Fear and Experience Peace, our special DVD/CD gift to you.
CBN Partners are making a difference sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Find out how.
One of the top 15 bachelors chosen for ABC’s The Bachelorette
World-class speaker to corporate executives and various college/young adult ministries
Former Vice President of Institutional and International sales for a multi-billion dollar firm
B.S., International Finance, Texas Christian Univ., Magna Cum Laude; finalist Rhodes Scholarship
CBN.com
– MAKING A POINT
Jason was watching ABC’s reality show, The Bachelor, a TV series where one bachelor takes his pick for a wife from 25 bachelorettes. NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer was on the show, and Jason says he was stunned by Palmer’s remarks about dating and his representation of the male role in a relationship. The next day, Jason talked about the episode with a friend who challenged him to send in his application to see if he could do better. “To prove a point, I did,” says Jason. A couple of months later, ABC producers for The Bachelorette called (a reality show where one bachelorette chooses a husband from 25 bachelors), but Jason, then 29, changed his mind. He told them, “I’m not sure this will be a good fit for who I am.” The producers were intrigued with Jason’s commitment to purity. “The next thing I know I am getting off a plane in New York going, ‘What have I gotten myself into now?’” says Jason.
He started advancing through the rounds, living in a house with the 14 other contendors. “My belief system for the most part seemed so foreign to them,” says Jason. During each round, Jason was sure he would get cut. When Jennifer sent Jason home in the second round of the bachelor eliminations, Jason was relieved, but he is grateful for the experience. “I knew I wasn’t a good fit for Jen,” says Jason. He says Jen is a sweet girl but the chemistry just wasn’t there. “I went on the program to show love rather than to find it.”
Jason previously dated a girl for three years, and they were engaged for several months. Jason says she was a great girl but they realized they weren’t right for each other. Jason believes God orchestrated his steps, and that many seeds were planted on the show. After his appearance on The Bachelorette, Jason received countless emails from people who professed that they were his perfect mate.
“I know everyone has a perfect mate, but I didn’t realize I had so many of them,” he says jokingly. “I’m looking for a person who doesn’t just have great qualities, but God qualities,” says Jason, now 30.
Jason grew up in a Christian home as the eldest of three brothers. He attended church regularly but did not profess his faith until he went to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Football Camp when he was 17. Reggie White was his huddle leader. Jason realized that even though he was an honors student in high school and an all-star football player, those things were never going to be enough. At that point, Jason asked Jesus into his heart. “That was the moment when everything changed in my life,” says Jason.
DON’T KISS DATING GOODBYE
When Jason was in college, he began speaking in public at 19 and addressing controversial pop culture issues with audiences on topics such as sex/relationships, leadership (or the lack thereof), substance abuse, etc. He was also an NCAA Academic All-American and Captain of the TCU football team. He graduated with honors, was named one of the top 20 students in America by USA Today and was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. After college, Jason co-founded an innovative strategy firm that focused on high-impact companies and their executives. Prior to that, Jason served as VP of Institutional and International Sales for a multi-billion dollar investment management firm.
Today Jason divides his time between speaking to corporate executives and speaking to various college/young adult ministries around the world. When Jason speaks to young adults, he doesn’t hit them over the head with the topic of abstinence. He feels that if we tell kids not to date then they are totally unarmed and unprepared for relationships.
“When they hear the word abstinence, they think they get nothing,” says Jason. “I believe that the big complications of dating help with the small complications of marriage.”
His heart is to remain a virgin until marriage. “That’s my gift to my wife,” says Jason. But he says it’s more than just remaining a virgin. “It’s about exploring love, sex and leadership according to the Word.”
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
